[ENG] Seffa Madfouna “Sweet Vermicelli Seffa with Hidden Chicken” | Flavors of Morocco

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ABOUT THIS RECIPE:
In Arabic, the word “”madfouna,”” means “buried.” In this recipe, “”madfouna”” refers to the chicken that is “”buried”” inside a tower of vermicelli.
This dish is an incomparable Moroccan delicacy that combines sweet and savory flavors for a unique final result. This delectable combination is extremely popular during special occasions in Morocco; famous sweet and savory dishes include: beef and prune tagine, and chicken with tfaya.
Follow the dada’s instructions, and remake this dish at home for all your friends and family!
Ingredients
For the vermicelli
500g (1 lb) vermicelli or angel hair pasta
70ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
Water for steaming the vermicelli
1 tablespoon salt
450ml (2 cups) water, for the second round of steaming
(1/4 cup) water, for the third round of steaming
250g (2 sticks) butter, cut into cubes
For the chicken sauce
2 large red or yellow onions
2 chickens, chopped into thighs and breasts
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
A couple saffron threads
1 heaping teaspoon Smen (Moroccan fermented butter)
2 cinnamon sticks
60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
250ml (1 cup) water
For the raisins
125g raisins (preferably sultanas)
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons sugar
370ml (1 1/2 cups) water
Steps
Step 1: Preparing the vermicelli
1- Place the vermicelli in a large plate.
2- Add the vegetable oil, then mix well by hand.
2- Fill up the stockpot of a double boiler with water. Place it on medium heat, then bring the water to a boil.
Step 2: Cooking the vermicelli
Steaming round 1:
1- Transfer the vermicelli to the steamer basket, then place the steamer over the stockpot.
2- Cook the vermicelli for 30 minutes.
Steaming round 2:
3- Remove the steamer basket from the stockpot, and place it on top of a large bowl.
4- Carefully pour the boiling water from the stockpot on the vermicelli. Allow the water to drain from the vermicelli.
5- Pour the collected water from the bowl back into the stockpot.
6- Place the stockpot back on medium heat and bring the water back to a boil.
7- Transfer the vermicelli to a large plate.
8- Combine the salt and water in a bowl, then pour it on top of the vermicelli.
9- Mix with a spoon until the salt water is evenly distributed. Set aside to rest for 7 minutes.
10- Fluff the vermicelli by hand, then transfer it to the steamer basket.
11- Place the basket over the stockpot, then cook for 20 minutes.
Steaming round 3:
12- Transfer the vermicelli to the large plate.
13- Add the water and butter, then mix to cover the butter and allow it to melt quickly. Set aside for 5 minutes.
14- Fluff the vermicelli using either a spoon or your hands, then transfer it to the steamer basket.
11- Place the basket over the stockpot, then cook for 20 minutes.
12- When the vermicelli is done, transfer it back to the large plate, and fluff it with a spoon. Set it aside to cool a little before serving.
Step 3: Preparing the chicken
1- Peel the onions and rinse them.
2- Dice the onions, and set them aside.
3- Using a knife, make small cuts in the chicken to help it absorb the spices.
4- Place the chicken and onions in a large pot.
5- Season with salt, turmeric, coriander, ginger, and black pepper.
6- Rub the saffron threads between the palm of your hands, then add it to the pot.
7- Add fermented butter, cinnamon sticks, vegetable oil, and olive oil.
8- Add water, then mix to combine.
9- Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Cover, then cook for 40 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender.
10- Once the chicken has cooked, uncover the pot, and continue cooking until the sauce reduces and thickens. Make sure to leave enough sauce to pour over the vermicelli.
Step 4: Preparing the raisins
1- Place the raisins, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, turmeric, sugar and water in a pot.
2- Place the pot on the stove over medium heat.
3- Cook for 20 minutes or until the raisins are tender.
Step 5: Serving the seffa medfouna
1- Transfer half of the vermicelli on the serving plate. Add the chicken on top. Cover the chicken with the rest of the vermicelli. Add some of the chicken sauce on top of the vermicelli.Add the raisins, then serve and enjoy!

Hi, I am dada Saida from Marrakech I specialize in Moroccan cuisine Today we are going to prepare Seffa Medfouna We serve Seffa Medfouna during different occasions This dish is made with chicken that is seasoned with warm spices First, transfer the vermicelli to a large plate Coat the vermicelli with vegetable oil We add oil to prevent the vermicelli from turning sticky once we add the water Coat it thoroughly with the oil Now that we have coated all the seffa with oil let’s add water to the pot that will be used to cook the vermicelli I have filled up the pot three quarters of the way with water We will bring this water to a boil and use it for steaming and for hydrating the vermicelli once it is off the stove Next, we use this clean piece of cloth to prevent the steam from escaping through the sides and direct it toward the vermicelli As you can see it is just a simple clean piece of cloth I will soak it in water Squeeze the water Now wrap the piece of cloth around the edge of the pot This piece of cloth will help prevent the steam from escaping through the sides We call this ‘the lock’ Now that I have secured the lock I will put the steamer basket on top Place it on top of the boiling water and let it steam As you can see, the piece of cloth won’t let the steam escape therefore the vermicelli will cook perfectly The vermicelli is now done with the first round of steaming There is a lot of steam coming out from the top Time to hydrate the vermicelli with water I use the boiling water from the pot to hydrate it Here is the boiling water Make sure to pour it all over the vermicelli This hot water prevents the vermicelli from turning sticky or mushy later on The vermicelli is thoroughly hydrated I will transfer the vermicelli to the large plate and leave it to absorb the water for a bit then I will add salt Place the hydrated vermicelli back in the large plate And put the steamer basket back on the top We will return the water we used to hydrate the vermicelli to the pot And we’ll use it to steam the vermicelli some more Place back the steamer basket and let the water keep on boiling Grab a spoon to fluff the vermicelli Any spoon works Time to add salt Add water to the salt Then mix to combine The salt needs to dissolve in the water Add more water to the leftover salt at the bottom of the bowl The vermicelli needs to absorb all the water and salt The initial color of the vermicelli changes when it absorbs the water As you can see it becomes paler The color of the vermicelli turns light beige when cooked I will add more water then set it aside to absorb the liquids for about 3 minutes We will break it apart later then return it back to steam After absorbing all the water we fluff up the vermicelli to break it apart The vermicelli has absorbed all the water Even though we add more water it didn’t turn sticky It is then good quality vermicelli, otherwise it would have gotten sticky As you can see even if I press it with my hands it still doesn’t stick The vermicelli has absorbed all the salt water The color has turned lighter after it absorbed all the water Let’s return the vermicelli to the steamer basket The vermicelli has doubled in size Back in the steamer basket and time to steam it again Another steaming round to go! We will remove the vermicelli from the steamer pot after it completes two rounds of steaming Drizzle it with room temperature water Coat it with butter Leave it to absorb everything Then steam it again for the third and last round Put the steamer basket back Lower the heat Fluff the vermicelli It is not sticky and there are no clumps at all Keep breaking it apart like this We add a little bit of water, but not too much After adding the water add butter while the vermicelli is still hot Spread the butter evenly throughout the vermicelli The more butter you add to the vermicelli the softer and more delicious it becomes Bury the butter deep in the hot vermicelli to help melt it quickly Let the butter melt Later on, we will leave the vermicelli to absorb the water and melted butter then again fluff it and return it to steam again Now, let’s check if the butter has melted It is nicely melted I will grab a spoon and mix the vermicelli Earlier we added both room-temperature water and butter to the vermicelli Now the butter has melted and has been absorbed by the vermicelli Return the vermicelli to the steamer basket and let it steam again Place back the steamer basket on the stove Let’s now prepare the chicken First, we will start with the onions Now that we have peeled the onions let’s rinse them Thinly dice the onions so that they easily melt in the sauce The onions are now chopped Let’s cook the chicken Use whatever amount of chicken you want The chicken we have is washed with lemon and water Pierce the chicken to allow spices to penetrate After placing the chicken in the large pot add the chopped onions Salt Not too much salt, because the chicken has already been cleaned with lemon and salt Turmeric I will add dry coriander too Ginger Pepper Saffron threads A teaspoon of fermented butter Two large cinnamon sticks Vegetable oil And olive oil After seasoning the chicken I add water to help the chicken absorb the seasoning Don’t add too much water because the onions will also release a lot of juice Combine all the ingredients together then place the pot on the stove to cook Mix the ingredients well Now that all the seasoning has penetrated the chicken allow it to cook Put the large pot on the stove top Turn on the heat Let’s check on the chicken The chicken has cooked The sauce needs to be reduced We will let it simmer a little longer While the sauce simmers let’s cool down the vermicelli The vermicelli has completed all three rounds of steaming Now it is ready The chicken is ready too I leave some sauce in the pot which we will serve alongside the main plate Turn off the heat Next, I will move to prepare the raisins Here are the raisins Add a cinnamon stick A teaspoon of cinnamon A teaspoon of turmeric About two tablespoons of sugar Add enough water to cook the raisins Place the raisins pot on the stove and turn on the heat Remove the chicken pot from the stove Let’s transfer the vermicelli to the serving plate It’s very hot! This is an amazing dish You’ll enjoy it a lot! After placing half the amount of vermicelli on the serving plate I will add the chicken Now that we have added the chicken we will cover it with the vermicelli on top Set aside the pot Add the rest of the vermicelli on top of the chicken We call this “buried seffa” You can prepare it with either chicken beef or pigeon The chicken is buried inside the vermicelli We will ladle the sauce on top We have added the sauce Keep the extra sauce in a bowl whenever someone wants extra sauce After adding the sauce top the vermicelli with raisins The raisins are all flavorful and caramelized Add the raisins directly on top of the vermicelli right where you ladled the sauce The seffa medfouna is now ready! You can pick the chicken underneath the vermicelli and eat it The chicken is very tender and delicious Enjoy!