Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Jordanian · Levantine

Zarb-style roast lamb and chicken

Non-vegetarian

زرب · zarb

Spiced lamb, chicken and vegetables slow-roasted in a sealed pan so they steam in their own juices, an oven take on the Bedouin zarb cooked underground in the sand. Tender, smoky with spice and made for a crowd.

Zarb-style roast lamb and chicken is a Jordanian main course, ready in about 5 hours 20 minutes and made with lamb shoulder and chicken pieces, skin-on. It serves 8 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
25 min
Cook
2 h 45 min
Rest
10 min
Total
5 h 20 min
Serves
8
Level
Easy
Calories
723

Includes at least 2 hours marinating; overnight is better.

Ingredients

8 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the oil, lemon juice (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), all the spices and 2 tsp of the salt into a paste. Rub it all over the lamb and chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

    • 15 min

    Food safety: Keep marinating meat and poultry in the fridge and wash hands after handling.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab). Toss the potatoes (opens in a new tab), onions (opens in a new tab) and carrots (opens in a new tab) with the remaining salt and spread them in a deep roasting dish. Lay the lamb on top, then the chicken, and pour the water around the edges.

    A tray of food roasting in the oven
    How it looks · Photo: locrifa on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Seal the dish tightly with a double layer of foil or a lid and roast until the lamb is falling from the bone.

    Food safety: Chicken must reach 74 °C at the thickest point.

  4. Step 4

    Uncover, raise the heat and roast until the tops are browned. Rest for 10 minutes, then pile everything onto a platter with the juices and serve with bread.

    • 15 min
    • 220°C
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Wadi Rum and the southern desert, Jordan · Commonly attributedZarb is associated with Jordan's Bedouin, though similar pit-cooking exists in Sinai and the Arabian Peninsula.More food from Jordan
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Grills & kebabs
Cooking method
Roasted, Slow-cooked, Marinated / cured
Taste
aromatic / warmly spiced, savoury, earthy
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, Paleo-style, No gluten ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Lamb shoulder · Chicken pieces, skin-on · Lemon juice · Garlic · Cumin · Allspice
Techniques
Roasting · Marinating · Curing

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom pita bread
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom pita bread
  • May contain: Sesamefrom pita bread

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

723 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 427 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 23%
  • Carbohydrate 15%
  • Fat 62%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy723 kcal169 kcal
Protein42.3 g9.9 g
Carbohydrate26.7 g6.2 g
Net carbohydrate22.6 g5.3 g
Sugars3.9 g0.9 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.1 g1 g
Fat49.9 g11.7 g
Saturated fat17 g4 g
Trans fat1.4 g0.3 g
Cholesterol152 mg36 mg
Sodium905 mg212 mg
Salt equivalent2.3 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1124 mg
Calcium
73 mg
Iron
4 mg
Magnesium
78 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
264 µg
Vitamin C
29 mg
Vitamin D
0.5 µg
Vitamin B12
2.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
—

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: pita bread.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • A pinch of smoked paprika in the rub hints at the smoke of a real zarb pit.

Common mistakes

  • A loose foil seal lets the steam escape and the meat dries out — crimp it tightly.

Serve with

  • Serve with a chopped salad, yogurt and flatbread.

Storage

  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours; keeps 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat covered in a 160 °C oven with a splash of water.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like