Recipe Dupes

There are all sorts of websites and blogs out there that are devoted to tried and true recipe duplicates for restaurant favorites…I thought it would be cool to collect some here that you may have tried.

I’ll start with this one. A friend of mine recently passed this on to me…it’s a dupe for the famous chicken and rice from NYC’s Halal Guys cart on 53rd & 6th.

I’m going to try it out this weekend, and I’ll report back with pics.

Halal-cart style chicken - Imgur

For Chicken -

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 green chilli - chopped ( as per your taste)
1/4 cup light olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken - (cut in ps as you like)

Combine the lemon juice, oregano, coriander, garlic, green chilli and olive oil in a blender. Blend until smooth. Season the marinade to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.

Marinate the chicken for 1 hr.

When ready to cook, chop one white onion - fine to small pieces ( that’s my addition, you can use the red or yellow onion) . Saute in lil oil till soften and then add the chicken with all its marinade. Cook nice till done. make sure not to make it too dry, just moist enough.

FOR RICE

-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups long-grain or Basmati rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth or any veg broth
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. -Add the turmeric and cumin and cook until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the rice and stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly toasted, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes without disturbing. Remove from the heat and allow to rest until the water is completely absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

For WHITE SAUCE -

8-10 oz. Greek yogurt
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. white or red vinegar lemon juice -
1 lemon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1-2 tsp dill or fresh parsley
1 tbsp cold water

In a small bowl, combine all the above ing for sauce and whisk nicely. Season to taste with salt. Keep aside.

For topping - slice a tomato and sprinkle with lil olive oil and light pan fry for a min or so.

To Serve individually - Shred some Lettuce and place on the plate. Place rice on top of lettuce and pile the chicken on top of the rice. Put some slices of sauted tomatoes. Top with the white sauce and (hot sauce). Serve immediately.

Keep the bowl of white sauce on the table for adding as needed.

Re: Recipe Dupes

oh I like this.. I cant wait to try the halal cart chicken! What about that white sauce?

I tried chili’s molten chocolate cake and it turned out exactly the same!

Re: Recipe Dupes

^ how does the chicken and rice taste compared to the NY one? what about the white sauce?

i tried the new chicken and rice truck in LA but its not nearly as good as the original.

I made the recipe dupe I posted last night!!! Turned out sooo good!


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Recipe Dupes

The white sauce I think needs some tweaking…didn’t turn out exactly like the Halal Guys white sauce (that stuff is like crack!!) but it was still really good! I didn’t have any lettuce at home or pita bread so I left that off, but this recipe definitely is a keeper!!!

Re: Recipe Dupes

Ah not a good thread to be in when you’ve had a light lunch. The pic looks delish khatti!

Re: Recipe Dupes

Thank you for the recipe.
I tried it and it turned out great.
I served it with pita bread instead of rice.

Recipe Dupes

I’m really looking for the a really good white sauce recipe that for afghani food. It is delicious . I love the brown rice also. Unfortunately therent too many recipes for afghani / Persian food online. The food is very flavorable and it isn’t spicy.

One thing indiscovered is that they use sehla basmati (ahu barra brand) and they use sumac found in Arabic/afghani stores.

This is great sticky if you want duplicate recipes at home and you can control the quality of ingredients.

Re: Recipe Dupes

Khatti, having eaten and enjoyed this particular cart food, and having the taste stored in my memory bank, I think the vinegar is what may be throwing off your white sauce.

Re: Recipe Dupes

I agree! I’m going to try it again without the vinegar and maybe tweak the mayo to yogurt ratio :hmmm:

The chicken and rice was near perfect though! Pretty much the taste I remember from the last time I had the cart

Re: Recipe Dupes

What kind of yogurt did you use?

Also, have you tried this from Costco: the Products - Skotidakis

If you have this at home already, try adding the other ingredients (minus the vinegar) and see if it comes close. Also, I think we may need a tad bit more mayo.

Recipe Dupes

Some recipes use sour cream. The white sauces are all a combination of yogurt, sour cream, and mayonnaise, dill. There is usually some vinegar in these sauces. I have asked for the recipe at many afghani restaurant and the info is that combination.

Re: Recipe Dupes

Instead of yogurt, use labneh. A perfect fit.