Directions

• Combine the whey, 1 tbsp salt and the sugar in a saucepan over low heat, and stir just until everything is dissolved.  Set it aside until it’s no longer hot.  
• ​​​If you’re using a whole chicken, break it down to get two breasts, two wings, two thighs, and two drumsticks.  Cut the breasts in half, slicing through the rib bones, and combine all the chicken with the brine in a large ziplock bag.  Seal, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• When you’re ready to cook, let the chicken come to room temperature.  Combine the hawaij with the remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt.  Arrange all the pieces of chicken, skin side up, in a single layer on a plate (discard the brine).  Sprinkle the hawaij mixture evenly over the chicken pieces, patting it in so it sticks.
• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat.  Add the chicken, skin side down, and leave it alone for 4 or 5 minutes so it becomes golden; you’ll want to do this in two batches and avoid crowding the pot.  Don’t be afraid to decrease the heat if the spices in the pan seem to be getting too dark.  Flip the chicken, and cook the other side for about 3 minutes, until it builds a little color; then remove it and set it aside.
• Decrease the heat to medium-low.  Combine the garlic, ginger and red-pepper flakes in the same pot, and cook for 30 seconds or so, until they’re fragrant.  Add the onions, carrots, potatoes, and sprig of rosemary and continue to cook, stirring occasionally.
• When you start seeing some color around the edges of the onions, squeeze in the juice from the orange to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits with your spoon.  Drop in the orange pieces, and add the chicken along with the stock.  Bring it to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low.  Cover the pot, and let it cook with lazy bubbles for about 1 hour, maybe longer, until the leg meat pulls easily off the bone with no pink juices and the potatoes are tender.  Check the pot every 10 minutes or so, and if the bubbles are too rapid, bursting at the surface, move the pot partially off the burner, to ensure that the chicken doesn’t dry out.  Once it’s done, remove and discard the rosemary.
• To serve:  spoon a piece of chicken and some of the vegetables into a bowl.  Chop the parsley and mint together, and pass them around with the yogurt for dolloping on top, along with knives to pull the tender meat off the bone and spoons for polishing off the savory broth.