Al Kabsa (Traditional Saudi Rice and Chicken)
Al kabsa was the first Arabic dish I ever made. It turned out extremely delicious and is a new favorite. Serve with fresh mixed cucumber, carrot, lettuce, and tomato salad — preferably with a little lime vinaigrette. Some fresh pita bread on the side would also be nice. Saudis like their kabsa with a hot sauce called shattah. Enjoy!
Ingredients
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½ teaspoon saffron
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½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
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½ teaspoon ground allspice
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½ teaspoon dried whole lime powder
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¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
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¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Kabsa Dish:
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¼ cup butter
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1 onion, finely chopped
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6 cloves garlic, minced
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1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
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¼ cup tomato puree
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1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
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3 carrots, peeled and grated
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2 whole cloves
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1 pinch ground nutmeg
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1 pinch ground cumin
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1 pinch ground coriander
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salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
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3 ¼ cups hot water, plus more if needed
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1 cube chicken bouillon
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2 ¼ cups unrinsed basmati rice
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¼ cup raisins
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¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
Instructions
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Make spice mix: Stir together saffron, cinnamon, allspice, lime powder, cardamom, and white pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
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Make dish: Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in butter until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Mix in tomato purée.
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Stir in canned tomatoes with juice, carrots, cloves, nutmeg, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, and reserved spice mix. Cook for about 3 minutes; pour in water and add chicken bouillon cube.
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Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat, and cover the pot. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes.
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Gently stir in rice. Cover the pot and simmer until rice is tender and almost dry, about 25 minutes; add raisins and a little more hot water, if necessary. Cover and cook until rice grains separate, 5 to 10 minutes.
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Transfer rice to a large serving platter and arrange chicken on top. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.
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