When you are rice lover its not easy to ignore such beautiful simple dishes like Kabsa. Kabsa is a traditional Saudi Arabian dish of rice cooked with meat or chicken, lamb, fish etc.
Kabsa is a very simple and has very unique flavors and aromas , it is very easy to prepare and has many variations as far as the seasoning is concerned , although dry or black lemon and cinnamon are obviously the common ingredients in many recipes that I have come across.
Black lemon which is actually a black lime has nice fermented tangy flavors and aromas which blend very well with cinnamon and of course the lemon zest adds that freshness......
Kabsa , as per Wikipedia was originally known as Yemeni National food and it is also well loved adapted in many neighboring Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, UAE, Qatar etc.
So it was one of those days where I missed my foodie life of UAE, and I missed eating Kabsa. I did not have any Arab friends in UAE who prepared Kabsa at home so my experience with Kabsa was always from a restaurant. Thanks to google and YouTube, now days attaining knowledge in any field has never been easier , so I searched and researched the history and the recipe to compliment it.
I was obviously looking for a recipe prepared by a Saudi if you know what I mean ( I am being bias here ;( . I liked the recipe of none other than the original charming Saudi lady named Eman , her recipe is brilliant I made it twice sometime back in 2013 and then after I became comfortable with it I twisted it with more ingredients to suit my palate even better but yet managed to retain its originality.
The style of cooking Kabsa in my opinion is more of a technique than a recipe and that is why there are many variations to it.
Most of the spices are easily available in many grocery stores and the black lime can be purchased in Indian, Persian or Arab stores or..you can make your own and I will show you how.
Lets get cooking.......
For the chicken marinade
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbl Lemon juice
1 Tbl spoon of fresh and ginger garlic paste
Mix all the ingredients well and rub them into the chicken , cover it and let it sit for about 30-45 minutes.
Wash , and rinse the rice. Soak it for about 20-30 minutes
In a large possible wide pan, heat the oil add onions and fresh ginger, saute till light brown
Add the dry spices and saute for about 2-3 minutes
Add tomato paste and mix well, add diced tomatoes. Let them cook for about 4 -5 minutes
Add the chicken pieces, whole spices and zest, let the chicken cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side
Add water, carrots. black lemon and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat , cover it and simmer for about for about 20 to minutes or until the chicken is well cooked
Remove the chicken and place it in the baking pan -;
Add the rice in the chicken broth , simmer for about 15 minutes
Once the liquid has evaporated from the rice, cover it with aluminium foil and kitchen towel so that the steam does not escape too fast in order to keep the rice fluffy and moist- keep it on the low for about 15-20 minutes
Meanwhile brush the chicken quarters with oil or butter and bake for about 5- 10
Saute the nuts for about 4 minutes on medium heat
Ingredients:
For the chicken marinade
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbl Lemon juice
1 Tbl spoon of fresh and ginger garlic paste
Mix all the ingredients well and rub them into the chicken , cover it and let it sit for about 30-45 minutes.
For the rice
2 cups/390 gm Basmati rice
1 cup diced onions
1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tps turmeric powder
1/2 tps black pepper
1/2 tps white pepper
1/4 tps cloves
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded carrots
2 black lemons
few strands of saffron ( optional)
For garnish - optional
Almonds, raisins or pine nuts , cashew nuts, pistachio etc
1 Tbl oil
3 Cinnamon Sticks
3 Whole cardamoms
2 Bay leaves
3 Cloves
10 Peppercorns
Method
Wash , rinse the rice and soak for about 20-30 minutes before cooking.
Add the onions and grated ginger and saute till brown
Add tomato paste and mix well, add diced tomatoes. Let them cook for about 4 -5 minutes
Add the chicken pieces, whole spices and zest, let the chicken cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side
Add water, carrots. black lemon and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat , cover it and simmer for about for about 20 to minutes or until the chicken is well cooked
Turn the oven to 400F/200C or broil, keep baking tray or pan ready
Remove the chicken and place it in the baking pan -;
Add the rice in the chicken broth , simmer for about 15 minutes
Meanwhile brush the chicken quarters with oil or butter and bake for about 5- 10
Once the liquid has evaporated from the rice, cover it with aluminium foil or kitchen towel so that the steam does not escape in order to keep the rice nice and moist - keep it low heat for about 15 minutes.
Mean while use a small frying pan to saute the nuts.
Serve the chicken over the bed of rice and garnish with the various nuts
If you would like to see how this dish is made you please press the link below
