Monday, October 21, 2013

Eid delicacy ; Kabsa

      This Eid we celebrated with the arabian delicacies Kabsa and Fattoush accompanied by a Cream of mushroom soup. I will post the recipe for fattoush and cream of mushroom soup as soon as possible.

    Kabsa 



Kabsa or kabseh is one of the traditional dishes served in the Arabian gulf area. It is a Unique mixture of rice, meat, spices and vegetables topped with almonds and raisins. The secret of kabsa's taste is the blend of spices used in it.

Ingredients
  • Butter ( oil ) : 1/4 cup
  • Onion : 1 finely chopped
  • Garlic ; 6 cloves minced
  • 1 whole chicken cut into 4 pieces
  • tomato puree : 1/4 cup
  • Tomatoes : 3 chopped
  • Carrots : 3 peeled and grated
  • Cloves : 4
  • Whole black pepper : 1 tsp
  •  Dried lemon : 2
  • Bay leaves : 2
  • Cinnamon stick : 2 
  • Cardamom : 4
  • Orange zest : 1 tsp
  • Coriander : 1 tsp
  • Basmati rice : 2 1/2 cups washed and soaked for 45 minutes
  • Hot water : 4 1/2 cups
  • Raisins : 1/4 cup
  • Almonds : 1/4 cup


Directions
  • Melt the butter in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat, stir in the garlic and onion ; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned transculent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and brown them over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. mix in the tomato puree.
  • Add chopped tomatoes, grated carrots, whole cloves, black pepper, dried lemon, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, coriander, orange zest, cardamom and salt. Cook  for about 3 minutes ; pour in the water. 
  • Bring the sauce to boil, then reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pot. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken pieces from the stock and place it in a oven for 10 minutes.
  • Add soaked rice into the stock, cover the pot and simmer until rice is tender and almost dry, about 20 minutes.
  • Transfer the rice to a large serving platter and arrange the chicken pieces on top. Sprinkle the toasted almonds and raisins over the dish.

9 comments:

  1. Awesome dear, got to try this wonderful Kabsa... lovely...

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  2. yumm, I have heard of kabsa but never tried making it, looks delicious!! by the way how do you make that dried up lime?

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    1. Thanks dear, dried limes are very common in Middle Eastern markets. I bought it from Carrefour hypermarkets.

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  3. I am sure the orange zest and spices would give such an aromatic dish. Shaami since the chicken is cooked in the spice water and later layered on top of rice does it get any brownish look or still stay pinkish?

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  4. Dear Meena, either shallow fry the chicken pieces for few minutes on each side or grill them on a bbq grill or in the oven. Do not over do the frying /grilling as this will dry your chicken out.

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  5. Very nice Shaami, I have tried making Kabsa once, but was not quite succesful;(. Will try making it once more as per your recipe. I love the ones you get from the restaurants here.

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