I really like most food from the Middle East. Mezze dishes from the eastern Mediterranean are always great for fresh flavours and variety. Food in the Gulf States also has an Indian influence. Biryani is very popular there as is kabsah, another fragrant and spicy rice and meat dish.
The first time I ate kabsah, it was cooked by an officer in the Saudi airforce. If I remember correctly, he cooked it with lamb, and added carrots, courgettes and potatoes. The second time I had it, it was cooked by an Emirati student and he made it with chicken. A Saudi lady gave me a recipe for it but I confess I never attempted it and lost her recipe.
Suddenly, I had the urge to make it and had to look online for a recipe that looked appealing. I found a great video on YouTube posted by ASANGCUPAN. There are many different ways of cooking kabsah apparently but I liked the look of this method. It involves boiling the chicken first. Most Middle Eastern people boil meat before frying, rather than sealing meat first in oil as we often do. They think to do otherwise is unhygenic and I suppose, coming from very hot countries that until recently had no refrigeration facilities, this was the wisest method. You will see from the picture that the chicken looks a bit grey as a result but rest assured it just melts in the mouth. I adapted the recipe slightly to what I had available.
Ingredients for Kabsah (serves 3)
1 litre water
2 chicken thighs per person (preferably attached to the bone)
300g rice (basmati is best)
1 dried lime (from Asian shops or larger supermarkets)
a couple of bay leaves
3 pieces cinnamon bark
pinch of cloves
3 cardamom pods
a little black pepper
a teaspoon salt
a teaspoon stock powder (I used bouillon)
vegetable oil for frying
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tsp garam masala (or make your own mix of spice powders, e.g cumin, coriander, turmeric, red pepper)
half a tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
1 small piece chopped ginger.
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 large carrot (cut into strips)
1 small courgette (cut into strips)
half a tin of chopped tomatoes (blended if wished)
If using basmati rice, put in a bowl of water to soak.
First bring the litre of water to the boil in a large pan. When boiling add chicken, salt, pepper, stock powder, lime, bay leaves, cinammon bark, cloves and cardamom. Put on lid and boil until chicken is nearly done.
Take out the chicken and put aside. Strain the stock and put aside. In the same pot add some oil and fry the onion, ginger and powdered spices. Add the vegetables and tomato puree. Cook for a couple of minutes. Strain the rice if soaking and stir in the rice, coating the grains with the spices. Add chopped or pureed tomato. Add the reserved stock until it covers the rice by the thickness of your thumb. Arrange the chicken pieces on top and replace the lid. Cook gently for about 30 minutes or until all the rice is tender.
It is best if using a gas hob, to put on your largest gas ring so the heat is more evenly distributed. The trickiest thing about this recipe is getting the rice in a large pot cooked around the edges while not burning the rice in the middle.
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