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!

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr 10 mins
• Calories: 528 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 pinch ground coriander
• ¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• ½ teaspoon saffron
• ¼ cup tomato puree
• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• ½ teaspoon dried whole lime powder
• 3 carrots, peeled and grated
• 2 ¼ cups unrinsed basmati rice
• 3 ¼ cups hot water, plus more if needed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Make spice mix: Stir together saffron, cinnamon, allspice, lime powder, cardamom, and white pepper in a small bowl; set aside.

Step 2

Make rice: 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.

Step 3

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.

Step 4

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.

Step 5

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.

Step 6

Transfer rice to a large serving platter and arrange chicken on top. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.