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 Details
Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon dried whole lime powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Steps
- Make spice mix: Stir together saffron, cinnamon, allspice, lime powder, cardamom, and white pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Transfer rice to a large serving platter and arrange chicken on top. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.
