Al Kabsa - Traditional Saudi Rice and Chicken Ingredients ½ teaspoon saffron ¼ ...
... teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon dried whole lime powder
¼ cup butter
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
¼ cup tomato puree
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 carrots, peeled and grated
2 whole cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground cumin
1 pinch ground coriander
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 ¼ cups hot water
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 ¼ cups unrinsed basmati rice
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
Directions
Step 1
Mix together the saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, white pepper, and lime powder in a small bowl, and set the spice mix aside.
Step 2
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 translucent, 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.
Step 3
Stir in the canned tomatoes with their juice, the grated carrots, whole cloves, nutmeg, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, and the Kabsa spice mix. Cook for about 3 minutes; pour in the water, and add the chicken bouillon cube.
Step 4
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pot. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes.
Step 5
Gently stir in the rice. Cover the pot and simmer until rice is tender and almost dry, about 25 minutes; add the raisins and a little more hot water, if necessary. Cover and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until the rice grains are separate.
Step 6
Transfer the rice to a large serving platter and arrange the chicken pieces on top. Sprinkle the toasted slivered almonds over the dish.