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.