Hard

Al Kabsa (Traditional Saudi Rice and Chicken)

Total Time
2h 18m
27m prep · 111m cook
Servings
4 people
Rating
Difficulty
Hard
2 views
🌾 Gluten-Free ☪️ Halal ✡️ Kosher

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!

Ingredients

  • 0.5 teaspoons saffron
  • 0.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 0.5 teaspoons dried whole lime powder
  • 0.25 teaspoons ground cardamom
  • 0.25 teaspoons ground white pepper

Instructions

  1. 1

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

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 6

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

Nutrition Facts

Per serving

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