Saudi Kabsa Chicken and Rice

5 from 1 vote

A flavorful, aromatic, spicy chicken and rice dinner from Saudi Arabia. Kabsa is a delicious and warm dish, that is easy to make, topped with toasted almonds, you'll be happy to serve it to your family.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr 10 mins

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Arabic, Saudi

Keyword: arabic, chicken, rice, Saudi, spices

Servings: 4 hungry people

Calories: 700kcal

Ingredients

Spice Mix

4 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp whole green cardamom about 15 pods
2 dried lemons (lumi)
1 tsp whole cloves about 20 cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
⅓ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mixed arabic spices
¼ tsp ground black pepper

For the chicken

1 medium onion thinly sliced
4 tbsp canola oil
1 chicken quartered
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 medium tomatoes diced
zest of 1 orange
34 fl oz boiling water
2 tsp salt or to taste

Rice

2½ cups basmati rice
½ cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp canola oil

Instructions

Soak rice in water (room temperature)
Cut up the onion into thin slices and add to a big pot, with the canola or vegetable oil. Saute on medium high heat for about 12 minutes, or until golden and translucent.
Add the chicken to the pot, and cook for a few minutes, then add all the spices, the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and orange zest. Give it all a stir.
Add the boiling water to the pot, and leave it to boil on medium heat for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, drain the rice. Remove the chicken from the pot, and place it in a pan or a baking sheet, and broil in the oven on low for about 8 minutes.
Add the rice to the pot with the chicken stock and all the spices.Give it one quick stir, and place it on low heat for about 25 minutes. Do not stir the rice while it's cooking until all the water has evaporated.
While the rice is cooking, toast the almonds using oil in a fry pan.
To assemble and serve. Plate the rice in a serving plate, place the chicken pieces on top, and garnish with toasted almonds.

Notes

Spices:

You can substitute whole spices with ground if you don't like whole spices within the rice.
You can use fresh grated ginger instead of ground dried ginger.
Use fresh, high quality spices for the best results.

Rice:

When you add the rice to the chicken stock, it should be completely covered in water. Add some more water to cover it if it's not already submerged.

Sides:

Serve with a side of chopped salad, yogurt, and daqqous tomato sauce.