My Favorite Dish: Arabic Kabsah
Working in the Middle East especially in Saudi Arabia is not a big deal, if you’re flexible with your lifestyle, personality, human relations and even food. One of my favorite menu is kabsah (an ever-ready meal – rice and meat), a famous Arabian dish. You may use lamb shoulder or leg, or you can use beef or chicken. My alternative meal when I’m tired after work and lazy to ramble in the kitchen.
By Fernando Lachica | December 31st, 2011
It’s also good in gatherings, birthdays, parties and even family get-together party. You can prepared and cooked Kabsah for two ½ hours, and it can serve six persons.
Ingredients:
6 cups basmati rice
2 tablespoons oil
1 piece lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 3 – 5 pieces
2 large onions, quartered
2 stalks cinnamon
4 – 6 pieces cardamom
4 – 6 pieces cloves
2 – 3 pieces bay leaves
2 pieces dried lemon (lomy)
2 large pieces tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon salt
Filling:
½ cup chickpeas
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
½ cup raisins
1 teaspoon mixed spices
½ teaspoon dried lemon (lomy)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
Procedures:
1) Wash rice well soak in salted water 30 minutes or more.
2) Put oil in large casserole, add meat, cook over high heat until golden, add onion, cooks for a while.
3) Cover the meat with water, leave on high heat until water boils, remove the rime and discard.
4) Add cinnamon, cloves, lomy, tomatoes, cover and leave it to cook on medium heat 1 – 1 ½ hours until meat is cooked. Add salt after one hour of cooking time to keep the meat lean.
5) Remove meat from stack, place in oven to roast. Keep it warm.
6) Strain the meat stock, add more water to get 8 cups of stock.
7) Put stock in medium casserole, bring to boil and add rice. Bring to boil for 2 – 3 minutes, reduce heat, cover tightly and leave 30 minutes until rice is cooked.
8) Filling: Put chickpeas in a small pan, cover with water, boils 10 – 15 minutes until cooked.
9) In a large frying pan heat onion until wilted and color has changed. Add 2 – 3 tablespoons water and cook until dry, add oil and raisins, cook until it’s fully cooked. Add boiled chickpeas, spices, lomy, pepper and salt, mix well.
10) After around 20 minutes of cooking the rice, remove cover and spread the filling over rice, you may put the meat on top of rice if you like.
11) Place the kabsah in platter, arrange meat and filling on top, serve it with dakkos (tomato salsa), sliced white onion, green chili, sliced lemon, green onion leaves and sliced carrots.
