Chicken Machboos (Kabsa) - الدجاج كبسة

Our friends Ryan & Leah are moving to Dubai so we decided to do a leaving do for them. Obviously, the theme had to be Arabic so everyone brought Arabic/Middle Eastern food. I decided to prepare some Arabic dishes for everyone to enjoy. After 5 hours slaving away in Simon's kitchen [I do love cooking so, wasn't really slaving haha] I came up with 4 dishes including Lamb & Beef Koftas with Yogurt dip, Basbousa, [a semolina sweet], some Tabbouleh and the star dish, Chicken Machboos which is also known as Fogga or Kabsa. 

Chicken Machboos is basically Chicken & Rice cooked the Arabic way. It is full of spices (by the way, the dish is not spicy [hot] at all) and hence full of flavour. It went down a treat with everyone. Me being a purist I had to find an authentic Arabic recipe, so I did and I adapted it for a huge portion for our banquet. The original recipe is from the book "The Complete United Arab Emirates Cookbook" by Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari Copyright © 1994 by Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari. Obviously, if you are cooking for fewer people feel free to use less chicken and rice. One of the most important ingredients of this dish is the Dried black lime aka Loomi which gives it a musty, citrusy flavour (although it is not that overpowering). 

I buy my dried black limes from SousChef. Another ingredient is the Bezar (or Bzar) which is a traditional Arabic spice mix which is very tasty and fragrant. I make my own and you can too (the recipe is below *) but if you cannot find it or do not own a spice grinder do let me know and I will try and maybe I can ship you some. Just drop us an email on ramandaspicypassion@gmail.com

So for a banquet style serving you will need...

• 1.5 - 2kg chicken pieces (use thighs and drumsticks), skin removed
• 3-4 tablespoons bezar (recipe below *)
• salt to taste 
• About 2 litres chicken stock
• 3 fresh tomatoes, deseeded and chopped 
• 8 cloves garlic
• 4 whole dried black limes (loomi)
• 1 large stick cinnamon 
• 10 green cardamom pods
• 1kg Basmati rice
• Smen, ghee or butter, for frying

To serve

• 3 onions, sliced
• 2-3 tablespoons whole blanched almonds
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Dates & raisins [optional]

*To make Bezar spice mixture: In a shallow frying pan, toast the following until fragrant mixing occasionally; 2 tablespoons cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons fennel seeds, 1 large cinnamon stick (broken into 4 pieces), 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns. Leave to cool down and grind into a fine powder in a spice grinder. Transfer into a glass jar; add 1 tablespoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon chilli powder. Put the lid on and give it a good shake. Store in a cool dry place.

How to...

• Rub the skinned chicken pieces with salt and bezar. 
• Gently fry in 2 tablespoons of smen, ghee or butter until brown on both sides. 
• Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a large deep pan add the stock, garlic cloves, dried black limes, cinnamon, green cardamom pods and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. 
• Taste for salt and add the rice. Bring to a gentle boil again on a low heat (don't stir). Now, cover pan with damp cloth and a heavy lid. Leave to steam on low heat, unopened for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and stand uncovered for about 15 minutes before serving.
• In the meantime, fry the onions in 1 tablespoon smen, ghee or butter until golden brown and soft. Remove the onions and set aside add in the same pan add the almonds and stir fry until they are slightly brown.
• Transfer the chicken and rice onto a large platter. Sprinkle the fried onions and almonds on top and serve. If using add some dates and raisins too!!

Enjoy!!

R&A