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Kabsa (Saudi Spiced Rice with Chicken)

Name: Kabsa (Saudi Spiced Rice with Chicken)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Saudi
Ingredients: 1.2 kg Chicken; 600 g Basmati rice; 2 Onions; 5 cloves Garlic; 2 Tomatoes; 2 tbsp Tomato paste; 1 Carrot; 5 tbsp Ghee or oil; 1.2 L Water or chicken stock; 2 Bay leaves; Salt; 2 Dried limes (loomi); 1 tsp Black peppercorns; 6 Cloves; 5 pods Green cardamom; 1 piece Cinnamon stick; 1 tsp Cumin and coriander seed; 1 tsp Paprika and turmeric; 0.25 tsp Nutmeg; 50 g Flaked almonds; 30 g Pine nuts; 50 g Raisins; 2 tbsp Butter; 3 Boiled eggs; Daqqus

Saudi Arabia's national dish: basmati cooked in a spiced tomato broth, topped with chicken browned separately until glossy and a scatter of butter-fried nuts and raisins. Dried lime is what makes it kabsa rather than spiced pilaf, and measuring the broth to 1.5× the rice is what keeps the grains separate.

Ingredients

6servings

Chicken · in 4–6 pieces; thighs alone work well1.2 kg
Basmati rice · rinsed and soaked 30 minutes600 g
Onions · finely chopped2
Garlic5 cloves
Tomatoes · grated2
Tomato paste2 tbsp
Carrot · coarsely grated1
Ghee or oil5 tbsp
Water or chicken stock1.2 L
Bay leaves2
Salt · season the broth assertively
The essential one
Dried limes (loomi) · from a Middle Eastern grocer; without them this is just pilaf2
Kabsa spice (baharat kabsa)
Black peppercorns1 tsp
Cloves6
Green cardamom5 pods
Cinnamon stick1 piece
Cumin and coriander seed · each1 tsp
Paprika and turmeric · each1 tsp
Nutmeg0.25 tsp
To finish
Flaked almonds50 g
Pine nuts30 g
Raisins50 g
Butter · for frying the nuts2 tbsp
Boiled eggs · halved3
To serve
Daqqus · blended tomato and chili sauce

Steps

Toast the whole spices in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind them into kabsa baharat. Or substitute 2 tbsp of a shop-bought blend.
⏲ 8 min
Brown the chicken hard in ghee in a wide pot, then lift it out.
⏲ 8 min
In the same pot, cook the onion 8 minutes, add the garlic and grated carrot, then the tomato paste and fry it 3 minutes to cook out the raw edge. Add the grated tomato and half the baharat and cook 5 minutes more.
⏲ 15 min
Return the chicken and add the water, bay leaves and the dried limes, pierced with a knife or cracked open. Simmer 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked, then lift the chicken out.
⏲ 30 min
Measure the remaining broth and bring it to 1.5 times the volume of rice — top up or reduce as needed. Salt it assertively; the rice takes all its seasoning from this liquid.
⏲ 5 min
Drain the soaked rice and add it with the rest of the baharat. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat 18–20 minutes. Don't stir. Off the heat, rest 10 minutes.
⏲ 30 min
Meanwhile rub the chicken with a little ghee and baharat and put it under a hot broiler for 10–15 minutes. One pot can't finish glossy chicken and fluffy rice at once — which is why the chicken is browned separately.
⏲ 15 min
Fry the almonds, pine nuts and raisins in butter until golden. Spread the rice on a platter, arrange the chicken around it, add the halved eggs and tomato, and scatter the nuts and raisins. Serve with daqqus.
⏲ 5 min

Tips & Variations

Variations

Lamb kabsa: Lamb shoulder gives a much deeper broth, but needs an hour and a half of simmering.
Prawn kabsa: Common in Gulf coastal cities. The prawns go on top when the rice is nearly done and cook through during the rest.
Mandi: The Yemeni cousin, where the meat hangs in a pit oven and smokes as it cooks before going on the rice. Similar spicing, different aroma.
Maqluba: The Levantine "upside-down" version, turned out of the pot onto the platter.
Making daqqus: Blend 3 tomatoes, 2 chilies, a garlic clove, salt and a splash of vinegar and simmer 5 minutes. It cuts through the rich rice and is well worth making.

Tips

Dried lime (loomi) is what makes this kabsa. It's a fermented, dried sourness with a faint smokiness, and without it no amount of spice-blending gets you past "spiced rice with chicken." Middle Eastern grocers stock it, and it must be pierced or cracked open to release anything. If you truly can't find it, add lime zest and juice at the end — knowing it isn't the same thing.
Measure the broth to 1.5× the rice. Eyeballed, you get either mush or crunch. Kabsa should be separate grains.
Don't stir once the rice is in. Stirring releases starch and the grains clump.
Brown the chicken separately. Under the broiler during the rice's 20 minutes it costs no extra time and gives you the glossy skin in the photo. Finished in the pot, the skin goes soft.
Fry the tomato paste for 3 minutes. Skip it and a raw tomato edge carries through into the rice.
Don't skip the nuts and raisins. They're contrast in texture and sweetness, not decoration — fried in butter and added last so they stay crisp.
Widely regarded as Saudi Arabia's national dish and served to guests across the Gulf, traditionally from one large platter shared by hand.

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