Chicken kabsa
Saudi-style spiced chicken and basmati rice cooked together in one pot with tomato and warm spices, topped with toasted almonds and plump raisins.
- 70 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.69 a serving
- 600 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 1¼ lb chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp ghee, divided
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Roma tomato, diced
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- ¼ cup almonds, chopped
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 2¼ cups water
Each serving has about 600 calories, 41 g protein, 73 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.69 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No ghee? Butter works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No shredded carrots? Carrots work.
- No raisins? Dried cranberries work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice until the water runs clear, then soak it in cold water for 15 minutes and .
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Timer: 15 min
Mix the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric and pepper. the chicken with half the spice mix and ½ teaspoon of salt, and wash your hands and board.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat 1½ tablespoons of ghee in a large pot over medium-high and the chicken 4 to 5 minutes, until on most sides. Move it to a plate.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Turn the heat to medium, add the onion, and cook 5 minutes, until .
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
in the garlic, tomato paste and the rest of the spice mix for 1 minute, then add the tomato, carrot and bay leaves.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in the water, in the bouillon, add the rest of the salt and the chicken, and bring it .
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
in the rice, cover, turn the heat to low, and cook 20 minutes without lifting the lid, until the rice is tender and the chicken reads 165°F.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Low heatTimer: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep the lid on. The steam is doing the work, and every peek lets it out.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
While it cooks, toast the almonds and raisins in a small with the last of the ghee over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, until the almonds are and the raisins puff.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Take out the bay leaves, fluff the rice, and scatter the almonds, raisins and parsley over the top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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