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Kabsa (Meat and rice)

Spiced rice dish cooked in a meat broth

Course Main Course
Cuisine Arab, Middle Eastern
Keyword Crowd pleaser, Dinner Party, Feast
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 6
Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

For the meat broth

  • 700 g lamb or beef fillet chopped into cubes
  • Drizzle mild olive oil approx 2 tablespoons
  • 1 onion peeled
  • 1 carrot peeled
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 black cardamom pods
  • 3 green cardamom pods
  • 10-15 black peppercorns
  • 5 cloves
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 litres boiling water

For the rice

  • 2 cups rice
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 1 carrot finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon ginger finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoon tomato concentrate

Spices

  • 1 teaspoon kabsa spice
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon 7 spice
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon ground dried lime

Other

  • ½ cup petit pois
  • 2 cups meat broth
  • 1.5 cups boiling water approx 2.5 cups
  • 1 cup assorted nuts lightly toasted
  • small handful fresh coriander cilantro

Instructions

  1. In a non stick pan, lightly toast the assorted nuts until slightly golden. Careful not to burn, remove and set aside.

To make the meat broth

  1. In the same pan, flash fry the meat cubes on high heat for bout five minutes to seal the outsides.
  2. Transfer the meat to the stockpot, along with the whole onion, carrot, stick of celery, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, black and green cardamom pods, cloves bay leaves and salt
  3. Bring to the boil then simmer for an hour., skimming off any fat that develops on the surface

  4. Remove the meat and set aside and pass the liquid through a fine sieve to produce a clear broth

To make the rice

  1. Wash the rice until the water runs mostly clear and soak in a bowl covered with water
  2. In a casserole dish, sauté the finely chopped onion in a drizzle of mild olive oil until golden (approx 10 mins)

  3. Then add the carrots, ginger and garlic and sauté for another five minutes before adding the spices (kabsa, 7 spice, cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika) and the tomato concentrate
  4. Add the cooked meat to the onion spice mix and sauté for a few minutes before draining the rice and adding to the meat
  5. Sauté for another few minutes then add 2 cups of the meat broth and approximately 1.5 cups of boiling water making sure the rice is covered by around 2.5 cm

  6. Add the dried lime, cilantro (fresh coriander), petit pois and approximately a teaspoon of salt depending on how salty the broth is. (Taste to adjust as necessary)
  7. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for another 25 minutes until the rice is cooked and mostly free from moisture
  8. Assemble with the rice on a platter and meat on top and garnish with the assorted nuts.

Recipe Notes

If using a pressure cooker to make the broth, set for 20 minutes.