Chicken Kabsa (Saudi Spiced Rice with Chicken)
چکن کبسہ
Kabsa is the dish Saudi families gather around on Fridays: a large platter of orange-tinted, spiced long-grain rice with tender chicken or lamb on top, scattered with toasted almonds and raisins. Unlike mandi, everything cooks together in one pot with tomato, onion, carrot and a warm blend of spices called *bharat*, so the rice is rich with flavour. South Asian cooks will find it close to a mild pulao, but the dried lime, cardamom and tomato give it a distinctly Gulf taste.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 30 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 1 hr 10 min
- Easy
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the onions for 8 minutes until golden. Add the garlic, then the chicken, and brown for 6–8 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, grated tomatoes, carrots, all the spices, dried limes and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add the hot water, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is tender.
Lift out the chicken and keep warm (or crisp it under the grill). Measure 4½ cups of the stock in the pot, add the drained rice, bring to a boil, then cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes.
Fluff the rice onto a large platter, place the chicken on top and scatter with the almonds and raisins.
Kitchen notes
Make your own kabsa spice: equal parts cumin, coriander, black pepper, cardamom and paprika, with half parts cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
Grated carrot dissolves into the rice and adds a subtle sweetness; sticks stay visible.
Use the same stock-to-rice ratio for lamb kabsa, simmering the lamb for 1½ hours first.
Saudi Arabia’s national dish
Kabsa is cooked across the Arabian Peninsula and is considered the national dish of Saudi Arabia. It’s the centrepiece of family lunches, weddings and gatherings, served on huge round platters that everyone eats from together. Lamb, camel and chicken versions are all common.
One pot of flavour
The method is straightforward. Meat is browned with onions, then simmered with tomatoes, carrots, dried limes and spices to create a rich, red stock, and the rice is cooked directly in it. Each grain absorbs the colour and flavour. The meat is often browned under a grill at the end for a crisp finish.
Spices you can find anywhere
Ready-made kabsa or baharat spice mixes are sold in Middle Eastern shops worldwide. If you don’t have one, a mixture of garam masala, paprika, cumin and cardamom gets close. Dried limes (loomi) are the one ingredient worth seeking out; a strip of lemon peel is a reasonable substitute.
Serving
Serve on a large platter with tomato salsa, salad and yogurt. For the smoky Yemeni cousin, try chicken mandi; for the Bahraini and Emirati version, try machboos.
Questions people ask
Is kabsa spicy?
No. It's warmly spiced but not hot. Serve the tomato-chilli daqqus on the side for heat.
How is it different from biryani?
Kabsa is cooked in one pot, rice and meat together, with milder spices, no yogurt and no layering. Biryani is layered and much more heavily spiced.
What do I serve with it?
Daqqus (tomato salsa), a green salad, plain yogurt, and dates with Arabic coffee afterwards.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 620
- Protein
- 36 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 74 g
