Chicken Machboos (Bahraini & Emirati Spiced Rice)
چکن مچبوس
Machboos (also spelled majboos) is the everyday celebration rice of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the Emirates. It's close to Saudi kabsa, but with more dried lime, a little more heat and a lovely sweet-savoury topping called *hashu*: onions cooked slowly with raisins, cardamom and a touch of sugar until jammy. The chicken is often browned at the end, and the whole dish is perfumed with rose water and saffron, showing the Persian and Indian links of Gulf trading ports.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 35 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 1 hr 15 min
- Medium
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Brown the chicken in the oil, then lift out. In the same pot fry the chopped onion for 5 minutes, add the garlic, ginger and chillies, then the tomatoes, spices, dried limes, cinnamon and salt, and cook for 5 minutes.
Return the chicken, add the hot water, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Lift out the chicken and keep warm.
Meanwhile make the hashu: cook the sliced onions in 2 tbsp oil on medium-low heat for 20 minutes until soft and golden, then add the raisins, sugar and cardamom and cook for 5 minutes more until jammy.
Measure 4½ cups of stock in the pot, add the rice, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes. Drizzle the saffron-rose water over the top, cover and rest for 5 minutes.
Serve the rice on a platter topped with the chicken and the hashu.
Kitchen notes
Machboos is a little spicier than kabsa; adjust the green chillies to taste.
The hashu can be made a day ahead and warmed before serving.
Fish and prawn machboos are popular in coastal Bahrain and Kuwait; use the same method with a shorter cooking time.
The rice of the Gulf ports
Machboos is the national dish of Bahrain and Kuwait and a favourite in Qatar and the Emirates. These were trading ports for centuries, linked by sea to Persia and India, and machboos shows it: dried limes from Oman, spices from India, saffron and rose water from Persia, all cooked with rice in one pot.
Hashu, the sweet topping
What makes Gulf machboos special is hashu, a topping of onions cooked slowly until golden, then mixed with raisins, a little sugar and cardamom. It adds a sweet, jammy contrast to the savoury rice, similar in spirit to the fried onions and raisins on a festive pulao.
A familiar method
The method is the same as for many pulaos: brown the meat, make a spiced stock with tomatoes and aromatics, then cook the rice in it with a tight lid. South Asian readers will find it very approachable, and it’s milder than biryani.
Serving
Serve on a big platter with tomato salsa, salad and yogurt. Compare it with Saudi kabsa and Yemeni mandi to taste the differences across the region.
Questions people ask
What's the difference between machboos and kabsa?
They're close relatives. Machboos usually has more dried lime, some chilli and ginger, and is often topped with hashu; kabsa is milder and usually topped with almonds and raisins.
Is rose water essential?
No, but a little gives the classic Gulf perfume. Kewra water is a good South Asian alternative.
Can I make it with lamb?
Yes. Lamb machboos is very common; simmer the meat for 1½ hours before adding the rice.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 660
- Protein
- 36 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 80 g
