recipe: chicken and rice

In Saudi, one of the main dishes is called "kabsa". It's basically lamb and rice or chicken and rice. The original recipe is quite simple. You cook lamb or chicken in water, with spices, onions, and sometimes tomatoes. Then you add the rice once meat is fully cooked. When you serve the dish, the meat is mixed within the rice. I, however, prefer the meat to be separate. So I follow the recipe with my own variations. My family will definitely appreciate this recipe as it is a favorite of theirs. I've made this many times for them and they've asked for the recipe. So for my dear family, this one's for you! ;)

Chicken and Rice

What I use:
~ one small-medium size whole chicken (you can also use breasts only, or even cut up the chicken as you prefer)
~oil of your choice (I use EVOO or sunflower oil)
~one onion (chopped)
~1 tsp cumin
~1 tsp mixed kabsa spice (if you don't have this, no problem, it can be left out)
~1 tsp freshly minced garlic
~salt and black pepper to taste
~4-6 pieces of cardamon
~4-6 whole cloves
~1-2 dry bay leaves
~small piece of whole cinnamon (or one small cinnamon stick)
~1 cup basmati rice (my favorite is called Tilda, which I have found in the US)

What I do:
*side note: I wash all meat before cooking it. Chicken in particular grosses me out in raw form. My awesome housekeeper washes the chicken for me with water and lemon. Just wanted to share...

~Before you begin, boil a kettle of water (you'll need this later)
~In a medium sized pot, cook onions in the oil, stir frequently (I try to use as little oil as possible).

~Add garlic and stir
~Because garlic cooks so fast, I add just a bit of the above mentioned boiled water to prevent burning
~Add chicken (the added water will also prevent the chicken from burning)
~Add salt, black pepper, cumin, and mixed spice
~Time for the boiled water, add boiled water until chicken is almost covered
~Add cardamon, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon and stir well

~Cover and cook on med high for one hour (note: keep lid tilted to allow some air and prevent a boiled over mess, I speak from experience...lol).

~Check and stir occasionally

~Turn the broiler on, and prepare a baking sheet lined with foil (the foil will allow for an easy clean up)

~Once chicken is fully cooked, place on baking sheet and broil until golden (you can spread some tomato paste on the chicken before broiling for a different variation)

~Now, use the chicken broth in your pot to cook the rice. For one cup of rice, you'll need two cups of chicken broth.

~I put one cup of rice in a smaller pot and mix in two cups of chicken broth. You can taste the broth beforehand to see if you'd like to add more salt. (note: wash your rice before cooking, then allow it to soak, the saying here is "the longer you soak, the better the rice").

~If you don't want the onions and loose spices in the rice, you can strain the broth.

~Rice can be a tricky thing to cook. I feel this is because every pot and every stove is different. I have an electric stove so I turn the burner on high to heat it up. I place the pot on the burner and bring the rice & broth to a boil, then turn it down to the lowest setting and leave until liquid is evaporated and rice is fully cooked. I also cover the rice while it's cooking.

~For this meal, I like to saute some veggies as a side dish. On this particular day, I used eggplant, zucchini, and onions. I always make a salad too. I usually chop it up, add some Italian dressing, and toss. I LOVE eating the salad on top of the rice.

Here's the final dish:

ENJOY! :)