Asalamualykum and Ramadan Mubarak everybody. I have collected more then a few recipes of kabsa which is very popular in the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia and other Arabic speaking countries. I have looked this up and decided to do an easy way of making this dish.
I cooked majority of it in the oven except for doing several things on stovetop before moving it in to the oven. Add 1/4 cup of oil of corn, canola, avocado, grapeseed, olive, sunflower, safflower or peanut to a roasting pan on stovetop. Peel wash and cut 1 onion in to half moon slices and add this to the oil and fry until brown.
Preheat oven to 350F or 180C. In mortar and pestle add 1 each of broken piece of cinnamon, small piece of dried lime or lemon peal, black and green cardamom, 2 cloves, 1 pinch each of seeds of fennel, coriander, cumin, black peppercorns, some grated nutmeg about a pinch worth, grind in to a coarse powder and set aside.
Add 1 handful of nuts of choice which can be cashews which I used, almonds pistacios, peanuts, walnuts, or pecans, 4 cloves of garlic that has been peeled washed and minced, 1 small piece of ginger that has been washed peeled and minced, fry these until a little brown, 1 handful of either raisins or dried currents. Let this brown, add 1 pinch each of saffron, red chili powder or 1 red chili crumbled, white pepper, turmeric, paprika, orange slivers, the contents from mortar and pestle, 1 bullion cube, 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma. Add 1 tomato washed and chopped cook until mushy.
Stir to combine everything to make it a very spicy base. While doing this go ahead and parboil 3 cups of either white or brown basmati rice in 2 liters or 1/2 gallon of water for 5 minutes, 1 cup of carrots julliened and 2 tbs of tomato paste are optional.
To the spicy base add 1 kg or lb of goat, lamb, chicken, beef, veal, shrimp peeled and deveined, mince of chicken, beef, lamb, goat, turkey veal either loose or be used to make meatballs by using rice flour and binding and fried. If you are using fish fry this first before adding to the rice by dipping it in to all purpose unbleached flour and fry before adding the onion if using this for kebsa.
The loose mince and the pieces of meat or chicken can stay right where it is. Just brown this in the spicy mix and place it in the oven for 30 minutes. Back to the rice take the rice and drain the water off of the rice and let it sit until this meat is ready to come out of the oven.
If using meat and chicken turn and repeat. When done add the rice to the roasting pan with the meat or whatever you are using by folding and stirring until everything is combined. If making with meatballs or fried fish which goes in last to keep it from breaking. Add 3 cups of water to the rice and stir then place back in the oven and let cook for 25 minutes. If the kernals are still a little tough repeat the process again and then turn off the oven and let sit for 25 minutes before eating.
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