Emirati recipe
How to make Machboos
مچبوس
The whole Gulf coast, a favourite for family lunches
Rice cooked in a fragrant stock with chicken, lamb, fish or shrimp, spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric and loomi, the sun-dried lime of the Gulf. It is served on a large platter in the middle of the table.
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken pieces, skin on
- 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 dried limes (loomi), pierced with a knife
- 1 cinnamon stick and 4 cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric and 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon baharat (mixed spice) or a pinch each of black pepper, coriander and cloves
- 400 g basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
- 1 litre hot water or chicken stock
- A handful of fresh coriander, and toasted almonds and raisins to serve (optional)
Method
- Heat the ghee in a large pot and fry the onions until golden. Add the garlic and all the spices and stir for one minute.
- Add the chicken and turn it in the spices for 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes, dried limes and hot water with a little salt.
- Cover and simmer for about 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Lift out the chicken and keep it warm; you can brown it under the grill if you like.
- Drain the rice and stir it into the stock, which should cover it by about 1 cm. Cook uncovered until the liquid has sunk into the rice, then cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes.
- Pile the rice on a large platter, lay the chicken on top and sprinkle with coriander, almonds and raisins.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Machboos is the Gulf name for a dish that Saudis call kabsa; it is often described as a national dish of all the Gulf countries.
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