I did learn something right off the bat which might interest mom. While I was cooking this chicken-containing dish she asked if they even ate chicken there. Well of course they did if I had found it in their recipes, what I didn't know was that Saudis consume the most chicken per person than anyone else in the world. Well according to Wikipedia and a website all about chicken at least. According to this though, they even beat us despite our love affair with chicken wings and Superbowl Sunday. One thing to note about Saudi Arabia is that alcohol is banned so if you're looking for a country known for its alcohol, this one is out.
I was also curious about the climate there, when I think of Saudi Arabia I think of the planet Tatooine from Star Wars - sand, sand and more sand. Did I mention hot?
Well that was pretty accurate from my research, although there are regions that have slightly cooler climates. In fact, between the Red Sea and Persian Gulf temperatures reach no more than about 38C (Oh, that's only 100F) with humidity levels between 85 and 100%. I couldn't even imagine living there, I'm pretty sure I would die. So if that's the "cooler climate" I wondered just how hot does it get everywhere else? Well in the summer it can get up to 54C, that's 130F! Um, no thank you, that's more than fifty degrees past my comfort level. Even in spring and autumn temperatures reach about 85F, so if you ever have any desire to visit this place, go during those times. Now I don't want to be biased against this place, but so far I'm not too thrilled about ever visiting. Perhaps it will redeem itself through my stomach?
One of the iconic Saudi dishes is kabsa, which is exactly what I made for this dish. Kabsa can be made with lamb or chicken which is cooked with rice. One thing to note about this dish, there are lot of spices in it so if you don't have a well stocked spice collection, be prepared to have to buy them. Despite the extensive list of spices required, the dish is one of the easiest I've had to make yet, stick some chicken in a pot, add some veggies and spices, add rice, let simmer and done. Not much to it other than that. The chicken was nice and moist and does cook to the point where it comes away from the bone easily and the rice does have an interesting flavor. Interesting not necessarily delicious, but not bad either.
Not sure I liked it enough to eat again or not. I'll have to eat the leftovers tomorrow and decide whether I like the slight cinnamon and nutmeg flavors coming through. I mean I ate it, but I might hold off on some of the spices if I make this again. I felt like I couldn't keep track of them all when I took a bite it felt like they were all screaming for my attention. I mean I like the general idea of the dish, I'm just not sure about how many spices you could possibly pack into one dish without feeling overwhelmed with flavor. I'm not sure, I'm on the fence on this one.
Pardon the giant gash in my chicken, I had to make sure it was done.
Serving Size: 1
ReplyDelete1/4 cup butter
3 lbs chicken, any piece of the chicken will work
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato puree
14 ounces diced tomatoes, un-drained (or fresh)
3 medium carrots, grated
2 whole cloves (or just add a smidgen of ground cloves)
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1 pinch ground cumin
1 pinch ground coriander
salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 cups hot water
1 chicken stock cube
2 1/4 cups basmati rice (I used long grain rice, there was no way I was paying $8 for basmati rice and it looked the same)
1/4 cup raisins-omitted
1/4 cup slivered almond, toasted -omitted
2 1/2 tsp. Kabsa Spice Mixspice mix which consists of:
1/2 teaspoon saffron-didn’t have, omitted
1/4 teaspoon ground green cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground dried limes-didn’t have, also omitted
If you can find all the spices, perhaps the dish would be better.
Melt butter in a large stock pot, casserole or dutch oven. Add chicken pieces, onion & garlic & sauté until onion is tender. Stir in tomato puree & simmer over a low heat for a couple of minutes.
Add tomatoes, carrots, cloves, all the spices & salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the water & broth cube. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Add rice to the pot & stir carefully. Re-Cover & simmer for 35 – 40 minutes – adding the raisins for the last 10 minutes – or until rice is tender. Place the rice on a large serving dish, topped with the chicken & garnished with almonds. Saudis like their Kabsa with a hot sauce called ‘Shattah’. If you want your chicken brown you can stick it in the oven before adding the rice, I was feeling too lazy to do this and just kept it in the pot.