CHICKEN KABSA

Recipe and photo: Sonja Beukes Oosthuizen
One of the dishes we loved to prepare in Saudi Arabia. Flavorful, unique, and delicious. You have a choice to serve the chicken added to the rice in the pot or grill the chicken after cooking and serve it separate from the rice. Either way, still delish.

1 chicken with skin, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups rice
2 cups of water
2 tablespoons oil
1 cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
3 cloves
1 teaspoon garlic and ginger paste
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon red chili powder or to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
1 tin Boerie sweet tomato
4 potatoes, optional
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups of water or more
1 medium sized carrot, grated
a few raisins and pine nuts for garnishing

Soak the rice in the 2 cups of water, place aside.
You will need to use a large pot that can accommodate the chicken and rice.
Start by heating the oil in the pot.
Add the whole spices (cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves) and let it sauté.
Add the ginger and garlic paste, fry it a little before you add the powdered spices and keep stirring.
Add the Boerie tomatoes, chicken, potatoes, if using and some salt.
Sauté the chicken mixture on high heat until it starts to bubble.
Add 3 cups of water and once it starts to simmer, reduce the heat.
Let this simmer on medium heat until the chicken pieces are tender, more or less 30 minutes.
Rinse and drain the soaked rice while the chicken cooks.
Once the chicken is soft, with a slotted spoon, remove the chicken pieces onto a dish and cover it with foil.
Measure the broth, for each cup of rice that you are using, you will need one and a half cup of liquid.
If the broth is not enough, add water to make it equal to what you need.
Add the grated carrots to the broth and bring it to a simmer.
Add the drained rice, let it simmer on medium heat until the liquid reduces and it becomes difficult to stir.
Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
Remove the whole spices (gloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves).
If you prefer the chicken with the rice, now is the time to add the chicken, stir through.
Close the lid tightly, reduce the heat to low and let it steam for 15 – 20 minutes.
If you are not adding the chicken to the rice, but would like it grilled or fried then you can proceed to steam the rice mixture without the chicken.
To grill the chicken, just brush it will oil, place it in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes.
You can also fry it in hot oil, to get a golden crispy texture to it.
Once the rice is cooked, slowly tilt the lid slightly to let the steam escape, (be careful the steam is very hot).
Fry the raisins and pine nuts in a little butter and oil in the meanwhile and pour this onto the rice for garnish.
You can serve this dish with a fresh salad or with a bowl of fresh tomato salsa (tomato and green chilies blended). Enjoy!