Chicken kabsa
Middle Eats · ♥ 7.3K likes · 235.8K views · 10 min video
Read about whole bird in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 1 whole whole chicken
- 2 whole onions
- 1 whole black lemons
Break the chicken down into four pieces, dice two onions medium to large and crush one to two black lemons in a pestle and mortar.
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp black lemon powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cloves
Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pot over medium and saute the diced onions about five minutes.
- 30 g tomato paste
Add the salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, paprika, black lemon powder, cinnamon, cloves and the tomato paste, and fry the mixture 2 to 3 minutes.
- 400 g chopped tomatoes
Add the four chicken pieces and stir to coat evenly, then add the chopped tomatoes.
- 250 ml water
- 2 cloves garlic
Add the water and the garlic cloves, bring to a simmer on high, then cover and simmer on medium 25 minutes.
- 4 whole onions
Remove the chicken and strain the broth through a strong sieve, squeezing as much liquid as possible out of the vegetables.
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 whole black lemons
- 1 whole cinnamon quill
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 5 whole cardamom pods
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 whole bay leaves
In the empty pot heat two tablespoons of oil over medium and fry the whole spices - black lemons, cinnamon quill, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves and bay leaves - about two minutes until fragrant.
- water
- 30 g tomato paste
Add half the sliced onions, saute a couple of minutes, deglaze with a small splash of water and saute 5 to 8 minutes until completely softened.
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 cup basmati rice
Add the tomato paste and salt, then the washed basmati rice, mix to a uniform colour and flatten into a level layer.
- 2 whole red chillies
- 2 whole green chillies
Prick the red and green chillies and lay them on the rice, then pour in the red stock until the rice is just submerged, keeping some stock back for the chicken.
- 40 g giant raisins
Bring to a light boil on medium high, cover with a tight fitting lid and boil about two minutes until the liquid is absorbed, then steam on low 20 minutes.
- 40 g golden sultanas
- 150 g carrots
Topping: soak the raisins and sultanas in water at least an hour, shred the carrots on a large grater.
- 60 g slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp butter
Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pot over medium and fry the slivered almonds 3 to 4 minutes until light brown, then drain on paper towel.
- 70 ml vegetable oil
Clean the pot, heat 70 ml of vegetable oil over medium-high and fry the remaining two sliced onions 10 to 12 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until deep dark brown; drain on paper towel and discard any that are charred.
- ½ tsp black lemon powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
Combine the shredded carrots, toasted nuts, fried onions and drained dried fruit; mix the topping spices with about a tablespoon of oil into a slurry, pour it over and mix thoroughly.
Mixing the topping
Place the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and coat the skin liberally with the remaining stock.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 180 C, 350 F, until the skin is glazed and crispy.
Spread all the topping over the cooked rice, cover and let the residual steam cook it 5 to 10 minutes until the carrots partially wilt, then lift the topping off and fluff the rice with a fork.
- parsley leaves
Pile the rice on a platter, add a layer of the topping, then the chillies and the glazed chicken, and garnish with more nuts and a few parsley leaves.
Plating and shortcuts