Recipe: Chicken Kabssa

Chef Alie El Bourji takes us through the recipe to make the popular Arabic Chicken Kabssa.
The Middle Eastern answer to our biryani, it has a mix of spices but no chillies.
It's a dish that will steal your heart at first bite.

Ingredients

• 2 kg whole chicken, cleaned
• 7 gm green elaichi or cardamom
• 20 gm salt

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• 10 gm white pepper
• 3 gm jaiphal or nutmeg
• 2 gm lavang or cloves

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• 5 gm black pepper powder
• 5 gm jeera or cumin seeds
• 1 gm kesar or saffron

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• 300 gm fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 250 gm green capsicum, cut into wedges
• Handful raisins

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• 2 gm black peppercorns
• 5 gm brown dhania or coriander powder
• 150 gm onions, finely chopped

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• 75 gm tomato paste
• 1 kg basmati rice
• 5 cups water, more if required

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• 150 ml vegetable oil
• 5 gm dried lime
• 25 gm pine nuts, roasted

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• 1 gm tej patta or bay leaves
• 2 sticks dalcheeni or cinnamon
• 25 gm almonds, roasted

Method

• Heat the oil in a large thick-bottomed saucepan, over medium heat, and saute the onions, capsicum with the cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, whole black pepper.
  Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes

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• Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, dried lime, the remaining spices, salt, white pepper
  Cook for a couple of minutes, add about 5 cups water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and cook 20 minutes more.
  Add in the rice and mix well.

Method, continued

• Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes and add in more water if required.
  Add the raisins in the last 10 minutes or when the rice becomes tender.
• Serve in a large platter and arrange the chicken pieces on top and garnish with the almonds, pine nuts; Serves 9-10.