Kabsa – An Arabian Delight

Remember I mentioned about sharing this with my good old classmates from school. Of the lot a couple of them live in the Middle East. On sharing a few recipes from the blog one of them S tells of a recipe P brought with her during one of their get togethers. And thats the story of the Quick and Easy Kabsa. The traditional Kabsa is slow cooked with stock and a few other spices ( a long list) . This recipe uses the quicker version though. A stock cube. Readymade stock can help when you’re running short of time or stock can be prepared at home ahead and frozen for future use. I decided to try this recipe for lunch. Its a flavorful , great tasting rice   Serve it with any curry of your choice.

 

Recipe

Onion : 1 medium

Tomato : 1 medium

Ginger Garlic paste : 1 tsp

Cinnamon : 2 x 1 inch

Cardamom : 3

Star Anise : 1

Cloves : 3

Chicken Stock : 1 Cube Maggi ( I used Aldi’s low sodium stock cube)

Oil : 2 tsp 

Ghee/Clarified Butter : 2 tsp

Basmati rice : 1 Cup / 250 gms (Cup measures 250 ml)

Mint and Coriander leaves : less than a handful together

 

Method :

Wash and soak the basmati rice for 30 mins.

Grind the tomato and Onion to a paste (original recipe). I chose to chop them up finely

In the meantime, heat up a pressure cooker with the oil and ghee.

Add the whole spices and saute for 30-45 seconds

Add the ginger garlic paste saute till its cooked

Add the onion and tomato paste .Saute till oil separates.

Now add the coriander and mint leaves and one quick fry.

Add the water, crushed chicken stock cube. Add the drained rice

Allow to boil.Check for salt.

 Lower the heat and close with lid of the pressure cooker and let it simmer for approx 10-12 minutes. Turn off the heat

Open the lid after 15 minutes

 

Local Picks

Basmati : Khaas Green pack from the Fair Price Fruit and Vegetable store Findon.