Lamb Kabsa
Traditional aromatic Saudi lamb kabsa.
serves 4 | prep time 20 mins | cook time 1.5-2 hrs
Ingredients
- two medium onions
- 800g - 1kg meat (lamb or beef)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 3 tomatoes
- 2 cups of rice
- 1 bell pepper
- some hot chillies
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 7 cardamon pods
- 8 cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 dried limes
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp tumeric
for the sauce
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 hot chilli
- some corriander or mint
- 1 tsp cumin
- salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Method
- Add the meat to a pan with some olive oil and fry until slightly brown.
- Add the diced onions and whole spices to the pan. Fry on med-low until the onion begins to caramalise.
- Add the chopped garlic and fry for a minute followed by the powdered spices.
- At this point, fry the mixture until the aromatics from the spices are released, then add the tomato paste and cook out for a couple of minutes.
- Dice the tomatoes and add to the pan - cook for 5 minutes until soft.
- Cover the mixture with hot water and cook on medium heat for 1 hour.
- After about 30-40 mins of cooking, prepare the basmati rice. Wash several times and then soak in water for up to 30 minutes then set aside.
- When the meat is tender, remove from the broth and set aside. Then strain the broth through a seive to remove the whole spices.
- Add the meat back to the pan and add the two cups of washed rice.
- Add some salt to taste and throw in some bell peppers and hot chillies, then add 3 cups of the meat broth. Place a lid on the pan and set the heat to high for a few minutes to bring the mixture to a boil. Then simmer on a low heat for 20-30 minutes until the rice absorbs all of the water.
for the fresh tomato sauce
- Slice the fresh ingredients (tomatoes, garlic, chillies and herbs) and blitz with the spices and lemon juice in a food blender.
- Cover and set aside in the fridge.
when the kabsa is ready
- Remove the meat from the rice and set aside. Then on a large serving dish add a layer of rice and top with the meat.
- Serve with the fresh sauce.