Madjboos Didjaadj
Chicken Machboos
Machboos, a dish of spiced meat and rice, is Kuwait's national dish, as well as that of Bahrain and Qatar, and, under one name or another, it's popular throughout the Arabian peninsula. While the exact origin of the dish is unknown, it's clearly a close cousin of pilaf and biryani, and the use of dried limes in the dish does suggest it originally came from Persia. Indeed, it's dried limes which makes this dish distinctive from its cousins. These are now easy to find online, but ultimately they just work to add some acidity to the dish.
In Kuwait, Machboos seems to be in a state of evolution. I found a plethora of recipes for it online, some showing very distinct South Asian influences while others having more of a Mediterranean bent. As Kuwait's population is now mostly composed of foreign workers, which includes cooks for Kuwaiti families, this is not at all surprising.
As it's my habit whenever I encounter many different recipes for a dish, I combined several of them. I tried to stay with what are likely to be the most traditional spices used in Kuwait, though I did use some tomato paste, which is more common in Saudi kabsa. The results were pretty good, but not extraordinary. It was a satisfying dish, but not particularly better than other pilafs I've made over the years. Indeed, I had the same reaction about the Bahraini Machbous I made now decades ago.
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Chicken Machboos
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs and/or drumsticks (~4-5 lbs)
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp cooking oil, divided
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 star anise (optional)
- 5 green cardamon pods
- 5 cloves (optional)
- 3 red onions, chopped, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)
- salt & black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamon
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 3 dried limes
- 2-3 cups hot water
- 3 cups long grain rice, rinsed
- 1/4 tsp ground saffron or pounded saffron threads.
- 1/3 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds.
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
Directions
Rinse and pat dry the chicken parts. Set aside.
Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a large sauté pan or saucepan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, star anise, cardamon pods and cloves and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add 2 chopped onions and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the tomato sauce and sauté 2 minutes more, stir well.
Add the chicken and lightly brown on both sides. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add the cumin, coriander, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ground cardamon, ground allspice and ground turmeric. Add the dry limes. Add enough hot water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, cover then lower the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Transfer the chicken parts to the prepared baking sheet, leaving the broth in the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour a couple of ladles of broth into a small bowl. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon and the saffron. Spoon some of this liquid onto the prepared chicken parts. Place in the oven and roast until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the dried limes, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, star anise, cardamon pods and cloves from the broth and discard. Bring broth back to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the rice. Add the remaining saffron/cinnamon liquid. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for another 5 minutes. Fluff using a fork.
While the chicken and rice is cooking, heat 1/2 Tbsp of oil on a skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts or almonds and toast, stirring constantly, until golden. Remove from the pan.
Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil to the same pan. Add the remaining chopped onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the raisins, increase heat to high, and sauté, stirring constantly, until they start to caramelize, 1 to 2 minutes.
Once chicken is ready, transfer to the broiler, and broil until the skin crisps - about 2 minutes.
Transfer rice to a serving platter. Place the chicken pieces on top and garnish with pine nuts and the onion-raising mixture.
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Adapted from several recipes.
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