Chicken machboos, also known as kabsa in some regions, is a popular Middle Eastern chicken and rice dish flavoured with smokey, earthy spices and a tartness from dried black lemons.
Chicken machboos is an absolutely delicious comforting chicken and rice dish popular throughout the Arabian Gulf.
Machboos differs from biryani in that the chicken or meat is not first marinated in a yogurt mixture, plus the dish is prepared with a slightly different combination of spices.
Also, unlike biryani, machboos is not known as a spicy dish but you can certainly adjust the level of heat by adding the optional green chillies (see recipe card).
Machboos can also be prepared with red meat or seafood and you can do the same by switching out chicken for your choice of protein (remember to adjust cooking times accordingly – seafood cooks quickly while red meat takes longer), then continue to follow the recipe below.
The chicken is first browned before adding to a pan containing a smokey, tangy tomato based sauce.
The sauce is made with a blend of Middle Eastern spices and loomi, or dried black limes which come from Oman, giving the dish its characteristic tartness.
You should be able to find a bag of dried black limes at your local Middle Eastern or Indian grocery shop.
We like to season the washed rice by stirring in a little baharat spice mix before cooking as this adds extra flavour to the dish.
Rice is stirred into the pan, then it is covered and everything slowly cooks together till the rice is tender.
Serve the machboos with a cooling side of raita or cacik.
If you love the rich flavours of this dish why not try our recipe for zigni which can also be made with chicken, beef, lamb and goat meat.
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Ingredients
These are the ingredients you will need:
- chicken pieces – we recommend keeping the skin on while roasting or grilling for succulent chicken. You can always remove the skin after roasting if you wish.
- onions
- garlic
- ginger
- green chillies – if you like it spicy (optional).
- tomatoes – canned or chopped fresh tomatoes.
- baharat spices
- turmeric
- dried black limes – for tartness, slice in half for maximum flavour. Find it in your local Middle Eastern grocery shop.
- salt
- water
- rice – a long grain rice such as basmati.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step-by-step instructions for making machboos:
Roast whole spices on a low heat.
Then mix with other ground spices to make the baharat spice mix.
Rub chicken pieces with baharat spices and a little salt.
Arrange in an oven proof dish and roast till the skin is golden. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this stage.
Brown the onions in ghee then add ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt and some of the baharat spices.
Add tomatoes, water and blend.
Add the dried lime halves and arrange the chicken over the top. Cover and cook on low heat.
The chicken should have a sauce at this stage.
Tip: slice the dried limes in half for maximum flavour.
Season the rice with baharat spice.
Mix the rice into the chicken and sauce then cover and simmer on low heat till the rice is tender.
Serve warm with a side of raita or cooling cucumber yogurt.
Helpful tips
Here are our tips for best results every time:
- leave the skin on the chicken so it remains succulent when roasted. You can always remove it after roasting if you wish.
- rub baharat spice and salt under the skin for flavour
- (optional) cover and chill for 30 minutes to 12 hours. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
- roast or grill the chicken till the skin is golden – it doesn’t need to be fully cooked through as it will continue cooking in the pot.
- wash the rice, then drain and season with spices to give a delicious flavour to the rice.
- we use a cast iron dutch oven to make the machboos but a large heavy bottomed saucepan, for good heat distribution, with a lid would also work.
- you can roughly chop the onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies as they will be blended later for the sauce.
- add the baharat spices, tomatoes and salt then blend to make a smooth sauce before adding chicken and halved dried limes.
- you may like to add some vegetables such as chopped carrots and/or potatoes when adding the chicken.
- garnish and serve warm with a side of raita or cacik.
Storing leftovers
Keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month then thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheat in a saucepan on low heat with a tiny amount of water so the machboos doesn’t dry out. As with all chicken dishes, once reheated do not reheat again.
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📋 Recipe
Chicken Machboos
Ingredients
Chicken rub
- 8 pieces chicken (2 baby chickens cut into 4 pieces), skin on
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
Machboos
- 2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
- 2 large onions diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger chopped
- 2 green chillies chopped (optional)
- 5 tablespoons baharat spice mix divided into 3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 400 g tomatoes 15 oz. or fresh chopped tomatoes
- 2 dried black limes washed and sliced in half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 500 ml water 2 cups
- 800 g basmati rice 4 cups, washed and drained
Baharat spice mix
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 5 cloves
- 2 green cardamom pods
- ½ teaspoon salt
Garnish (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
Instructions
Chicken rub
- Mix together ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon paprika and 1 teaspoon salt and rub over 8 pieces chicken (under the skin) then set aside
- (Optional) cover and chill for 30 minutes to 12 hours. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
Baharat spice mix
- In a small saucepan on medium heat, dry roast 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 5 cloves and 2 green cardamom pods for 2 minutes till fragrant. Combine with 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg and ½ teaspoon turmeric then set aside.
Machboos
- Arrange the chicken in an oven proof baking dish and roast at 230℃/450℉ for 25 minutes till skin turns golden (it doesn't need to be properly cooked though at this stage).
- Meanwhile in a medium bowl mix the rice with 2 tablespoons baharat spices and set aside.
- In a large dutch oven or heavy bottom saucepan on medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons ghee, add chopped 2 large onions, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally till softened and brown.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 2 green chillies, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons baharat spices. Saute for 1 minute then add 400 g tomatoes, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in 500 ml water and use a stick blender to blend to a smooth sauce. Add the halved 2 dried black limes then arrange browned chicken pieces over the top, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the seasoned 800 g basmati rice, replace the cover and cook for another 20 minutes. Garnish with 2 tablespoons fresh parsley 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds then serve warm with a side serving of raita.
Notes
Helpful tips
- leave the skin on the chicken so it remains succulent when roasted. You can always remove it after roasting if you wish. If you are using chicken without skin, take care not to overcook or it’ll become dry.
- rub baharat spice and salt under the skin for flavour
- roast or grill the chicken till the skin is golden – it doesn’t need to be fully cooked through as it will continue cooking in the pot.
- we use a cast iron dutch oven to make the machboos but you can use a large heavy bottomed saucepan for good heat distribution with a lid.
- you can roughly chop the onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies as they will be blended later for the sauce.
- use a stick blender to make a smooth sauce for best flavour.
- you may like to add some vegetables such as chopped carrots and/or potatoes when adding the chicken.
- season the rice with baharat spices for tasty rice.
- serve warm with a side of raita or cacik.
ADD NOTES
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically and accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The information above is an estimate per serving.
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