This recipe for cooking chicken kabseh with Iranian saffron layers spiced basmati rice with tender chicken, orange, cardamom, cinnamon and toasted almonds.
Chicken kabseh is also widely written as chicken kabsa. Kabsa belongs to Saudi and wider Gulf cooking; this version adds Iranian saffron to the rice and keeps the original orange-and-tomato preparation.
Chicken kabseh ingredients
- Large onion: 1, finely chopped
- Garlic: 4 cloves, finely chopped
- Basmati rice: 3 cups; the old ingredient list renders the unit as 3 servings
- Chicken: 1 kilogram, cut into pieces
- Leek: 30 grams, chopped
- Green cardamom: 6 pods
- Cinnamon stick: 1
- Orange juice: 1/5 cup
- Ground saffron: 1/4 teaspoon
- Ground red pepper: 1 teaspoon
- Bay leaves: 2
- Tomato paste: 1 tablespoon
- Prepared chicken stock: 3 scoops, as listed in the original recipe
- Butter: 100 grams, divided if you want extra for the rice
- Turmeric: 1/2 teaspoon
- Toasted almond kernels: 2 tablespoons
- Salt and ground black pepper: as needed
- Cooking oil: a small amount
Brown the chicken with onion and garlic
Melt most of the 100 grams of butter with a small amount of oil in a heavy pot. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft and lightly golden. Stir in the 4 cloves of garlic and cook just until fragrant.
Add the 1 kilogram of chicken pieces. Brown them with the onion and garlic, turning so several surfaces meet the pot. Add the 30 grams of chopped leek and cook briefly.
Add the kabseh spices and stock
Stir in the 1 teaspoon of red pepper, 6 cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 2 bay leaves, black pepper and a measured amount of salt. Fry the spices briefly in the butter without allowing the garlic to burn.
Add the 3 scoops of prepared chicken stock and raise the heat until it boils. Lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the chicken is tender and safely cooked. If you use concentrated stock, dissolve it in the equivalent amount of boiling water rather than adding the concentrate dry.
Check the thickest chicken pieces with a clean thermometer. The CDC food-safety guide gives 165°F (74°C) for poultry. Once reached, lift out the chicken and keep it covered. Remove the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and bay leaves from the cooking liquid.
Build the orange, tomato and saffron rice base
Rinse the basmati rice until the water runs clearer, then drain. Put 3 1/2 cups of water in a clean heavy pot and bring it to the boil. Add the 1/5 cup of orange juice.
In a small pan, fry the 1 tablespoon of tomato paste in a little oil until its colour deepens and the raw smell fades. Stir it into the orange water.
Bloom the 1/4 teaspoon of ground saffron in 2 tablespoons of boiling water, then add it to the pot with salt. The liquid should be evenly coloured before the rice goes in.
Cook and steam the basmati rice
Add the drained basmati rice to the boiling liquid. Keep it at a controlled boil until the liquid drops below the surface and steam holes begin to appear. Avoid an uncontrolled high flame: quick evaporation should not come at the cost of scorched rice.
Turn the heat to low, cover the pot and let the rice steam for about 30 minutes. Basmati is a long-grain rice that suits this absorption method. Iranian long-grain rice can also be used, but its absorption and cooking time may differ, so check the grains earlier.
If you prefer richer rice, melt the remaining butter or warm a little oil and pour it evenly over the surface near the end of steaming.
Assemble and serve chicken kabseh
Fluff the saffron rice gently and spread it on a warm serving dish. Arrange the cooked chicken pieces over the top and scatter the 2 tablespoons of toasted almond kernels across the rice.
The rice should remain separate rather than wet, with orange, tomato and saffron supporting the cardamom and cinnamon. Serve the chicken kabseh while the chicken is warm and the almonds still have texture.
What defines this version?
Saudipedia describes Saudi kabsa as a rice dish made with meat or chicken and notes its wider Gulf name, makbous. The older article called this an Iranian dish; the accurate description is a chicken kabsa variation finished with Iranian saffron.
- The chicken cooks first with onion, leek, stock and whole spices.
- The cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves are removed before serving.
- Orange juice, fried tomato paste and bloomed saffron flavour the rice liquid.
- The rice steams for about 30 minutes after the liquid is absorbed.
- Chicken is arranged over the rice and finished with toasted almonds.
Chicken kabseh with Iranian saffron remains recognisably kabsa: spiced rice and chicken presented together on one dish. The saffron adds a Persian ingredient to that established Saudi and Gulf form without changing its identity.
