Day 143: Qatar and Machboos

Good evening, Raffies!

Today we are going to Qatar and we are going to make a dish we had already made Machboos for Bahrain. Today, however, we are going to try a different version of this dish.
This is a common dish in Qatar.

The recipe is easy and quick to make. Here is a video that will help you out.

1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp Baharat spice mix
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp oil
300 g chicken, pieces
1 green chile, sliced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
3 tomatoes, chopped
3 dried limes
1/4 tsp clovers, powdered
4 green cardamom pods
1 stick of cinnamon
1 c basmati rice
2 c chicken stock
rosewater for sprinkling

In a bowl, combine onion, garlic, ginger, preen pepper. In another bowl, mix tomatoes, limes (poke holes in them), cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Separately, mix Baharat and turmeric.
Now heat some oil in a large skillet and fry the chicken pieces until brown and crispy. Remove the chicken and set aside. Now add the ghee to the same skillet and fry the onion, ginger, chile and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, until slightly brown.
Add the Baharat and turmeric mix and cook for another minute. Now add the chicken and the ingredients in the second bowl - tomatoes and spices.
Pour the chicken stock into the skillet and bring to a boil. Cover and let it simmer for around 40 minutes.
Once the time has passed, add the rice. In case you need more water, add a cup or two of water. Cover and leave it simmer for another 15 minutes, until the rice is done. Now and then, stir the mixture. Now sprinkle the dish with some rosewater and serve.

The limes give a great fragrance to this dish. Personally, I decorated it with some pine nuts, raisins and coriander. It was delicious!

Love,

Raffi