Lamb Kabsa
Lamb Kabsa is a quintessential Ramadan dish in our home. It’s my husband’s favorite rice dish and one I love to make and serve for the guests we welcome into our home to break fast with. Kabsa is a dish that originated in Yemen but is enjoyed across the Arabian Gulf, the Middle East and its diaspora. It is heavily spiced and super delicious, the true star of a festive tablescape!
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks, 4-5 lbs
1/4 cup ghee
3 cups Royal® Sella basmati rice
5 1/2 cup water
3 large yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced ginger
4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 dried limes
5 cardamom pods
3 clove
4 cinnamon sticks
3 tsp whole black pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp salt
1 cup chopped cilantro, mint and scallions
3 thai chili peppers, sliced
1 small onion, finely sliced.
1/2 cup toasted almonds, pistachio, pine nuts
Preparation
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add cleaned, trimmed lamb shanks. Boil lamb shanks for 10 minutes to remove impurities. Drain and remove lamb from the pot and set aside.
- In a medium sized pot, heat ghee on medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and cook for five minutes to release liquid.
- Add both whole and ground spices and stir fry for 2 additional minutes.
- Add lamb shanks back into the pot and coat with sauce. Cover with water and allow to come to a boil before reducing to medium-low heat and covering the pot. Allow to cook for 2 hours or until tender.
- Remove lamb and aromatics from the pot and strain the stock using a sieve.
- Sear lamb shanks until evenly browned.
- Add washed Royal® Sella basmati rice and strained stock. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
- Reduce temperature to low, tightly cover the pot and allow Royal® Sella rice to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Turn off heat and allow rice to rest covered for an additional 10 minutes and then fluff with a fork before serving.
- Add in chopped herbs, onion and chili peppers.
- Add to a serving platter and top with seared lamb shanks.
- Garnish remaining toasted nuts, raisins, fried onions and cilantro.
TIP: Kabsa is an amazing stand alone dish, but do try to serve it with salad, yogurt and a hot sauce like a Yemeni sahawag.
