Chicken Kabouli Interior Style Food

CHICKEN KABOULI (MUSCAT STYLE)

Steps:

• Place the chicken and water in a large pot and bring to a boil; add cinnamon, spices, Omani spice mix and bouillon.
• Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes; remove chicken, then drain and reserve stock.
• Return 9 cups of the stock to the pot, adding additional water if needed; return to a boil, stir in rice, then cook 10 minutes; drain.
• Melt the ghee in the pot, saute chickpeas and raisins for 2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Return the chicken to the pot, add the rice, sprinkle with the saffron and rose water, add chickpeas and raisins, cover, and coom u til the rice is tender, 25 minutes.

CHICKEN KABULI PULAO (AFGHANISTAN)

Steps:

• Place chicken pieces, onions and hot water in a large pot.
• Cover and simmer for about 1 hour.
• Add salt to taste.
• Remove chicken, reserving stock & discard cooked onions.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Heat 2 tbs of the butter over medium high heat and fry chicken pieces containing bones, salting as needed.
• Boil a large amount of water with sea salt and cook the rice in it for exactly 8 minutes. Set aside in a pot until ready to assemble.
• Make stock sauce:
• Brown onions in butter and remove from heat.
• Add cardamom cumin, freshly ground black pepper & saffron liquid and mash with onion to form a paste.
• Add about 1/2 pt of the chicken stock; simmer for 5 minutes and taste for seasoning.
• Combine cooked rice, stock sauce as needed (I don't find it became a sauce so I added the onion paste with some broth as needed to finish cooking the rice) and chicken; place in a buttered casserole. Cover.
• Fry carrot matchsticks in 1/2 tbs butter and add dark raisins to them at the very end.
• Sprinkle partially cooked carrot matchsticks and raisins on top of chicken and rice and cover tightly with aluminum foil or cover.
• Place in oven for 35 minutes.
• Chopped toasted pistachios or slivered almonds may be added over the dish just before serving if so wished.
• There most probably will be left over stock that is very good even as a soup on it's own and probably served that way in an Afghani household.
• Enjoy!

CHICKEN KABULI (MURGH KABULI)

Steps:

• Buzz the garlic, ginger, tomatoes and yogurt in a food processor until they are a fine purée.
• Combine the oil and the puréed mixture in a large heavy-bottomed pan, preferably one with a non-stick surface. Place the pan over medium-high heat, and cook -- stirring constantly to prevent sticking and burning -- until the mixture reduces to a thick sauce and the fat begins to separate (about 15 minutes). It splatters some toward the end, so stay alert.
• Add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring rapidly, until they lose their pink colour and begin to sear slightly (about 5 minutes), but do not let them brown.
• Add the mace, nutmeg, almonds, cardamon, cumin, coriander, fennel and salt, and mix well.
• Reduce heat, cover the pan and let the chicken cook in its own juices for 15 minutes.
• Uncover and continue cooking for another 15 minutes (or until the chicken is fork tender).
• Stir in the cream, black pepper and cilantro/coriander leaves, and turn off heat.
• Let the dish rest, covered, for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, reheat thoroughly, check for salt and serve.