Chicken machboos is a Middle Eastern dish of spiced rice cooked with chicken broth, topped with roasted chicken and toasted nuts. Absolutely delicious!
What is chicken machboos?
This dish is also known as machboos, a classic dish served in the Gulf countries of the Middle East. Commonly, chicken and meat are both used, as well as seafood versions.
The concept is spiced basmati rice, cooked in a broth with onions and traditional Middle Eastern spices like loomi (preserved limes), cardamom, cloves, turmeric, etc.
Garnished with caramelized onions and toasted nuts, this rice dish is packed with flavor!
Why should I make this dish?
Chicken machboos is a really comforting, delicious dish that serves a family. It’s such a staple of Gulf cuisine. Everyone makes theirs a certain way, and I really like this method!
The combination of fluffy, fragrant basmati rice, with oven crisped chicken and toasted nuts is just delicious.
It’s very easy to find the spices, and not using a ready spice mix gives you flexibility to adjust according to your preferences.
This will feed a crowd, and it’s DEFINITELY a crowd pleaser.
What ingredients do I need to make this dish?
For the chicken stock:
Chicken parts: I used a whole chicken cut into pieces, so that everyone can have their preferred piece of chicken. Use whatever type of chicken you like!
Onions and a green chili pepper: Sautéed in oil, until soft and fragrant.
Whole spices: cardamom pods, cloves, a cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and loomi (or dried preserved black lemon).
Spices: seven spices or all spice, turmeric, salt and pepper round out the spices used to flavor the stock.
Water: Enough to cover the chicken
Tomato Paste: To give the rice a hint of color and some flavor
To oven roast the chicken:
Olive oil, mixed with salt, turmeric powder, onion powder, and a pinch of saffron. It’s optional to use saffron, but I love the hint of flavor and color it gives.
For the rice:
Basmati rice is the type of rice you need for this recipe.Soak the rice for 20 minutes or so, then drain and rinsed until the water runs clear.
Cook the rice with the water used in boiling the chicken (chicken stock).
To garnish:
Onions: that we sauté until golden brown and crispy
Cashew nuts and almond slivers: or any toasted nuts you like, pine nuts would be great too.
Golden raisins: That we toast alongside the nuts.
How to make the best chicken machboos:
- Make the chicken stock by sautéing the onions and a green chili pepper in oil, and adding all the spices. Brown the chicken on all sides, then pour enough water on top to cover along with tomato paste. Boil for 20-25 minutes to make a chicken stock.
- Place the chicken pieces on a roasting pan, and coat with the olive oil spice mixture. Roast at 400 F for 20-25 minutes until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, make the crispy onion, toasted nuts and raisin garnish.
- Strain the chicken stock, and use that to cook the basmati rice.
- Assemble by layering the rice in a serving dish and topping with the chicken pieces and the crispy onions, raisins and toasted nuts.
- Enjoy!
What to serve machboos with:
Machbous is traditionally served with daqous, a spicy tomato sauce. You can get the recipe for that here. I don’t often take the time to make it, and just serve with chili sauce on the side.
This is great with a simple green chopped salad, or with plain yogurt or a yogurt cucumber salad.
Storing leftovers:
Leftover chicken and rice will last 2-3 days tightly covered in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat.
Tips and tricks for machboos success:
- Don’t be afraid of salting each stage of the recipe properly, the chicken stock, the cooked chicken and the rice. You don’t want your machboos to taste bland, keep tasting throughout (After chicken has cooked of course) and adjust seasoning.
- Brown the chicken well in the saucepan before adding the water, this will add a ton of flavor to the stock
- Finish off the chicken in the oven, it’ll make your chicken crisp on the outside and delicious
- Don’t skimp on the toasted nuts and fried onions. Definitely my favorite part of the dish!
- Make sure you let the rice steam for 10 minutes after it’s done cooking so that the rice is fluffy and not mushy. Gently fluff it with a fork after it’s rested for 10 minutes off the heat.
If you liked this recipe, you might like:
Chicken Machboos
Ingredients
To make the chicken stock:
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 1 whole green chili pepper
- 3 cardamom pods
- 3 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 loomi dried black lime
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon all spice or seven spices
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 chicken, cut into pieces
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
To finish the chicken:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- pinch saffron, optional
For the rice:
- 3 cups basmati rice, soaked for 20 minutes and drained
- 4.5 cups chicken broth, from boiling the chicken
- big pinch salt
To garnish:
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup almond slivers
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup cashew nuts
Instructions
To make the chicken stock:
- Preheat the oven to 400 F (200C) for roasting the chicken later.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat, and once hot add the onion. and cook until softened. Add the green chili pepper, and the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, loomi, and bay leaves. Stir for a minute or so, then add the seven spices, turmeric powder, salt, and black pepper and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the chicken pieces, and brown for several minutes on both sides. Pour enough water over the chicken to fully cover, and stir in tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, then turn off the heat.
To finish cooking the chicken:
- Remove the chicken from the sauce pan and place in a roasting pan. Gently pat chicken dry with paper towels. Mix together the olive oil, salt, turmeric and onion powder, then rub this mixture all over the chicken pieces. Roast for about 20-25 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and crispy, and completely cooked through. Set aside.
To make the rice:
- Strain the chicken stock mixture, so you can get rid of any of the whole spices and the onions. Place the rinsed, drained basmati rice back into the clean saucepan, and cover with 4.5 cups strained chicken stock. If you need more liquid, add some water to top up, so that the rice is covered by about 1/2 inch of liquid. Add a big pinch of salt, and stir.
- Bring the rice to a boil, then cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove pan from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Make the garnish and assemble:
- Heat the oil for the garnish in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion slices and cook until deep golden brown and caramelized, around 8 minutes. Remove from skillet to paper towel lined plate.
- In the same skillet, add the almond slivers, cashew nuts and raisins, and toast for a few minutes until nuts turn light golden brown. Immediately remove to another paper towel lined plate.
Faisal says
now that looks very yummy
Farah Abumaizar says
It is! Thanks Faisal!