Healthy Lebanese Kabsa

Kabsa is a dish made from braising and stewing meat with spices, tomatoes, onions and rice. Some people mix more variety of vegetables to make it more like a spanish paella or a rice-based casserole in a pot.
It is usually cooked until the rice absorbs the water and the Kabsa is dry. That, however is not my style.

First I brown some of the onion, adding a bit of grated garlic towards the end. Meanwhile I rub the meat in plenty of spices and allow it to marinade. The most common meat to use is lamb and traditionally it is made with larger chunks of meat, like whole chicken pieces with skin and bone, or lamb shank or shoulder. My family prefers chicken.  I used boneless, skinless free-range chicken breast that I cut into small cubes to allow for a more dispersed flavor and more equal quantity of meat in every serving.

We sear the meat with the onions and then add peeled tomato, some tomato paste and more spices. We then add the water of meat broth and cook until the rice is ready and has soaked up the juices. I usually add carrots and extra water (sometimes also yellow squash if I have it) to keep my kabsa soft and juicy. From start to finish, it takes around 1 hour. I use brown rice, making the cooking time almost double, and very lean chicken. I also use fresh lemon for flavor in the end instead of adding salt to the dish. If fresh lemons are not available, I may use half of a preserved lemon instead. The recipe is below.

Chicken Kabsa

serves 6

Ingredients: 

• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 TB olive oil
• 2lb chicken
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 TB tomato paste
• 1c carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 cups brown rice
• 2.5 cups chicken broth or water
• 1 TB hot chili paste
• juice from 2 lemons
• 1 green onion chopped for garnish

Directions

1. Rub the chicken with the dry spices (cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, paprika, cumin) and set aside. 
2. Sautee 3/4 of the diced onion with oil on medium heat in a large pot until slightly caramelized, about 20 minutes. 
3. Add 3 of the grated garlic cloves and sautee for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.  
4. Remove the onions and garlic from the pot. 
5. To the same oil and pot as the onions were in, add the spiced chicken and sear it for about 3 minutes on each side. 
6. Return the onion/garlic to the pot, adding also the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix these well with the chicken and onions. 
7. Add to this the carrots, brown rice and chicken broth and stir to combine. Boil on medium heat for 20 minutes with the lid on the pot.
8. Add the remaining 1/4 onion, and 1 clove of grated garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove lid and continue to simmer uncovered for the remaining 15 minutes on low if the recipe seems more watery than you prefer.
9. Dish out approximately 1-1.5 cup servings for adults, squeezing lemon over the plate and garnish with green onions to serve.

Nutrition facts for 1 cup of kabsa:
255 total calories, 30gm total carbohydrate, 6 gm fiber, 20 oz protein, 6gm fat
(2 Carbohydrates (1.5 NET carbs), 1 Fat, and 3 protein exchanges)