Quails with Spicy Red Sauce and Cumin Rice

Tasty and easy Arabian gulf main dish - Quails with Spicy Red Sauce and Cumin Rice.

Ingredients


2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 quails, washed and cut into halves lengthwise

For the rice:

2 tablespoons ghee
2 medium onions or 250 g, sliced
1 medium carrot or 150 g, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
3 cubes MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon
4½ cups water or 1125 ml
2½ cups basmati rice or 500 g

For the spicy red sauce:
2 medium tomatoes or 300 g, peeled and pureed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 cube MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon
¼ teaspoon chili powder


Preparation

Heat oil in a large pan and fry quail pieces from both sides until they are golden brown in color from outside and cooked from inside (season quail with salt and black pepper before frying). Remove from oil and set aside.

Heat ghee in a pot and sauté onion slices until they become tender. Add carrot and cumin seeds and stir for seconds.

Add MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon cubes and water. Bring to boil with occasional stirring.

Add the rice and stir occasionally to boil again then cover and let it cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan, stir to boil then simmer over low heat for 3-4 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickens. Add the fried quail to the sauce and simmer for few minutes.

Place rice in a serving plate and the quails with the sauce on top.

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Kabsa

Kabsa is an Arabic favorite rice dish popular in many Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. Because Kabsa is really delicious, it became famous dish in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. This is a meat (lamb) version of the Kabsa recipe.


Ingredients:

2 1/2 kg lamb, large cubes
4 cups basmati rice
1/2 kg carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 green pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 kg tomato, peeled and diced
1 kg finely chopped onion
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 pinch ground cumin
1 pinch ground coriander
salt and black pepper
butter or olive oil (for frying)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Kabsa Spice Mix

1/2 teaspoon saffron
1/4 teaspoon ground green cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground dried limes

Sauce

2 cups water
1 beef stock cube (Maggi)
1 large onion, finely chopped
14 ounces chopped tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup diced celery
salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

Fry meat until browned on all sides. Add enough water to the pot so that it covers the meat by 1.5"-2", bring to a boil then cook gently over medium heat for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until tender. Reserve stock & set meat aside.
Soak rice for 15 minutes. Drain, rise under running water then drain well.
Add butter to a large stock pot or casserole, fry the onion, pepper, carrot & spices. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until tender.
Add rice to vegetables in the pot, cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add meat stock until stock covers rice (approx 1.5" above rice). Cover pot. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until tender - add a little more stock or water if rice seems to become dry.

Sauce:

Fry onion, garlic and tomato in the butter. Add tomato paste, celery, salt, cinnamon, water & stock cube. Cook on medium heat until slightly thickened and celery is tender.
Serve in a large dish or on a platter. Place the rice first, top with meat & garnish with pine nuts. Serve the sauce in a jug with a spoon. Saudies enjoy kabsa with a hot sauce called "shattah".

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Muhammar is a sweet rice and it's one of the most famous Bahraini dishes. Muhammar is a must in the bahraini cuisine as a accompaniment to fish and only Fish. Let's try together this delicious Muhammar recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice, washed
1/4 tsp saffron
2 table spoons rose water
3 cardamom pods, cracked
6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup ghee or butter
1/2 cup sugar

Preparation:

Soak together saffron, cardamom, cloves, and rosewater; leave aside to steep.
Add rice to 6 cups of boiling water: boil to half cooked about 8 minutes; drain.
Stir sugar through the hot rice
Heat the ghee or butter in the same pan the rice was boiled and add the sweetened rice. Sprinkle the rose water mix on top
Cover the rim of pan with a cloth or paper towels and place lid on tightly
Cook over very low heat about 20-25 minutes. Transfer to serving platter.
Top with melted butter.
Best eaten with fried king fish or rabbit fish (safee)

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Machboos

Machboos is a dish of rice & meat, popular in many Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. Here is a version of Machboos recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups water
• 650 g basmati rice
• 3 tomatoes, quartered
• 1-1 1/2 kg chicken
• 3 onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 green hot pepper, as desired
• 2 black dried limes
• 2 teaspoons buharat spice mix
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 slice ginger root, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons rose water
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 teaspoons salt

Preparation:

Cut the chicken in half. Heat the water and leave aside. In a small bowl, mix the spices (garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and cardamom) together and add to the mixture one teaspoon of salt. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture on the chicken halves.
Heat oil in a large cooking pan, fry the onions until golden brown, then add to the pepper and the black limes - you MUST make a hole in each limes.
Add the chicken to the onion mixture and turn it over a few times in the pan. Sprinkle on the chicken a teaspoon of cinnamon and the rest of the mixed spices. Turn the contents all together so the chicken is coated with the spices, cover the pan and let it cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.
Add the garlic, chopped ginger, and tomato cubes to the pan and turn the ingredients in the pan a few times. Cover again for 3 minutes on medium heat. Sprinkle with the rest of the salt and pour on it water while its still hot.Cover the pan and let it cook for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked. Add the copped coriander 5 minutes before you remove the chicken from the stock in the pan. While the chicken is cooking, wash the rice well and soak for 10 minutes in cold water, then drain.Remove the chicken from the pan and put on an oven tray, brush with some oil and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon powder and grill in the oven until the chicken is golden brown.Add the rice to the chicken stock, stir, then let it cook on low heat until the rice absorbs the stock and is almost done.Sprinkle rose water and lemon juice over the rice and place the butter pieces on the top. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
Serve the rice on a large serving plate and place the grilled chicken halves on the top.

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