Skoudehkaris

Ingredients

Meat and base

• 800 glamb or goat shoulder on the bone, in 4 cm pieces
• 4 tbspvegetable oil or ghee
• 2large onions, finely sliced
• 6garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 4ripe tomatoes, grated
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• 2green chillies, split

Spices

• 6green cardamom pods, cracked
• 1cinnamon stick
• 4cloves
• 2 tspground cumin
• 2 tspground coriander
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 2 tspsalt

Rice

• 500 gbasmati rice, rinsed and soaked 20 minutes
• 1 Lwater or the reserved meat broth
• 1 tbspghee, to finish

To serve

• 2limes, in wedges
• basbaas, a green chilli and coriander hot sauce
• 1large bunch coriander, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot and brown the meat in batches over high heat until dark on all sides. Set aside.
2. Drop the heat to medium, add the onions and cook 12–15 minutes until deeply golden and jammy. This slow onion base carries the whole dish, so do not rush it.
3. Add garlic, ginger, and all the whole and ground spices, and fry 90 seconds until the cardamom perfumes the kitchen.
4. Stir in the grated tomatoes, tomato puree and split chillies and cook 8 minutes until the mixture thickens and the oil pools at the sides.
5. Return the meat with 500 ml water, cover, and simmer 50 minutes until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
6. Drain the soaked rice and stir it into the pot, coating every grain in the sauce for 2 minutes, then add the water or broth so it sits about 2 cm above the rice. Check the salt now; you cannot correct it later.
7. Bring to a hard boil, then cover tightly, drop to the lowest heat and steam 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off and rest, still covered, for 10 minutes.
8. Dot with ghee, fork the rice up from the bottom so the darker, spiced grains marble through the pale ones, and pile onto a platter. Serve with lime wedges, basbaas and a shower of coriander.

Technique

• Skoudehkaris is Djibouti’s national dish, and the cardamom-heavy spicing shows the Indian Ocean trade route running through the port: Somali, Yemeni and Indian influences in one pot.
• Cook the rice in the meat sauce, not separately. If you make a pilaf and spoon a stew over it, you lose the marbled colour and the absorbed flavour that make the dish what it is.
• Rest with the lid on for the full 10 minutes. That is when the steam redistributes and the bottom layer stops sticking.

Substitutions

• No lamb or goat: bone-in chicken thighs work well, but cut the pre-rice simmering to 20 minutes.

Variations

• A fish version made with firm chunks of kingfish added in the last 15 minutes, popular in coastal Djibouti.
• A leaner everyday version with no meat browning, just onions, spices, tomato and rice, eaten with soured milk.

History

Djibouti’s signature rice dish, layered with lamb or fish and cardamom; its name and technique sit between Somali bariis and Yemeni kabsa.

Frequently asked questions

What is Skoudehkaris?

Skoudehkaris is a main from Djibouti: cardamom-spiced rice simmered with lamb and tomato; the national dish. Djibouti’s signature rice dish, layered with lamb or fish and cardamom; its name and technique sit between Somali bariis and Yemeni kabsa.

How long does Skoudehkaris take to make?

Skoudehkaris takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Skoudehkaris?

Yes, within limits. No lamb or goat: bone-in chicken thighs work well, but cut the pre-rice simmering to 20 minutes.

What is the most important thing to get right in Skoudehkaris?

Drop the heat to medium, add the onions and cook 12–15 minutes until deeply golden and jammy. This slow onion base carries the whole dish, so do not rush it.