Majboos

Ingredients

Meat

• 1.5 kgchicken, jointed, or lamb shoulder
• 2onions, sliced
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 1 tbspgrated ginger
• 3 tbspghee

Spice

• 3dried limes, loomi
• 1cinnamon stick
• 6cardamom pods
• 6cloves
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tbspbaharat
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspblack pepper
• ½ tspground cumin
• salt

Rice

• 500 gbasmati rice
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 1 litreof the cooking broth
• a pinch of saffron in 2 tbsp rose water

To finish

• 2onions, sliced and fried crisp
• 50 graisins
• 50 gflaked almonds
• chopped coriander

To serve

• daqoos, a hot tomato sauce

Directions

1. Wash the basmati until the water runs clear, then soak it 30 minutes and drain. Pierce the dried limes two or three times with a knife.
2. Fry the sliced onions in ghee until deep golden, then add the garlic and ginger. Add the whole spices, baharat, turmeric, pepper and cumin and fry 1 minute until fragrant. Add the meat and brown it on all sides.
3. Add the tomatoes, the pierced limes and water to cover, and simmer covered for 40 minutes for chicken, or 1 hour 30 minutes for lamb. Lift out the meat and strain the broth, keeping exactly 1 litre and skimming the fat. The whole dish turns on the rice-to-liquid ratio and a splash too much gives you a sodden pot.
4. Fry the fried-onion garnish separately in batches until dark and crisp, and drain it. Bring the measured broth back to a boil, add the drained rice, and check the salt now.
5. Season the liquid, not the finished rice. Salt sprinkled over cooked grains sits on the surface and never gets in. Boil hard uncovered for 5 minutes, until the liquid has dropped to the level of the rice and craters appear on the surface.
6. Put the meat back on top, sprinkle over the saffron rose water, cover the pot with a cloth under the lid, and cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes. The cloth catches the condensation that would otherwise drip back and turn the top layer to paste.
7. Rest it 10 minutes off the heat, then fork the rice through gently from the edges. Pile it on a large platter with the meat on top, scattered with crisp onions, raisins, almonds and coriander. Serve with daqoos, the hot tomato sauce, spooned over at the table.

Technique

• Dried limes are sold as loomi, noomi basra or limu omani, and black ones are stronger than brown.
• The rice should be separate and dry, never sticky, and each grain should carry colour.
• Fish majboos is common on the Omani coast and uses the same method with a much shorter cook.

Substitutions

• Kabsa spice mix in place of baharat.
• The zest and juice of a fresh lime if loomi is unavailable, which is not the same but is better than nothing.

Variations

• Made with fish, especially hamour or kingfish.
• Kabsa, the Saudi version.
• With whole prawns, which is a coastal variation.

History

Spiced rice cooked with meat and dried lime, the everyday feast dish of the Gulf.

Frequently asked questions

What is Majboos?

Majboos is a main from Oman: spiced rice with chicken, lamb or fish and dried lime. Spiced rice cooked with meat and dried lime, the everyday feast dish of the Gulf.

How long does Majboos take to make?

Majboos takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Majboos?

Yes, within limits. Kabsa spice mix in place of baharat. The zest and juice of a fresh lime if loomi is unavailable, which is not the same but is better than nothing.

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

Fry the sliced onions in ghee until deep golden, then add the garlic and ginger. Add the whole spices, baharat, turmeric, pepper and cumin and fry 1 minute until fragrant. Add the meat and brown it on all sides.