Machboos is a traditional rice dish originating from the Arabian Gulf that is often prepared for festive occasions, family gatherings, and celebrations. Comforting and satisfying, machboos showcases the rich culinary heritage of the region. It consists of fragrant basmati rice cooked in broth with whole spices and accompanied by meat, chicken or seafood.
While there are many versions of machboos, the key characteristics are largely the same: flavourful marinated protein with aromatic spiced rice. This Easy Chicken Machboos recipe has an Emirati character thanks to bzar – pungent, earthy and warm local spice blend.
The Flavour Affair:
Basmati Rice + Chicken + Bzar + Garlic + Dried Lemon + Saffron
The fragrant basmati rice is the preferred type of rice for machboos. Its fluffy texture allows it to easily absorb the flavours of the broth while holding its shape.
For the best results, use chicken parts with bone in, such as whole legs or drumsticks. Otherwise, use boneless thighs. Lean chicken breast can become quite dry during cooking.
Bzar (beezar, bezar) is an Emirati blend of ground spices not too dissimilar to Baharat or Garam Masala. It has the same overall warm and comforting quality but exhibits a more prominent heat from chili. Typical components include cumin, coriander, green cardamom, black peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric and chili powder. Some versions also feature ground ginger.
Whole bzar mix along with the aromatics for machboos
Fresh minced garlic is mixed with bzar, salt and olive oil to make the marinade for chicken.
Dried lemon (also known as dried lime or loomi) and saffron are the two ingredients that add the distinctive aroma and flavour to machboos. The taste of both is rich and very unique. Dried lime is tangy, musky and slightly smoky, with subtle medicinal notes that I find hard to place (although they do remind me of an aniseedy cough syrup from my childhood). Saffron is also highly aromatic, but with a floral scent that has just a hint of sourness.
A note on loomi and saffron:
Now… if you wish to let go off red chili powder, nutmeg, ginger or bay leaf, machboos will withstand. But it won’t be the same without loomi or saffron. In fact, it would lose most of its character – so please don’t skip these two!
I won’t lie to you – I only used a couple of dried lemons from the pack I bought over a year ago. But while it may not have been a good investment per se, the culinary experience was definitely worth it. As for the saffron, you can easily use it in rice dishes such as biryani, paellas or risotto.
Other ingredients for Easy Chicken Machboos:
Chicken stock and diced tomatoes form the base for the simmering sauce. To enhance the flavour, pop in an extra cinnamon stick, a few bruised green cardamom pods and a couple of bay leaves. You can also add a tea spoon of whole black peppercorns – slow cooking releases their citrusy heat. Garnishes are important: a traditional machboos is typically topped with fried onions, fresh coriander leaves and roasted nuts.
Preparation tips for Easy Chicken Machboos:
Please don’t be put off by the elaborate description! I made it quite detailed to cover all bases but I still hold on to my promise – this really is an easy dish to make 🙂
- Start by putting together the spice mix. Traditionally, bzar spices are freshly ground, but you can substitute them with powdered alternatives. There is also a cheat trick: if you have a garam masala or baharat mix at hand, you can use them as a base and add ground turmeric and chili powder.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of the spice blend with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tsp of salt and 5 minced cloves of garlic. Smear the paste onto chicken pieces and leave to marinate for at least half an hour or overnight.
- When ready to cook, heat a couple more table spoons of oil and brown the chicken on all sides (do it in batches to not overcrowd the pan):
- Next, transfer the chicken to a plate and deglaze the casserole with chicken stock. Add diced tomatoes, salt, dried lemon, whole cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and peppercorns and simmer for a few minutes. Return the chicken to the casserole, cover and cook until tender (for about 45-60 minutes).
And now to the last step…
How to make perfect basmati rice for Easy Chicken Machboos:
If you, like me, struggle with rice to water proportions, you will love this fool-proof way!
- Start by soaking the rice in water for 15-20 minutes. You can do it while the chicken is cooking. Soaking reduces the cooking time and ensures the grains cook evenly. Rinse thoroughly and drain.
- In the meantime, soak a few saffron threads in 2 tbsp hot water. Prepare the garnishes: fry onions, roast almonds, wash the coriander and pick the leaves.
- Once the chicen is done, remove it from the casserole and strain the sauce to discard the whole spice. You will end up with abput two cups of sauce. Return it to the casserole, bring to boil and add the drained basmati rice.
- Allow the rice to simmer gently, stirring it occasionally to avoid sticking. When the rice absorbs all the liquid, add saffron and half a cup of boiling water. Repeat adding a little water time after time until the rice is al dente.
- While the rice in cooking, place chicken parts on a roasting tray and place under broiler for just a couple of minutes to brown. You can also use a kitchen torch instead.
Once the rice is done, stir in coriander leaves and garnish with fried onions and almonds. Top with fried chicken and serve!
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Easy Chicken Machboos Recipe (Emirati Style)
Ingredients
For the bzar spice blend:
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
For the chicken:
- 1.2 kg mixed chicken parts bone in
- 2 tbsp bzar mix
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic minced
For the sauce:
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 3 large tomatoes peeled and diced
- 1 loomi dried lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 green cardamom pods bruised
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black pepeprcorns
- 1 tsp salt
For the rice:
- 2 cups basmati rice
- a pinch of saffron threads
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp roasted almonds
- 1/2 cups fresh coriander leaves
Instructions
- Prepare marinade paste by mixing together 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp bzar spice mix, 1 tsp salt and minced garlic.
- Brush the chicken parts with the marinade and refrigerate for half an hour to overnight.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and brown the chicken parts from both sides. Do it in batches to not overcrowd the pan.
- Remove the chicken from the casserole and deglaze with chicken stock.
- Add the tomatoes, dried lemon, cinnamon stick, bruised cardamom pods, bay leaves, black peppercorns and 1 tsp salt.
- Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Tuck in the pieces of chicken, cover and cook over lower heat for 45-60 minutes until tender.
Prepare the rice:
- Soak saffron threads in 2 tbsp hot water.
- Fry the onions in olive oil until caramelized.
- Soak 2 cups of basmati rice for 15-20 minutes, rinse thoroughly and drain.
- Remove the chicken from the braising liquid and strain the sauce. Taste and adjust for salt.
- Add the rice to the sauce and simmer over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
- Once the rice has absorbed all liquid, add the saffron and 1/2 cups boiling water.
- Keep adding boiling water little by little until the rice reaches al dente texture.
- Once cooked, fluff with a fork, stir in coriander leaves and garnish with fried onions and roasted almonds.
- Place the chicken parts onto a roasting tray and put under broiler for 2-3 minutes to brown and crisp.
- Arrange the chicken over a platter with rice and serve.
Notes
- Make the spice mix by grinding whole spices or use equal proportions of powdered spice.
- If you have baharat or garam masala at hand, you can use it as a base and add chili powder, ground turmeric and ginger.
