🍗 Chicken machboos

Name: Chicken machboos
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Arabian Gulf · Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken pieces; 400 g basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes; 2 onions, sliced; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 2 dried limes (loomi), pierced; 2 tsp baharat and ½ tsp turmeric; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 tbsp vegetable oil, salt; Chopped coriander to serve

Origin: Arabian Gulf · Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar

680kcal

per serving · 400 g

170kcal

per 100 g

36 gProtein9 g / 100 g

20 gFat5 g / 100 g

88 gCarbs22 g / 100 g

Chicken machboos is a Gulf one-pot dish of basmati rice cooked in a spiced broth with chicken, tomato, onion and dried lime. The baharat spice mix gives warmth, while the loomi adds a sour, slightly smoky tang. The rice comes out fluffy and orange-gold, and it is served on a large platter with the chicken on top, often with a spicy tomato sauce called daqoos.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Not keto22 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

ricechickendried black limetomatoonionbaharat spice mix

Recipe

4 servings80 min

Ingredients

1 kg chicken pieces
400 g basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes
2 onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 dried limes (loomi), pierced
2 tsp baharat and ½ tsp turmeric
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp vegetable oil, salt
Chopped coriander to serve

Method

Fry the onions in the oil until golden, then add the garlic and the chicken and brown on all sides.
Add the tomatoes, loomi, baharat, turmeric, salt and enough water to cover; simmer covered for 40 minutes until tender.
Lift out the chicken and measure about 750 ml of the broth back into the pot.
Add the drained rice, bring to the boil, then cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
Brown the chicken briefly in a hot oven or pan, then serve it on top of the rice with coriander.

How to make it lighter

Keep the rice to about one cup cooked per plate and add extra salad or daqoos.
Remove the chicken skin and measure the oil: 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.
Choose a larger share of chicken and a smaller share of rice for a more filling plate.

History

Machboos is one of the best-known rice dishes of the Gulf and is closely related to Saudi kabsa. It is flavoured with spices and dried lime (loomi), and it is widely regarded as a national dish in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, where it is central to family lunches and celebrations.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Chicken machboos and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →