The foundation of Middle Eastern cuisine and what makes it unique is the seasoning. In Arabic food there is a heavy emphasis on the use of a variety of herbs and spices which gives our food its distinct taste and flavor.
The difference between the spices we use and the Indian ones is that most of our dishes are spicy but not hot spicy and we don’t rely heavily on the use of chilies.
Arabic-style rice stuffing is an easy dish that is used for chicken, lamb or turkey stuffing. It is also served as a side dish with traditional Arabic roasted leg of lamb or roasted chicken pieces. For those hectic days when there is little time or energy left to spend in the kitchen, Arabic-style rice stuffing is a great standalone dish that is enjoyed by kids and adults alike!
The portion for Arabic Style Rice Stuffing below is sufficient to stuff about 5 average-size chickens. Usually, I stuff 3 chickens, and serve the remaining stuffing on the side. If you want to use the rice stuffing to stuff a small lamb then double the portion.
Arabic Style Rice Stuffing Recipe
Preparation time: 10 min Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
500 grams minced beef meat
3½ cups long-grain rice
1/2 cup vegetable oil (canola, corn or sunflower)
1 teaspoon mixed spice (mixed spices recipe)
1 teaspoon ground allspice
6 cups water
Rice spices:
3 teaspoons mixed spice (mixed spices recipe)
1½ teaspoon ground allspice
1½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1½ teaspoon salt
3 cubes chicken stock (chicken bouillon), crushed
How to make Arabic Style Rice Stuffing Recipe:
- Mix all the rice spices in a dish together with the crushed chicken stock cube. I use a knife to crush the chicken stock by scrubbing the knife against the cube to get small pieces. Another way to crush the cube is to press the cube between your fingers to break it up into very small pieces.
- Wash the rice and put it in a sieve for the water to drain.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and add the minced meat, 1 teaspoon mixed spices and 1 teaspoon allspice. Toss in the pan until meat is done and it’s color becomes light brown. About 5 minutes.
- Using your hands, mix the rice spices with the drained rice. While mixing, be sure to have a dish under the sieve so that you can capture any spices that pass through and add them to the pan.
- Add the rice mixed with spices to the meat and toss over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. This infuses the spices into the rice.
- Add the water, mix well and cover the pan and let it simmer over medium-low heat until rice is cooked.
If using for stuffing chicken, turkey or lamb; let the rice cool before you stuff it. Try my Arabian-Style Stuffed Chicken Recipe for a yummy traditional Middle Eastern dish.
If serving as a standalone dish, serve with yogurt or mixed salad.
Hope you enjoyed today’s easy recipe: Arabic Style Rice Stuffing, a traditional Middle Eastern dish. Bon appetite.
What is your favorite rice stuffing recipe?
اضغط الرابط لقراءة وصفة حشوة الأرز باللحمة باللغة العربية
Hello Seta, I've just stumbled upon your blog and very pleased to see how useful it is. Love the style ... Great job. I live in London and it's always wonderful to find something like this to help out in moments of need :).
ReplyDeleteOne very small comment about this recipe (which I plan to try out, versus my simple hashweh, is whether you have a replacement to suggest for the bouillon cube ... It's so high in salt and full of chemicals that I'm never too keen to use.
Many thanks
Rana
Thank you Rana for your kind words. I also try to limit the use of chicken cubes for same reasons. In my day to day cooking I use chicken stock that I prepare plus homemade Italian seasoning (recipe below). But for a few dishes I use the cubes as they do add a special flavor.
DeleteThe stuffed chicken is one of the dishes that takes more effort than I usually spend on a meal, and I prepare it only a few times a year. As everyone at home awaits impatiently for it, I must admit that I haven't tried substituting the cubes with the seasoning to see how it turns out. I wouldn't be able to handle my girls' disappointment if it didn't work out!!
To prepare the Italian Seasoning mix:
4 tablespoons garlic salt,
2 tablespoons garlic powder,
4 tablespoons onion powder,
2 tablespoons ground black pepper,
1 tablespoon sugar,
8 tablespoons dried oregano,
2 tablespoons thyme
2 tablespoons dried basil,
4 tablespoons dried parsley
8 teaspoons salt
Mix well and store in an airtight container.
If the recipe calls for chicken cube and is water based, I use chicken stock and a little of the Italian seasoning 1/2 tablespoon).
If the recipe call for chicken cube but also includes chicken stock, I add 1- 2 tablespoons of seasoning for each chicken cube.
hope this is helpful:)
If I am cooking the rice stuffing as a standalone dish and not for stuffing the chicken, I use the first method in my reply above: replace the water with chicken stock and add a little of the Italian seasoning.
Deletehi i want to make this dish..havent had it in years..but are the spice amounts correct in the recipe? a total of 7.1/4 tsp of spice in total for rice ?and another 2 tsp for the meat..? just want to make sure it just seems alot! mariam
ReplyDeleteYes the amounts are correct. it is a well-spiced dish. you will love it.
ReplyDelete