Chicken & Rice Kabsa

📝 Ingredients

• 6 whole chicken legs (about 250 g each with bone and skin)
• 500 g basmati rice
• 2 brown onions (about 200 g)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots (about 100 g each)
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 chicken stock cube + 700 ml hot water
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin + 1 tsp ground cardamom + ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 60 g raisins
• 50 g flaked almonds
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large casserole dish with lid
• Colander
• Grater
• Bowl
• Small frying pan
• Large serving platter

📖 Steps

1. Remove the skin from the chicken legs by pulling it off firmly with a piece of kitchen paper so it doesn't slip, then salt the legs. Slice the onions, chop the garlic, and peel and grate the carrots. Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs almost clear and leave to drain.
2. Heat the oil in a large casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the legs for 3 min on each side, in 2 batches if they're crowded. Set aside on a plate, then fry the onions in the same casserole for 5 min over a medium heat, until lightly golden.
3. Add the garlic, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and a good pinch of pepper, and stir for 1 min to release the aromas without burning the spices. Add the chopped tomatoes and grated carrots, crumble in the stock cube and pour in the 700 ml hot water.
4. Return the legs to the casserole with their juices, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 35 min over a low heat, until the meat comes away easily from the bone.
5. Remove the legs and cover them with foil. Add the rice to the broth and stir: the liquid should come about 1 cm above the rice; add a little hot water if there isn't enough. Taste and add salt if needed.
6. Bring to the boil, lay the legs back on top of the rice, cover and cook for 15 min over a very low heat without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and leave to swell for 10 min, still covered: the rice should have absorbed all the liquid.
7. While the rice cooks, soak the raisins in a bowl of hot water for 10 min, then drain. Toast the flaked almonds in a dry frying pan for 2 to 3 min over a medium heat, stirring, until lightly golden: they burn quickly.
8. Remove the legs, fluff up the rice with a fork and pile it into a dome on a large serving platter. Lay the legs on top, sprinkle with the raisins and toasted almonds and serve in the middle of the table.