Arabian Majboos – Hot & Spicy

Prepration time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Persons served: 5 Persons
Cuisine: Arabic

ingredients

  • Basmati rice : 1 Kg
  • Big sized chicken pieces with skin : 1½ Kg
  • Finely sliced Onion : 2 medium sized
  • Tomatoes : 2, sliced into half
  • Carrot : 1 chopped
  • Ginger : ½ inch
  • Garlic : 6 cloves
  • Cardamom : 4
  • Cloves : 4
  • Cinnamon : 1 piece
  • Lemon juice : ¼ cup
  • Salt : As needed
  • Oil : As needed
  • Turmeric powder : ½tsp (optional)
  • Water : 6 cups
  • Coriander leaves for garnish
  • Boiled Eggs : 3

Chicken Majboos is an Arabian rice dish similar to Kerala Biriyani. Some people also call it as Arabic chicken Biriyani. This is a popular dish in northern Kerala. I learned this recipe from my sister in Dubai. She used to prepare it at home occasionally and we all love it. I am sure you will enjoy this Arabic Cuisine and  will make spicy Chicken Majboos.

Don’t forget to share your photos and comments with us.

Arabian Majboos preparation

  1. Wash the chicken pieces and the rice thoroughly and separately under running water and keep it aside.
  2. Mix the ground spices garlic, ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, lemon juice, turmeric powder (optional), salt and 2 tablespoon oil in a bowl.
  3. Apply ½ of this mix thoroughly over the chicken inside out and marinate it for one hour.
  4. In a large pan, heat ½ cup of oil, add the onions and saute it till they become translucent.
  5. Add the remaining ground spices, chicken pieces, carrots, tomatoes, salt and saute for about five minutes over low heat.
  6. Add water to the mix and let it boil.
  7. When the pieces get cooked, take out the chicken pieces along with tomatoes and keep it aside. Do not drain away the remaining water (Chicken broth).
  8. Filter the chicken broth and measure it. For 1 Cup of rice you need 1½ cup of broth. You can add more water if needed.
  9. Boil the chicken broth solution. Add the washed rice when it starts boiling.
  10. Reduce the heat, cover the broth and cook it for about 25 – 30 minutes (until the rice get cooked). Need not stir in between.
  11. When the cooking is over, uncover the dish and evenly stir it to let the cooked ingredients mix well.
  12. Meanwhile you can lightly fry / grill the chicken pieces.
  13. To serve, spread a rice layer and put chicken, tomato and boiled eggs on top. Cover with the rest of the rice.
  14. Garnish it with saute onion and coriander leaves. Serve warm.
Cini P Moideen

How would you rate this recipe?

97 votes, 4.66 / 5.00 (92%)
  • J
    says:

    Simply superb!!

    I tried it and yesterday and it was superb. Thanks for the recipe.

  • T
    says:

    How should we cook the chicken pieces either we have to bakerhem for steam like kabsa???

    • says:

      @Tamanna: Sorry, I missed line 4, just revised the post. You have to cook the marinated chicken pieces in a vessel.

  • A
    says:

    now am going to make majboos……thx for recipeee……

    • says:

      @Aysha: dont forget to share the outcome with me. all d best 🙂

  • F
    says:

    Haai…
    without using turmeric powder how can the rice turn yellowish in your photo???

    also nothing is der in the ingredient to make it spicy…. is der any method to make it spicy????

    • says:

      @Farza: the color will be provided by the ground paste itself. No need of adding any turmeric powder or food color.

  • F
    says:

    i tried it….it aint spicy…. also not yellowish in colour….

    • says:

      @Farza: sorry to hear that it didn’t turned out as you expected. But usually we get the yellow tinge without adding any turmeric powder or food color.
      But it is up to your personal judgement to use the flavors as per your needs. You can add more spices (like pepper, corriander etc) to tune with your taste buds. I just updated the post with turmeric powder as optional.

  • M
    says:

    Yummy dish… Thanks for the recipe. It came out very well.
    @Farza & @Cini : I added a small pinch of turmeric powder, almonds, and nuts in addition to the instruction. No additional spices, but it tasted fine.

  • A
    says:

    i love it. thank you ………..

  • A
    says:

    i have some thing called majboos masala what is it for?:

    • says:

      @Aysha : I haven’t heard about it before. Check the ingredients of it and if its similar to Arabic masala you can use it for preparation.

  • S
    says:

    I tried it today and the rice when boiled it smelled offensive.. to avoid this smell what I do??

    • says:

      @Suneer: since I am getting equivocal responses on the recipe, I am not sure whats going wrong with some preparations. It can be due to the difference in spices, the preparation method, the ingredients etc. I am sorry, that I dont have a definite solution to your problem. 🙁

  • C
    says:

    How long do I boil the chicken for approximately? Do I let it gently boil (low heat) covered?

    • says:

      Usually for around 30-45 minutes. You can take out and taste a small chicken piece in between to check whether its cooked properly.

  • says:

    Hi Cini,
    Please check my version of chicken Majboos here.
    http://www.deepsrecipes.com/2012/02/chicken-majboos-recipe.html

    • says:

      Hi Deeps Recipes : thanks for stopping by and sharing the link. The preparation looks delicious.
      Stay connected.

    • says:

      @Jooriya Pinkeya : Could you let us know whats the differences?

  • T
    says:

    Nothing is added for spicy?

    • says:

      So many spices and masalas we have added Thouhi. Please let me know why you are confused.

  • P
    says:

    I live in Kuwait and have been here 45 years Usually we eat majboos with dakoos a spicy tomato sauce and fatoosh sailaf and mabooch which is a chilli paste

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