iskudhexkaris

Iskudheh Karis: Chicken Pilaf

by
with 17 comments
Main CoursesRice

This Somali rice dish is a popular dish known as iskudheh karis, it is a one pot cooking with rice and meat or chicken. In this recipe I used chicken instead. It has a wonderful fragrant aroma of the spices used, such as cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.

Ingredients:

  • 1 small chicken cut into pieces
  • 2 cups of basmati rice
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 chopped garlic cloves
  • 5 cardamoms
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 Maggie chicken bouillon cube
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 green chili pepper, seeded, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Wash the rice well in cold water until most of the starch is removed and let it to soak in water for 30 minutes.
  • Heat the oil in a heavy pan on a medium heat; add the chicken season with salt and pepper and sauté until brown and crisp.
  • Add the onion and the garlic and fry gently for 5-6 minutes until softened.
  • Stir in the cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, and ginger.
    Add the chopped tomatoes, chili, cumin, coriander, cilantro and the tomato paste and cook until tomato is soft.
  • Drain the rice and mix with the sauce until combined.
  • Pour the water and the Maggie and mix well, bring it to boil then cover.
  • Simmer gently on a low heat for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is done.

17 Responses

  5. Linda

    I just made this tonight and was it the best ever!! It tasted just like the food we had at a Somalian wedding last month. It was fabulous!! Thanks for the recipe.

  7. layla

    salaam sis tried this recipe it was very tasy the rice was very mosit
    how ever the chicken was little dry and bland i used chicken thighs and drumsticks please can you tell me the right amout of chicken and seasoning if you know any somali spicy sala or saues to go with dish i would be very grateful thank you so much

  11. Zainab

    This will be the first time I’ll try this, can’t wait 🙂

    Should I use the same cup I’m using to measure the rice for the water?

    Thank you!

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