Arabian Rice

Aaliyah's&Aaron's mum's Note:

Very aromatic rice dish.. goes very well with any lamb or chicken stew. Edited to add: I'd missed out the oil the first time, have now added it in the directions alongwith the butter. The stock quantity is my fault. I'd overlooked it and had mistyped the quantity. I have now corrected it to 800 ml (from 600 ml)

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 ½ cups long grain rice
• ½ cup thin vermicelli , broken into small pieces
• 200 g lean ground lamb or 200 g beef
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion , chopped
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• salt , to taste
• 800 ml chicken stock
• 50 g pine nuts , lightly roasted

Directions:

1. Place rice in a bowl with cold water and leave to soak for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a large heavy saucepan, add the chopped onion and minced meat and fry until golden brown and breaking down any lumps in the mince.
3. Add the broken vermicelli and fry for another 5-10 minutes till slightly brown.
4. Drain and wash the rice till water runs clean.
5. Add the rice into the pan and give it a good stir (but be careful as to not break the rice in the process).
6. Add in all the spices and mix it in well.
7. Add in the boiling-hot stock and give it all one good stir.
8. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes (till all the water's been absorbed and rice cooked through).
9. Take the pan off the heat, take the lid off and cover the pan with a clean towel and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
10. Gently fluff up the rice with a fork and serve with pine seeds sprinkled on top.

Reviews

[Chef Els]

Loved it-loved it! Have cooked it several times now and think it is one of the best comfort-food-dishes for me! Okay,I did only use 1 Tbsp of oil and 4 Tbsp. butter,1/4 tsp of salt and beef broth instead if chicken broth,otherwise I did as the recipe reads.I served it with roasted red bell peppers and onion,and on each plate a 1/2 roasted pousin,and it was a fabulous meal. Thank you for sharing this wonderfull recipe!

[Gerry]

What a fantastic tasting rice - this dish so different from rice dishes I've made - we loved it. I will have to seek out more Arabian recipes! Made this using ground beef - went light on the cinnamon and all spice - found I liked the combination so will increase the amount next time around. Made using the updated recipe - on step 8 put it all into my rice cooker to finish - perfect! Thank you for sharing. Into my family favorites cook book for this one.

[Nasseh]

I also needed more stock than it called for. The ingredient list calls for 4 tbsp oil but there is no mention of it in the directions. I left it out all together. My family & I didn't care for this rice. Sorry...