Riyadh Rice - Middle Eastern Favourite!

Um Safia's Note:

Rice cooked with meat & wonderfully aromatic spices....

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb lean meat , cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 cups basmati rice , soaked in water for 15 minutes, then drained (or long grain rice)
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 2 -3 garlic cloves , minced
• ½ cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1 ½ tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
• ¼ cup toasted almond

Directions:

1. Brown meat,on all sides in 1 tbsp butter.
2. Add seasoning to meat and stir. Pour three cups boiling water over the meat. Cover and let cook for one hour on a medium high heat, 'til the meat is done. Measure the broth left in a measuring cup. Add enough water to make up 3 cups of liquid.
3. Stir onions and garlic with 1/2 tablespoon hot melted butter, till slightly brown.
4. Add the meat and the liquid to the onion mixture. Stir tomato paste over. Bring to boil then add the rice and raisins.
5. Cover the pan and reduce heat to low. Let cook for 30 minutes. Open the pan and stir just the top layer. See if rice is cooked. You may need to cook, covered, a few minutes longer.
6. Serve rice and garnish with the meat and nuts.
7. Serve with plain Yogurt and mixed green salad.

Reviews

[The Wallaces]

Very aromatic and flavorful! Based on previous reviews, we reduced the rice to one cup uncooked (yielding 3 cups cooked) and used 3 cups beef broth. This amount easily made 6 servings for us. We cooked the rice separately from the meat/spice mixture and combined them at the end. This reduced the cooking time and helped us make sure that we had enough water for the rice without sacrificing the flavor of the dish. Thanks for posting!

[Retro Kali]

I am not going to give a rating because as good as this recipe was I had some problems with it. First of all the spices and flavors came together wonderfully and the taste was out of this world! Even the ingredients that I was iffy on, the raisins and cloves, blended with all the other ingredients perfectly. I had a problem as did a previous reviewer with the amount of water added to the rice. I ended up adding close to six cups of water( total, with the required three). I was on the lookout for a possible problem with the amount of water because of the previous reviews, so I was able to salvage the meal, and add water before it ruined the rice. Next time I will add way more water, double the tomato paste and maybe sub some chicken broth for the water. This is a five star recipe,the flavors are wonderful! I can't wait to try it again. The meat came out fork tender, the house smells amazing,and the nuts on top really finished off the flavor. Thanks!

[umisa]

Really good, thanks!