Shazia's Kabuli Pilau: Afghan Spiced Rice

Kabuli Pilau is a complex, savory dish of spiced rice with meat (or chickpeas) raisins and carrots and is a strong contender for the national dish of Afghanistan. This is Ethan's mother-in-law’s recipe, made (of course) with Burlap & Barrel spices.
Ingredients
- ~2 cups or ⅓ pound Basmati rice
- 2 onions, diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup raisins
- 1-2 carrots, julienned into matchsticks
- ¼ cup pistachios, toasted
- ¼ cup walnuts, toasted & chopped
- ¼ cup almonds, sliced & toasted
- 1 lb lamb or mutton (any cut with bones, traditionally shank or shin) OR 1 can (or 8 ounces cooked) chickpeas
- 0.25g Herati Saffron
- 1 tablespoon Wild Mountain Cumin Seeds
- 2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon Verum
- 1 tablespoon Nile Coriander Seeds
- 1 tablespoon Zanzibar Black Peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons Smoked Pimentón Paprika
- 1 teaspoon New Harvest Tumeric
- 6 pods Cloud Forest Cardamom pods
- 4 Pemba Cloves
- 1 True Star Anise fruit
- 2 x Cinnamon Tree Leaves or 3-4 Laurel Bay Leaves
Spices
Directions
- Mix saffron and 2-3 ice cubes in a small bowl and set aside to infuse.
- Wash rice in a colander until water runs clear, then drain
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add the rice. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until slightly soft on the outside but still crunchy in the middle. Drain into a colander.
- While the rice is cooking, grind all spices (except for cinnamon/bay leaves and saffron) in an electric coffee or spice grinder to a fine powder texture.
- In a pressure cooker, heat ghee/oil and sear the meat until brown, then add the lid and pressure-cook until tender (generally 20-30 min). Remove meat from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pot, add onions, salt and ghee/oil and cook until onions turn deep brown. Add garlic and spices and lower heat to soften. Cook for ~10 minutes over low heat, until the texture is like a paste and the spices are fragrant.
- Combine onions/spice paste, rice, and meat (or chickpeas) in the same pot, add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, wrap the pot lid with a cloth and cover. As the rice absorbs water, poke holes with the handle of a wooden spoon to allow water at the bottom to evaporate.
- While rice is cooking, toast the nuts in a small pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté raisins in ghee until plump.
- After raisins are plump, remove from pan and use the same pan, sauté carrots (with a sprinkle of sugar) in ghee until soft and sweet
- When rice is done (al dente), add most of the carrots and raisins and salt to taste and gently fluff with a large slotted spoon.
- Plate on a large serving dish and garnish with remaining carrots raisins, saffron-infused water and toast nuts. Serve with yogurt.
Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
- Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection.