Wednesday, September 10, 2014

678. Djibouti Rice Skoudehkaris


This month's MENA Cooking Club country of choice, following Algeria and Bahrain, is Djibouti, and it is hosted by Amira of Arabian Mama.
I have to be honest, before this challenge I knew very little about Djibouti. Now not only do I know that it is a country in Africa just under Saudi Arabia, but it also happens to be dominantly Muslim with huge Somali and Yemeni cultural influences.
This Djiboutian Rice Skoudehkaris is as straight-forward as it is hearty. Beef or lamb (I chose lamb shank) is stewed until tender, then cooked in a lightly spiced tomato rice. Cooking  the meat in a pressure cooker is optional but makes the meat positively melt in your mouth. Below is the recipe for one very hungry person, which can easily be multiplied to accommodate more people.
Many thanks to the lovely Noor of Ya Salam Cooking for organizing this event every month.


Ingredients:

1 lamb shank
1/2 tsp ghee
1 tomato
1/2 small onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup rice


Method:

Boil or pressure cook the shank until fork-tender (2 hours boil or 30-40 minutes pressure cook).
Drain the shank, reserving the boiling liquid, and sear in hot ghee to color brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
In the same small pot, saute the onion, garlic, and tomato until soft and reduced.
Add the cumin, cardamom, and salt. Return the shank to the pot.
Add the rinsed and drained rice, then add half a cup of the shank boiling liquid.
Bring to the boil, cover, reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes until rice had absorbed all the liquid and is fluffy and tender.
Lightly fluff the rice and place the shank on top to serve.



صحة و عافية

10 comments:

Sadaf F K. said...

Oh my.. beautiful pictures mashaAllah. :) This rice dish is so like Machbous we make last month. Isn't it? You've done it so, so good.

Maryam said...

Thanks Sadaf! Yes they are similar, but since I chose the sweet option last time I thought I would try the savory choice of this month.
Your pictures are amazing with such a cozy feel to them, masha Allah!

Noor said...

This looks amazing as does all your food mashAllah. Thank you for being part of the club and wow now I want some of this please lol.

Maryam said...

Thank you, Noor, barak Allak fiki!
It's a true pleasure being a part of this club and all thanks goes to you for initiating it.

Unknown said...

As-Salaamu Alaykum Maryam,
Looks a very tasty meal for 1, i'm sure you would share it with me, right? :) I absolutely love lamb shank it's one of the best cuts in my opinion.

Maryam said...

Wa alaikum al Salam wa rahmat Allah Um Hamza, of course, you are welcome anytime!
I agree, it is especially good in stews are slow cooking.

Unknown said...

This is lovely, finally someone decided to make the savory dish for this month's challenge :). I hope you've enjoyed the flavors like we did. Thanks for joining us.

Maryam said...

It was delicious! Thank you Amira.

Joanne T Ferguson said...

G'day! Looks to be a wonderful dish and enjoy your photo!
Congrats on completing the Djibouti Cuisine challenge this month too!
Cheers! Joanne

Maryam said...

Hi Joanne, thanks, right back at you!