Nasi Kebuli
Nasi Kebuli is the Arab-Indonesian version of pilau rice that is cooked in spiced meat broth. It’s deliciously fragrant with a deep flavor of meat goodness.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 3 cups basmati rice
- 1.5 pounds lamb shoulder (cut into pieces)
- 2 onions
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste (see the note)
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste (see the note)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- 3 black cardamom pods
- 8 cloves
- ½ nutmeg
- 2- inches cinnamon stick (cut into an inch of slices)
- 1 lemon grass
- ¼ cup cooking oil (see the note)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (see the note)
- 4¾ cups water (see the note)
- 1-2 tablespoons ghee/ clarified butter (optional)
- Fried shallots (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Wash and rinse the rise. Soak them in water and set them aside.
- 2
Using a food chopper or food processor, chop the onions until they turn into a paste.
- 3
Heat the oil and butter on a large cooking pan until the butter is melted.
- 4
Add the onion paste, ginger and garlic paste, ground coriander, ground cumin, black pepper, salt, black cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemongrass. Stir and fry until the spices release aroma and the liquid from the onion has evaporated. It takes approximately 5 minutes.
- 5
Then add the lamb pieces to the spices, and turn around until all the meat is well coated with spices. Cook at medium heat until the meat is brown.
- 6
Pour water into the meat and cook at medium heat until the water reaches boiling point. I use hot water from the tap. Then lower the heat and slow cook the meat until it is tender and the broth has reduced to about 4½ cups. The broth slightly thickens and looks shiny.
- 7
Strain the rice and add it to the meat. Give it a good stir and let it cook at medium heat until the rice grains absorb almost all the liquid.
- 8
Line the inside lid with a kitchen towel and put the lid on the pot. Turn the heat low and let it cook until steam comes out. It takes approximately 10-12 minutes to steam.
- 9
Once the rice is fully cooked, you can stir in 1-2 tablespoons of clarified butter (ghee) though this is optional.
- 10
Garnish the rice with fried shallots and serve it with Acar Timun or spicy cucumber tomato salad.