How to Make Saffron Rice with Meat

Ingredients

• 4 pieces of meat (or mouzat, which are special meat cuts taken from the calf or lamb leg and suitable for cooking)
• 4 dried onions
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• whole cardamom pods
• bay leaves
• dried coriander
• black pepper
• salt
• whole cloves
• cinnamon sticks
• meat spice blend (optional)
• Rice:
• 5 cups rice
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups meat broth
• Saffron mixture:
• Saffron + ground cardamom + cinnamon stick + 1 tablespoon olive oil + salt (mix everything together)
• Tomato sauce or daqous:
• olive oil
• five cloves garlic
• one can tomato sauce, or two tablespoons
• two ripe tomatoes
• pinch of black pepper
• chicken bouillon cube
• For garnishing the rice:
• currants (raisins)
• five onions, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon of the saffron mixture (used for the rice)
• How to make the daqous sauce:
• Rice garnish mixture:
• Saute the chopped onion in oil until wilted.
• Also from Fatima's delicious recipes, here is Rice with Fish
• Don't miss Chicken Maqluba with Vegetables from Fatima too

Method

1. We start by preparing the meat... Place a large pot over the heat and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, finely chopped onion, and minced garlic. Stir the onion and garlic for about five minutes.
2. After 5 minutes, add the meat shanks, along with the cardamom, bay leaves, dried coriander, black pepper, salt, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and meat spices (the amount of spices and seasonings is up to your preference)... Stir the meat with the onion and spices for a few minutes.
   Timers: 5 min
3. Cover the meat with hot water (not cold) and leave it over very low heat for five hours.
4. Shortly before the meat is done, start preparing the rice. Wash it and soak it in water for half an hour.
5. In a pot over the heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, 4 cups of boiling water, and 4 cups of the meat broth in which we boiled the meat, then add the rice (the water and broth should cover the rice by about 5 cm).
6. When the top of the rice starts to dry out, spread the saffron mixture over it (mix all the mentioned ingredients well), then reduce the heat, cover the rice, and let it cook over low heat.
7. Remove the boiled meat from the water and brush it with the saffron mixture, then place it in the oven, keeping an eye on it and brushing the top with the same mixture every ten minutes until the meat is browned.
8. Serve the rice once cooked, top with the meat and the onion-raisin mixture, and serve the saffron rice and meat with daqous sauce and yogurt or salad, as desired.
9. Place the tomatoes, oil, tomato sauce, and garlic in a blender and blend them together.
10. Put them in a pot over the heat with a chicken bouillon cube and a pinch of black pepper...
11. Let the mixture boil for about 15 minutes over the heat, then remove it and serve it alongside the rice.
    Timers: 15 min
12. Add the raisins and saffron mixture and stir for another 5 minutes, just until the raisins open up.
    Timers: 5 min