Libyan Lamb Kabsa

I have tried this recipe a few times and really love it, somehow it never turn out to have the same taste as my good Libyan friend, Afaf's.Don't know what went wrong. Perhaps, I must go to Afaf's kitchen one day and watch how she cooks her version. Anyway, I would like to share with all of you her Libyan kabsa. I plan to cook kabsa for my dear undergraduate sisters who are coming over to my place this Wednesday.

Ingredients:
1 kg lamb
3 Holland onions-finely chopped
1 tbs ginger powder
1 tsp green cardamom powder
4 garlic
2 tbs coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbs karwiya powder(optional)-this is one of Libyan spices Afaf gave me.
3 chopped tomatoes
1 dried black lemon (this gives kabsa the fragrant lemony smell)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbs chilli powder
4 tbs tomato paste
1 carrot- grated
2 tbs ghee

Methods:
1. Place lamb/ meat and water in the pressure cooker for 15-20 min or till meat is tender but make sure it is not overcooked. For better taste and smell, add cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and cardamom.
2. In a pot, fry onion, garlic, ginger in 2 tbs of ghee. Add chilli powder, turmeric, cinnamon powder, coriander powder, karwiya, cardamom powder, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and salt.
3. Add the cooked meat/ lamb and grated carrot. I will refer this dish as lamb mix afterwards.
4. Meanwhile place 5 cups of rice in the rice cooker and add 5 cups of lamb stock from the pressure cooker into the rice. When rice is half cooked, add half of the lamb mix into the rice cooker and mix and let it cook thoroughly. Remember to toss in the black dried lemon.
5. For the other portion of the lamb mix, place in a casserole in the oven for 20 min before serving with kabsa.

So far, I have served my modified version of kabsa a few times already to my Malaysian friends and they loved it. Happy trying.

Photos coming up soon.