Skoudehkaris recipe

Djibouti's one-pot dish where basmati finishes cooking inside the lamb's tomato, cardamom and cinnamon broth.

1 hour and 55 minutesmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 700 g lamb shoulder
• 450 g basmati rice
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 onions
• 4 clove garlic
• 6 cardamom
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2 tsp salt

How to make Skoudehkaris

1. Cut 700 g of lamb shoulder into 4 cm chunks and brown them in 3 tbsp of oil in a large pot over high heat, about 8 minutes.
2. Add 2 chopped onions and 4 crushed garlic cloves and sweat them for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in 4 diced tomatoes, 1 tbsp of tomato paste, 6 crushed cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp of cumin, 2 tsp of chili powder and 2 tsp of salt. The cardamom and cinnamon are what make it skoudehkaris and not a plain pilaf.
4. Pour in 1 litre of boiling water, cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, until the lamb pulls apart easily.
5. Rinse 450 g of basmati rice until the water runs clear, then stir it into the pot. The liquid should cover the rice by 2 cm; top up with hot water if needed.
6. Cover, cook 5 minutes on medium then 15 minutes on the lowest heat, without stirring.
7. Take the pot off the heat and let it sit covered for 10 minutes, then fluff the rice with a fork.
8. Scatter a handful of chopped cilantro and serve with a tomato and onion salad or plain yoghurt.

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