Turkey with Kabsah Spices

 

Ingredients

Ingredients for the turkey

1 whole Turkey (6 kilos)
1 cup salt
 
Ingredients for boiling the turkey

1 tsp cloves whole
4 Cinnamon sticks
8 whole cardamoms
4 whole Omani lemons
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped
2 celery cut into chunks
2 tsp kabsa spices powder
2 Tbsps butter
Salt


Ingredients for rice and lentil


3 tsp olive oil
3 onions, cubed
2 cups yellow lentil (half cooked)
2 cups potatoes cut to cubes and fried
1 cups pine nuts and cashew nuts
½ raisons (soaked in water)
½ tsp saffron
1 Tbsp rose water or rose syrup
1 cup chicken stock
4 cups basmati rice (boiled and cooked)
6 boiled eggs
Fresh chopped coriander

Method

• Clean and wash the turkey thoroughly, dissolve the salt in water, then cover the turkey with water and salt and leave it for 2 hours.
 

• Put a large cooking pot filled with water and put the turkey in on a medium heat, with all the above ingredients for boiling the turkey. (Pick holes or pierce the 2 Omani Lemons before adding it).
 

• When all the ingredients start boiling reduce the fire, and then put the lid on just to cover half of it. Leave it for 60 minutes or until cooked (don’t close the lid and remove the creamy foam which gathers on top while cooking).
 

• After the turkey is cooked remove it , put it aside and strain the stock or broth.
 

• Heat the oven at 180 degrees.
 

• Mix a tablespoon of the powdered kasbsa spices with butter and massage the turkey with this mixture and put the turkey on a tray, put in the oven for 30 minutes until golden.

For rice and lentil


• Add oil to a hot pot and then add the onion with stiring for 5 minutes or until it becomes gold in color.
 

• Add the lentil and the rest of the powdered kabsah spices and the other 2 Omani lemons.
 

• Add the potatoes, raisons and dissolve the saffron in the rose syrup and add it to the mixture until they are all mixed together, finally add the turkey stock or broth and add salt if needed.
 

• Reduce the temperature on the mixture for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked.
 

• Add the boiled eggs with stirring the mixture to fluffy it and put rice on the serving plate along with the lentil and vegetables.
 

• Finally add the turkey on top of mixture and sprinkle with coriander.

Notes


• The mixed spices or powdered kabsah spices are (cardamom, cinnamon, white pepper, cumin and cloves)
 
• you can cook the turkey straight away in the oven without boiling it first and in this case you can add all the vegetables (onions, celery and carrots) with the turkey on a tray ,you can stuff the turkey with the same vegetables and can add some water , oil, fresh herbs, salt, pepper and spices. Cover the turkey with silver paper half the time it will stay in the oven. Every 1 kilograms of turkey, needs about 40 minutes in the oven at a temperature of 180 degrees to cook. It can be brushed with the stock dripping from it, from time to time, so it wouldn’t dry out.
 
• If using a frozen turkey, keep it for 2 days in the fridge just to melt.