Moroccan Rice Recipes

BASMATI RICE PILAF WITH DRIED FRUITS AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Place the rice in a medium bowl and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Using your hands, gently swish the grains to release any excess starch. Carefully pour off the water, leaving the rice in the bowl. Repeat four to five times, until the water runs almost clear. Using a fine mesh strainer, drain the water from rice. Place the strainer over a bowl and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Add the rice to the pot, and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Add the water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 18 minutes. Off the heat, remove the lid and sprinkle the dried fruit over the rice (do not mix in). Place the lid over the pot and let stand for 10 minutes. Toss in the toasted almonds, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.

MOROCCAN RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Melt butter on medium-low heat in a small ovenproof pot.
• Fold in onions and stir well.
• Cook for 3-4 minutes until onions turn translucent but are not browned.
• Add cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika and rice.
• Stir well so that the rice is evenly coated with butter.
• Cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Stir in stock and raisins.
• Bring to a boil on high heat.
• Once the stock comes to a boil, cover the pot and let the pilaf cook in the oven for 18 minutes.
• Fold in salt, pepper and almonds before fluffing with a fork and serving.
• Enjoy!

STOVETOP RICE WITH HARISSA, DATES, AND ORANGE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Add a pinch of salt, and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and bay leaf to the onions, and cook for another minute more. Add the harissa. Stir to incorporate. Add the rice and stir for another minute or until each grain is glistening. Add the dates and the orange zest. Squeeze the orange into a liquid measure and add enough water to create 1 and 1/3 cups liquid. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan. Stir to combine.
• Bring to a simmer, cover pan, turn heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork. There should be a bit of nice caramelization on the bottom of the pan - I like to scrape this up and incorporate it into the rice. Serve immediately.

MOROCCAN RICE (PILAF)

Steps:

• Saute: Place the onion and the olive oil in a large pot and sauté under medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add cumin, allspice, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, pepper and rice and stir until rice gets a white color, about 2-3 minutes.
• Simmer: Add the stock (or water), salt and saffron, cover the pot and wait until it starts to boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook covered until almost all of the water is absorbed, about 5 - 10 minutes.
• Rest: Turn off the heat, add the dried fruits and almonds and stir/fluff up gently with a fork. Cover the pot and let the pilaf rest for 15-20 minutes.

MOROCCAN RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 375°. Lightly oil a shallow baking dish (1 1/2 quart)
• In a large pan heat the pan to medium high, add olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Then add the almonds, carrots and onions and cook until caramelized. About 5 minutes.
• Add the cinnamon and stir for 1 minute. Add rice and toast until translucent about 1 minute.
• Stir in broth, salt, orange juice, zest, cranberries and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Then remove from the heat.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake uncovered about 45 -55 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Sprinkle with chives garnish and serve.
• This rice is also fantastic server warm, or at room temperature. You can make this the day ahead and warm in the oven if you wish.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN & RICE

Steps:

• First marinade the chicken. Add the lemon juice, turmeric, cumin, coriander, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper to a large bowl and stir. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for one hour to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove chicken from fridge when ready to cook. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over the stove top. Add the chicken, the meaty side down. Cook for about 5 minutes until browned and flip over cooking the other side for a further 5 minutes or so. Reduce heat to low, add the 1/4 cup/60 ml of chicken stock, cover and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and transfer to a plate.
• In the reserved pan, add the remaining olive oil, garlic and onion. Stir for for a minute and add the turmeric and coriander. Stir well. Leave to cook until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir well until the rice is completely coated, about 2 - 3 minutes. Evenly pour over all the stock and give a quick stir.
• Arrange the chicken over the dish, cover and put in the oven for further 20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Remove from oven and leave a few minutes before serving.
• Fluff rice with a fork before serving.
• I recommend serving this dish with lime wedges, Greek yogurt and fresh coriander.

SPICY MOROCCAN RICE

Steps:

• Coat chicken with the Moroccan spice. Fry the onion in butter until soft.
• Tip in the chicken, then cook for a few mins more. Stir in the rice and apricots, then pour in the stock cube with 700ml boiling water and the chickpeas.
• Cover the pan and simmer for 10 mins until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Toss in the chopped flat leaf parsley and serve.

MOROCCAN RICE PILAF

Steps:

• 1. Melt butter on medium-low heat in a small ovenproof pot. Stir in onions, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until onions are translucent (but not browned or caramelized).
• 2. Add cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and rice, and stir well so that the rice is evenly coated with butter. Cook for 1 more minute.
• 3. Stir in stock and dried fruit. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once the stock comes to a boil, cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and let simmer 15 to 18 minutes or until rice is light and fluffy and has absorbed nearly all of the liquid.
• 4. Just before serving, stir in salt, pepper and almonds, and fluff with a fork. Serve immediately while still hot.

SPICY MOROCCAN RICE WITH TOMATOES AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat the broth to nearly boiling, then hold warm over low heat.
• In a deep skillet or heavy bottomed pot placed over medium heat, saute the rice, onions and peppers in the oil. When the rice begins to brown, add the garlic and tomatoes. Cook for several minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the broth, tomato paste, cilantro and spices. Bring the liquids to a boil then reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes without stirring, until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquids.
• Remove the rice from the heat and lightly stir with a fork to fluff the rice and mix the vegetables throughout. It should still be a little saucy; if not, gently mix in a few tablespoons of hot water. Cover and leave the rice sit for at least five minutes before serving.

MOROCCAN STYLE CHICKEN AND BASMATI RICE

Steps:

• On the menu tonight, a Moroccan-inspired chicken and Mahatma® Basmati Rice dish with all the fixings. If you're up for experimenting with bold and fragrant spices, Morrocan food is just up your alley. With plentiful amounts of aromatic spices and herbs, this chicken and rice dish is much more than the average one-pan recipe.
• Step 1 In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden.
• Step 2 Add garlic, ginger and chicken and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in allspice and a pinch of saffron or turmeric, if desired, rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
• Step 3 Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.
• Step 4 Transfer to serving dish and garnish with cilantro.

MOROCCAN SAFFRON RICE PILAF RECIPE WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a sauce pan, heat the stock almost to boiling and hold warm.
• Heat the saffron threads carefully for a minute in a small skillet, just until dry enough to crumble. Crush them and add to the stock.
• While the stock is heating, combine the remaining ingredients in a deep skillet or 4-quart pot.
• Cook the rice and vegetables over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the rice begins to color.
• Add the stock and saffron to the rice, stirring only once. Bring the stock to a simmer and taste for salt. Adjust the seasoning as desired.
• Cover the rice, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently and undisturbed, for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
• Fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.
• Enjoy.

MOROCCAN RICE

Steps:

• Rinse rice under cold water until water runs clear; drain.
• Place rice in a microwave-safe rice cooker or bowl.
• Add enough stock until it covers the rice by 2cm.
• Cover with a lid or a double layer of plastic wrap and Cook on High/800watts/100% for 5 minutes.
• Cook on Medium/500watts/50% for a further 7 minutes.
• Remove from microwave and set aside.
• Meanwhile place oil, onion, almonds, pine nuts, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and chili powder in a microwave safe rice cooker or bowl.
• Cook uncovered stirring every minute on High for 3 to 4 minutes or until the nuts are toasted and the mixture is fragrant.
• Add raisins, orange rind and juice.
• Cook on high for 1 minute.
• Add the nut mixture and coriander to the rice and stir gently to combine.
• Taste and season with salt and pepper.

MESKOUTA (MOROCCAN ORANGE CAKE)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8½-by-4½-inch loaf pan with olive oil, and line it with a sheet of parchment paper so that you have extra on the sides. (You'll use this to lift the loaf out of the pan.)
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. In another large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and eggs until well combined. Add the yogurt, olive oil, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract to the sugar and egg mixture, and whisk until well incorporated.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix using a spatula until you no longer see flecks of flour, making sure not to overmix. (The batter will be slightly lumpy.) Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and use a spatula to spread into an even layer.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with some small, moist crumbs. (If the cake needs another minute or two, but is becoming too brown, tent with foil.) Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before using the parchment overhang to remove from the pan.
• Make the optional whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the cream and the confectioners' sugar for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high until medium peaks begin to form. You want a spreading consistency. Cover and keep in the fridge until ready to serve the cake.
• To serve, cut the cake in slices, top with whipped cream, if using, and garnish with chocolate shavings, if using. Alternatively, you can also top the whole cake with whipped cream, then slice it. Without the whipped cream, the cake keeps for up to 5 days in an airtight container on the counter.