Fragrant rice, tender meat, and sweet caramelized carrots and sultanas come together to make Kabuli Pulao - the national dish of Afghanistan. Kabuli Pulao is Afghanistan's timeless version of a pilaf - flavoured with warm spices and rich beef or lamb.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Authentic Flavour – Made with traditional Afghan spices like cumin, cardamom, and cassia bark or cinnamon, it's rich and warm and a unique twist on the North American concept of a slow cooked beef dish.
Balanced Sweet & Savoury – Caramelized carrots and raisins add natural sweetness to the spiced meat, warm spices and fragrant rice to create a perfectly balanced dish.
Showstopping Presentation – This dish is often served family style - and the gorgeous presentation is perfect to impress guests.
Ingredients
Sella Basmati Rice. This aged, parboiled rice is essential. It stays fluffy and separate after cooking. Do not substitute with regular basmati.
Lamb Shanks. The bone-in shanks add rich flavour to the stock. You can also use shoulder or leg pieces, but shanks give the most depth. Beef also works if lamb is difficult to find.
Black Cumin Seeds (Shahi Jeera). Adds earthy, smoky complexity. If unavailable, substitute with white cumin, but the flavor won’t be identical.
Sultanas. Sultanas (or golden raisins) have a natural sweetness that balances the dish. Regular raisins work but give a darker look.
How to Make This Recipe
Here's a quick overview of the recipe steps.
- Toast and grind spices.
- Make a rich lamb stock with meat, onions and spice mix.
- Prepare the toppings (caramelized carrots & sultanas).
- Cook rice in the lamb stock, layer with lamb.
- Steam with toppings until fluffy and aromatic.
Preparation
Before you start, there's some easy things you can do to save time later.
- Rinse and soak 500 g (2.5 cups) Sella Basmati rice for 60-90 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Soak ½ cup of sultanas in water. Drain and set aside.
Spice Mix
- Toast 1 tablespoon black pepper, 1.5 teaspoon whole cloves, 3-5 green cardamom pods, 1-2 black cardamom pods, 1 tablespoon black cumin seeds, and 2 cassia sticks on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Grind the toasted spices into a powder. You will use half for the stock and half when you cook the rice.
NOTE: You can use the pre-ground versions of these spices, but do not toast them as they can burn easily. If you're using the pre-ground version of any spices, reduce the amount by about ¼.
Lamb Stock
- Thinly slice 1-2 medium red onions (about 400g).
- Heat ½ cup ghee in a large pot. Fry onions until golden brown.
- Add 900 g (2 lbs) lamb shanks and sear lightly.
- Pour in 4 cups water, 1.5 tablespoon salt, and half your spice mix.
- Simmer covered for about an 1 hour and 15 minutes, until lamb is tender but not falling apart.
- Over a bowl, strain your stock and reserve about 900ml to cook the rice. Set lamb aside.
Toppings
You can do all of this while your stock is simmering to save time.
- Julienne 400g of carrots.
- In a pan, heat 2 tablespoon ghee and sauté carrots in small batches. Add 1 tablespoon sugar to caramelize. Cook until softened but not mushy. Remove carrots from ghee mixture and leave the ghee in the pan for the next step.
- Add the drained ½ cup golden raisins to the ghee, sauté briefly, then set aside.
Cooking
- In a heavy pot over medium heat, combine 900ml reserved stock, soaked rice, leftover ghee mixture from sautéing, salt to taste and half of the spice mixture that's left (¼ of total amount made). Stir to combine.
- Add the lamb shanks on top.
- Cook covered until most liquid evaporates. Check on the rice after about 10 minutes and move things around a bit to distribute the stock to the bottom of the pot.
- Layer sautéed carrots and sultanas on top of the rice - do not stir to combine yet.
- Cover the pot with a clean kitchen cloth and top that with a lid.
- Steam on low heat for around 20–25 minutes until rice is fluffy.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Recipe Notes
Don't rush the stock. Some recipes give a quick version using a pressure cooker - but low and slow on the stovetop will give you the best flavour.
Placing the kitchen towel between the pot and the cover helps prevent condensation (which keeps the rice from getting soggy).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes - though lamb is the most authentic, beef (and less often chicken) still make very delicious versions of Kabuli Pulao.
Regular basmati won’t hold its shape as well. Sella Basmati is strongly recommended for authentic results and the best texture.
Yes! Store the lamb and rice separately and reheat them and layer the rice, toppings and meat as normal when you're ready to eat.
Serving Suggestions
If you want to add more depth to Kabuli Pulao, you can serve it with Afghan tomato salad, yogurt sauce (or plain yogurt) or a roasted tomato pepper sauce. It's also delicious on it's own.
Related Recipes You'll Love
This Kabuli Pulao recipe is part of my new series, Cooking Without Borders, where I'm cooking iconic dishes from countries around the world.
The first dish was Sheer Chai (Afghan Milk Tea) and Leek Bolani, Mantu Dumplings, Shor Nakhod and Sheer Khurma are all coming up next!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorn
- 1.5 tablespoon whole cloves
- 4 pods green cardamom
- 1 pod black cardamom
- 1 tablespoon black cumin seeds can substitute regular cumin seeds
- 2 cassia sticks can substitute cinnamon sticks
Lamb Stock
- 400 g red onion finely sliced
- ½ cup ghee
- 900 g lamb shank
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/12 tablespoon salt
- half of spice mix
Toppings
- 400 g carrots
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup sultanas
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse and soak 500 g (2.5 cups) Sella Basmati rice for 60-90 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Soak ½ cup of sultanas in water. Drain and set aside.
Spice Mix
- Toast 1 tablespoon black pepper, 1.5 teaspoon whole cloves, 3-5 green cardamom pods, 1-2 black cardamom pods, 1 tablespoon black cumin seeds, and 2 cassia sticks on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Grind the toasted spices into a powder. You will use half for the stock and half when you cook the rice. Note: If you use pre-ground spices, do not toast them as they burn easily.
Lamb Stock
- Thinly slice 1-2 medium red onions (about 400g).
- Heat ½ ghee in a large pot. Fry onions until golden brown.
- Add 900 g (2 lbs) lamb shanks and sear lightly.
- Pour in 4 cups water, 1.5 tablespoon salt, and half your spice mix. Simmer covered for about an 1 hour and 15 minutes, until lamb is tender but not falling apart.
- Over a bowl, strain your stock and reserve about 900ml to cook the rice. Set lamb aside.
Toppings (Do While Stock Cooks)
- Julienne 400g of carrots.
- In a pan, heat 2 tablespoon ghee and sauté carrots in small batches. Add 1 tablespoon sugar to caramelize.
- Cook until softened but not mushy. Remove carrots from ghee mixture and leave the ghee in the pan for the next step.
- Add the drained ½ cup sultanas to the ghee, sauté briefly, then set aside.
Cooking
- In a heavy pot over medium heat, combine 900ml reserved stock, soaked rice, leftover ghee mixture from sautéing, salt to taste and half of the spice mixture that's left (¼ of total amount made). Stir to combine.
- Add the lamb shanks on top and cook covered until most liquid evaporates.
- Check on the rice after about 10 minutes and move things around a bit to distribute the stock to the bottom of the pot.
- Layer sautéed carrots and sultanas on top of the rice - do not stir to combine yet.
- Cover the pot with a clean kitchen cloth and top that with a lid. Steam on low heat for around 20–25 minutes until rice is fluffy.
- Serve hot. Leftovers reheat well and can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.
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