Iraqi Quzi Recipe
Quzi is a traditional Iraqi dish featuring tender, roasted lamb served over yellow rice.
Ingredients
Meat
- Lamb shanks (or lamb shoulder cut into smaller pieces) – 5 lbs
- Cinnamon sticks – 3 sticks
- Green cardamom – 6 pods
- Bay leaves – 3
- Cloves (whole) – 8
- Allspice berries (whole) – 8
- Black peppercorns (whole) – 8
- Salt – 2 tsp
Rice
- Basmati rice – 4 cups
- Lamb broth – 6 cups
- Salt – ½ tsp
- Vegetable oil – 4 Tbsp
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Garnish
- Slivered almonds – ¾ cup
- Vegetable oil – 1 Tbsp
- Raisins (gold or brown) – ½ cup
- Parsley (finely chopped) – ¼ cup
Instructions
- Rinse the lamb and rub it with salt.
- Wash off the salt and place in a deep pot and cover with water.
- Place over medium heat and let it come to a boil for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam.
- Add the whole spices and salt, cover the pot and allow it to cook at a low rolling boil for 1-2 hours.
- Check the water periodically and add more as needed to ensure the lamb is fully covered. Ensure the lamb is tender before moving to the next step.
- Remove the lamb and place it in an oven safe dish.
- Strain the broth and set aside.
- Add 2 ladles of the broth to the bottom of the oven dish with the lamb.
- Add more spice blend if desired.
- Cover the lamb tightly with foil and roast it in the oven at 400F for 2-3 hours until it is falling off the bone tender.
- During the last 10 minutes, remove the foil and broil the top to get some color.
- Wash the rice well until the water runs clear and drain it.
- In a pot over medium heat add the rest of the broth along with the salt, oil and turmeric.
- Taste to ensure it has enough salt.
- Add the rice to the pot, mix, then allow it to come to a rolling boil on medium heat.
- After 3 minutes, cover it, turn the heat to low, and allow it to cook for 20 minutes undisturbed.
- After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let it rest for a further 10 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork.
- Finely chop the parsley
- Fry the almonds in the oil, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
- Once golden brown, remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
- In the same pan using the residual oil, add the raisins and toast them for a few minutes until they're soft.
- To serve, add the rice to a large serving dish, then top with the lamb.
- Sprinkle the almonds, raisins and parsley on top.
Nutrition
Calories: 1017kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 89gFat: 55gSaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 312mgSodium: 991mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!