Iraqi Quzi Recipe
Quzi is a traditional Iraqi dish of lamb served over yellow rice. The lamb is cooked, usually by roasting until tender. It is flavored lightly with a spice mix.
The rice is cooked in lamb broth and made yellow by adding turmeric powder. The lamb is cut into smaller pieces and served over the rice and garnished with almonds and raisins. It is eaten as a main meal and served additionally with a vegetable stew, salad or plain yogurt.
Traditionally, quzi was made with a whole stuffed lamb. The lamb would sometimes be cooked twice to ensure maximum tenderness, first by boiling then roasting.
Today’s recipes are made with smaller parts of the lamb, like the shank or shoulder and sometimes the meat is stewed rather than roasted. The most popular spice mix used to flavor the lamb is baharat – a blend containing cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom, all spice and black peppers.
Quzi has several variations which go by different names as it is popular in several regions. In the UAE, Khuzi is made with roasted lamb or mutton and served over spiced rice with nuts, raisins, vegetables and sometimes roasted potatoes. In Bahrain it is also called ghoozi and is made with eggs. Ouzi is the variation made with ground lamb or beef.
Origin and Cultural Significance
Quzi, also known as Qouzi, originates from Iraq but the exact area and origin story is unknown. It is often prepared for celebrations.
Iraqi Quzi Recipe
Quzi is a traditional Iraqi dish of lamb served over yellow rice. The lamb is cooked, usually by roasting until tender.
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 Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1017Total Fat: 55gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 312mgSodium: 991mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 4gSugar: 8gProtein: 89g
Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.
