Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Qatari Machboos
Qatar national rice dish: chicken braised in a loomi and baharat spiced tomato base, then rice steamed in that broth.
Qatari · medium · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 70 min
~594 cal · 44g protein · 63g carbs · 17g fat · 3g fiber · 3g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Machboos is considered the national dish of Qatar, eaten at midday on Fridays when extended families gather after prayer. Chicken is browned and simmered with onion, tomato, baharat and pierced dried black limes until the broth is deeply flavoured, then the soaked rice cooks in it and drinks up all that spice.
The loomi, sun-dried black lime, is the defining note, tart and faintly smoky, and fried onions and fresh herbs finish the platter. Every Gulf state claims a version, but Qataris adjust the spice balance to make it their own, mounding the rice high with the chicken on top.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 lb chicken, in pieces
2 cups basmati rice
2 onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, grated
1 tbsp baharat spice blend
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 dried black lime, pierced
1 cinnamon stick
4 green pods
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Brown the chicken in the oil in a heavy pot and set aside, then soften the onions in the same pot until golden.
2
Add the garlic, ginger, baharat, turmeric, cinnamon and cardamom and cook until fragrant, then stir in the tomatoes and pierced black limes.
3
Return the chicken, add water to cover, and simmer covered about 30 minutes until tender. Stir in half the cilantro.
4
Lift out the chicken and measure the broth so the rice sits under it by a finger width.
✎ Chef’s note
Do not skip piercing the loomi: whole and unpierced, it barely flavours the pot.
5
Stir in the soaked rice, set the chicken on top, cover, and steam on low 18 to 20 minutes until tender.
6
Fluff, mound on a platter with the chicken, and finish with the remaining cilantro.
Doha family recipe.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Doha. Harees is Gulf-wide rather than Qatari, and the iftar table here usually leads with it and with thareed, bread soaked through with a meat and vegetable stew. Madrouba, balaleet, luqaimat and khanfaroush fill out the same table, which is a Ramadan repertoire more than a national cuisine.
🗺️
Qatar. Harees is Gulf-wide rather than Qatari alone: wheat and meat cooked together for hours and then beaten until neither is distinguishable, and it appears in Ramadan across the whole peninsula. The other Qatari names worth using are thareed, bread soaked in stew; madrouba, a beaten rice porridge; balaleet; and luqaimat, the syrup-soaked dumplings.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Qatar
HareesWheat berries and meat pounded together over long cooking into a smooth, comforting porridge.
KhanfarooshLittle saffron-and-cardamom cakes, crisp outside and soft within, fried and dusted with sugar.
MadroubaA soft, porridge-like rice and chicken dish beaten smooth with spices and dried lime, comforting Qatari Ramadan fare.
Browse all Qatar recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Steamer.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Qatar meal
Sharbat LoomiDrink
Assidat al-BoubarDessert
MadroubaLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Bahraini MachboosBahrain
Emirati MachboosUnited Arab Emirates
Maqluba (Upside-Down Rice)Jordan
Palestinian MaqlubaPalestine
Kittitian PelauSaint Kitts and Nevis
PelauTrinidad & Tobago
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Frequently asked questions
What is Qatari Machboos?
Qatar national rice dish: chicken braised in a loomi and baharat spiced tomato base, then rice steamed in that broth.
Where does Qatari Machboos come from?
Qatari Machboos is a Qatari dish from Doha, Qatar.
Can Qatari Machboos be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Qatari Machboos recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Qatari Machboos safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Qatari Machboos take to make?
About 90 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 70 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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