Qidreh — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A majestic dish of tender lamb and fragrant rice slow-cooked together in a sealed pot with warm spices, traditionally baked in communal ovens until the rice forms a golden crust. Qidreh is the pride of Hebron.

Ingredients

1 kg lamb shanks or shoulder chunks
2 cups short-grain rice, soaked
1 large onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp baharat spice blend
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups lamb broth
3 tbsp ghee
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley

Instructions

1 Brown lamb pieces in ghee in a heavy pot over high heat until deeply golden on all sides. Remove and set aside.
2 Sauté onion and garlic in the same pot until softened. Add baharat, turmeric, allspice, and cinnamon, stirring until fragrant.
3 Return lamb to the pot, add broth, and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and braise in a 160C oven for 1.5 hours until very tender.
4 Remove lamb from the broth. Drain soaked rice and layer it in the pot over the broth. Place lamb pieces on top of the rice.
5 Cover the pot tightly with foil and lid. Bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes until rice is cooked and a golden crust forms on the bottom.
6 Flip onto a platter to reveal the golden rice crust on top. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley.

Did You Know?

In Hebron, families still carry their sealed pots of qidreh to neighborhood bakeries to cook in the communal wood-fired oven, a centuries-old tradition.