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Bariis Iskukaris Recipe

A Somali chicken and rice dish cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes, spices, carrots, and basmati rice.

From the NHS (UK) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Cumin and turmeric match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,698 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Bariis Iskukaris Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and gently fry onions and garlic on medium heat for 2 minutes.

  2. Add cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon), cumin seeds, and chopped tomatoes, and cook for 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently.

  3. Add chicken, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander, crumbled seasoning cube, and grated carrot. Mix well.

  4. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Cook the rice

  1. Add 400 ml water, cover pot, and leave to cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, until the chicken is nearly done.

  2. Add rice and stir until it is well coated by the mixture.

  3. Add another 200 ml cold water, stir, then cover pot and cook on medium-high heat until it starts bubbling (about 5 minutes).

  4. Once bubbling, reduce heat to low and leave to steam until the rice grains are tender and fluffy – around 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve

  1. Once ready, serve topped with fresh coriander (if you want) and accompanied by a fresh green salad.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

615Calories
39 gProtein
19 gFat
73 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 14 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Seednot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the NHS (UK).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + turmerictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,698 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Cinnamon + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,103 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  5. Turmeric + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,253 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken thighs
Bone-in dark meat stays juicy during the long gentle cooking and adds rich flavour to the broth.
Basmati rice
Absorbs the spiced cooking liquid and sets into separate, fluffy grains as it steams.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it fries, forming the aromatic base of the dish.
Tomatoes
Provide acidity and moisture that combine with the onion to form a savoury sauce.
Carrots
Add gentle sweetness and moisture, and colour to the rice.
Cumin seeds
Release warm, earthy aroma when fried in oil at the start of cooking.

The step that matters

Adding the rice and second water. Rice must be well coated with the spiced mixture, then cooked in just enough liquid to absorb fully. Too much water makes it soggy, while adding the cold water before the mixture bubbles keeps the cooking even.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, cinnamon, cumin, tomato, chicken, turmeric, coriander):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Eggplantfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, cinnamon, cumin, tomato, chicken, turmeric, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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