Kabsat Shrimp with Potatoes– كبسة جنجة ولا ربيان
January 3, 2012 by lamyaalmas
You will need:
1) 1 cup of rice (just washed and not soaked) )
2) 2 cups of shrimp
3) 1 onion thinly sliced, covered in flour and deep fried until well browned (be careful that you do not burn it)–once the onion slices are browned let them cool and then grind them (you can use a mortar and pestle) and add one cup of warm water to the mix, a pinch of ground cloves ,and a pinch of ground coriander.
4) one potato cut into the same size as the shrimp
5) few pods of cardamon (2-3 just cracked open)
6) 2 tsp of ground cumin
7) 1/2 tsp of black pepper
8) 2 tsp of ground coriander
9) 3 cloves of garlic finely minced
10) 3 tblsp of Olive Oil
11) salt to taste
12) one medium onion diced
13) 1 small tomato finely chopped
14) 1/2 tsp of tomato paste
15) salt to taste
Place a pot on medium heat, add Olive Oil and fry onions with just until it is golden brown. Add potatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add cumin, coriander, pepper and salt to the shrimp and mix well and add to the pot and cook until shrimp turns pink. Add the tomato and tomato paste and cook until the tomatoes have softened. Now, add the rice and pour the deep fried onion mix and add about 1/2 cup of water for the rice to cook. Taste the water, if it is not salty enough add more salt. Leave under low heat until the rice is cooked through.
Serve on a platter with this sauce:
Dice up a small tomato and put in a bowl, add 2 tblsp of tahini paste, with 2 tblsp of yoghurt, 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of white vinegar, salt to taste. Mix well and enjoy with this dish.
Posted in Fish, Rice | 10 Comments
A Yemeniyah's Recipes 
I thought shrimp were haraam?
Never heard before that Shrimp is haram to eat Basboosa! Did the person who told you that provide you with evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah? If so please share. Emailed a Sheikh about it and will let you know as soon as I get a response. We eat it in Yemen which is a pretty strict Islamic society, and I know it is eaten it many other Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Basboosa–Found out for you. I asked a scholar of Fiqh who is a good friend of mine, here is her blog http://ayshawazwaz.wordpress.com/ and she explained that it is haram ONLY according to the Hanafi Madhab. All the other Madhaheb say it is halal. So, for you to decide for yourself you can look up the evidences Insha Allah and see how they came to that conclusion. The area in Yemen where I come from follows mostly the Shafi’i Madhab, so this was news for me. But thanks for asking, so that I could learn about it. I eat it and still will, and all other sea food :)
Thanks for going to all that trouble. I thought this because I once read an article about dietary laws and their origin- which was apparently Leviticus (Old Testament – which as you know is common to Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) – and in Leviticus creatures that live in water must be free swimming to be “clean”. I never saw anyone in Yemen eat shrimp but I really was never on the coast much. Egyptians in Alexandria eat lots of shrimp though. What part of Yemen are you from?
I am from Aden which is a coastal region–so that figures right . People in other parts of Yemen don’t eat shrimp much [or fish for that matter] because they aren’t used to because it. It isn’t available in their area. In Sana’a for instance they eat a lot of beef which we in Aden do not eat much, if at all. Also, shrimp is somewhat expensive and scarce so not many people can afford it in Yemen any way. But never, either in Sana’a or Aden, did I hear it was haram–even among the Sanaani communities here in the states who eat it and like it. I did hear it was haram from the Pakistani, Bangladeshi communities here in Montgomery/AL whom as you know follow Hanafi Madhab [School of Fiqh]. So, I just had to find out and I did–it’s very interesting how different Madhaheb come to conclusions on rulings. I believe it has to do with the nature of shrimp and their habitat as you said. Yes, Egyptians love their SAMAK AND JAMBAREE :)
Just for your information. Here are the verses from the Qur’an that the three Madhaheb [Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Maliki] use as evidence that all seafood is halal for Muslims:
“And it is He who subjected the sea for you to eat from it tender meat and to extract from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships plowing through it, and [He subjected it] that you may seek of His bounty; and perhaps you will be grateful.” [Surat Al Nahl: 14]
“Lawful to you is game from the sea and its food as provision for you and the travelers . . . ” [Surat Al Mai’da: 96]
Good question. Me too never heard that shrimps are Haram, but it is good to know the believes of different madhaheb. jazaak allaah alf kheir Dr. Lamya for this information.
I eat shrimps and I am from Taiz
Umm Saleh
I had never either, but had come across a few Muslims here who could not make up their mind whether it was Haram or Makrooh, and they did not have the evidences for it either. So, I asked around and found out the information that I provided you all. As for me, I LOVE SHRIMP. The stronger opinion of the scholars is that it is not Haram. So eat up! :)
[…] in dishes like the Shurbah in Ramadhan [insha Allah will be posting soon], Zurbiyan, Sayadiyyah, Kabsat Shrimp. It’s nice to have it on hand when you need it rather than having to go through the process […]
Salam…Question- when pouring the onion mix on top of the rice should it be stirred in with the rice?