# Saudi Madghout Chicken in the Pressure Cooker

> Madghout is rice and chicken cooked together **in a pressure cooker**, which is what separates it from kabsa, cooked in an open pot. The pressure tenderises the chicken in 20 minutes while the rice drinks the broth, and a final blast in the oven gives the crust.

**Saudi Cuisine · 50 min · 6 servings · 580 kcal per serving**

Madghout is a Saudi weeknight favourite because the pressure cooker collapses the timing. The flavours sit close to kabsa, but the golden crust on the chicken is entirely its own.

## Ingredients

- 1 piece — chicken, jointed
- 3 cups — basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes
- 2 pieces — onions, chopped
- 3 pieces — tomatoes, grated
- 2 tbsp — kabsa spice
- 2 pieces — black loomi, pierced
- 4 pieces — cardamom pods
- 1 stick — cinnamon
- 0.25 cup — ghee
- 4.5 cups — hot water

## Method

1. **Soften the onion** — Soften the onion in the ghee in the open pressure cooker until it wilts and turns pale, then add the cardamom and cinnamon and stir for a minute until fragrant.
2. **Brown the chicken** — Add the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides until golden. The browning is not for cooking — it is for flavour; the pressure will cook the chicken.
3. **The broth** — Add the grated tomato, spices, pierced loomi, salt and hot water, seal the cooker and bring it to pressure for **15 minutes**.
4. **Lift out the chicken** — Release the pressure safely, open the cooker and lift the chicken onto a tray. Measure the broth — you want **4 cups** for 3 cups of rice.
5. **Cook the rice** — Add the drained rice to the broth, stir once, seal and pressure cook for **5 minutes only**, then release the steam immediately.
6. **Crisp and serve** — Roast the chicken at 220°C for **10 minutes** until the skin turns golden. Spread the rice on a platter, top with the chicken, and serve with daqqous and salad.

## Tips

- Measure the broth before the rice goes in — 4 cups of broth to 3 of rice, topping up with hot water if it is short.
- Five minutes of pressure for the rice and an immediate steam release — more and it turns pasty.
- The oven finish is not optional; it is what gives madghout its crust.
- Pierce the loomi rather than cracking it. A broken loomi releases a very strong bitterness.

## FAQ

### What is the difference between madghout and kabsa?
Madghout is pressure cooked and the chicken is crisped in the oven at the end. Kabsa is cooked over ordinary heat in an open pot. The flavours are close; the difference is the timing and the crust.

### Why did my rice turn pasty?
Too long under pressure or too much broth. Five minutes of pressure only for the rice, an immediate steam release, and a ratio of 4 cups broth to 3 cups rice.

### Can I make it without a pressure cooker?
Yes, though it effectively becomes kabsa: simmer the chicken for 45 minutes over ordinary heat, then follow the same steps. It adds about an hour.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/saudi-cuisine/saudi-madghout-chicken-pressure-cooker
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-14