Palestinian qidra — spiced rice with meat, whole garlic, and chickpeas served from a copper pot.

Qidra: The Palestinian One-Pot Spiced Rice (Recipe)

Qidra takes its name from the heavy copper pot it's cooked in. A Gazan speciality, it layers rice, meat, whole garlic, and chickpeas with warm spices, then cooks slowly — traditionally the sealed pot was carried to a communal wood oven and baked until everything melded. The result is rich, garlicky, and deeply spiced, with rice that has drunk up all the flavour.

What makes qidra distinct

Unlike the lighter kabsa or mandi, qidra is generous with whole garlic cloves and chickpeas, and it leans on warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and cumin. The slow, sealed cooking is the traditional signature — an oven-safe pot at home recreates it well.

Ingredients (serves 4–5)

  • 1 kg lamb or chicken, bone-in
  • 2½ cups basmati rice, rinsed and soaked
  • 1 whole head of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 2–3 tbsp qidra spice blend
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 4 cups stock
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Brown the meat in ghee in an oven-safe pot. Add the whole garlic cloves and cook until fragrant.
  2. Pour in the stock, add 1–2 tbsp qidra spice and salt, cover, and simmer until the meat is nearly tender.
  3. Stir in the chickpeas and the drained rice with another 1 tbsp qidra spice. The liquid should sit about 2 cm above the rice.
  4. Cover tightly (traditionally sealed with dough) and either cook on very low heat or transfer to a 180°C oven for 30–35 minutes until the rice is tender.
  5. Rest 10 minutes, then turn out or serve from the pot, meat and garlic on top.

Tips

  • Keep the garlic whole. It turns soft and sweet through slow cooking — a defining part of qidra.
  • Seal the lid with a strip of dough or foil if you want the traditional trapped-steam effect.
  • Don't stir once the rice is in — let it steam undisturbed for separate grains.

Built on the blend

Qidra's warmth comes from its spice mix balanced against all that garlic. A fresh, aromatic blend keeps the dish rounded rather than harsh.

👉 Shop MELevant Qidra Spice Blend

Compare it with the rest in our guide to Middle Eastern spice blends.

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