Kasa Brinj: Kurdish Rice with Chicken
Kasa brinj (کاسه برنج) is a very simple traditional dish of Iraqi Kurdistan. It consists of a hemisphere of steamed rice topped with finely shredded boiled chicken meat.
The name translates from Kurdish simply as "bowl of rice". The chicken for this dish is not roasted but slowly simmered in water until the meat begins to separate from the bone on its own. Once ready, it is hand-shredded into smaller pieces, removing bones and skin, so only pure meat remains on the plate. Meanwhile, the rice is steamed under a lid to remain fluffy and loose.
Kasa brinj is not eaten "dry". A bowl of sauce is an essential accompaniment to the plate. Usually, it is a tomato ragout made of white beans (fasolia) or okra.
I tasted this dish at the Kasa Brinj Restaurant (see Where to Eat in Erbil), and one portion cost 4,000 IQD (2.40 EUR).
Bon appétit!
