Kabsa

Kabsa is a traditional Saudi dish and one of the popular foods of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is known across the Gulf Cooperation Council states as machboos, and in Al-Ahsa Governorate it is called majboos. [10][6]

Kabsa appears on tables throughout the Kingdom and at its heritage events, and it has been adopted by George Mason University in the United States on the menu of its international restaurant (The Globe), which offers global dining experiences that introduce the heritage and cultures of peoples. [1]

The Saudi Cultural Attaché in Washington announced that George Mason University in the United States had adopted the traditional Saudi dish kabsa on the menu of its international restaurant (The Globe) on 29 October 2025. [1]

The adoption followed more than four months of coordination with the university's partners and its various departments to serve Saudi food in line with the university's standards. [1]

The inclusion of kabsa is a first phase of a project intended to add further Saudi dishes, giving more than 40,000 students, along with faculty members, staff and visitors, the chance to learn about Saudi culture through a tasting experience. [1]

The organisers of the initiative described the inclusion of kabsa as a sustainable cultural project that embodies food as a bridge for cultural exchange and strengthens the presence of Saudi identity at one of the prestigious American universities. [1]

The Gulf Food Festival, organised by the Emirate of Riyadh Region as part of Riyadh's hosting of the 22nd Gulf Cup football tournament in November 2014, showcased the most prominent Gulf dishes, with cooks from seven Gulf states serving free snacks over nine days that included arisah, machboos, chicken machboos with Eid stuffing, and meat machboos. [10]

Machboos is the common Gulf name for the dish alongside kabsa, while in Al-Ahsa Governorate it is called majboos, the rice of Al-Ahsa with meat, one of the popular dishes for which the governorate is known in Ramadan. [10][6]

In Al-Jawf region, truffles (kamaa) appear on the Ramadan table in various forms, including adding them to Saudi kabsa, whether cooked with the meat or sautéed and sprinkled over the top of the dish; it is a meal in which most people of the region prefer lamb. [11]

In July 2008, the clubs and schools of Saudi students in the United Kingdom and Ireland held a Holy Quran competition for seventy Saudi families at the Saudi School in Birmingham, and British families attended the cultural programme held on the sidelines of the occasion, 'Kabsa and henna drawing'. [2]

At the National Festival for Heritage and Culture in 2013, visitors described popular dishes as 'the beautiful thing' and named among them jareesh, qursan, marqooq and kabsa. [5]

The Culinary Arts Commission organises the Welimah Festival for Saudi Food, whose fifth edition launched at King Saud University in Riyadh from 27 November to 6 December 2025, reflecting the diversity of Saudi flavours and evoking the memory of the local kitchen. [8]

The Commission also launched the Popular Foods Festival in Al-Ramis district in the centre of Al-Awamiyah in Qatif Governorate from 21 to 30 December 2025 for ten days, to highlight traditional Saudi culinary arts in a setting that celebrates heritage. [7]

The Culinary Arts Commission launched the 'Stories of National Dishes and Regional Dishes' initiative and, alongside it, adopted jareesh as the national dish of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and maqshoosh as the Saudi national dessert. [3]

The initiative extended to the Kingdom's thirteen regions to identify dishes tied to Saudi cultural identity, celebrate them, document their recipes and export them. [3] The Commission studies the dishes of each region separately in coordination with the regions' emirates and specialists, with the aim of selecting one national dish for each region that expresses its identity, heritage and culture. [3]

The Commission organised an interactive travelling exhibition on the national dish and the national dessert for seven months across the Kingdom, to introduce different segments of society to the national dishes and their close link to the Kingdom's identity and Saudi tables through history. [4]

The Commission reprinted 'The Art of Saudi Cooking', the first book concerned with Saudi recipes and one of the most prominent documentary works, in cooperation with Al-Nahda Association, which prepared its first edition; the book's project dates back to 1981, when an initiative was launched to collect and document the categories of Saudi cuisine from the Kingdom's various regions. [9]

Q: What is kabsa? A: A traditional Saudi dish and one of the popular foods of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, known across the Arab Gulf states as machboos. [1][10]

Q: What is kabsa called in Al-Ahsa Governorate? A: It is called majboos, the rice of Al-Ahsa with meat. [6]

Q: How was kabsa recognised internationally? A: George Mason University in the United States adopted the traditional Saudi dish kabsa on the menu of its international restaurant (The Globe) on 29 October 2025, after efforts lasting more than four months. [1]

Q: Where does kabsa appear at the Kingdom's events? A: At the National Festival for Heritage and Culture, the Gulf Food Festival in Riyadh, the Popular Foods Festival in Qatif, and the Welimah Festival for Saudi Food. [5][10][7][8]

Q: What is the Kingdom's official national dish? A: The Culinary Arts Commission adopted jareesh as the national dish of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and maqshoosh as the Saudi national dessert, within the 'Stories of National Dishes and Regional Dishes' initiative. [3]

Kabsa appears on the tables and at the events of the Kingdom's regions, among them the Eastern Province, Al-Jawf region and Riyadh region, alongside other Saudi dishes at the festivals organised by the Culinary Arts Commission. Related topics on the platform include Arabic coffee in Saudi Arabia, date palm cultivation in Saudi Arabia and Al-Ahsa Oasis.