''Cabidela'' () or ''arroz de cabidela'' (''cabidela'' rice) is a Portuguese dish made with

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

, usually a Rooster (chicken). It is typical of the northern

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

region. The particularity of the dish is that the hen's blood is added almost at the end, mixed with vinegar (so it doesn't clot) while the rice is boiling, much like "jugged" or "civet" dishes. The blood is captured when the animal is slaughtered and imparts a brown color to the dish. Occasionally, white rice can be served with the dish, although this is not common. Cooking with blood is an antique custom common to several ancient cultures; in Portugal, Cabidela has been found in written record since the 16th century and may equally be prepared with other fowl or animals (duck, turkey, pork, kid or game), though these are rare.

Variants

Variations on the dish is also popular in many of Portugal's former colonies, such as

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, where a similar dish made with duck (''pato de cabidela'' or ''pato à cabidela'') is one of the most famous dishes in

Macanese cuisine Macanese cuisine ( zh, 澳門土生葡菜, ) is mainly influenced by Chinese cuisine, especially Cantonese cuisine and European cuisine, predominantly Portuguese cuisine and influences from Southeast Asia and the Lusophone world, due to Macau's ...

. In

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, this dish is normally made with chicken (''galinha à cabidela'' or ''galinha de cabidela''), and is considered a typical dish of the city of

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

. The rice is cooked separately. It is also a very common dish in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, where it has the name ''galinha ao molho pardo''. It's also common to cook only the chicken's blood, with vinegar and vegetables, until it becomes a sauce that can be added to rice or to the cooked chicken itself. In

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

cabidela is popular among the

Goan Catholic Goan Catholics () are an ethno-religious community adhering to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church from the Goa state, in the southern part of the Konkan region along the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani l ...

community of

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. The chicken version is one of the most common dishes served on special occasions while it is also found in restaurants in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

References

{{Macanese cuisine Portuguese cuisine Macanese cuisine Blood dishes Chicken dishes Rabbit dishes

Variants

See also

References