My colleague Noor Murad has opened my eyes to a world that is both familiar and a bit exotic. Dishes from her native Bahrain (and the rest of the Arabian Gulf) have their roots in Arabic, Persian and Indian cooking, but also draw from Europe, Africa and Asia. It is a vibrant cuisine, shaped over centuries of trade and perfected mostly by women in home kitchens. The sharp flavours, generous use of spice, and love of rice and seafood are perfect building blocks for some seriously joyful feasts.
Beef skewers with dried lime and sumac onions (main picture)
Dried limes, also known as Iranian limes, Omani limes and various other names, are widely used across the Middle East, adding an earthy sourness to soups, stews, marinades and stuffings. I’ve used black dried limes here, but lighter ones are also fine. You’ll find them in Middle-Eastern supermarkets and online.
Prep 15 min
Marinate 2 hr
Cook 25 min
Serves 4
4 x 250g beef rump steaks with some fat attached
5-6 dried black limes, roughly chopped, then finely ground in a spice grinder to get 3 tbsp
2 lemons, zest finely grated, to get 2 tsp, and juiced, to get 2½ tbsp
1 tbsp ground cumin
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Sunflower oil, for greasing
1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo chilli) (or ½ tsp regular chilli flakes)
For the sumac onions
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1½ tsp sumac
¾ tbsp cider vinegar
4 shop-bought naan or pitta
1½ tbsp picked parsley leaves
1½ tbsp picked mint leaves
Equipment
8 metal 25cm-long skewers, or wooden skewers soaked in water for 10 minutes
Put the steaks on a board and cover with a sheet of clingfilm. Using a mallet or the base of small, heavy saucepan, bash the steaks until they are about 1.5cm thick. Cut up the steaks, fat and all, into 1.5cm cubes and put in a bowl with the ground black lime, lemon zest and juice, cumin, garlic, two tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon and a half of salt and a good grind of pepper. Leave to marinate at room temperature for at least two hours (or refrigerated overnight).
For the sumac onions, mix the onion, sumac, vinegar and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, and leave to soften for at least 30 minutes.
Thread the beef on to the skewers, packing the cubes closely together. Generously grease a grill pan with sunflower oil and put on a high heat. Once smoking, lay in the skewers in batches and cook, turning as you go, for about three to four minutes in total, until charred all over but not over-cooked. Transfer to a tray and cover with foil to keep warm.
Warm the bread on a hot grill for about 30 seconds on each side.
To serve, put a flatbread on each plate and top with two beef skewers each, brushing them with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkling with the chilli. Toss the parsley and mint into the sumac onions, divide the mixture between the plates and serve.
Machboos rubyan (AKA spiced rice)
Versions of spiced rice are found all around the Arabian Gulf, and also go by names such as kabsa or mandi. “Eat with your hands,” Noor says as I grab a fork. Serve with Greek yoghurt and chopped green chillies.
Soak 2 hr
Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr 55 min
Serves 6
400g basmati rice, soaked in plenty of water for 2 hours
1kg sustainably sourced* unshelled tiger/king prawns
1 tsp garam masala
¾ tsp turmeric
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
75ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
3 onions, peeled – 1 cut into 4 wedges, 1 finely chopped and 1 thinly sliced
2 lemons, 1 halved and the other juiced, to get 1 tbsp
1 head garlic, cut in half widthways
800ml chicken stock
2 cinnamon sticks
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 2cm pieces
8 cardamom pods, roughly crushed in a mortar
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and very finely minced
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 pinch ground cloves
3 plum tomatoes, coarsely grated and skins discarded (270g net weight)
40g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
35g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
1½ tbsp fresh dill leaves, roughly chopped
¼ tsp chilli flakes
Tip the soaked rice into a sieve and leave to drain. Peel and de-vein the prawns, saving the heads and shells. In a bowl, mix the peeled prawns with the garam masala, a quarter-teaspoon of turmeric, two cloves of crushed garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then refrigerate.
Put the onion wedges in a large saucepan for which you have a lid, then add the prawn heads and shells, lemon halves, head of garlic, stock, one cinnamon stick and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil on a medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes. Strain through a sieve set over a saucepan; discard the solids.Measure out 650ml of the liquid and keep warm (reserve any excess prawn stock for another dish).
On a medium-high flame, heat two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan for which you have a lid. Add the chopped onion, green pepper, cardamom and remaining cinnamon stick, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about eight minutes, until the onion is soft and lightly browned. Add the remaining crushed garlic, ginger and green chilli, and cook for a minute more, until fragrant. Add the spices, the remaining half-teaspoon of turmeric, tomatoes, 35g coriander and two tablespoons of the prawn stock, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened – about seven minutes.
Stir in the rice, to coat, then add the remaining prawn stock, one and three-quarter teaspoons of salt and a good grind of pepper. Bring to a boil, cover tightly first with foil and then with the lid, turn down the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, keeping the lid on, and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Uncover, dot with 20g butter, cover again, and leave to sit for 10 minutes more, until the butter has melted through the fluffy rice.
Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of oil and the remaining 15g butter in a large saute pan on a medium-high flame. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and deeply browned – about 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, return the pan to a high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. In two batches, add the marinated prawns and cook until browned and cooked through – about three minutes per batch. Transfer the prawns to a bowl and mix through the dill, chilli, lemon juice and remaining coriander.
Spread the rice on a large platter, top with the browned onions and then the prawns, and serve warm.
* The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. For ratings in your region, check: UK; Australia; US.
Chopped salad with feta and yoghurt
This fresh and crunchy salad cuts right through rich dishes such as the one above.
Prep 20 min
Cook 5 min
Serves 4 as a side
3 sticks celery, cut into 12mm-thick slices
1 cucumber, cut in half lengthways, deseeded and cut into 2.5mm half- moons
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 2.5mm-thick strips
½ red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
3 tbsp dill leaves, roughly chopped
3 tbsp coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2 tsp dried mint
1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
120g Greek-style yoghurt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice (ie, from 1-2 lemons)
Salt and black pepper
100g feta, thinly sliced into random shards
1 tsp sumac
Put the celery, cucumber, green pepper, onion, herbs and half the coriander seeds in a large bowl and mix to combine.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, two tablespoons of oil, the lemon juice, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then pour over the vegetables and toss well to combine.
Transfer half the salad to a large serving platter and top with half the feta. Repeat with another layer each of salad and feta, then top with the sumac and remaining coriander seeds, and finish by drizzling over the remaining tablespoon of oil.
