The Cuisine of Bahrain

Baid Tomat

A popular breakfast dish, baid tomat combined eggs and tomatoes. Basically the eggs are fried with the tomatoes but can include such ingredients as onions, tomato paste, and other fillings. This dish is best eaten with freshly baked Iranian bread or a side of baked beans.

Balaleet

This dish is among the most recognizable breakfast dishes in Bahrain. To prepare this dish, sweet vermicelli is seasoned with saffron, cardamom, and rose water. Then the vermicelli is topped with fried eggs or an omelet.

Emmawash

This dish combines rice with mung beans and dried or fresh shrimp. Emmawash is the sister dish of Machboos. It is prepared with rice, shrimp, black-eyed pears, mung beans, and lentils. The shrimp are cooked after onions have been caramelized. Then the beans are added with the blend of loomi and bahrat, topped off with rice, and all boiled together.

Harees

This dish is prepared by slowly cooking wheat with meat until the grains and meat form a smooth, dense mixture. Usually it is finished with ghee and can be seasoned with cinnamon. Harees, a traditional dish from Bahrain, primarily uses chicken or lamb as its meat component.

Kabsa

Kabsa is a rice dish that has been influenced by Persian and Indian biryanis. In preparing the dish, liquid from cooking fish or meat is used to boil long-grain rice along with spices. The dish can be made with chicken, lamb, camel meat, fish, shrimp, or duck. The meat or fish is placed on top of rice and served on a large platter to be shared and eaten by hand.

Macaroni Teybeen

The dish translates to “good old macaroni." It is prepared with macaroni, minced meat, tomato paste, and a mix of vegetables such as peas, carrots, and potatoes. For flavor, dill and dried coriander are added. The dis can be topped off with bechamel or cheese sauce. Elbow macaroni is commonly used for traditional dishes.

Machboos

A traditional basmati rice dish, machboos, is a combination of meat, poultry, shrimp, or fish cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices. Loomi, which is dried black lime, gives the dish its characteristic citrus fragrance. Among the spices used can be cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, and black pepper according to taste.

The most favored are chicken machboos, with the lamb version being richer, and the shrimp and fish versions reflect the maritime history of Bahrain. Machboos dishes are accompanied by dagoos, tomato-based sauce served separately.

Margoog

Margoog is a stew that combines meat, vegetables, and thin pieces of dough cooked directly in the sauce. The dough absorbs the broth, giving the dish a soft texture. Recipes may vary, but the meat used is usually chicken or lamb along with tomatoes, onions, courgettes, aubergines, and other vegetables.

Muhammar with Fried Fish

Muhammar refers to rice that has been sweetened with date molasses or sugar and flavored with spices. The rice is traditionally served with fried fish to create a contrast between the savory seafood and sweet rice. Some of the fish used for this dish include safi and kingfish. The fish and rice should be eaten together.

Salona

This dish is a tomato-based stew made with lamb, chicken, fish, or vegetables. The most common vegetables used are potatoes, okra, aubergines, and carrots. For acidity, dried lime is added. The stew is eaten with rice or bread.

Samak Safi

This dish is prepared with the tasty local fish safi. The fish is spiced with turmeric, black pepper, dried coriander, and sumac. It is served with basmati rice and a side of fried tomatoes and eggplants.

Tikka

This is a dish that is prepared with grilled chicken or meat. The meat or chicken pieces are marinated overnight and then grilled. The chicken is flavored with paprika and tomato. If using meat, it can be marinated in a yogurt mix. The dish is served with Iranian bread and greens.