AI-generated image
Vegetable machboos
Machboos khudar: Bahraini spiced rice with vegetables and hashu onion-raisin topping
In Bahrain and Kuwait machboos is the rice dish of the home kitchen: deeper yellow than Saudi kabsa, with more turmeric, more dried lime and a last splash of rose water that perfumes the whole pot. Families cook it for the big midday meal, especially on Fridays and through Ramadan, and pile it high on a round metal tray. Here potatoes, cauliflower and peppers take the place of chicken, and the rice is crowned with hashu, soft caramelised onions with raisins and a pinch of black lime powder. Chef's tip: brown the potatoes and cauliflower before the rice goes in; their golden edges give the meaty depth the chicken usually brings.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the machboos
For the hashu
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide, heavy pot over a medium-high heat. Add 2 potatoes and fry for 6–7 minutes, turning, until golden on most sides. Add 10 ½ oz cauliflower and fry 3–4 minutes more until it has brown patches. Lift the vegetables out onto a plate.
11 minStep 2: Lower the heat to medium. Fry 1 onion in the same pot for 6–8 minutes until soft and golden. Add 4 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp fresh ginger and 1 green chilli and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
9 minStep 3: Stir in 1 ½ tbsp bezar or baharat spice mix, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 3 dried limes (loomi) and 4 green cardamom pods and fry for 30 seconds, until the spices smell warm and the oil turns yellow. Add 2 tomatoes and cook for 4–5 minutes, pressing them down, until they collapse into a sauce.
5 minStep 4: Pour in 3 ¼ cups vegetable stock with 1 ½ tsp salt, return the potatoes and cauliflower, add 1 red pepper and simmer for 8 minutes, until a knife slides into the potato with only slight resistance.
8 minStep 5: Meanwhile make the hashu: fry 2 onions in 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until soft, sticky and caramel brown. Add 1 ¾ oz golden raisins, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp dried lime powder and cook 2 minutes more until the raisins plump. Keep warm.
20 minStep 6: Drain 14 oz basmati rice and spread it over the vegetables without stirring. The liquid should just cover the rice. Boil over a high heat for 3–4 minutes until the surface is pitted with steam holes.
4 minStep 7: Sprinkle 1 tsp rose water over the top, cover tightly, turn the heat to its lowest and steam for 20 minutes. Common mistake: adding rose water at the start boils away its scent; it goes in only for the final steam.
20 minStep 8: Rest off the heat for 5 minutes, then turn the pot out onto a platter or spoon the rice over the vegetables. Top with the hashu and 3 tbsp fresh coriander.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 590 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 104 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 8 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vegetable machboos take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 65 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of basmati rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Masala ugali
Ugali, East Africa's staple of maize meal cooked into a stiff porridge, given a lift with toasted cumin, butter, fresh coriander and green chilli. Stir it hard and keep it soft. Serve hot with sukumawiki or any stew.
Paneer biryani
A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.
Plain cooked rice
Two reliable ways to cook plain rice. Method 1 lets the rice soak up all its water, for soft, fluffy rice to serve with curry and dal. Method 2 boils it in plenty of water and drains it, giving separate grains for fried rice, pilau and salads. Soaking first helps the grains cook evenly.
