Machboos is an Arabic rice dish in which the chicken/mutton is slow cooked with different spices and rice over low flame for a long time which imparts the entire dish an awesome flavor and taste.
Bahrain has been my home away from home for the past 6 years. Over the years, I have gotten to love the country with its amicable people and delectable cuisine. Bahraini cuisine with its delicious Shwarma, Kebabs, Falafel, Balaleet, Machboos, Mahyawa etc is a treat for food lovers.
I have always loved Machboos but had never ended up making it. However last weekend, I gave it a try and it turned out delicious. It was so yumm that I made it again over this long Eid weekend. The mutton is slowly cooked with spices over low flame which imparts an amazing flavor to the rice. I referred to the chicken machboos recipe on deliciousgourmet the first time to make it. The second time around, I made a few changes to it based on our taste.
When I read the recipe for the first time, there were two ingredients which I knew I had to arrange for – Baharat and Loomi. Baharat is a popular spice used in Arabic cuisine and Loomi is nothing but dried lime. I easily found both the ingredients in a store close to my house.I found that these are also available on Amazon:
Doyen Baharat Seasoning – Exotic Middle East Seasoning
Paraman The Supernatural Black Lemon (Dried) ( 100 GMS X 3 Packs) (300 GMS)
Here is the mutton machboos recipe with pictures:
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
Basmati Rice: 2 cups
Onions: 2 large chopped
Jalapeno Pepper: 2 deseeded and finely chopped
Tomatoes: 2 large chopped
Ghee: 3 tbsp
Turmeric: 1 tsp
Oil: 4 tbsp
Mutton: 1 kg cut into pieces
Ginger: 1 tbsp grated
Garlic: 5 cloves finely chopped
Green Cardamom: 5
Cinnamon: 1 large stick
Dried Lime (Loomi): 3 with several holes punched in them
Clove Powder: 1/4 tsp
Chicken Stock: 2.5 cups
Rosewater: 1-2 tsp (optional)
Coriander: 1/4 cup finely chopped
Salt: 2.5 tsp
Baharat: 1 tbsp
Method of Preparation:
- Wash the rice and soak it in water for 1/2 hour.
- Apply some salt to the mutton pieces and keep aside.
- In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the mutton pieces and fry the mutton for a couple of minutes on either side. Keep aside.
- Heat ghee in the pan. Add onion and fry till brown.
- Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeno pepper and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the turmeric powder, baharat and salt and mix well.
- Add the mutton, tomatoes, cardamom, cinnamon, dried lime,clove powder and mix well.
- Add chicken stock and mix. Reduce heat to low, close the pan and slow cook for 1 hour.
- Add the coriander, rice and 1-2 cups water and mix well. Close and cook till rice is completely cooked.
- Sprinkle the rose water before serving.
For more rice dishes on this blog, you can click here: Rice Dishes. Some popular ones in this category are Chicken Biryani, Prawns Pulao, Vegetable Pulao.
Mutton Machboos
- Basmati Rice: 2 cups
- Onions: 2 large chopped
- Jalapeno Pepper: 2 deseeded and finely chopped
- Tomatoes: 2 large chopped
- Ghee: 3 tbsp
- Turmeric: 1 tsp
- Oil: 4 tbsp
- Mutton: 1 kg cut into pieces
- Ginger: 1 tbsp grated
- Garlic: 5 cloves finely chopped
- Green Cardamom: 5
- Cinnamon: 1 large stick
- Dried Lime (Loomi): 3 with several holes punched in them
- Clove Powder: ¼ tsp
- Chicken Stock: 2.5 cups
- Rosewater: 1-2 tsp (optional)
- Coriander: ¼ cup finely chopped
- Salt: 2.5 tsp
- Baharat: 1 tbsp
- Wash the rice and soak it in water for ½ hour.
- Apply some salt to the mutton pieces and keep aside.
- In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the mutton pieces and fry the mutton for a couple of minutes on either side. Keep aside.
- Heat ghee in the pan. Add onion and fry till brown.
- Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeno pepper and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the turmeric powder, baharat and salt and mix well.
- Add the mutton, tomatoes, cardamom, cinnamon, dried lime,clove powder and mix well.
- Add chicken stock and mix. Reduce heat to low, close the pan and slow cook for 1 hour.
- Add the coriander, rice and 1-2 cups water and mix well. Close and cook till rice is completely cooked.
- Sprinkle the rose water before serving.
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