Machboos Rubyan — Print Recipe

Plump Gulf shrimp cooked with aromatic saffron rice, baharat spices, and dried limes in a fragrant one-pot dish. This seafood variation of Bahrain's national machboos celebrates the island's rich marine heritage.

Ingredients

500g large shrimp, peeled and deveined
500g basmati rice, soaked 30 min
2 large onions, diced
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 dried limes, pierced
2 tbsp baharat
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp saffron in 2 tbsp rose water
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Fried onions for topping

Instructions

1 Heat oil and fry diced onions until golden brown. Add garlic, baharat, and turmeric, cooking for one minute.
2 Add chopped tomatoes and dried limes. Cook for 5 minutes until tomatoes break down into a sauce.
3 Add shrimp and toss for 2 minutes until just pink. Remove shrimp and set aside to prevent overcooking.
4 Add drained rice to the pot with enough water to cover by 1cm. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and cook 18 minutes.
5 When rice is almost done, return shrimp to the pot, nestling them into the rice. Drizzle with saffron-rose water.
6 Cover for 5 more minutes to steam. Serve garnished with fried onions and fresh cilantro alongside daqoos sauce.

Did You Know?

Bahraini fishermen say the best machboos rubyan uses shrimp caught at dawn and cooked by noon — the fresher the shrimp, the sweeter the dish.