For the opening race of the season, we’re in Bahrain! A brilliant place to start, Bahrain is somewhat a melting pot of different cultures, the influences of which can be seen in it’s cuisine. Many Bahraini dishes are based around meat and rice, such as their national dish Machboos, a spiced rice usually served with chicken, or Quzi, featuring grilled lamb. Bahraini-style biryanis are also popular, albeit with a different cooking style to it's Indian counterparts.
For those whom meat is not their thing, they'll be relieved to hear that fresh fish is also a key part of the Bahrainian diet, owing to it's Gulf shores. So we're opening up with a fish-based starter this week, a recipe based on the traditional Chebeh Rubyan, Stuffed Prawn Balls with Sweet & Spicy Tamarind and Tomato Sauce. Typically these would be served with a light flatbread - you can find my recipe for easy flatbreads here.
For the main course, we're keeping on the fish theme, but exploring a more surprising tradition. Similarly to with meat, Bahrainian fish dishes are regularly served with rice, but also often with chips. After years of British rule, believe it or not, Fish & Chips has become a hugely popular dish throughout Bahrain and the Gulf. I have to say when I first discovered this fact I was so surprised, it became our dish for that week, and so here we are again!
Click below to download a full ingredients list.
Stuffed Prawn Balls with Sweet & Spicy Tamarind and Tomato Sauce
This is a traditional appetiser in Bahrain, so it's what I'm serving here as. However, once you get a taste for this sauce, you'll want to eat all day every day! In testing, I served both with and without the prawn balls, with cous cous and pasta, so it lends itself well to some less classic serving styles, after race weekend.
A key ingredient for this dish and in Bahraini cooking is Baharat spice mix, heady but mild in heat. You can buy it ready mixed, or if you've got all the component spices hanging about, it's easy enough to make up a batch yourself. The below recipe makes about 4 times what you need for this meal, but save this in a small jar as it’ll appear in other countries down the line!
For the Baharat spice mix:
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp black peppercorns
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom pod seeds
Pinch nutmeg
To prepare, toast all the spices for a couple of minutes in a hot pan. Keep stirring, so that the ground ones especially do not burn. Once they smell fragrant, remove from the heat and grind together into a fine powder in a spice grinder, or pestle and mortar.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
For the Prawn Balls:
250g raw prawns, any type will do as they’re being blitzed down!
Small bunch fresh coriander, plus a few extra leaves to serve, if you like
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
80-100g plain flour
Squeeze lemon juice
For the filling:
Knob of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp Baharat spice mix
Zest of ½ lemon, plus a little extra to serve, if you like
For the sauce:
Knob of butter
1 tsp Baharat spice mix
2tsp garlic paste/3 cloves
1 tsp tomato puree
½ tsp chilli powder, or less if you like it less spicy
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ tinned chopped tomatoes
2 tsp tamarind paste
½ tin water
1 tsp sugar
Method:
- Start by putting the onion filling on. Melt the knob of butter in a small pan, on a low heat, then add the Baharat spice mix. Cook for one minute before adding just under half of the chopped onion. Stir to get all the onion coated in the spice mix, and leave to slowly soften.
- Meanwhile, make a start on the sauce. Melt another knob of butter and a drizzle of oil in a deep frying pan (with a lid!), and add the other half of the chopped onion. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes until softened but not coloured, then add the Baharat spice mix, garlic, tomato puree and chilli powder and fry for a minute. Add both fresh and tinned tomatoes, tamarind paste, sugar and water, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes whilst you prepare the prawn balls.
- Remove the onions for the filling from the heat and pop onto a small plate to cool a little.
- Into a small blender or processor, pop the prawns, coriander and turmeric and season generously with salt and pepper. Pulse until roughly chopped then add the lemon juice and flour. Start by adding ¾ and see if you need it all, if your prawn meat is quite dry, it might not be necessary. Blitz until a thick paste, but still with some texture, then set aside.
- Once your onions have cooled, it’s time to assemble the balls. It helps to do this with wet hands, though a warning it gets messy regardless! Pull all the prawn mix out of the processor and into a bowl or onto a chopping board. At this point, if it still seems just too wet or unworkable, add a sprinkle more flour and mix through, note the texture will be much softer than say minced meat, for example.
- Take golf ball sized amounts of mix and flatten out in the palm of your hand. Sprinkle into the middle about a teaspoon of spiced onion, then bring the edges up and seal back into a rough ball shape. You should get 6-8 balls out of this mix. Set aside on a floured plate..
- Once the sauce has had it’s initial 10 minutes, season, stir the lemon juice through, then sit the prawn balls into the sauce and pop the lid on. Simmer for a further 15 mins, until the prawn is cooked through (the prawn ball will feel firm and a little bouncy to the touch) and the sauce has reduced.
- Serve the sauce in the base of a bowl, with 3 or 4 prawn balls on top, a grating of lemon zest and some fresh coriander.
Fish & Chips with Minted Pea Puree
Serves 2
Ingredients:
For the chips:
1 large or 2 medium floury potatoes
For the fish:
2 large cod fillets, we used skin on, but use skinless if you prefer, or you could use haddock too.
100g Self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
180ml fizzy water
Flavourless oil for frying (vegetable/sunflower etc.)
For the pea puree:
200g frozen peas
½ tsp dried mint
½ tsp dried parsley
½ tsp garlic paste
Knob of butter
Handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 fan.
- Start by chopping the potatoes into chips, I go for a French fry style, around 1cm thick, but you may wish to go a little thicker. Lay out on kitchen roll pat them as dry as you can.
- Set aside and prepare the batter for the fish, whisking together the flour with the fizzy water until you have a smooth and relatively thick batter. Season with plenty of salt. Sprinkle some extra flour on a plate, ready for covering the fish in.
- Meanwhile, heat 2-3cm of oil in a wide frying pan. Use a small offcut of chip to check the oil is hot (it needs to sizzle as soon as it’s dropped in), then, in batches, fry the chips for 3-4 minutes, until golden. As each batch is ready, lift out of the oil with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen roll and set aside in a thin layer on a baking tray.
- For the puree, add the peas, herbs & garlic paste to a pan of boiling water (this makes the garlic flavour a little more subtle!), bring back up to the boil and simmer for 2 mins.
- Drain, reserving the cooking water, and add the peas to a food processor with the butter and fresh mint. Whizz until smooth and creamy, but still with some texture - adding a little of the garlicky cooking water if too thick. Season and taste then leave in the processor with the lid on - it should stay warm whilst you cook the fish. If you don't have a food processor, or would prefer a chunkier texture, just crush with a fork.
- Pop the fish fillets onto the flour plate and pat the flour all over the fish. This helps the batter stick. Shake off any excess then dip into the batter, ensuring the fillet is covered all over. Holding the fillet up from the tail, allow some of the excess batter to drain off, then carefully place into the hot oil, laying the fillet down away from you in case the oil splashes. Cook for 3-4 mins each side, depending on the thickness of your fillet. You're looking for a deep golden colour on each side, with the fish feeling firm to the touch.
- Once cooked, remove fish with a slotted spoon or spatula and pop on some kitchen roll to drain off any excess oil.
- For the final 3 mins of fish cooking time, pop the chips into the hot oven to heat through and crisp back up (try not to forget about them whilst feeding the cats, like I did!). Check that the puree is still warm (if not, or you want it piping hot, give it a blast in the microwave or heat through in a pan with a little more of the cooking water). Season the chips and fish, if you like, with salt and vinegar, then plate up alongside the puree. Serve with any sauces of your choice, curry here for the Northerner, of course.
Alternative Options
Stuffed Prawn Balls with Sweet & Spicy Tamarind and Tomato Sauce
- Make these meaty using beef or lamb mince
- Go veggie or vegan with plant-based mince - Naked Without the Moo is our favourite. Use a little oil or water in the mix if you need some additional moisture. Omit butter in the sauce and onion, if required.
Fish & Chips with Minted Pea Puree
- For veggie or vegan, opt for Tofu or Banana Blossom. Omit butter in the pea puree and add a little vegan spread or oil.
- For those who aren't fans of fish - what do you eat at the chippy?! Battered sausages not allowed here; a piece of simply grilled meat would be a sensible substitute, perhaps rubbed in a little of the Baharat spice mix.
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