Bahraini Recipes: Methods to Make Stuffed Vine Leaves, Hen Machbous and Elba

When Roaya Saleh opened her first restaurant, Villa Mamas, in Bahrain in 2012, she had one purpose: to feed folks the way in which her mom fed her – with generosity, soul and spice.

A former funding banker turned chef, Saleh has since change into identified for her instinctive home-style cooking and heartfelt hospitality, with eating places now in London, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Nevertheless it’s not the worldwide attain that defines her meals – it’s the deep roots within the flavours and tales of the Gulf.

Nicknamed the “Daughter of the Gulf”, Saleh celebrates the comforting dishes of Bahrain and the broader area with a contemporary contact and a giant coronary heart.

Right here, she shares three recipes for a seasonal unfold that’s perfect for internet hosting – or simply treating your self to one thing sun-soaked and aromatic. Assume stuffed vine leaves laced with mint and lemon; a deeply spiced rooster machbous, Bahrain’s nationwide dish; and a silky, saffron-rose custard topped with caramel – her mom’s beloved Elba.

Every recipe comes with considerate suggestions and little secrets and techniques – from layering spices to utilizing a water bathtub for the right pudding wobble – and displays Saleh’s perception that the very best meals doesn’t come from perfection, however from ardour. For those who’re on the lookout for one thing vibrant, heat and made to share, it is a good place to begin.

Warak enab (stuffed vine leaves)

A Levantine basic of vine leaves stuffed with herbed rice, tomato and mint, slowly simmered in a spiced lemon-tomato broth.

Substances:

500g Egyptian rice, washed

750g tomatoes, chopped

750g onion, chopped

10g contemporary mint, chopped

10g parsley, chopped

10g dry mint

10g all spice

10g cinnamon powder

440ml lemon juice

300ml olive oil

30g salt

For the broth:

½ cup olive oil

½ cup lemon juice

500ml filtered water

500g tomato purée

½ tsp pink chilli powder (optionally available)

1 tsp salt

Methodology:

1. Put together the filling: In a big bowl, combine the rice, tomato, onion, herbs, spices, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Let it marinate for a minimum of 1 hour or in a single day for the very best flavour.

2. Pressure the filling: Use a strainer to separate the rice combination from its juices. Reserve the juice for later use within the cooking broth.

3. Put together the vine leaves: If utilizing jarred or canned vine leaves, wash totally to take away extra salt. Pressure and separate the leaves; use solely massive, intact ones. Trim and discard any exhausting stems.

4. Assemble the rolls: Lay a vine leaf shiny facet down. Place about 30g of filling within the centre. Fold the edges in, and roll tightly right into a neat cylinder. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.

5. Layer and prepare dinner: Line the underside of a heavy pot with potato slices (to stop burning). Stack the vine rolls tightly, seam facet down. Place a heavy plate the other way up on prime to carry them in place.

6. Add the broth: Pour within the reserved marinade, plus the components for the broth.

7. Prepare dinner: Deliver to a boil, then scale back to a simmer, cowl, and prepare dinner gently for two hours. After 1 hour, you possibly can place a metal plate or stand underneath the pot to keep away from burning the bottom.

Different methodology:

After bringing to a boil, place the lined pot in a preheated oven at 180C and bake for 4 hours.

Hen machbous

The nationwide dish of Bahrain, machbous, is a celebratory rooster and rice dish layered with heat and perfume.

Substances:

For the rooster and rice:

1.6kg bone-in, skin-on rooster

5 cups Basmati Sella rice, washed till water runs clear

120g ghee, plus 50g extra for ending

500g pink onion, diced

100g contemporary ginger, finely chopped or grated

50g garlic, minced

12g inexperienced chillies, chopped (optionally available)

10g curry leaves, stems eliminated

150g tomato purée

20g dried blond lime (deseeded)

1.5L filtered boiling water

1½ tbsp sea salt

20g rooster inventory powder or 1 dice

150g contemporary coriander and dill, chopped with stems

60ml lime juice

For the combined spice mix:

5g turmeric powder

2g cinnamon powder

2g cumin powder

8g coriander powder

2g cardamom powder

8g combined spice mix

For marinating the rooster:

1 tsp combined spice mix

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black lime powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

Methodology:

1. Marinate the rooster: Rub the rooster with the marination spices: combined spice, salt, black lime powder, and turmeric. Put aside for a minimum of half-hour, or in a single day within the fridge.

2. Sear the rooster:In a big, vast 5L pot, warmth the ghee over medium-high warmth. Sear the marinated rooster items till golden on each side. Take away and put aside.

3. Sauté the aromatics: In the identical pot, add the diced onions, chopped ginger, and curry leaves. Prepare dinner over medium warmth till the onions flip golden brown.

4. Construct the spice base: Add the garlic and inexperienced chillies (if utilizing), then stir in turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cardamom, and combined spice mix. Sauté for 2-3 minutes till aromatic.

5. Create the broth: Stir within the tomato purée and prepare dinner till effectively integrated. Add the dried lime, rooster inventory powder, and sea salt. Pour within the boiling water. Return the seared rooster to the pot, cowl, and simmer on medium warmth for 40 minutes.

6. Prepare dinner the rice: As soon as the rooster is cooked, take away it and put aside. Add the chopped coriander and dill to the broth and convey it to a boil. Add the washed rice and gently stir. Prepare dinner on medium warmth for about 2 minutes, till the rice has absorbed a lot of the liquid. Return the rooster to the pot, nestling it into the rice.

7. Steam to complete: Cut back the warmth to low. Cowl the pot tightly with foil and a lid, and steam for 20 minutes till the rice is absolutely cooked and fluffy.

8. Remaining contact: Drizzle 50g of sizzling ghee over the rice, adopted by the lime juice. Cowl once more and steam for a last 5 minutes.

9. To serve: Fluff the rice gently and serve the rooster machbous sizzling with crisp salad, cool raita, or a pointy tomato chutney.

Mama’s Elba (saffron rose milk pudding with caramel)

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This milk-based pudding – often called Elba – is a beloved dessert throughout the Gulf. This model, shared by Roaya, layers Center Japanese aromatics right into a silken custard set over shiny caramel. The recipe makes use of each rose water and cardamom, with a contact of saffron and nigella seed to create depth and perfume.

Serves: 8

Substances:

For the custard:

5 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla essence

1 cup milk powder

½ cup granulated white sugar

½ tsp freshly floor cardamom

⅛ tsp saffron powder (or use saffron threads, if accessible)

½ cup thick, full-fat cream

500ml full-fat contemporary milk

½ tsp nigella seeds

60ml (¼ cup) rose water

For the caramel:

¾ cup white sugar

2 tbsp room-temperature water

Methodology:

1. Infuse the saffron rose: In a small bowl, mix the saffron powder (or crushed threads) with the rose water. Put aside to infuse whilst you put together the custard base.

2. Mix the custard: In a high-speed blender or stand mixer, mix the eggs, vanilla, milk powder, sugar, cardamom, and the saffron-infused rose water. Mix till clean and absolutely integrated. Switch to a jug for simple pouring, then stir within the nigella seeds gently utilizing a spatula.

3. Make the caramel: Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium warmth. Permit it to simmer with out stirring till it turns a deep amber color. Shortly pour the new caramel into 8 particular person ramekins, swirling every one to coat the underside evenly.

4. Bake in a water bathtub: Preheat the oven to 180C. Pour the custard combination into the caramel-lined ramekins. Prepare the ramekins in a deep baking tray and thoroughly fill the tray with sizzling water till it reaches midway up the ramekins’ sides. Cowl the tray tightly with foil to lure steam and guarantee even cooking. Bake for 45 minutes, or till the custards are simply set with a slight wobble within the centre.

5. Cool and chill: Take away the ramekins from the water bathtub and permit them to chill to room temperature. As soon as cooled, refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or ideally in a single day.

6. To serve: Run a small knife across the edge of every ramekin and gently invert onto dessert plates. Garnish with a sprinkle of pistachio powder and an edible flower for a contemporary, seasonal end.

Chef’s notes: