Auntie Maryam’s Shrimp Machboos

Ingrediants

Ingredients

For Boiling the Shrimp:

• 750g Shrimp (unpeeled, yields approx. 375g cleaned).
• Aromatics: 3 cm fresh ginger (sliced), 2 garlic cloves (sliced), 1 small onion (quartered), 2 whole green chilies (pierced), a few cilantro stalks.
• Whole Spices: 2 cinnamon sticks, 3–4 cloves, 3–4 black peppercorns, 3–4 cardamom pods (cracked).
• Ground Spices: A generous pinch of Bahraini fish masala, ¼ tsp turmeric, 2 dried black limes (Beid Lomi, pierced).

Spice Paste:

• 3 cm fresh ginger, 1–2 green chilies, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp Bahraini mixed spice, 1 tsp fish masala, a few drops of lemon juice, generous pinches of turmeric and red chili powder, 1 ½ tsp salt.

The Filling (Edam):

• 2 cups potato cubes (2cm), 2 ½ cups chopped onion, ¾ tsp dried black lime powder, 3 ½ tbsp vegetable oil.
• 4 tbsp split chickpeas (Nakhee Aish) or black-eyed peas (Loba), boiled until tender.
• 4–5 tbsp raisins (Kishmish) - optional.
• ½ tsp cardamom powder, ¾ tsp salt, ¾ tsp Bahraini spices, ⅛ tsp red chili powder.

For the Rice:

• 3 cups Basmati rice (washed and drained).
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, ½ cup chopped onion, ½ cup chopped cilantro.
• ⅓ cup Mung beans (Maash), boiled until tender.
• Saffron threads soaked in 2 tbsp rose water.

The Sizzle (Farkaa’a):

• 2 tbsp sliced onions (wings), 3 tbsp vegetable oil.

Direction

Instructions

1. Boil Shrimp: Place shrimp in a pot with enough water to submerge. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, and add all "Boiling" aromatics and spices. Once cooked, remove from heat and add salt to the broth (it should be pleasantly salty).
2. Prep Legumes: Boil the potatoes until tender, salt them, and leave in their water. Separately, boil the mung beans and split chickpeas in fresh water until tender; salt them and leave in their water.
3. Prepare Paste: Mash all Spice Paste ingredients together until a smooth paste forms. Reserve ¼ of this paste for the rice.
4. The Filling (Hashu): In a medium pot, sauté the onions without oil. When they stick to the bottom, sprinkle with a little water and scrape. Repeat until the onions are deep brown. Add 3 ½ tbsp oil, the spice paste, black lime powder, split chickpeas, spices, and raisins. Finally, fold in the drained shrimp and boiled potatoes. Sprinkle with a little saffron-rose water, cover, and let sit on very low heat.
5. Cook the Rice: In a medium pot, heat 3 tbsp oil. Sauté ½ cup onion and the reserved ¼ of the spice paste. Add the drained rice and mung beans; stir to coat in oil. Stir in the chopped cilantro.
6. The Liquid: Pour in the strained shrimp broth, topped up with the cooking water from the mung beans and split chickpeas (and boiling water if needed) to reach a total of 5 ¼ cups of liquid. Adjust salt. Add the whole spices and dried limes from the broth.
7. Simmer: Boil uncovered until most of the water is absorbed. Cover tightly with a heat diffuser underneath and simmer on very low for 20 minutes.
8. Burial: Make a hole in one side of the rice. "Bury" the shrimp filling (Edam) inside and cover it back up with rice.
9. The Farkaa’a: Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions until brown and crispy. Pour the onions and hot oil evenly over the rice. Sprinkle the surface with the remaining saffron-rose water. Cover tightly and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
10. Serving: Lift the rice from over the shrimp and set the shrimp mixture aside in a bowl. Fluff the rice and mound it on a large platter. Top with the shrimp filling and garnish with the dried limes and chilies.

Serve with Tamarind Daqoos or Tomato Daqoos (p. 69). Bil’afiya! (To your health!)