Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus
Whole grouper baked Bahrain-style with turmeric and dried lime, served with daqqus, the Gulf spiced tomato sauce.
Bahraini · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~66 cal · 3g protein · 14g carbs · 1g fat · 3g fiber · 6g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Hammour, the local grouper, is a favourite of Bahraini households, prized for its meaty white flesh. Rubbed with turmeric, cumin and dried black lime and baked until flaky, it is a coastal dish that reflects the island long relationship with its waters.
It is served with daqqus, a loose, garlicky Gulf tomato sauce sharpened with green chili and dried lime, spooned over the fish or alongside rice. Simple and bright, it is everyday Bahraini cooking that lets the fresh fish lead.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 1/2 lb grouper (hammour) fillets
1 lemon, juiced
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp dried black lime powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 onion, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 green chili, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Rub the fish with the lemon juice, half the garlic, the turmeric, cumin, dried lime and salt, and marinate 15 minutes.
2
Lay the fish in an oiled dish and bake at 400F for about 20 minutes until it flakes easily.
3
For the daqqus, soften the onion and remaining garlic in oil, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste and green chili.
4
Simmer the sauce 10 to 15 minutes until thick and jammy, seasoning with salt and a little more dried lime.
✎ Chef’s note
Cook the daqqus down until the oil just begins to separate: that is when the tomato flavour is deepest.
5
Spoon the daqqus over the baked fish, scatter with cilantro, and serve with rice.
Bahraini coastal cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Manama. Manama is sweet on machboos and on muhammar, rice cooked with dates or sugar and saffron and served against salted fish. Bahraini cooking reflects Gulf trade in cardamom, rosewater, dried lime, and the pearl-diving history of the islands.
🗺️
Bahrain. Bahrain is an archipelago with fresh springs, unusual in the Gulf, which is why it was settled and traded from early on. The fish comes from close in, hamour and safi and shrimp, and the rice, spice and technique from Persia and India across the water, so a Bahraini machboos leans more towards its neighbours than towards the desert behind it.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Bahrain
MuhammarBahrain's sweet brown rice scented with date syrup, saffron, and cardamom, traditionally served with fried fish.
ChebabSaffron-and-cardamom pancakes tinted gold, served with cheese or date syrup, a Gulf breakfast.
GhooziSpiced rice crowned with tender roasted lamb, fried nuts, and raisins, a grand Bahraini and Gulf celebration platter.
Browse all Bahrain recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
Make it a Bahrain meal
RanginakDessert
GhooziLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus?
Whole grouper baked Bahrain-style with turmeric and dried lime, served with daqqus, the Gulf spiced tomato sauce.
Where does Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus come from?
Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus is a Bahraini dish from Manama, Bahrain.
Can Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bahraini Hammour with Daqqus take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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