Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Bahraini Machboos
Bahrain national dish: chicken braised in a baharat and dried-lime spiced tomato base, then rice cooked in that broth.
Bahraini · medium · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 70 min
~594 cal · 44g protein · 63g carbs · 17g fat · 3g fiber · 3g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Machboos is the national dish of Bahrain, a one-pot meal born of the pearl-diving era when sailors needed something filling built from rice, whatever meat or fish was to hand, and the spices that flowed through the island trade. Chicken is browned and with onion, tomato, baharat and dried black lime, then the soaked rice cooks in that deeply flavoured broth.
The dried lime, loomi, gives machboos its unmistakable tart, smoky edge, impossible to fake with fresh citrus. In Manama it is mounded on a platter with the chicken on top, scattered with herbs and, in many homes, a whisper of .
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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 6
2 lb chicken, in pieces
2 cups basmati rice
2 onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, grated
1 tbsp baharat spice blend
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 dried black lime, pierced
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro and parsley, chopped
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Brown the chicken in the oil in a heavy pot, then set aside. Soften the onions in the same pot until golden.
2
Add the garlic, ginger, baharat and turmeric and cook a minute, then stir in the tomatoes, pierced black limes and cinnamon.
3
Return the chicken, add water to cover, and simmer covered about 30 minutes until tender. Stir in the herbs.
4
Lift out the chicken. Measure the broth so the rice will sit under it by a finger width, adding water if short.
✎ Chef’s note
Pierce the dried limes first so their tart, smoky flavour can leach into the broth.
5
Stir the soaked rice into the broth, set the chicken on top, cover, and cook on low 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is tender.
6
Fluff gently, mound on a platter with the chicken, and serve.
Manama home 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. Bahraini cuisine reflects Gulf pearl-diving and trade, machboos spiced rice, fresh fish, and the sweet muhammar rice. Dates, dried lime, and Persian and Indian influences define the island's table.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
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: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Bahrain meal
RanginakDessert
GhooziLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Emirati MachboosUnited Arab Emirates
Qatari MachboosQatar
Maqluba (Upside-Down Rice)Jordan
Palestinian MaqlubaPalestine
Kittitian PelauSaint Kitts and Nevis
PelauTrinidad & Tobago
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bahraini Machboos?
Bahrain national dish: chicken braised in a baharat and dried-lime spiced tomato base, then rice cooked in that broth.
Where does Bahraini Machboos come from?
Bahraini Machboos is a Bahraini dish from Manama, Bahrain.
Can Bahraini Machboos be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bahraini Machboos 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 Machboos 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 Machboos take to make?
About 90 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 70 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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