Emirati Machboos: The Rice Dish That Carries a Culinary Heritage

Machboos is the Gulf Arabic name for a family of spiced rice dishes closely related to kabsa, and in the UAE it is the dish most likely to arrive on a shared platter. Its origins are debated, but its signature is easy to taste: rice cooked in the juices of an onion-and-tomato base, scented with saffron and sharpened by loomi, the dried lime that the cook pierces and drops into the pot.

Emirati versions lean on bezar, a house spice mix, and on ghee. When the Dubai chef Nabhan Al Ali described what stays constant in his kitchen at Athar, he named Emirati ghee, loomi and bezar, as Gulf News reported in August. At Al Khayma in Al Fahidi, Michelin’s inspectors recommend the lamb machboos for sharing, and a review describes the dish as a layered rice cooked slowly with onion, baharat and loomi.

The recipe below is a fish machboos, the coastal version. The fish is seasoned and fried first, then laid on the rice for the final steam, so that it finishes gently in the pot while the rice settles beneath it. The quantities follow a kingfish recipe from The Big Sweet Tooth, scaled up for six, and borrow from two other published versions: a Gulf News recipe from a St Regis chef, which adds potatoes and rose water, and a Khaleej Times recipe built on a lemony fish broth.

Fish adds little flavour of its own, so the rice has to carry the seasoning. Do not be timid with the bezar or the loomi, and give the onions their full 15 to 20 minutes. Chicken and lamb versions follow the same logic; Gulf News has published a chicken machboos from the executive chef at Emirates Flight Catering, with roasted chicken laid over the rice and garnished with fried onions, nuts and dates.

To see the dish in its heritage setting, read our feature on Al Khayma in Al Fahidi. For its Saudi cousin, see our look at kabsa.

THE RECIPE

Emirati Machboos

Serves6

Prep25 min, plus 30 min soaking

Cook1 hr 20 min

−

6

servings+

Print

Ingredients

For the fish

• 750 g thick white fish steaks, such as kingfish or hammour, patted dry
• 3/4 tsp ground coriander
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp chilli powder, or to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp bezar spice mix, or a baharat blend
• 4 tbsp neutral oil, for shallow-frying
• Salt, to taste

For the rice

• 3 tbsp ghee or olive oil
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp bezar spice mix
• 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 3 pieces loomi (dried limes), pierced with a knife
• 2 green chillies, slit lengthways (optional)
• 550 g basmati rice, rinsed, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
• 1 l hot water or fish stock
• 1 pinch saffron threads (a generous pinch), steeped in 3 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tbsp ghee, for finishing
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

To serve

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• A spicy tomato salad or pickles

Method

1. 1

   Mix the coriander, cumin, black pepper, chilli and bezar with a good pinch of salt, rub the mixture over the fish and leave it for 15 minutes while the rice soaks.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan with a tight-fitting lid and fry the fish for about 3 minutes on each side, until browned but not cooked through. Lift it out and set it aside; it will finish cooking on top of the rice.

3. 3

   Add the ghee to the same pan with the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 15 to 20 minutes until they are deep golden.

4. 4

   Stir in the garlic for a minute, then add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, mashing the tomatoes, until they have broken down into a thick, jammy base.

5. 5

   Add the cumin, coriander, bezar, turmeric, ginger, loomi and green chillies and stir for about 2 minutes, until the raw smell of the spices has gone.

6. 6

   Pour in the hot water or stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Taste it now: the liquid should be assertive, because the rice will soften it.

7. 7

   Add the drained rice, stir once and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and small steam holes appear in the surface of the rice.

8. 8

   Turn the heat to its lowest setting. Drizzle the saffron water and the finishing ghee over the rice, scatter on the coriander and lay the fish on top.

9. 9

   Seal the pan with a sheet of foil or a clean cloth, press the lid down tightly and steam for 20 minutes.

10. 10

    Switch off the heat and leave the pan undisturbed for 10 minutes before opening it.

11. 11

    Fluff the rice gently, then spoon it onto a platter with the fish on top and serve with lemon wedges and a spicy tomato salad or pickles.

Cook’s notes

• Choose thick, firm fish such as kingfish, hammour or pomfret so the pieces hold together through frying and steaming. Whole fish can replace steaks.
• Fish adds little flavour to the rice, so the base must carry the seasoning. Piercing the loomi lets its sour, fermented note into the pot; leave in more for a sharper rice.
• Two Gulf variations: add a tablespoon of rose water to the saffron water, as in versions published by Gulf News and Khaleej Times, or add small cubes of potato to the base, as in the Gulf News recipe from the chef at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.
• For chicken or lamb machboos, replace the fish with roasted or braised meat laid on the rice at step 8; Gulf News’ recipe from Emirates Flight Catering roasts the chicken at 180°C for 20 minutes first and garnishes with fried onions, nuts and dates.

Sources & fact-check8

1. Machboos Samak: Emirati fish majboosThe Big Sweet Tooth, 16 May 2021
2. Fish machboos (recipe by Daniel Nuss, St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort)Gulf News, 10 June 2021
3. Ramadan recipe: fish machboosKhaleej Times, 22 May 2017
4. How to make Emirati-style chicken machboos (recipe by Saud Al Matrooshi, Emirates Flight Catering)Gulf News, 2 December 2022
5. How Chef Nabhan Al Ali is preserving Emirati flavours and memories in DubaiGulf News, 8 August 2026
6. Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant, DubaiMICHELIN Guide
7. Al Khayma, Dubailive2makan, 24 February 2023
8. KabsaWikipedia

Every name, number and date in this story was checked against the sources above before publication. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we correct errors openly. See our editorial standards.