Travelling around in Qatar and you just happen to be a hard-core foodie at heart? Then teasing your taste buds with the delicious machboos, a definitive dish of the region packed with tantalising flavours is a must!
The Dish
Popular across many emirates in the UAE and other countries across the region of Saudi Arabia, machboos is a national delicacy in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait! Quite similar to biriyani another popular dish in the Middle East, it is also called Kabsa. Fragrant with the aroma of various spices, it is often paired with lamb, chicken and camel meat.
How it is Made
The dish does require a reasonable amount of prepping which is definitely well worth the effort. The machboos feature heavily spiced meat which is left to marinate over a very low flame to bring out the flavour. The rice component of it usually takes about 15-20 minutes to be prepared.
The spices
A variety of spices are featured in this dish which includes a mixture of paprika and nutmeg grind to a fine powder on a pestle and mortar by hand. Roasted cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, loomi (dried lime) turmeric, ginger and sprinkles of rose water are added as well.
Where to Try it
If you want to try the dish, consider visiting restaurants such as Aljasra Traditional Food and Al Shurfa Arabic Restaurant. The dish is also served at premier hotels in Doha, Qatar by entities such as Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas.
Caleb Falcon is a travel writer who specializes in writing content based on the many exciting world adventures that await intrepid travellers. Google+