Safi & Sweet Rice - Fried Fish & Rice - Bahrain - Arab Fish Recipe

long-grain rice

🥗Healthier: brown rice

💰Cheaper: white rice

Brown rice adds fiber and nutrients, while white rice is more affordable.

sugar

🥗Healthier: honey

💰Cheaper: brown sugar

Honey is a natural sweetener, while brown sugar offers a similar taste.

butter

🥗Healthier: coconut oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Coconut oil provides a unique flavor, while margarine is often less expensive.

almonds

🥗Healthier: walnuts

💰Cheaper: sunflower seeds

Walnuts offer healthy fats, while sunflower seeds are budget-friendly.

Start by preparing the fish, known as safi, which has been cleaned and is smooth.

Make a spice mix with 1 teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin, chili, green cardamom powder, thyme, and black pepper.

Rub salt on the fish and apply the spice mix, pressing it onto the fish.

Cover the fish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it.

For the sweet rice, measure just over 1 cup of white sugar and set aside.

In a bowl, mix saffron strands with rose water.

In a large pot on low heat, add most of the sugar and melt it down to create a syrup.

Once the syrup is golden, add the remaining sugar and water carefully, as it will bubble up.

Add the washed long-grain rice to the pot and increase the heat to cook it for about 4-5 minutes until it has a nice bite.

Drain the rice and clean the pot before returning it to low heat with a knob of butter until melted.

Add the drained rice back to the pot, along with salt, green cardamom powder, rose water, and saffron.

Stir the mixture on low heat for about 3 minutes, then cover with a lid and let it steam for 5 minutes.

Heat sunflower oil in a pan to about 1 centimeter deep for frying the fish.

Carefully drop the marinated fish into the hot oil, cooking in batches for about 3 minutes on each side until done.

Remove the fish from the oil and serve it alongside the sweet rice.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens