Madrooba

Ingredients

The protein

• 400 gsalted dried fish
• maleh, soaked overnight
• or 600 g chicken on the bone

The rice

• 400 gshort grain rice
• or a mixture of rice and wheat
• about 2 litres water

The pot

• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoonsbezar
• or mixed Gulf spice
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 2dried limes, pierced
• loomi
• 1cinnamon stick
• 3 tablespoonsghee
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• 80 gghee, melted
• fried onion
• chopped coriander

Directions

1. Rinse the surface salt off first. Cover it with cold water in a bowl. Give it at least eight full hours. Taste a small boiled piece to check. It should be seasoned rather than harsh. Salt cannot be removed after cooking. Take the time over it properly. Pierce each dried lime before adding it. Rinse the salt fish under cold water. Put it in a bowl of fresh cold water.
2. Leave it overnight in the water. The salt stops coming out then. Drain the soaked fish thoroughly. Check it very carefully for bones. Salt fish carries many fine hard bones. They do not soften in cooking. Discard the skin and the backbone. Use chicken pieces on the bone. Rinse them and pat them all dry.
3. Heat the ghee in a large heavy pot. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Let them soften and turn golden. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger. Cook them for two more full minutes. Add the bezar and the turmeric. Fry them for thirty seconds only. Add the pierced dried limes to it. Add the cinnamon stick to the pot.
4. Add the fish or else the chicken. Add the water and a little salt. Salt fish brings its own salt. Add very little at this stage. Taste and adjust at the end instead. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Cover the pot and let it cook on. Give it about one full hour there. Stir it every ten minutes or so.
5. Stir right into the corners each time. Dried limes turn bitter if beaten in. Remove them once they have given their flavour. Lift out the chicken pieces if using them. Pull all the meat from the bones. Discard every bone and piece of skin.
6. Return the picked meat to the pot. Check them very thoroughly indeed. Take a heavy wooden spoon or a stick. Beat the mixture hard in the pot. Work it against the sides as you go. Press and crush rather than stirring. Work systematically around the pot. Judging the beating takes a look.
7. Add hot water if it is too stiff. Beat it in well as you add it. Leave it looser than you want it. It sets almost solid when cold. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. Add plenty of black pepper as well.
8. Taste it only after the beating. Serving it is always done piping hot. Spread it out on a wide platter. Make a hollow in the middle of it. Pour melted ghee into that hollow. Scatter fried onion over the top. Add chopped coriander over that. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• The atlas also carries madrouba from Oman: the same dish under a spelling variant of the same Arabic name, since Gulf food culture crosses those borders. The Emirati version leans on salt fish and the Omani more often on chicken, though both are made with either, and the spicing varies by household more than by country.
• Beating releases starch from the rice grains, which binds everything together while shredding the meat into it, so nothing stays in recognisable pieces; it takes about fifteen minutes of real physical work, pressing and crushing against the pot walls rather than stirring.
• Remove every bone before beating, since nothing stays recognisable afterwards and a bone would not be seen or felt; also fish out the dried limes and cinnamon first, as their skins do not break down and turn bitter if beaten in.

Substitutions

• Chicken on the bone stands in for salt fish and is equally common.
• Cracked wheat alongside the rice gives a heavier stickier result.

Variations

• Madrouba in Oman is the same dish under another spelling.
• The spicing varies by household, with bezar the usual Emirati blend.
• It is spread on a platter with melted ghee poured into a hollow in the middle.

History

Salted fish or chicken beaten into rice porridge until smooth; the name means beaten.

Frequently asked questions

What is Madrooba?

Madrooba is a main from United Arab Emirates: salt-fish or chicken beaten into spiced rice porridge. Salted fish or chicken beaten into rice porridge until smooth; the name means beaten.

How long does Madrooba take to make?

Madrooba takes 30 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Madrooba?

Yes, within limits. Chicken on the bone stands in for salt fish and is equally common. Cracked wheat alongside the rice gives a heavier stickier result.

What is the most important thing to get right in Madrooba?

Rinse the surface salt off first. Cover it with cold water in a bowl. Give it at least eight full hours. Taste a small boiled piece to check. It should be seasoned rather than harsh. Salt cannot be removed after cooking. Take the time over it properly. Pierce each dried lime before adding it. Rinse the salt fish under cold water. Put it in a bowl of fresh cold water.