Murabyan

Ingredients

The shrimp

• 800 graw prawns
• peeled and deveined
• shells kept for stock
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric

The rice

• 500 gbasmati rice
• rinsed and soaked

The pot

• 3onions, finely chopped
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• 4 tablespoonsghee or oil
• 2 tablespoonsbezar
• or mixed Gulf spice
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 3dried limes, pierced
• 1cinnamon stick
• a large bunch of dill, chopped
• a bunch of coriander, chopped
• about 900 ml stock or water
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• fried onions
• more chopped dill

Directions

1. Remove them once they have given their flavour. Shrimp cook in two minutes at most. Peel the prawns and keep the shells. Put the shells in a pot with water. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Twenty minutes extracts the flavour.
2. Strain the stock through a fine sieve. Press the shells against the mesh. Discard all of the shells afterwards. Rinse them and pat them all dry. Rub salt and turmeric over them. It also takes away any strong smell. Salt firms the surface slightly.
3. Let them sit for fifteen minutes. Soaking the rice is done alongside. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Soak it for a good thirty minutes. Drain it thoroughly afterwards. Let it drain for ten full minutes.
4. Heat a little ghee in a wide pan. Add the prawns in a single layer. Fry them for about a minute a side. Two minutes in total is enough. Take them all out immediately. Lift the prawns out onto a plate. Set them aside for the very end.
5. Heat the ghee in a large heavy pot. Add the finely chopped onions. Cook them for a good twelve minutes. Let them turn deep golden brown. It takes real time and cannot be hurried.
6. Add the garlic and the grated ginger. Cook them for two more full minutes. Add the bezar and the turmeric. Fry them for about thirty seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée along with them. Cook them down for about eight minutes. The tomato must cook right down.
7. Oil should separate at the edges. Raw tomato taste should be entirely gone. Add most of the chopped dill now. Add the chopped coriander as well.
8. Cook them for two full minutes. Keep some of it back for the end. Pour in all of the prawn stock. Add the pierced dried limes to it. Add the cinnamon stick to the pot. Season it with salt and black pepper. Taste the liquid and adjust it. It takes all its seasoning from it.
9. Season it properly before the rice goes in. Add the drained rice to the pot. Stir it once to distribute it. Soaked basmati needs less than dry. Add hot stock if it looks short. Cooking the rice takes about twenty minutes. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Let it cook for about fifteen minutes. The rice must steam rather than boil.
10. Lay all the prawns over the rice. Cover it over again immediately. Let it steam for five more minutes. The prawns only need warming through. Take it off the heat with the lid on. Let it stand for ten full minutes. The grains firm up as they settle. Take out the cinnamon stick as well. Dried limes turn bitter if left in.
11. Take them all out before serving. Bring the prawns up through the grains. Lift and fold rather than stirring. Judging it takes a careful look. Scatter the reserved dill over it. Scatter fried onions over the top. Serving it is always done hot. Spoon it out into a wide dish. It keeps two days refrigerated. Steam it gently rather than boiling.

Technique

• Prawns cook in two minutes and go rubbery almost immediately after, so they cannot cook with the rice throughout: fry them briefly, remove them, cook the rice without them and lay them back over the top for the last five minutes to warm through in the steam. Overcooked prawns cannot be fixed, and that is the whole test of the dish.
• Prawn shells simmered twenty minutes make a stock that carries far more flavour than water and is worth the extra step here; longer than twenty minutes turns it bitter.
• A large bunch of dill is not a mistake — it is a main ingredient rather than a garnish, and one of the defining flavours alongside the dried lime. Pierce each dried lime before it goes in and fish them out before serving, since they turn bitter if left too long.

Substitutions

• Some cooks add the prawns raw for the last few minutes to steam rather than frying them first; either avoids overcooking.
• Water stands in for the prawn stock, though the stock carries far more flavour.

Variations

• Dill with shrimp is characteristic of the Gulf and also appears in Iranian rice dishes, which the two regions share.
• Kuwait Bay shrimp fishing has a defined season with a closure that protects the breeding stock.
• Rub the peeled prawns with salt and turmeric, which colours them, firms the surface and takes away any strong smell.

History

Shrimp cooked into spiced rice; the prawns of Kuwait Bay are the point of the dish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Murabyan?

Murabyan is a main from Kuwait: shrimp rice with dill, turmeric and dried lime. Shrimp cooked into spiced rice; the prawns of Kuwait Bay are the point of the dish.

How long does Murabyan take to make?

Murabyan takes 30 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Murabyan?

Yes, within limits. Some cooks add the prawns raw for the last few minutes to steam rather than frying them first; either avoids overcooking. Water stands in for the prawn stock, though the stock carries far more flavour.

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

Add the garlic and the grated ginger. Cook them for two more full minutes. Add the bezar and the turmeric. Fry them for about thirty seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée along with them. Cook them down for about eight minutes. The tomato must cook right down.