Bahrain has some of the most delectable but underrated cuisine in the world. Despite being home to several popular western food chain restaurants, such as Chili’s and Applebee’s, traditional Bahraini dishes continue to dominate the country’s food culture. Some of the most popular foods used in authentic Bahraini meals include meat, rice, vegetables, and spiced sauces.
Many cooking enthusiasts, like Imad Ghennouni, a Bahraini native, know just how delicious traditional Bahraini food is, yet it remains underappreciated in comparison to other national cuisines. Natives have worked to preserve authentic recipes from foreign influence and continue representing traditional Bahraini culture through its local dishes.
Traditional Bahraini cuisine involves a wide variety of flavours and fragrances, pairing foods, spices, and sauces used in a variety of famous Arab dishes. These foodstuffs are a combination of homegrown and imported produce. For more information about Bahrain’s agriculture, see the embedded PDF.
Some of the country’s best traditional dishes include:
- Machboos – The national dish of Bahrain, machboos is a rice-based dish accompanied by a meat (usually chicken or lamb) or fish and flavoured with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and a variety of tasty spices. Cooking and serving machboos is considered the height of Bahraini hospitality.
- Ghouzi – Traditionally served at festive gatherings, ghouzi is a large dish perfect for sharing. It’s a whole lamb, filled with eggs, chicken, rice, and vegetables, then grilled over a fire.
- Muhammar – Sweet and savoury flavours blend together beautifully in muhammar, which is a combination of rice with fish or lamb. This dish has a varied spice pallet too, featuring saffron, cloves, and cardamom.
- Sambosas – Sambosas are the Bahraini equivalent of samosas, with a recognisable pastry parcel and meat, fish, or vegetable stuffing. Some sambosas also feature cheese, and they’re usually seasoned with popular spices like saffron and turmeric.
Other popular Bahraini dishes that also appear in other countries’ cuisines include shawarma, chicken biryani, kebabs, macaroni, and harees. Traditional Bahrain cooking puts a unique aromatic spin on these dishes, usually through authentic spices or sauces. There are also many traditional Bahraini desserts that tourists are encouraged to try, such as halwa, a jellied sweet, nashab, a sweet cinnamon roll, khabees, a syrupy dessert, and rangina, butter-drizzled dates.
As Imad El Atiki El Ghennouni knows, Bahraini food is all about legacy and tradition. Natives are passionate about preserving their cuisine and sharing it with people from across the world. When visitors try authentic Bahraini dishes, they’re not just eating the food: they’re connecting with the country’s cultural roots.