Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Despite never having been to several of the countries we've cooked in this adventure, this one was slightly different: I've never been to Bahrain, but a good friend of mine has. And when I originally was reading his blog about that trip, back in October of 2010, his photos of the food markets stuck with me. I like his caveat: " We started at the Central Market where we saw the produce, fish, and meat market. Don't look at these photos if you're a vegetarian or if you believe meat magically appears at Ralph's wrapped in cellophane. Seriously ." So, omnivore that I am, I perused his blog again today, specifically the post about his first day there and the market photos. I have always loved local markets. I believe that you get a sense of a country and the people when you see what they eat, in their own homes not in a restaurant. I dragged my whole crew through the dusty Silician markets to pick up food for dinner. Buying swordfish from the docks on U...

I found several references to "spicy fish" as the traditional accompaniment to muhammar , but it was this post from another blogger (Elle from Where the Food Is ) that I used as a guide. Elle is also cooking her way around the globe. Hers was the first reference I saw to serve this with preserved limes. Serendipitously my preserved lemons were just finished. Perfect! Riley, half-joking, called this dish "itchy fish." After he rubbed the filets with spices, his hands began to itch. I have no idea to what he was reacting; he's eaten all of these things separately. But something caused a reaction with him. Still he ate it with no problem. He rubbed the filets with a mixture of minced garlic, ground paprika, curry powder, dried dill, ground cumin, freshly ground pink Himalaya salt and flower pepper. Traditionally this dish is baked, but I pan-fried the fish in butter with some fresh tomato slices. Serve with muhammar and preserved lemons .

I found a version of this - Muhammar (Baharain Sweet Rice) - in every compendium of Baharaini cuisine. Not having a very sweet tooth, I found the recipe odd and the pairing - with a spicy fish - even more so. But I stand corrected; sticky and sweet, this rice was the perfect dish for this meal. And this dinner quickly eclipsed every other as my absolute favorite so far on this cooking around the world adventure of ours. 2 C brown basmati rice, washed and soaked in cold water 2 C raw turbinado sugar 2 T butter, melted 3 cardamom pods, partially opened 1 star anise pod (the original called for a cinnamon stick, but I was out) 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 3 saffron threads 1 T rosewater Soak saffron threads in rosewater and steep for saffron to release its color. Place sugar in a saucepan over moderate heat and stir until it melts. Make sure not to burn the sugar. Pour 4 cups of warm water over the melted sugar then add in the cardamom pods, ground cardamom, and ...