Kuwaiti cuisine
Murabyan
مربيان
Kuwaiti rice with prawns in a broth of their own shells, with dill and dried lime.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 85 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
Ingredients
- Prawns — shell-on1 kg
- Basmati rice500 g
- Onions3
- Dill80 g
- Coriander40 g
- Dried lime2
- Tomatoes2
- Turmeric2 tsp
- Bizar spice mix1 tbsp
- Garlic5 clove
- Ghee80 g
- Saltto taste
Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.
Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.
Method
- 1
Peel the prawns and keep the shells and heads.
20 min
- 2
Fry the shells in a spoon of ghee for five minutes, cover with a litre of water and simmer twenty minutes. Strain.
27 min
- 3
Rinse the rice and soak it twenty minutes.
22 min
- 4
Fry the onion in ghee until golden, then add the garlic, turmeric and bizar.
14 min
- 5
Add the tomatoes, the pierced limes and half the dill, pour in the prawn broth and season.
8 min
- 6
Add the rice, cover and cook fifteen minutes on a low heat without opening it.
17 min
- 7
Lay the prawns and the rest of the dill on top, cover and give it five minutes. Rest ten and serve.
17 min
About the dish
The shells and heads are not thrown away: they are fried and simmered twenty minutes, and the rice cooks in that broth. It is what gives murabyan a depth machboos lacks.
Noticeably more dill goes in than an Arab dish would lead you to expect. That is the Kuwaiti signature, and it makes murabyan unmistakable in the region.
The prawns go in at the end and only finish in the steam. Kuwait Bay is known for its prawns, and overcooking them counts as waste.
Worth knowing
- — The shell broth is not an optional step. On plain water this becomes another dish, and the difference is immediately audible.
- — The dill goes in twice: half into the broth, half on top. The first gives depth, the second freshness.
- — Thaw frozen prawns completely and pat them dry. Otherwise they release water and the rice turns sticky.
Nutrition
Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.
- Calories
- 660 kcal
- Protein
- 46 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 80 g
More from Kuwait
- Harees — Wheat and meat cooked down and beaten into one smooth mass. Ramadan food across the Gulf.