Aish Mahmar (red rice)

Recipe No.: E-29

Emirati60 minServes 6

Aish mahmar is a sweet rice cooked with caramelised sugar, which gives it a golden-brown colour and mild sweetness. In the Emirates and Gulf it is served with chicken and fish, especially at feasts and weddings. "Aish" in Gulf dialect means rice, and "mahmar" refers to the browned colour.

Ingredients for Aish Mahmar

• 3 cupsbasmati or long-grain rice, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes
• ⅔ to 1 cupsugar, depending on desired sweetness
• 6 cupswarm water
• 3 tbspbutter or ghee (samn)
• 1 tspground cardamom
• ½ tspground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
• A pinch ofsaffron soaked in 2 tbsp rose water
• A small pinch of salt
• To serve
• grilled or fried chicken or fish, or meat

Method

1. Put the sugar in a heavy pot over medium heat with no water and let it melt and caramelise to a deep amber, without burning; this gives the rice its colour and flavour.
2. Take the pot slightly off the heat and add the warm water gradually and carefully (it will spit and bubble). Add the cardamom, cinnamon and salt and stir until the caramel dissolves.
3. Add the drained rice and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook 8 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is about three-quarters done. Drain.
4. Return the rice to the pot over very low heat, add the butter and the saffron with rose water, and cover with a cloth and tight lid for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked.
5. Fluff the rice gently and serve with chicken or fish.

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