Food of Bahrain

Bahraini cooking reflects the island's pearl-diving and trading past, with fish, rice, dates and spices from India and Persia. Machboos is the signature dish, and seafood such as hammour, shrimp and crab appears on every table. Sweet halwa, date treats and cardamom coffee close the meal, shared in the family majlis.

Machboos
National dish

Machboos

Spiced rice cooked with chicken, lamb or fish in a broth scented with dried lime and baharat.

How to make Machboos

Staples

  • rice
  • fish
  • shrimp
  • chicken
  • dates
  • lentils
  • flatbread

Signature flavors

  • cardamom
  • saffron
  • dried lime
  • turmeric
  • cinnamon
  • rose water

Main dishes

Machboos
Machboos

Spiced rice cooked with chicken, lamb or fish in a broth scented with dried lime and baharat.

Key ingredients: rice, chicken or fish, dried lime, baharat, onionFull guide →
Muhammar

Slightly sweet rice cooked with date syrup, traditionally served with fried or grilled fish.

Key ingredients: rice, date syrup, sugar, cardamom, fish
Samak mashwi

Hammour or other local fish rubbed with spices and grilled over coals, served with rice and tomato sauce.

Key ingredients: whole fish, cumin, turmeric, lemon, garlic
Ghuzi
Ghuzi

Whole roast lamb served on spiced rice with almonds and raisins for large gatherings.

Key ingredients: lamb, rice, almonds, raisins, spices
Tashreeb
Tashreeb

Torn bread soaked in a savory meat and vegetable stew.

Key ingredients: bread, lamb, tomato, potato, zucchini

Breakfast

Balaleet
Balaleet

Sweet saffron vermicelli topped with a thin omelet, a favorite morning dish across the Gulf.

Key ingredients: vermicelli, sugar, saffron, cardamom, eggs
Chebab

Soft, yeast-raised pancakes scented with saffron and cardamom and served with date syrup.

Key ingredients: flour, yeast, saffron, cardamom, date syrup

Street food

Samboosa
Samboosa

Crispy fried pastries filled with spiced meat, cheese or vegetables.

Key ingredients: thin dough, ground meat, onion, cheese

Soups

Harees
Harees

A creamy porridge of cracked wheat and meat beaten smooth and finished with ghee.

Key ingredients: cracked wheat, lamb, ghee, cinnamonFull guide →

Salads

Tomato and cucumber salad
Tomato and cucumber salad

A bright side salad of tomato, cucumber, onion and cilantro with lemon.

Key ingredients: tomato, cucumber, onion, cilantro, lemon

Desserts and sweets

Bahraini halwa
Bahraini halwa

The island's famous glossy, chewy sweet cooked from starch, sugar, ghee and rose water with nuts.

Key ingredients: cornstarch, sugar, ghee, saffron, nutsFull guide →
Luqaimat
Luqaimat

Crispy fried dough balls drizzled with date syrup.

Key ingredients: flour, yeast, cardamom, date syrupFull guide →
Rangina

A date-based dessert thickened with toasted flour and perfumed with cardamom.

Key ingredients: dates, flour, ghee, cardamom

Drinks

Arabic coffee (gahwa)
Arabic coffee (gahwa)

Lightly roasted coffee brewed with cardamom and poured in small cups for guests.

Key ingredients: coffee, cardamom, saffronFull guide →
Karak chai
Karak chai

Strong tea simmered with milk and cardamom.

Key ingredients: black tea, evaporated milk, cardamomFull guide →
Lemon and mint juice
Lemon and mint juice

A cooling blend of lemon, mint and ice.

Key ingredients: lemon, mint, sugar, ice

Fruits and produce

Dates
Dates

Dates are a daily food, eaten with coffee and used in sweets.

Key ingredients: coffee pairing, date syrup, sweetsFull guide →
Pomegranate
Pomegranate

Grown in village orchards and enjoyed fresh or juiced.

Key ingredients: juice, salads, garnish
Figs
Figs

Fresh figs from island gardens, eaten in late summer.

Key ingredients: fresh, with cheese, jamFull guide →

Dish guides from Bahrain

Dates
DatesFruits
Fig
FigFruits
Halva
HalvaDesserts and sweets
Harees
HareesMain dishes
Karak chai
Karak chaiDrinks
Luqaimat
LuqaimatDesserts and sweets
Machboos
MachboosMain dishes
Arabic coffee (qahwa)
Arabic coffee (qahwa)Drinks
Explore Bahrain on Geographical EffectMaps, capital and cities, population, climate, landscapes and landmarks.

More cuisines of Western Asia

About this page

Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.

Photo credits
  • Machboos (cropped): Miansari66, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Iraqi Qoozi : aziz1005, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Tharid. (cropped): Miansari66, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Homemade Balaleet, 2023: Mohamed Toorani, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Samosas, snack food at Wikipedia's 16th Birthday celebration in Chittagong (01): Moheen Reeyad, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Armenian Harisa: Ketone16, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • A large mixed salad: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Orient sweets (special halva) Samarkand, Siyab: Shuhrenataxmedov, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Sam'dan lokma tatlisi: elif ayse, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • A dallah a traditional Arabic coffee pot with cups and coffee beans: Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Chai In Sakora: Dadhichbittu007, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Lemonade - 27682817724: HarshLight, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Dates005: Nepenthes, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Pomegranate Juice (2019): Augustus Binu : flickr, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Ficus carica L, 1771: Trew, C.J, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)