Maleh (salted fish dish)
Emirati90 minServes 6
Maleh is fish preserved by salting and drying so it keeps for long periods, and coastal Emirati households relied on it before refrigeration, especially when fresh catches were scarce. It is cooked with rice in a one-pot dish, sometimes called tahta, and served with onions and dried lime.
Ingredients for Maleh
- 500 gsalted fish (salted sardines or similar)
- 3 cupsbasmati rice, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes
- 3large onions, sliced
- 4 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2green chilies
- 2tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tbspghee (samn) or oil
- 2dried black limes (loomi), pierced
- 1 tbspsoaked and strained tamarind (optional)
- 1 tbspbezar
- 1 tspturmeric
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspground coriander
- 1cinnamon stick, 4 cardamom pods and a few whole peppercorns for parboiling the rice
- Water for soaking and boiling (add little salt; the fish is already salty)
Method
- Soak the salted fish in cold water for 2 hours, changing the water twice to reduce the salt. Drain, clean and cut into medium pieces.
- Boil the rice in water with the cinnamon, cardamom and peppercorns for about 8 minutes until about three-quarters cooked, then drain.
- Heat the ghee in a heavy pot and brown the onions until deep golden. Add the garlic and green chilies and stir for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, bezar, turmeric, cumin, coriander, loomi (and tamarind if using) and cook until the sauce comes together.
- Add the fish and cook gently for 5 to 10 minutes so it takes on the flavour, adding ½ cup of water if it dries out.
- Spread half the rice over the fish mixture and then the rest on top. Cover the pot with a cloth and a tight lid and cook over very low heat for 25 to 35 minutes.
- Gently fluff the rice and serve hot with the onions, loomi and a little ghee, alongside fresh greens and lemon.
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