Layered Yemeni Fish and Rice — Fish Zurbiyan Samak
Yemeni layered fish-and-basmati-rice with potato, fried onion, and warm hawaij, finished with green coriander zhug for sharpness on the plate.
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Peel and cut potato into 1cm cubes. Rinse basmati rice until water runs clear, soak 10 minutes, drain. Finely dice onion and tomato. Finely grate 6 garlic cloves total. Slit 1 green chilli lengthwise, finely chop the other. Rub fish with hawaij, turmeric, grated garlic, lemon juice, salt; rest at room temperature. Chop coriander leaves and stems. Thinly slice onion for crisping.
Roast
Heat oven to 200C. Toss potato cubes with 1 tbsp oil and salt, spread on a tray, roast 15 minutes until a knife slips through easily.
Fry
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add thinly sliced onion, fry 6 to 7 minutes until evenly deep golden, lift to paper towel to drain.
Build
Heat ghee in a 20cm oven-safe saucepan over medium 1 minute. Add diced onion, cook 5 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic, slit chilli, hawaij, turmeric, cinnamon, bay leaves, toast 30 seconds. Add diced tomato and salt, simmer 3 minutes until softened.
Bake 1
Drain rice, stir into pan. Pour in 360ml hot water with salt, bring to simmer, cover tightly, bake in oven 12 minutes until liquid mostly absorbed.
Bake 2
Remove pan from oven, scatter roasted potato across rice, lay marinated fish on top, cover, bake 12 minutes more until fish flakes when pressed. While baking, pound coriander, chopped chilli, garlic, cumin, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt into coarse green zhug sauce.
Rest and plate
Rest covered 3 minutes off heat. Spoon rice and potato onto plates with fish on top, scatter crisp onion over, serve zhug sauce alongside.
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