What is machboos and harees spice mix?
Machboos (also written makbous) is the national rice dish of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE. It is a cousin of Saudi kabsa but deeper in colour and more reliant on black lime, cardamom and turmeric, served with chicken, lamb or prawns together with a sweet onion topping and daqoos sauce. Harees is the slow-cooked wheat and meat porridge that no Ramadan or Eid table in the Gulf or Iraq is without, seasoned with a gentler measure of the same spices. The blend that serves both dishes is known in Kuwait and the Emirates as bezar, the Gulf spice mix, a legacy of the sea trade between Kuwait, India and Zanzibar.
Composition
Kuwaiti bezar rests on coriander and cumin as its base, with ground black lime for the characteristic sourness, green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves for perfume, turmeric for its deep colour, black pepper and dried ginger for warmth, and in some households a touch of nutmeg and dried rose. The harees blend is quieter: cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper and a pinch of cumin only, because harees depends on ghee, wheat and meat and does not tolerate loomi or turmeric. Coriander, cumin, loomi and cardamom make up the greater part, while nutmeg and cloves remain small. The exact Sheikh Al-Attareen proportions are a house secret.
| Variant | Character | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Kuwaiti machboos | Loomi, turmeric and cardamom, deep golden colour | Chicken, lamb and prawn machboos |
| Harees and machboos | Gentler blend of cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper | Harees, jareesh and a light machboos |
What makes a good blend
Good bezar has a natural reddish-gold colour from turmeric and loomi, not a bright yellow that suggests synthetic dye. It is ground from fresh whole spices and free of flour, starch and excess salt. Rub a pinch to test: you should smell sour loomi first, then cardamom, then cumin. The grind should be uniform and fine, since machboos needs a spice that dissolves into the stock, with moisture typically below 10%. The components follow their individual ISO standards (ISO 7925 coriander, ISO 6465 cumin, ISO 5562 turmeric with its curcumin content), the ESA quality minima and ASTA cleanliness specifications, while the mix is covered by the Egyptian Standard for mixed spices and Codex labelling rules, with complete absence of Sudan dyes and unauthorised colourants.
How to use
- In a wide pot heat ghee and brown two chopped onions, then add garlic and a tablespoon of machboos spice and stir for half a minute.
- Add a jointed chicken (one kilogram) and stir until coloured, then grated tomato, a spoon of tomato paste, two pierced black limes, a cinnamon stick and a few cardamom pods.
- Cover with hot water, season with salt and simmer the chicken for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Lift out the chicken, strain the stock and measure one and a half cups of stock per cup of soaked basmati.
- Add the rice with a pinch of spice and saffron water, and cook covered on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Make the hashu topping: fried onions with raisins, a pinch of spice and sugar, and spread it over the rice.
- Brown the chicken under the grill and serve on the rice with daqoos.
Dose 12 to 15 grams per kilogram of chicken or meat. For harees, add a teaspoon of the harees blend per kilogram of wheat with the meat while cooking, and a dusting of cinnamon with ghee at serving. Other uses: lamb margoog, vegetable saloona and prawn qoozi.
Storage and shelf life
Keep in an airtight container away from kitchen steam. The blend holds its aroma for 8 to 12 months; the golden colour fades with light, so store in the shade.
The Sheikh Al-Attareen range
- Kuwaiti Machboos Spice Mix
- Harees & Machboos Spice Mix
Our blends are ground at our facility in Mansoura from Omani black lime, Indian cardamom, high-curcumin turmeric and Egyptian coriander and cumin, with every batch checked for moisture, cleanliness and freedom from colourants. The blends are available in our stores in Egypt, our Baghdad, Erbil and Homs branches, and through our online store.
FAQ
What is the difference between machboos and kabsa?
The two are close relatives. Machboos is darker, stronger in loomi and turmeric and served with hashu and daqoos, while kabsa is lighter and leans towards cardamom and cinnamon.
Can I use the machboos blend for harees?
Carefully and in small amounts, but the dedicated harees blend is better because it has no loomi or turmeric.
Is the blend hot?
No. Kuwaiti bezar is warm rather than hot; add dried red chilli if you want heat.
Does it contain salt?
Sheikh Al-Attareen blends have no added salt, and every ingredient is listed on the pack.