Karak, halwa and machboos: a short food glossary

A few key words make menus and market stalls in Bahrain much easier to navigate. This glossary covers the dishes, sweets and drinks visitors most often meet.

Meals

Machboos: spiced rice cooked with chicken, meat or fish, often with dried lime. The everyday centrepiece of family meals.

Muhammar: sweet rice flavoured with dates or date syrup, traditionally served with fish.

Balaleet: sweet vermicelli topped with a thin omelette, a classic breakfast.

Harees: a slow-cooked porridge of wheat and meat, especially popular during Ramadan.

Khubz: flatbread, often baked against the walls of a clay oven.

Sweets

Halwa: Bahrain's best-known sweet, a glossy, sticky confection flavoured with saffron, cardamom and rosewater and often topped with nuts.

Luqaimat: small fried dumplings, crisp outside and soft inside, drizzled with date syrup.

Drinks

Gahwa: Arabic coffee, lightly roasted and spiced with cardamom, poured from a dallah into small cups and usually served with dates. Shake the cup gently when you have had enough.

Karak: strong tea brewed with milk, sugar and spices, the everyday drink of cafés and roadside stalls.

From the sea

Safi (rabbitfish) and hamour (grouper) are popular local fish, often grilled or fried and served with rice.

At the table

Meals are usually shared from large platters, and hosts often keep offering food as a sign of generosity. It is polite to try a little of everything and to eat with your right hand when eating without cutlery. Leaving a small amount on your plate signals that you have had enough.

Where to try them

The souqs in Manama and Muharraq are the easiest starting points, with cafés, bakeries and halwa shops. Traditional restaurants serve family-style platters. For more on customs at the table, see our food culture guide and souqs and markets.