Sayadieh | Lebanese rice with fish
Whenever there is this deliciously spicy rice with fish, the aroma of the flavours literally catches me by the nose in the kitchen all the way to the plate. It’s not surprising, because Lebanese rice with fish called Sayadieh is not only a fantastic dish, it also brings back many memories of my childhood.
Sayadieh, the angler among Levantine dishes
Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you a story about my childhood. But a few little insights can’t hurt, right? The name Sayadieh translated from Arabic means something like “the angler” or also. “The fish catcher.” I think the name has earned the rice pot honestly. In addition to the incredibly well-seasoned rice with harissa, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and allspice, the juicy fried pieces of fish aromatically do incredibly well. Which fish you take, leaves you either your taste or just your luck when fishing.
Personally, I would recommend a type of fish with slightly firmer meat, which gives the sayadieh another nice texture in the mouth. Of course, you can also use salmon and the like. Fish with firmer meat can also be added directly to the rice, although I would prefer to serve salmon on top. By the way, I like to use cod for rice with fish.
For the topping, I highly recommend a few freshly roasted almonds and lots of fresh coriander. If you don’t like coriander, you can of course use parsley. But I am an absolute fan of coriander and could wallow in a whole field of it. Or just put a lot of it on my sayadieh. By the way, the rice pot is super easy and can be made in no time at all. While the rice is cooking in the pot with the spices, you simply fry the fish and serve everything together. By the way, sayadieh is a fantastic meal if you want to really impress your friends but don’t want to go to a lot of trouble.
Recipe for Sayadieh
Ingredients
- 400 g Fish, for example cod
For the rice
- 230 g Basmati rice
- 3 TBSP Olive oil
- 2 Onions
- 400 ml Water
- 1 TSP Salt
- 1 TL Harissa
- 2 TL Turmeric
- 1 TSP Coriander seeds, ground
- 1/2 TSP paprika powder
- 1/2 TSP Allspice
- 1/2 TSP Cinnamon
- 1/2 TSP Cumin
- Pepper
- 2 Handful Coriander
- 2 Handful Almonds, sliced
Zubereitung
Prepare rice
- Wash the rice under running water until the draining water runs clear.
- Peel and finely dice the onions.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the diced onion over a medium heat for approx. 5 – 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Add the harissa and spices and roast for another 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and mix well. The onions and spices should be well distributed in the rice. Fry the rice for 2 minutes and deglaze with water.
- Increase the heat and cook the rice for about 1 – 2 minutes. Then lower the heat to low and let the rice swell for about 15 minutes with the lid closed, stirring gently in between.
- Remove the lid from the pot and let the rice steam out.
- Fry the fish in a little olive oil or butter in a pan on both sides and season with a little salt and pepper.
- Toast the almonds briefly in a non-stick frying pan without fat on a high heat until they are golden brown. Then remove the almonds from the pan.
- Coarsely chop the coriander.
- Divide the rice between plates and serve with the fish. Alternatively, the fish can be shredded and folded into the rice. Garnish with almonds and coriander.
Notes
Nährwerte
While we’re on the subject of really delicious rice dishes, why not also try Maqlube, the tomato rice or Mudardara (rice with lentils)?
