Ask for a kabab in Manama and you may be surprised by what arrives. There is no meat and no skewer: Bahraini kabab is a fritter, a thick batter of chickpea flour, egg, chopped onion, tomato, herbs and spices, spooned into hot oil and fried into soft centered, crisp edged discs. Bahraini cooks call the flour itself kabab flour, which tells you how central the dish is. It turns up at breakfast with sweet tea, at small cafés and roadside stands, and on the iftar table in Ramadan, usually with a yogurt and coriander sauce for dipping.

The family resemblance to South Asian pakora is no accident. Bahrain sat for centuries on the trade routes between India, Persia and Arabia, and its kitchen kept the spice box it was handed, garam masala and all. What it did with that inheritance is entirely its own: a sturdier, eggier fritter, flattened like a small pancake and built for eating with your fingers.

This is the gentlest way to meet Bahraini food. The batter takes ten minutes, the frying another twenty, and a plate of them disappears faster than a pit stop. Make them for the build up to a night race at Sakhir and they will be gone before the formation lap.

The yogurt and coriander dip

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 g) plain whole milk yogurt
• 1/2 cup (15 g) fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves and tender stems
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 green chili

Method

1. Put the yogurt in the small bowl and add the chopped coriander, garlic, lemon juice, salt and the green chili if you are using it. Stir well with a spoon until everything is evenly flecked with green.
2. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge while you make the fritters. Taste it just before serving and add a pinch more salt or a squeeze more lemon if it tastes flat.

The batter

Ingredients

• 2 cups (240 g) chickpea flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne
• 1 medium onion
• 1 medium ripe tomato
• 3 green onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 green chili
• 1/3 cup (10 g) fresh parsley or coriander leaves
• 1 large egg
• about 3/4 cup (180 ml) cold water

Method

1. Put the chickpea flour, baking powder, salt, cumin, garam masala, turmeric and chili powder in the large bowl. Whisk for about 20 seconds so the spices and baking powder are spread evenly through the flour.
2. Add the onion, tomato, green onions, garlic, green chili and chopped herbs to the flour and toss them through with a spoon so every piece is coated in flour. Coating them first stops them clumping together later.
3. Crack the egg into the bowl. Pour in about half the water and stir firmly, then add the rest a little at a time, stirring after each splash. Stop adding water when the batter is thick and drops slowly from the spoon in a heavy ribbon. Juicy tomatoes mean you may need less water.
4. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter for 10 minutes while you heat the oil. Stir once before frying.

Frying

Ingredients

• about 1 cup (240 ml) neutral oil for shallow frying

Method

1. Pour oil into the frying pan to a depth of about 1/2 inch (1 cm). Set it over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes until it reaches about 350°F (175°C). Without a thermometer, drop in a small blob of batter: it should sizzle steadily at once and rise to the surface within a few seconds.
2. Scoop about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of batter and lower it gently into the oil, close to the surface so it does not splash. Use the back of the spoon to flatten it into a round about 3 inches (8 cm) across and 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Fry 3 or 4 at a time, leaving space between them.
3. Leave them alone for 2 to 3 minutes. Moving them too early breaks the crust. Lift an edge with the spatula to check the color underneath.
4. Turn each fritter carefully with the spatula, sliding it under the whole round, and fry the second side for 2 to 3 minutes. If they brown before the middle is cooked, turn the heat down a notch.
5. Lift them out onto the paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with a tiny pinch of salt while hot. Fry the rest of the batter in batches, letting the oil come back to temperature for a minute between batches.

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