Long before Doha grew its skyline, Qatar lived from the sea: pearling, fishing and the shrimp that crowd the shallow, warm waters of the Gulf. Hamsat rubyan, prawns cooked in a pan with onion, tomato and spice, is one of the dishes that grew out of that life. It is everyday home cooking along the Gulf coast, cooked in Qatar as it is in Kuwait, and it appears in Qatari collections of traditional family recipes alongside cauliflower and potato hamsa made the same way.

The method is quick and direct. The prawns go into the pan with soft onions and garlic and cook until the juices they release have evaporated, which concentrates their sweetness. Then come black lime, coriander seed, cumin and a little chili, and finally tomato, which collapses into a thick, clinging sauce rather than a soupy one. The result is somewhere between a stir fry and a stew, and better than either.

From chopping board to plate it takes about 35 minutes, which makes it the ideal supper for a Qatar race night: start the rice when the cars leave the pit lane for the grid and you will be eating before the first lap at Lusail is done.

Plain white rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) basmati rice
• 2 1/4 cups (540 ml) water
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) neutral oil or ghee

Method

1. Put the rice in the sieve and rinse it under cold running water, rubbing the grains gently with your fingers, for about 1 minute.
2. Put the rice, water, salt, cardamom and oil in the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir once, cover tightly, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
3. Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for 5 minutes, then fluff the rice gently with a fork.

The prawns

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) large raw prawns or shrimp
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) neutral oil
• 1 large onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground black lime
• 1 teaspoon baharat
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes
• 1 small green bell pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (15 g) fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) lemon juice

Method

1. Lay the peeled prawns on paper towels and pat them dry all over. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
2. Heat the oil in the large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring every minute or so, for 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute more.
3. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the prawns. Stir and toss them for 2 minutes. They will release some juice; keep cooking and stirring until that liquid has bubbled away.
4. Sprinkle in the black lime, baharat, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili and stir for 30 seconds so they toast in the oil and coat every prawn.
5. Stir in the tomato paste, then the chopped tomatoes, green pepper and the remaining salt. Lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once, until the tomatoes collapse into a thick sauce.
6. Turn off the heat, stir in the chopped coriander and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, then taste. Add more lemon or salt until the flavors are bright and lively.

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