Mathrooba Recipe

I grew up in Doha, Qatar and here Mathrooba is one of our ramadan staples. it tastes spicy, warm and very hearty! the word "Mathrooba" literally translates to "beaten" which is because in the older days, the rice would be beaten by a wooden stick until it reaches the desired consistency. Thankfully we invented hand mixers LOL.

Ingredients:

1 cup of short grained rice (soaked)

1 onion (chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

2 tomatoes (chopped)

2 tables spoons tomato paste

1 spoon/cube of veggie stock

1 teaspoon of curcumin

1 table spoon of curry powder

1 table spoon of tandoori paste

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

2 dried black limes (Lomi)

1 cup of TVP or any meat alternative if your choice

1 cup of chopped cilantro

Directions:

• in a large pot, cook the onions and garlic in olive oil or any vegan butter alternative of your choice until the onions are wilted and until the garlic is golden in colour.

• Then proceed by adding your spices (including the vegetable stock and the black limes), tomato paste and your spices. Add half a cup of water and cook until the tomatoes are fully cooked and soft.

• Add the TVP and rice to the mixture and add the required amount of water as per your cooking instructions. (Keep in mind that the rice needs to be overcooked)

• after all your ingredients are cooked and the mixture looks like that of porridge, add in your cilantro then remove your black limes temporarily and use your hand mixer to blend the mathrooba to it's required consistency, you can after return your black limes.

• Serve in a closed air-tight container, if you are serving it later on I would highly recommend you add 2 spoons of oil or plant-based butter on top to prevent it from forming a crust.