Māliḥ Nāʿim (Fine Salt-Cured Fish, Oven-Baked)
Origin: Baghdad, Iraq
Source: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Baghdādī, 1226
Ingredients
- fresh shabbut fish
- salt
- saffron
- rosewater
- cumin
- kusfara (coriander)
- darsini (cinnamon)
- cloves
- sesame oil
- fried eggplant
- kamakh rijal
Instructions
- Gut a fresh shabbūṭ (barbel/carp), wash well, and dry off the water.
- Salt heavily and thoroughly, wrap in cloth, roll up, and set in a hot airless spot for about half a day, ideally in summer.
- Test by pressing with a finger; when the flesh beneath the skin has softened, unwrap and wash well.
- Dissolve saffron in rosewater and coat the fish inside and out.
- Pound cumin, coriander (kusfara), and cinnamon (dārṣīnī) fine with a little cloves; cut fine slits, pack them and the cavity with the spice mix.
- Set in a tinned copper pan or earthenware pot, pour over enough sesame oil (shīraj) to cover, and bake in a covered tannūr over gentle fire.
- When it has absorbed the oil, dried, and turned rosy, remove; eat hot or cold, optionally with fried eggplant (bādhinjān) and kāmakh al-rījāl.