🐟 Gulf grilled fish
Samak mashwi is whole fish, often hamour or sea bream, slashed and rubbed with garlic, lemon, cumin, coriander, chili and olive oil, then grilled over hot coals. The skin chars and crisps while the flesh stays moist and smoky. It is served with rice, lemon wedges and salad, a favourite at seaside restaurants across the Gulf.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole fish (about 800 g), cleaned
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil, salt
Method
- Make three deep slashes on each side of the fish.
- Mix the garlic, lemon juice, spices, olive oil and salt into a paste.
- Rub the paste all over the fish and into the slashes; leave for 20 minutes.
- Grill over hot coals or under a hot grill for 8–10 minutes per side until the flesh flakes.
- Serve with lemon wedges and rice.
How to make it lighter
- Grilled whole fish is lean — keep the olive oil to 1 tbsp in the marinade (≈ 120 kcal).
- Fill half the plate with salad and keep the rice small.
- Skip extra oil drizzled at the table and use lemon juice instead.
History
Grilling fresh fish over charcoal is a long-standing tradition in the coastal towns of the Gulf, where fishing was central to life before oil. Today grilled fish is a staple of fish markets and seafood restaurants from Kuwait to Oman.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →