Australia

Photos: Passport & Plate - Twice Cooked Kuwaiti Zubaidi

shootingben — Mon, 3 Mar 2014 21:44:00 GMT

Ingredients
1 zubaidi (Kuwait's national fish. An alternative is something like silver pomfret, plaice or similar - we used snapper)
300g basmati rice
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamon pods
2 cloves
Freshly ground salt and pepper

For the 'hashou' filling
3 tablespoons of virgin olive oil
2 onions finely chopped
1 sprig of fresh coriander roughly chopped
Juide of half a lime plus zest, juice of half a lemon
Freshly ground salt and pepper

For the topping
1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil
1 onion finely copped
1 teaspoon of turmeric
Zest of lime
Freshly ground salt and pepper

Kuwaiti tomato sauce
4 tomatoes
2 freshly crushed garlic cloves
A dash of cayenne pepper
Freshly ground salt and pepper

How to prepare this recipe
Clean the fish and wash your rice.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil then put in the fish and the spices and cook for a couple of minutes until the flesh begins to turn white.
Remove the fish and set aside, reserving the cooking water to cook the rice. The flavours will combine to create a creamy, flavorsome rice and add continuity to the dish!

To make the hashou heat the oil and saute the onion the until golden. And add coriander, lime zest and seasoning, then carefully pack the stuffing into the fish's cavity.

Place the fish under a grill or in an oven. A woodfired oven is ideal - in Kuwait they send their fish to the baker's after the morning bake to take on a slight woody flavour.

Cook the rice in the reserved cooking water until soft and fluffy.

Gently fry the topping ingredients. When the is rice cooked lay the fish on top and the hashou over the fish.

Prick the tomatoes all over and cover for a few minutes with boiled water. Pour away the water and peel the tomatoes. Roughly chop them, then put them and the rest of the sauce ingredients into a small pan. Bring to the boil and then gently simmer for a good 20 to 30 minutes. Add as much cayenne as wished - Kuwaitis love this and add it to most meals!

Serve with plenty of lemon, yogurt and a glass of cold white wine of your choice (thoroughly un-Arabic, but essential!)

The story behind this recipe
The rice whorled like the henna on Sameera’s cracked, brown hands before disappearing behind a cloud of starch.
She smiled a wide, gap-toothed smile, “yes, habibi,” she cooed. “We have many monkeys back home in India.”
I wanted one I told her, when she came back to our little house in Kuwait with its courtyard that shaded us from the desert heat, I wanted her to bring back a monkey for me.
She smiled widely again, and the sunlight twinkled in her eyes like the white crests on the Persian Gulf.
Thinking back it’s what I remember most – the deep azure blues of the sea and the strange creatures that came from it, mostly in the dhows that would head out before the sun rose and come back with fish like zubaidi.
“I promise, habibi,” Sameera said, massaging the rice in practiced movements, instinctively plucking out the black grains.
From across the sea a breeze would come that shook the date palms, lifting the heavy scents of the Middle East and breathing life into them from the kitchens; woody cinnamon, zesty sumac, delicate dried rose, heady lavender and sweet pomegranate.
They’re the flavours of the Middle East, the aromas of memories and the taste of another place and time that are stirred even now.
And a family favourite that made its way from Bahrain (so the story goes) to my mother in Kuwait, is Twice Cooked Zubaidi, a flaky white fish found in the Gulf, boiled then fried or oven cooked and served on a bed of rice.
In Kuwait they would send the fish to the bakers who would place it in the bread ovens after their morning baking, and it would come out with a faintly smoky aroma.
For this reason we’ve always loved food – each place has its own flavours
Our family story is complex, from the UK to Kuwait to Australia, and Mum’s cooking not only reminds us of our personal history but binds us together in the present even though we’re now continents apart.
I never did get my monkey.
But if nothing else, thank you World Nomads for a wonderful trip back down memory lane!

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

shootingben — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:38:20 GMT

I am currently the Rural Press Club of Victoria's photographer of the year, but have never made a cent from my images. This has to change! This would be my opportunity too to go from rural to global!
I'm passionate about travel. Born in the UK I grew up in Kuwait and was bi-lingual from an early age. Having lived and travelled throughout Europe and the UK I'm now a permanent resident of Australia, where I am an award-winning features writer.
But my love lies with photography and being on the move and meeting incredible people. The images I have chosen I hope reflect some of the brilliant characters in my region. I couldn't go far, but why try when there's so much to photograph on your doorstep! And nothing says 'place' more that its people.
I am enthusiastic and ready for change into the career I've always dreamed of.
I'm a quick and eager learner, having only had a DSLR for little over a year.
Unafraid of travel and trying new things, having spent my early years in the Middle East.
And I'm absolutely ready for a chance to learn the art and the industry from an expert who can help me take the next step in my career.

Photos: My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

shootingben — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:05:00 GMT

After years of coveting and months of pestering, I have finally bought my first DSLR. Before that I begged and borrowed cameras from friends for personal projects - including this one, and have taught myself as far as I can. I borrowed a Canon 20D and reflector for this series for two reasons. Firstly, travel is my passion. Born in the UK, I grew up in Kuwait before schooling back in England. I studied literature in London and won a scholarship to study in Australia, where I have now returned to live. So language and travel have been central to my upbringing. Secondly, I love art. I love to depict the world around me in words and in images that speak even greater volumes. I would dearly like to become a travel photographer – who wouldn’t? But that’s part of the problem. To stand out you need to do something extraordinary, like being selected for this scholarship. But you also need mentorship and guidance. There is only so much you can teach yourself. I have got this far on my own, I have travelled and I have written for publications and have recently won national media awards for my writing. But I would dearly love to develop, learn and showcase my photography and carry those skills with me around the world as I discover new cultures, new people and new ways of doing things. I also believe in sustainable travel, and I believe presenting the world's beauty in photographs is one way of promoting that. So here I am. With a camera. With a passion for the world, for nature and culture. With a desire and willingness to learn and open up my eyes to a world of opportunity that I could only otherwise dream of.

Photos: Outback Australia

shootingben — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:10:00 GMT

I was invited to visit a Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service volunteer's home. There, she kept injured and abandoned kangaroo joeys, feeding, cleaning and housing them until they are old enough to slowly be rehabilitated and, eventually, be re-released into the wild.