Saloona

Saloona is a light, spiced stew of meat or fish with tomato and vegetables, eaten with rice or bread in Bahrain. Its name is written صلونة in Arabic. It is a everyday stew of the Bahraini table, where the sauce is as important as the meat, and the flavour comes from a small group of spices rather than heavy seasoning.

What it really is

Saloona is made by simmering chicken, or fish where the cook prefers it, with onion and tomato until the liquid becomes a thin, savoury sauce. Turmeric gives the stew its colour, cardamom adds a warm, faintly sweet note, and dried lime brings a sour edge. Vegetables go into the same pot, so the dish is both a meat or fish dish and a vegetable dish. Recipes differ from kitchen to kitchen in how much spice and tomato they use, so one saloona can be milder or sharper than another.

How it's served

• Hot, in a shallow bowl, with the chicken or fish and vegetables in the sauce.
• With rice or bread alongside, used to soak up the sauce and to make the meal.
• Chicken is the usual protein, with fish served where the kitchen makes it that way.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the protein in the title, such as "Chicken saloona" or "Fish saloona", so guests know what they are ordering.
• Flag fish as an allergen when the fish version is offered.
• State whether the bread served with it contains wheat, and ask whether the cooking fat contains milk.
• Say that it is a light, sour and spiced stew, and whether the spice level is mild or strong.