By now it must be obvious to you, dear readers, that I'm enjoying this challenge because I'm learning and improving my cooking techniques. But something I haven't mentioned that I'm also enjoying is learning about the countries I'm cooking from.

There is culture, history, and geography behind every dish, and it's cool to discover those things, as well as write the extremely short country introduction that opens each post. For example, I discovered that the country I'm cooking from this week is actually an island country! Let's get started with: Bahrain!

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia — as I mentioned in the opening lines. The country comprises a small archipelago of 33 natural islands and an additional 50 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which makes up around 80% of the country's landmass. Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi), making it the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore.

Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602. In 1783, the Bani Utbah and allied tribes captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur, and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al-Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

In the late 19th century, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a semi-constitutional monarchy in 2002.

Bahrain is known as one of the first post-oil economies in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in the banking and tourism sectors. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Much of the cuisine of Bahrain is a mixture of Arabic, Iranian, Indian, African, Far Eastern, and European food, due to the influence of the various communities present — Bahrain has been an important seaport and trading hub since ancient times. Rice is actually the backbone of most main meals.

The flavors feel more warm and aromatic rather than fiery — saffron, cardamom, rosewater, dried lime, and dates show up constantly. Compared to neighbors like Saudi Arabia or the UAE, Bahraini food has a slightly more pronounced Persian and Indian accent, especially in the use of tamarind and certain spice blends.

For Bahrain I chose a traditional spiced dish: Chicken Machboos. This one-pot chicken and rice recipe is made with fragrant basmati rice, tender bone-in chicken, and a blend of spices typical of the region. It's considered a family favorite since it's so hearty and easy to prepare — and what convinced me was all the spices in it.

2 thighs and 2 drumsticks

1 1/2 cups (375g) basmati rice

4 cups of water

2 1/2 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter)

1 1/2 onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves

4cm piece of ginger

2 tomatoes, chopped

200g cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeño, diced

1 tablespoon Baharat spice mix

2 large dried limes (Loomi)

1 bay leaf

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 pinch of saffron

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 green cardamom pods

1 teaspoon green cardamom

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon dry lime (loomi)

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

For this recipe, the tricky parts are the Baharat spice mix and the dried lime, called Loomi.

For the Baharat, you can buy it ready to use. I found it on Amazon, but it said it would take 2 weeks to arrive, so I decided to make it myself. I listed the ingredients above, and the preparation is nothing out of this world. You can either mix the already-ground versions or get whole seeds and cinnamon chips, heat them until they release their aroma, then grind and mix them.

I had to grind the dry lime, cinnamon, and black pepper. Everything else I already had ground and just mixed it in.

As for the Loomi — they're sun-dried limes, and while they're popular and widely used in that part of the world and basically all Arabic countries, they're not so easy to find on this side of the world. Again, I was able to find Loomi on Amazon, but it also took 2 weeks to arrive and was crazy expensive.

In this case you can substitute with lemon zest, or lime garnishes — which is almost the same thing since it's also dried lime, just already cut instead of being a whole dried lime.

Wash and soak your rice for at least 20 minutes before cooking.

1. Chop the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeño.

2. Mince the garlic and ginger.

3. If you got the loomi, poke some holes in it so it can better release its flavor.

4. In a pot, melt the ghee over medium heat and add the onions. Sauté them until they start to brown.

5. When the onions start getting brown, add the garlic, ginger, chopped chili, and half the cilantro.

6. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add one and a half tablespoons of the Baharat spice mix.

7. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, loomi, cardamom pods, turmeric, cinnamon, chili powder, bay leaf, black pepper, and salt to taste.

8. Add the chicken to the pot and cover with water.

9. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

10. Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pot. Adjust the water level to approximately 4 cups, making sure to keep the flavorful aromatics in the liquid.

11. Add the pre-soaked basmati rice, saffron, and remaining cilantro to the pot. Cover and let it cook for 15–20 minutes.

12. In a separate skillet with a little oil, sear the chicken pieces until nicely charred and browned.

13. Once the rice is cooked, plate it and place the seared chicken on top to serve.

Well… gotta be honest. This one was kinda bittersweet — figuratively and literally 😬.

This dish has two main components: the chicken and the rice. Let's start with the chicken.

I'm getting better when it comes to cooking chicken, not only in this challenge but also in my day-to-day cooking. So I'm pleased with how my chicken turned out. It was juicy, tender, and well-cooked. It absorbed the spices perfectly. In short: it was perfect.

Now, my rice…

Neither my girlfriend — my personal judge — nor I really liked it. While the texture was perfect and it was well-cooked, it literally tasted too bitter, mainly due to the dry lime.

I'm not sure if I used too much, or if it was because I used garnishes instead of actual loomi or lime zest. But at the same time, it seems like it's an expected flavor, because the recipes I researched do say the rice should have a nice, strong lime flavor. So it definitely checks that box.

Ultimately, I'm not sure if that's the actual intended flavor or if I messed up. Or maybe both are true ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Anyway, I did some research and found some techniques that can help reduce the bitterness — I'll try them, and if it works I'll give an update. I'm hoping it does, because it'd be a shame to write off a dish that looks this fantastic.

My biggest learning this week is that it's okay to fail. Life won't always be perfect, and this challenge is meant for me to learn, step outside my comfort zone, and try new techniques, new ingredients, new spices, and definitely new flavors.

Sure, it was a letdown when I tried the rice after all that time preparing and cooking it, only to find it wasn't what I expected. But it doesn't discourage me from keep trying. Especially this early in the challenge, with so many countries and dishes still ahead. There are failures to come, but also lots of successes.

While I try to fix my rice, I'm already getting ready for the next country. Another heavily spiced dish is coming next week when I cook something from: Bangladesh!