Beautiful Buddha Bowl with a Middle-Eastern Zing main image

Beautiful Buddha Bowl with a Middle-Eastern Zing

Smoky, somewhat sweet, but altogether tantalizingly appetizing: Spekko’s Buddah bowl takes its name from the Eastern vegetarian grain bowl, but the lamb and the Baharat spice, with ingredients such as cloves, paprika, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, and cinnamon make this dish decidedly Middle Eastern.

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30 – 45 min
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4 people
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prep 15 minutes
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Difficulty: Easy
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For the Buddha bowl
1 1/2 cups Spekko Long Grain Parboiled Rice 
4 X 250 g lamb steaks
1 Tbsp Baharat spice (or Ras el Hanout) 
1 Tbsp oil 
400 g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
1/2 tsp coriander 
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
4 eggs 
4 baby marrows

For the dressing
1 tsp harissa paste
1 tsp honey 
1 tsp lemon juice 
1 tsp red wine vinegar 
3 Tbsp olive oil 
salt and pepper (to taste) 

To garnish and serve 
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
pomegranate kernels 
fresh lime wedges
hummus
extra olive oil


  1.  Cook the rice according the instructions on the packet

  2.  Cover the lamb steaks with the Baharat spice and fry the lamb in hot pan with oil on both sides until cooked through but still pink in the middle. Rest for 5 minutes and slice into pieces. 

  3.  Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to a temperature of 190 °C. Fry the chickpeas until crispy, then drain on a paper towel. Season with the coriander, cumin, cinnamon and salt.

  4.  Soft boil the eggs for 5 minutes in boiling water. Remove the shells. 

  5.  Slice the baby marrow into ribbons using a vegetable peeler. 

  6.  To make the dressing: Place all the harissa paste, honey, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper in a jar. Shake to mix. 

  7.  To assemble the dish: Toss the rice in the dressing. In a large serving bowl, dish up the rice. 

  8. Top with the sliced lamb, soft boiled egg, crispy chickpeas and baby marrow ribbons. 

  9.  Garnish with dill, parsley, pomegranate kernels and serve the hummus, topped with a dash of olive oil, in a bowl on the side. 

Baharat spice is a North African peppery spice. It typically includes black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cumin, nutmeg, red and black pepper.