Mahmous (Arabic: محموص‎‎) an Arabic rice dish popular in Qatif, Al-Hasa and Bahrain regions. Its primary ingredients are rice and onion. The dish may have originated before the rise of oil in Saudi Arabia when the people in Qatif were so poor they could not afford buying meatso they used onions instead. But nowadays mahmous is commonly served with chicken, fish, or any kind of meat.