Living in the Emirates for seven years makes me feel that this place is a heaven for for food lovers. You name it, you have it. You have Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Moroccan, Lebanese, French, Italian and the list goes on. Take Indian food for instance: You have on one hand- a high end, upscale Amal at Armani, or Indego at Grosvenor House on the other while a humble, down-to-earth Sarvanaa Bhavan, Venus or Radhe Radhe in Karama. At every 100 meters you find an eatery in Dubai, which is, of course, crowded. In the Emirates, of what I have seen, Emiratis are very proud of their culture, heritage, and past. If you look now, you find a average Emirati wearing a Qandora or an Abaya, which is almost unlikely for us Indians, wearing Kurtas or Dhotis in public.
I don't know why this cannot be the same for Emirati cuisine. If you ask about this type of food to any one here, it is most commonly associated with the big three of Middle-Eastern food: Hummus, Felafel, and Tahini. The separate identity of Emirati cuisine has been enveloped by the highly popular Lebanese cuisine.
Here's a vivid description of this cuisine by Hashem Marzouqui, The Emirati businessman who founded the newly-opened Al Fanar, an Emirati-cuisine restaurant at Dubai Festival City:
"Don't expect to find the staples of Middle Eastern dishes found in the Levant or Egypt — while hummus, felafel and shawarma are popular here, they are not found in local cuisine. Instead, look further east for the inspiration with biryani and machboos just a couple of the many dishes born from the ebb and flow of the country's trade historical relations with two of the world's oldest civilizations: the Indian and Persian."
This cuisine has been influenced greatly by the neighboring Persian and the near-to-here Indian cultures. The roots of this cuisine are in the Bedouin cooking, where chicken meat, goat meat and sheep meat were highly favored. Camels were eaten on very special occasions.The dishes are usually like stews, as everything is often cooked in a single pot. Saffron, Thyme, Turmeric and Cardamom are the core flavors used in Emirati cookery. The introduction of rice to the diet came when the traders moved to the region. Leaves from indigenous trees, such as the Ghaff, were also used to stuff small birds, releasing their flavor during the cooking process.
Emirati food, or Gulf food in all, is very different because it stands as the odd one out. It is not the average, extremely popularized Levantine food we think of. It is a cuisine influenced largely by Indian and Persian cuisines, with a blend of the local Bedouin cooking. (Does the phrase "Camel Biryani" give a hint?)
A very good restaurant serving authentic Emirati food is Al-Fanar restaurant in Festival city, Dubai. it has a nostalgic decor, and serves authentic dishes like machboos, jesheed, and saloona. But honestly, It is still a shame to say that only a few people know about real Emirati Cuisine.
Check out Al-Fanar sometime if you really want to taste the Emirates. With its nostalgic decor, excellent food and the feel of old Dubai, it will be a marvellous experience. Here's the website: http://www.alfanarrestaurant.com/
Go try it out!
I don't know why this cannot be the same for Emirati cuisine. If you ask about this type of food to any one here, it is most commonly associated with the big three of Middle-Eastern food: Hummus, Felafel, and Tahini. The separate identity of Emirati cuisine has been enveloped by the highly popular Lebanese cuisine.
Here's a vivid description of this cuisine by Hashem Marzouqui, The Emirati businessman who founded the newly-opened Al Fanar, an Emirati-cuisine restaurant at Dubai Festival City:
"Don't expect to find the staples of Middle Eastern dishes found in the Levant or Egypt — while hummus, felafel and shawarma are popular here, they are not found in local cuisine. Instead, look further east for the inspiration with biryani and machboos just a couple of the many dishes born from the ebb and flow of the country's trade historical relations with two of the world's oldest civilizations: the Indian and Persian."
This cuisine has been influenced greatly by the neighboring Persian and the near-to-here Indian cultures. The roots of this cuisine are in the Bedouin cooking, where chicken meat, goat meat and sheep meat were highly favored. Camels were eaten on very special occasions.The dishes are usually like stews, as everything is often cooked in a single pot. Saffron, Thyme, Turmeric and Cardamom are the core flavors used in Emirati cookery. The introduction of rice to the diet came when the traders moved to the region. Leaves from indigenous trees, such as the Ghaff, were also used to stuff small birds, releasing their flavor during the cooking process.
Emirati food, or Gulf food in all, is very different because it stands as the odd one out. It is not the average, extremely popularized Levantine food we think of. It is a cuisine influenced largely by Indian and Persian cuisines, with a blend of the local Bedouin cooking. (Does the phrase "Camel Biryani" give a hint?)
A very good restaurant serving authentic Emirati food is Al-Fanar restaurant in Festival city, Dubai. it has a nostalgic decor, and serves authentic dishes like machboos, jesheed, and saloona. But honestly, It is still a shame to say that only a few people know about real Emirati Cuisine.
Check out Al-Fanar sometime if you really want to taste the Emirates. With its nostalgic decor, excellent food and the feel of old Dubai, it will be a marvellous experience. Here's the website: http://www.alfanarrestaurant.com/
Go try it out!
Well written
ReplyDeleteAny vege stuff? Desserts?
ReplyDelete