Dubai: A generous helping of tradition, garnished with a dash of simplicity and accompanied with loads of love and warmth dunked in hospitality is the perfect recipe for the heritage hoary Emirati Cuisine.
Emirati Cuisine has evolved over a thousand years as Bedouins of this region -- influenced by their travel -- experimented with locally available meat, fish and vegetables to create delectable, lip smacking food that has withstood the test of time and is still found in every Emirati household.
Now it’s time to say Bel’afiah (bon appetit) with gusto as hotels open their doors to traditional UAE cuisine thanks to the initiative taken up by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA).
Few of us have had a real taste of authentic Emirati cuisine. Besides imparting a lesson in cultural tourism, it whets our need for a gastronomic adventure. The secret to understanding the hearts and minds of the people of a country is definitely routed through the food they eat. It’s time to take a look at the rich and eclectic influences on the food habits of the people of UAE.
Prior to the formation of the federation, the emirates, particularly Dubai, traded with countries of the subcontinent and the East. Pearls were exchanged for rice, spices, fruits and vegetables and cooking traditions evolved accordingly.
Hessa Hassan Ahmed Saeed, the Sous Chef at the Dubai World Trade Centre, walks down memory lane into the times when large household with joint families lived and ate together among much laughter and mirth.
“Although I love my mother’s cooking, I think food tasted a lot better during my grandmother’s time. I can still recall the delectable flavours of my grandmother’s cooking. She hardly used any spices, her food was simple and cooked with a lot of patience. There was no modern gas or electric oven or any such gadget. Spices were ground in stone pestles and she would cook on an open charcoal oven. On a daily basis people did not have meat. Lamb and chicken stews were reserved for wedding celebrations and festivals and that is why these seemed so special as they were rare treats. Most Emiratis love sea food such as fish. Al saafi (rabbit fish) Chanad (mackerel) and others were easily available and we usually had samak salona (fish stew) and white rice for lunch.
“On some days we would have aishu laham or Shark Gasheed. We also had many afternoon meals with dried fish such as Al Saafi, Sherry and King Fish that were locally available. These were traditionally cleaned with vinegar, water and lemon and then dried in the sun with salt, pepper and turmeric. This dried fish would be either fried or stewed with tamarind, salt, pepper, turmeric and seasoned with cumin and dry lemon to be eaten with rice. Our spices were very mild and locally available. The most common dessert in every household was sago. My grandmother would soak and cook sago in water and caramelized sugar. It tasted so good. I think all Emiratis have memories like mine of happy family meals that were simple yet so flavourful, Saeed said.
“Today, we all do preserve tradition but most of us innovate in the kitchen with new ingredients, new styles and modes of cooking. I would love to see more traditional recipes on hotel menus. It will be so nice to check into a hotel and have traditional Emirati breakfast served in the morning.”
Over the years, the Dubai World Trade Centre’s Kitchen and Hospitality service has become widely known for its authentic Emirati fare.
More and more traditional events including traditional Emirati weddings have catering from the DWTC kitchen.
Executive Chef Khalel Mustafa who originally hails from Jordan, has become an authority on Emirati Cuisine having learned traditional cooking and being personally mentored by cooks from the UAE.
“I am proud of being a specialist in Emirati cuisine having spent 14 years as chef, 10 of which, I have spent at DWTC. Emirati cuisine has had a long journey of evolution where seafaring traders brought in spices from the East and were also influenced by cooking styles of those countries. But many traditions have remained unchanged and to this day, certain recipes such as Harees that dates to the time of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), have continued to be cooked in the same manner.
“One of the staples of Emirati cooking is bezar – a mixture of several spices – whole cardamoms, cinnamon bark, coriander seeds, ground turmeric, dry ginger, star anise, nutmeg, dry red chillies, whole black pepper, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, whole cloves and nutmeg flower- that are roasted, pounded and used for flavour in most preparations. Every household has its own recipe for bezar. Cooking on slow fire is a highlight of Emirati cuisine as people would stew meat and vegetables in smouldering charcoal ovens or bake whole lambs (Quzi Mashwi) and camels ( Jamil Mashwi) on sand tandoors. In olden times, preparation for marriages started nearly a fortnight before. Lambs would be slaughtered, marinated with freshly ground spices, wrapped in banana leaf and palm leaf baskets it would be placed in underground sand tandoors and cooked for over 6-8 hours. Both the Quzi Mashwi and Jamil Mashwi were favourite gourmet dishes amongst all Bedouins and were always part of the banquet during weddings and festivals.
“Although in modern times we do cook in sand ovens, I have always tried to preserve the tradition by using freshly ground spices, fresh ingredients and slow fire cooking style,” he said.
