Falafel reinvented

Yet another male bastion has been breached by an Emirati woman. And it has been done with a lot of style and aplomb. A Masters in Business Administration, Alia Al Mazroui, 30, has not just blazed a trail in the largely male domain of the restaurant business, she has also reinvented one of the region's most popular dishes - falafel.

Her retail chain, Just Falafel, co-founded with the help of her business partner Mohammad Bitar, has given a new delectable twist to the traditional fried patty made with spiced chickpea.

Walk into the restaurant outlets on Hamdan or Khalidiya streets in Abu Dhabi and you'll be left scratching your head, wondering which falafel you should order - yoghurt-drizzled Greek, curry-smothered Indian, humous-smeared Lebanese or sauce-soaked Mexican. For the health-conscious, there's even a baked option called Light Falafel. All dishes are priced between Dh5 and Dh10 and come with accoutrements.

"We wanted to do something different, something which would make us stand out. After a lot of brainstorming and countless sampling sessions we decided to incorporate the flavours of various countries into the dish with our own secret methodology . It was a huge challenge, of course, because as much as we wanted to try something new, we didn't want to meddle too much with falafel's distinct taste," she recalls.

A mother of two, three-and-a half-year-old Rowdah and 18-month -old Abdullah, Alia also works as a senior executive in a government department in Abu Dhabi. But despite her busy schedule, she remains firmly in charge of the concept restaurant chain, bringing fresh ideas and even coining the catchy ‘I Fell for Falafel' slogan. But are people falling for it? "Absolutely. With the introduction of these exciting new flavours, we are attracting a lot of customers. So much so that now I am taking the culinary experience to Dubai," she adds.

Just Falafel will be opening an outlet on Bur Dubai's Khalid Bin Waleed Street this Tuesday. Now isn't that just wonderful?