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Home , Emirati cuisine, Harees, Meatball

DUBAI

Previously the preserve of home in , Emirati – with its rich and layered heritage, plethora of colourful ingredients and flavourful dishes – is now stepping out into the world.

Words by Natasha Amar Photography by Sukaina Rajabali

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DUBAI

Previous spread Right A selection A man helps himself of traditional to some thareed dishes at Al Fanar (chicken and ) This page, left to right, from top luqaimat (a type of doughnut); chebab (a traditional Emirati ); preparing in the desert; machboos robyan ( with spiced yellow ); a pot of (wheat with ); a selection of traditional desserts; making regag (a local )

74 SILVERKRIS.COM DUBAI “ W hen guests would boneless chicken cubes and , ask where they could have Emirati , we’d send them such as zucchini, and carrot, to Iranian restaurants,” admits Uwe Micheel, direc- cooked with bread in a of tor of kitchens at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira red and tomatoes. Every spoonful Creek. “I didn’t even know what Emirati food was – I felt is a symphony of flavours and textures. a little bit ashamed,” the German-born chef continues, “Bezar is the key to ,” remembering when he first arrived back in 1993. Micheel says, referring to the aromatic We are chatting at Aseelah, a Middle Eastern fine-din- mix of that is rubbed on the ing restaurant at the Radisson Blu. The menu here features chicken. “It isn’t spicy, but it is packed a blend of traditional Emirati fare such as machboos (fish with interesting flavours.” Bezar fea- and rice cooked in a rich and broth) alongside tures in almost all Emirati dishes, from more contemporary offerings such as sliders with appetisers such as sambousa – a fried toppings including date jam with halloumi. “We wanted to pastry stuffed with meat, vegetables or do a mix of traditional Emirati dishes and modern dishes… cheese – to mains like the margougat. that, to me, is the taste of Dubai today,” he shares. “Everyone does it a bit differently, with That blend is evident in dishes such as the grilled , closely guarded family recipes being an Emirati-style appetiser which I pair with a handed down through the generations.” beetroot carpaccio. The crispy and minced onion That secrecy was one of the chal- shell reveals a delicious stuffing of spiced minced lamb that lenges facing Micheel when he tried to is perfectly balanced with the salad – thin slices of beetroot find out more about the cuisine of his with wild rocket and labneh (a soft cheese made with hung adopted home. Despite the move from yoghurt) that’s been flavoured with tahina ( ). the desert to modern skyscrapers, the In fact, Aseelah is the perfect spot to begin an explora- culinary wealth of what continues to be tion of this lesser-known cuisine. Born of the desert, tra- a very private society remained hidden ditional Emirati recipes – some thousands of years old – away within homes, passed down orally. draw heavily from the region’s Bedouin heritage, shaped Given the lack of recipe books in by the availability of core ingredients such as dates, English, Micheel found himself forced wheat, lamb, camel meat and – specifically in Dubai – to reach out to chefs well-versed in the fish and shrimp. Due to other factors that come with a cuisine, including those at the Zabeel historically nomadic lifestyle, such as the scarcity of Palace, the official residence of the water, classic dishes have been simple, cooked in single Ruler of Dubai. “It took a long time for aluminium pots over an open fire or underground, often me to get inside an Emirati home for hours and sometimes even overnight. for the first time,” recalls the A perfect example of a traditional one-pot dish also mild-mannered chef. happens to be one of Micheel’s favourites on the menu at But it isn’t just foreign chefs who are Aseelah. The margougat is a hearty orange-red stew of championing Emirati cuisine. For

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From below The Al Marmoom Bedouin Experience allows you to sample traditional dishes under desert skies; a one-pot dish of thareed

Hashem Al Marzouqi, a burning desire to revive his lost cultural heritage led him to open Al Fanar Restaurant & Cafe back in 2011. There are now six outlets across the and , as well as a new London outpost. “Our culture was fading out. I couldn’t even explain to my kids how our lives were growing up. There was no tangible reference point,” he says. Stepping into the original Dubai Festival City Mall branch is like travelling back in time to the 1960s. Guests sit on wooden tables under latticed arches and in the shade of a central tree, in a courtyard lit by the warm glow of antique oil lamps, or fanar. Photographs of everyday life in Dubai from the 1960s adorn the walls: A village woman with a large earthen pot balanced impossibly on her head gazes at me as I take a bite of the appetiser of crumbly koftat samak, deep-fried spiced fish . “Everyone, including my own father, told me that this was a crazy idea,” Al Marzouki says of the initial days of Al Fanar. Nevertheless, he was determined to champion the cuisine. To start, he began collecting recipes from people in his community, often knocking on neighbours’ doors. “I’d ask, ‘What does your mother cook well? Machboos? Give us the recipe,’” he recalls with a smile. “We went to the best source – the Emirati housewives and grandmothers.” The wooden dhows that sailed to South in the DINING In the majlis – traditional 1800s brought back not only spices, but also inspiration. seating, decorated with An example is machboos, the Emirati rice dish that has IN THE carpets, cushions and often low seats – Emirati roots in the Indian biryani, except for its use of bezar and hosts share stories over a loomi (dried limes), both unique to the Emirati version. DESERT typical Bedouin dinner. My plate of machboos (a shrimp version) at Al robyan Think tanoor lamb Fanar is glorious; two rows of shrimp over a generous (oven-cooked lamb with portion of fragrant yellow rice slowly simmered in shrimp Experience Emirati rice and ghee); thareed stock. A dried lemon, now soft from the heat, sits quietly cuisine in an unforgettable (chicken and vegetable as a , helping lend a pleasant tanginess to the rice. setting by taking part in stew); lahm hashi (camel While Al Marzouqi expected interest from foreigners, the Al Marmoom Bedouin meat with truffles); and he was surprised to find that the restaurant also struck a Experience dinner with crispy luqaimat, deep-fried chord with . He tells me of an Emirati grand- Platinum Heritage. The flour drizzled mother who visited the restaurant with her grandchildren tour involves a camel with date syrup and and recounts how she walked around, pointing to old - caravan to a Bedouin topped with sesame seeds, tos to show them the kind of house she grew up in. “She village, where you learn served on mats of dried told me – I have to kiss your head,” he recalls. “It made her about their customs and palm leaf. Cultural feel like she’d been transported to her life in those days.” everyday lives and enjoy performances and an Al Marzouqi is not happy to rest on his success at home demonstrations. astronomy session follow and is committed to raising awareness of Emirati cuisine over cups of gahwa globally, as evidenced by the opening of the first Al Fanar (Arabic coffee) and spicy outside the in Kensington, London, in March -infused chai. this year. “We’re representing the country now. It’s not bedouinexperience.com just a business,” he states. There are also newer restaurants that experiment with traditional flavours, such as Seven Sands, an upscale con- temporary Emirati restaurant opened in 2015 by the ¤

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HumYum A MODERN This spot serves comfort TAKE ON food laden with Khaleeji (Gulf Arabic) nostalgia: LOCAL FARE cups of masala tea with chebab () and rigag (crepes) with fillings such as cheese with Chips Oman; cheese Logma with Nutella; or honey and This popular restaurant zaatar. IG: @humyum offers a taste of the region with a cool, contemporary twist. One of the menu Ana Restaurant standouts is Logma Expect a bold take on Benedict – poached eggs Emirati cuisine. The with tomato and onion, traditional main dish served on local khameer harees – a porridge-like bread and topped with concoction of mashed hollandaise , local wheat and lamb topped spices and herbs. with ghee – is presented logma.ae as an appetiser. There’s an Emirati version of , and a camel burger topped with date sauce. anarestaurant.ae

hospitality and catering arm of Dubai World Trade But while traditional cuisine is Right Centre. Seven Sands’ sleek interiors contain intricate lat- appreciated at home, it’s a different Eating machboos robyan the ticework lamps above ornamental mashrabiya screens story for the younger generation of traditional way, and a wall depicting the history of Dubai. With an Emirati Emiratis dining out in the city. “When by hand, at Al twist on European fare – saffron and camel ten- I go out, I like to try something new,” Fanar restaurant derloin, for instance – and unusual presentations of clas- Almarri says, explaining why many sic dishes, it’s clear that they aren’t afraid to reinvent the Emirati restaurants, such as Ana cuisine. Take for example their chicken madrouba, a slow- Restaurant, SIKKA Café and Logma, cooked dish of chicken, leaves, oats and bezar, serve more contemporary takes on the usually served as a main . At Seven Sands, they are cuisine. Indeed, it isn’t unusual to see also served as deep-fried croquettes. tables filled with young Emiratis, My dining companion, nutritionist Noora Almarri, who Instagramming and tasting their way works closely with head chef Abdullah Alshhadeh at Seven through bold and artistic-looking rein- Sands, talks about her favourite dish on the menu here: ventions of classic dishes. jisheed sambousa, or fried pastry stuffed with spicy minced Overall, things have come a long shark – yet another creative take on the traditional dish of way since the 1990s, when Micheel rice served with shark. I am pleasantly surprised by how struggled to point his hotel guests tasty the -spiced meat is, along with the perfect towards authentic local food. Through crunch of the pastry, lightly dipped in chilli sauce. restaurateurs looking to resurface While we eat, she tells me about her family’s tradition forgotten recipes; young entrepreneurs of preparing harees, a main dish of lamb and wheat mashed eager to share local culture with together, on the UAE’s National Day (2 December), at visitors; and forward-thinking estab- their farmhouse. “It takes over an hour and you need a lot lishments putting new spins on Singapore Airlines flies to Dubai of strength to do it, so we take turns to see who can mash it old dishes, Emirati food is finding its daily. To book the best. It’s never me – I might be stronger than my place in fast-paced Dubai’s evolving a flight, visit grandma, but she can mash harees better than me.” dining scene. ■ singaporeair.com

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