Archive for the month of: September, 2008

Eid Mubarak!

My company announced yesterday that we would get Tuesday, Wednesday, AND Thursday off. WOO-HOO! Since weekends here are Friday and Saturday, that makes it a 5-day weekend for DB and me!!

We looked into going to Petra, Istanbul, Eqypt, Muscat, Salalah, even Fujeirah. But in the end, we decided to stay in Dubai and hang out at our beach club where we can order mint mocktails and eat chicken burgers to our hearts content. Mmm….can’t wait!

Arabic Cooking Sundays: Meat fried with spices

I haven’t forgotten about Arabic Sundays but they will most likely be few and far in between since I don’t cook as often anymore. This work things just gets in the way of everything!

This is a dish I cooked up months ago but just got around to posting. La-ham nashif or meat fried with spices is a simple one-pot dish (minus the boiling of the lamb) that’s so simple and delicious I can’t wait to make it again!

The word nashif means dry with a little gravy. This is a modern dish which is fairly simple to make, yet its taste and texture belie its simplicity. Usually prepared as an evening meal, it is more popular in the winter months accompanied by bread. It is also a favourite picnic dish at weekends, when the nashif will be packed into a thermal container. Served with bread, sliced onions and tomatoes, this dish can also be prepared with chicken, truffles, shrimps or deboned tuna.

The spices in this dish include the bezar, turmeric, and ground cardamon:

 

I had some lamb chunks leftover from the last Arabic recipe (lamb saloona) that I boiled in water for 45 minutes to tenderize:

 

I chopped up some fresh coriander and garlic:

 

Sliced onions were fried in vegetable oil until golden brown:

 

When the onion was browned, I added the spices and garlic:

 

After a few minutes, I added the lamb and some water to make a thick gravy. Then served it all up over basmati rice:

 

Like I said, this was a simple dish to make, the lamb was so tender, and the spices really brought out the flavors of the meat.
 

Note: This post is part of my Cooking Local project.

Last Sunday: Meat Stew

Up next Sunday: Fish Cakes (Sa-mak koufta)

Bahrain - Part II

Besides Manama, my friends and I were also able to see other parts of Bahrain. We hired a driver with a black Ford Expedition and visited the following sites in under 4 hours:

 

This is King Fahd Causeway linking Bahrain with Saudi Arabia. It was completed in November 1986 at a cost of US$1.2 billion and is 15.5 miles (25 km) long. We drove to the middle of the causeway to an island that is shared by both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia:

Brigde linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia

 

Then off to Al Alreen Wildlife Reserve which is located in the southern part of Bahrain and spans 8 square kilometers. In the reserve, herds of Arabian mammals such as the Arabian Oryx and the Reem Gazelle inhabit the reserve, which also attracts at least 15 species of resident birds and over 80 migratory species.

At the bird sanctuary, we saw some very friendly crested cranes:

Crested Crane

 

Close-up of the crested crane:

Crested Crane

 

Formula 1 racetrack:

Formula 1 Racetrack

 

First oil well in the Persian/Arabian Gulf where oil first spurted Oct 16, 1931:

Oil Well

 

Tree of life. This is a 400-year old mesquite tree in southern Bahrain that is considered a natural wonder because of its age and the fact that the tree’s water source is a mystery as it stands in a place completely free of water:

Tree of Life

 

Bahrain

Sorry for being absent in the blogosphere the last month. I’ve been so caught up with work that I have been neglecting practically everything in my life. :(

Thanks for all the comments that have been left on this site - still no luck on the bubble tea search but the tip about the new Korean supermarket in the Safestway building was spot-on and now I don’t have to drive to Karama anymore for my Korean ramen and kimchi.

So. Let’s see. What’s been going on?
 

Well, in late August, 2 friends and I made a brief trip to Bahrain. It was a short 1-hour flight and we flew Bahrain Air out of Dubai into Manama. Here are some of our photos from Manama:
 

Bahrain World Trade Center:

Bahrain World Trade Center

 

National Gallery Museum- a life-size diorama of an olden day Bahraini souk:

Bahrain National Gallery

 

Bab Al Bahrain - which means “Gateway to Bahrain” and is in the heart of the Manama souk:

Bab Al Bahrain

 

Grand Mosque:

Grand Mosque

 

Bahrain Fort: