Thanks to comments left by ellen and Nerissa, I checked out the new Korean supermarket in the Safestway market (on Sheik Zayad Road just south of the Mazaya Center).
Woo-hoo! Now I don’t have to drive all the way to Karama for my Korean fix!
New, bright, and airy. Well laid out aisles, a frozen section in the middle:
Instant noodles galore:
Seaweed and more noodles:
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)
Last Saturday, DB and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We decided to get married when we found out that DB was getting transferred to Dubai for work. Getting married meant that my residence visa, health insurance, etc wouldn’t be an issue if I decided not to work.
We chose the 5th anniversary of our first date as the special day. Sad to say that we haven’t printed a single wedding photo yet for framing. I’ll get around to it…eventually.
To celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary, we went to Vu’s at Emirates Towers. Of course, we started of with some bubbly 
Here are photos of our meal:
“CRAB” - My starter of snow crab cannellone, caramelized chicken wings, orange flavored bisque, morels foam:
“TUNA & SCAMPI” - DB’s starter of butter poached scampi and toro roulade, avocado bavarois, yuzu jelly, oriental dressing:
DB ordered his favorite wine - a Barolo:
“WAGYU ASSIETTE” - My entree of seared tenderloin, braised cheek and herbs pastilla, mash potato, asian rataouille:
“LAMB LOIN” - DB’s entree of soy marinated lamb, apple compote, caramelized baby onions, apple puree porcini mushrooms and lamb jus:
We were given a free dessert in honor of our anniversary and I have to say that it was very very good! Which is saying a lot because I don’t like dessert (other than creme brulee and chocolate soufles). It was just the right balance of sweet and bitter:
The food was all excellent! And in case you think I have a photgraphic memory to be able to remember what we ate, word-for-word, I better dispel that thought right now by saying that I asked for a menu to take home. Maybe I’ll get around to framing it one day.
There is nothing like a big bowl of hearty stew in the cold of winter. And just because I’m in Dubai doesn’t mean it doesn’t get cold!
Even though it is 40°C (104°F) outside every day, it is 22°C (71.5°F) in my apartment and we don’t even have the A/C on!
So I was looking forward to this La-Ham Murraq / Saloona or meat stew recipe:
Like chicken and fish saloona, this is very common throughout the UAE, indeed in some homes it is cooked twice a day. Because it can be accompanied by so many other things - rice, biryani or bread for example, it is a flexible dish.
A daily cooked Ramadan dish, it is popular for sending into the Mosques during the holy month as it is filling and nutritious. It is also one of the most famous Bedouin dishes.
Serve with dishes of sliced limes, dates, radishes, garlic chives, sliced white onion and buttermilk.
I had to half this recipe since I was only cooking for 2 people so I used 1 pound of lamb shoulder and cut it into small chunks:
The lamb was then simmered in a large pot of water for 30 minutes to tenderize the meat and to remove the foamy meat scum that boils out. This way, the final stew doesn’t get all gross with floaty gray bubble bits.
While the meat simmered, I chopped up the potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and smashed up a few garlic cloves:
When the lamb was done simmering, I drained it and discarded the water. Next I browned the onions in canola oil for a few minutes and then threw in the garlic, lamb, the spices (bezar, turmeric, cinnamon bark, salt, pepper, and whole loomi), and the chopped veggies. I simmered for stew for one hour:
The brown balls floating in the stew are whole loomi which is dried limes (see photo below). It is often sold and packaged as dried lemons for some reason. It has a smell and taste similar to preserved Chinese kumquats.
After one hour, we had this bowl of goodness to enjoy:
It came out more of a soup than a stew but I think that may be because I didn’t use a starchy enough potato. The lamb was very tender, the loomi gave the soup a slight tang, and the bezar gave it a bit of a spicy kick.
I liked it very much and it was even better for breakfast the next day!
Note: This post is part of my Cooking Local project.
Last Sunday: Chicken with rice in the bottom.
Up next Sunday: Lamb fried with spices (La-ham nashif)
Eating out in Dubai can be expensive. A lot of great restaurants are located within hotels and DB and I seem to frequent the same ones over and over again.
But to get to really know Dubai, I think it’s also important to visit the more modest establishments and the stand alone restaurants.
A bunch of girls and I have been visiting a different restaurant every 2 weeks. We take turns organizing each dinner and the only criteria is that the meal has to be less than 100 Dirhams ($27) per person.
It’s a great way to explore different parts of Dubai, eat lots of delicious food, and best of all, meet new people and catch up on girl talk.
So far, we’ve been to the following restaurants:
1. Nanking (Chinese, Indonesian - Bur Dubai). The food was good and portions were huge. There was a lot of doggy-bagging that night.
2. Shahjahan (Indian - Metropolitan Hotel). Unfortunately, I missed out on this one 
.
3. Noodle Bowl (Chinese - Satwa). Good Cantonese food. We sat outdoors as the weather was still nice.
4. Thai Terrace (Thai - Bur Dubai). Mmm….great Thai food and the flavors were very authentic. So much better than Smiling BKK.
5. Curry On (Thai, Indian - Beach Road). This used to be the old Noshi Noshi. We visited on another beautiful day in May and were able to sit outside again. The food came in tastings of threes so it was quite fun!
6. Nando’s (South African - SZR). This is a South African chain that serves up some pretty good chicken with their Peri Peri sauce. The Chicken Espetada was my favorite. I love the way it was presented with the vegetables on the bottom and the meat skewer hanging above the platter:
7. Royal Orchid (Thai - Dubai Marina). Really great Thai food but pricier than the other places we’ve been too. Loved the fish cakes:
8. Ravi’s (Indian - Satwa). The food was pretty good and was the best deal yet at 25 Dirhams a head! They serve Lamb’s Brain so if you like odd food like me - give it a try.
And there is still many more to visit - we’ve got at least 20 more restaurants on the list so far!
As per this post, the first dish in my latest cooking project is: Rice with Chicken in the Bottom (De-jaj ta-ha-tah).
This was my first attempt at an Arabic recipe. It is from Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari’s “The Complete United Arab Emirates Cookbook.” I will not be re-printing the recipe here but you can access it via the above link.
About this dish, Celia writes:
“This must be prepared in a non-stick pot, for once it is cooked, the process of transferring it to a round rice platter can be tricky. Care must be taken to avoid breaking the crust which forms around the bottom of the rice pot.
A very attractive dish to present, it is usually served with plain yoghurt, sliced limes and raw sliced onion.
Considered to be a modern local dish, it can be also feature fish or meat instead of chicken.”
I’m going to say right off the bat that I’m not sure if this dish came out the way it was supposed to. I made so many changes to the recipe (some intentional, some not) that it could be considered a failed first attempt. But it did turn out very tasty!
The recipe calls for an Arabic spice mix called bezar or bizar. It is widely available in grocery stores, contains these ingredients and it cost me 11 dhs (US$3). Like Indian curry powder, you could make it yourself from grinding up whole spices but I bought mine pre-mixed:
To start, I cleaned and cut up a whole chicken (1 kg / 2.2 lbs), rubbed it with the bezar, salt, cardamon and turmeric and I let it sit for 15 minutes. I really wanted to pepper the chicken b/c I tend to salt and pepper everything. But the recipe didn’t call for pepper so I resisted the urge.
While the chicken was hanging out, I boiled 1 cup of basmati rice in salted water. The recipe called for 4 cups but I think that’s a lot of rice for 2 people. Even 1 cup of rice lasts us a few days - I can’t imagine 4 cups! That’s like dinner for 12!
After the chicken parts had been sitting in the dry rub for 15 minutes, I browned them in vegetable oil:
The browning of the chicken smelled so good - all the aromas of the spices (expecially the cardamom) wafted through the kitchen. After the chicken was browned, I took it out of the pan and set it aside.
Next, I browned up some onions and garlic in more vegetable oil. Added some ground loomi (dried limes), chickpeas (just a little as I hate chickpeas), and tomato paste with a little water. The recipe called for tomato puree but what I thought was puree in my pantry was actually diced tomatoes so I had to improvise with the paste and water:
Now it was time to assemble everything!
I put some oil in the bottom of a pot, added the rice, chicken, and the onion/chickpea mixture. I pressed everything down with a spoon and then poured in the saffron that had been soaking in hot water:
I was supposed to cover the pot with a wet cloth but I didn’t have one so I used a wet paper towel instead. I let the mixture simmer for 20 min and then took it off the heat and let is sit for 10 min:
At this point, I re-read the instructions and realized too late that I was supposed to use a nonstick pot. Oh well, I don’t have a nonstick pot anyway and I don’t think it would have made much of a difference to the final product considering the mess that I had already made of things.
This is what the dish looked like when I flipped the pot upside down onto a plate:
Well, it certainly is “rice with chicken in the bottom” but there was no “crust” formed at the bottom of my pot. Maybe I didn’t use enough oil or my rice was too wet. I was so upset with this dish that I didn’t even have the motivation to make it look nice or garnish.
Anyway, here’s what the dish looked like when plated:
The night I made this dish, I just wanted to cry at the way it turned out. But now, I just want to laugh - I mean - how ridiculous does that plate look? I should send myself to culinary school. You definitely won’t be seeing me on the next Top Chef or The Next Food Network Star anytime soon.
As per the instructions, I served it with yogurt, sliced onions (I’m assuming raw?) and sliced limes. It doesn’t look like much does it? Besides the fact that I need to work on my plating skills!
I was also worried that it wouldn’t taste like much but it was surprisingly quite good for a botched up attempt! DB, who had not been looking forward to this cooking project of mine, was also pleasantly surprised that he liked the dish and ate it with much gusto!
So there you have it: Arabic Cooking Part I. Hopefully, next week’s attempt will turn out better!
Up next Sunday is: Lamb Stew or La-ham murraq.
Previously, I had talked about wanting to learn how to cook up some Middle Eastern dishes due to the ease of obtaining the necessary ingredients here and also to learn more about the local culture.
After some Googling, I have found a collection of online recipes from Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari. Her book, “The Complete United Arab Emirates Cookbook,” is unfortunately, no longer in print. I understand that she is an Amercan lady who married an Emirati and she produced the cookbook with the help of her husbands family and friends.
I don’t know if I will be able to make it through every single recipe, but I will certainly try and will post each attempt here on Sundays.
Besides Arabic cooking, I’d also like to make more of an effort to cook Indian dishes. Not just the stuff that’s in the restaurants (ie. Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo) but lesser known recipes.
On that note, a colleague of my husband’s lent me her copy of “Khazana of Indian Recipes” by Sanjeev Kapoor’s. I have skimmed through the list of recipes and almost all of them sound foreign to me (well, they are foreign) but I will give them a try - that is the whole point of this experiment - To try different things and learn about other cultures through cooking.
I will not be printing the recipes on here because they are copyrighted but will link to the relevant sites if possible and you can purchase Sanjeev Kapoor’s book via Amazon.
First up for next Sunday is an Arabic dish called Chicken with Rice in the Bottom or De-jaj ta-ha-tah.
And I’m recruiting volunteer eaters so if I know you, come over on Saturdays to be food guinea pigs .
And finally, if you have any great Arabic or Indian recipes to share, please send me an email - I’d love to hear from you!
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