Maleh

Hareeshi.alyoumalsabe@gmail.com

FRIDAY, January 22, 2010 FRIDAY, January 22, 201018 19Mike Harrison

FOR the letter ‘D’, readers, I decided to slip next door to our northern neighbour. I know it’s not a country as such, but the vibrant city state, a mere 400km or so away, certainly pitches

above its weight in the world. And given that I want this series to be slightly unpredictable, there will also be a few other regions and micro-states that I will be featuring in weeks to come. Plus, if I am to be truthful, I wanted another excuse to go up to Dubai!

I feel blessed to live next door to such a buzzy place. 20 years ago, when I fi rst lived in Oman, I used to look forward to weekend breaks in Dubai and way before the phenomenal growth that the city has witnessed in recent years, it still had a lively, cosmopolitan feel to it that I have always admired.

It’s the classic syndrome of wanting what you don’t have, which makes me appreciate Dubai. When I lived in Dubai, I adored coming down to Muscat for wadi picnics, the pristine beaches, relatively sedate lifestyle, and absence of traffi c problems.

Conversely, when I moved back to the Sultanate around fi ve years ago, I used to relish my monthly shopping trips up to Dubai where there always seemed to be something new happening and a new international restaurant to try out. However, after 2-3 days there, I was always slightly relieved to return to the quieter, less stressful pace of Muscat life, where the traffi c situation was much more manageable.

What I’ve always particularly liked about Dubai is the food. As it has attracted communities from around the world, so have those people led to the establishment of world class restaurants. On any given day, I can spin a globe, pick a country and go to eat the food of that place. I love Malecon, a Cuban bistrot where I can sample some guacamole or crab cakes while sipping a mojito and watching the Argentinian community sway to tangos played by the Latino band. Or to savour the ‘craic’, I can wander over to one of the lively Irish places for some good old fi sh ‘n’ chips or bangers and mash. For a taste of the 21st century, I might try some molecular cuisine at The Observatory, a decidedly funky bistrot on the 52nd fl oor of a hotel overlooking the Palm Jumeirah. Then for some sumptuous seafood, I’ll visit Mahi Mahi, selecting my freshly-caught local fi sh from the display before getting it cooked to perfection, Cantonese-style, or by the Anglo-Italian chef. It’s fusion cuisine at its best.

Closer to my little apartment on the outskirts of the city, I’ve got the tagines and seafood bstilla of Mustafa, the Aussie/Moroccan restaurateur. And this is not to mention the dozen or so Afghan bakers within fi ve minutes walk.

You want Mongolian hotpot or Ethiopian injera, it’s there. Syrian karaz or Pakistani chapal kababs? No problem. Partial to prosciutto? Fond of fondu? Fancy a mean meen polichatu (Kerala griddled fi sh wrapped in banana leaves)? Easy.

All well and good, I hear you say, but isn’t there something missing in this cornucopia of international dishes from around the globe?

What about the traditional food of the city itself?Readers, I’ve looked for it. I’ve sought

it out on several occasions. I wandered the alleys of old Bastakia, but apart from the odd lime soda with mint, and the promise of camel stew, which never actually materialized, I haven’t found it yet.I visited a desert resort outside of

Dubai which advertised traditional Emirati fare – where, alongside tourists enjoying their ‘ethnic’

experience, I sampled hummus and a bit of grilled meat and observed a belly-dancing show. Ahem? Traditional Emirati? I don’t really think so.

So is traditional Emirati food actually dying out? With an expatriate population of 88%, and an ever-growing generation of working Emirati women, with maids from Indonesia, Sri Lanka & Ethiopia all infl uencing culinary habits, does it have a chance?

I’m happy to say that there is plenty to be found. It’s just a question of knowing where. Dubai is rather unique in the world in that the foreign population far outweighs the local one, and since food for every taste and budget is available, traditional Emirati food has simply not caught the public imagination. As such, it is very underrepresented in food outlets across the country. However, it is still cooked in homes and on offi cial and public occasions such as wedding.

So how would you defi ne genuine ‘Dubai’ cuisine, if it were at all possible?

Local dishes are largely made up of a combination of rice, together with meat or fi sh, prepared in different ways.

Should you be lucky to be invited to an Emirati wedding, it would be quite unusual not to fi nd at least one substantial section of the catering area offering traditional dishes such as harees, thareed and ’orsiya.

Here are a few favourites: Harees: Is made from wheat to which meat is added and then simmered for several hours until the meat is absorbed. It is then served on a fl at plate with ghee and occasionally pine nuts for decoration.Thareed: Is a stew of braised beef and vegetables, served with a ‘saloona’ which is all then poured over a bed of bread to absorb the sauce.Maleh: Fish, most often tuna, which is dried and preserved in salt, then soaked to remove excessive saltiness. It is served up with chopped tomato and onion as a cold salad.Machboos: Rice is very much the staple, and this dish differs from others such as biryani, in that the rice is cooked separately, and then layered with fi sh, chicken or meat.Khabeesa: A dessert made from fl our heated on a stovetop. As it browns, rose water, sugar, ghee and cardamom or saffron are added.Bethetha – Cooked in a similar way to khabeesa, but with dates added.Luqma: Yet another dessert, consisting of balls of fl our, deep-fried and drizzled with syrup. Very more-ish! Food in Dubai and the other Emirates is undergoing a mutation, as new generations expand their diets and absorb new infl uences, yet this is no different to the rest of the world, which is moving at an ever faster pace. Since much traditional food is labour-and time-intensive, it goes without saying that each new generation will resort to fast food, and packets and tins, as young working adults simply do not have time to devote hours to the preparation of meals.

What is unique to the Emirates, however, is the fact that there are almost no Emiratis working in the hospitality industry, and as such, it is only logical that local food will not be represented so much in the hospitality industry.

While the above dishes are a regular feature in the Dubai household, you’d be hard pushed to fi nd anything resembling ‘pure’ Emirati food in international restaurants.

Which is precisely why I was thrilled to encounter some at one of my favourite Dubai hotels recently. The Radisson Blu Hotel, on the creek in Deira, was offering Emirati specials during ’Eid and Executive Chef Micheel Uwe and Chef Hassan Mohammed Kanso cooked up a veritable Emirati fusion storm for me, a combination of their professional skills being brought to the fore, in simple, Emirati dishes given a beautiful, international fl air and contemporary presentation.

Like the city in which these dishes were prepared: Pretty unique!

Dubai is the 2nd largest of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a constitutional monarchy,

and the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is also the Prime Minister of the UAE. Population: Possibly the fastest growing

city in the world, the population in 2005 was estimated at 1.37 million, and this had increased to 2.26 million by 2009. Dubai is unusual in that only 18% of its population consists of indigenous Emiratis with the majority of its population being comprised of expatriates, for the most part from the Asian sub-continent. Area: 4,114 km² Languages: Arabic is the official

language, though English is most widely spoken as lingua franca between the up to 200 different nationalities living in the city. Interestingly, in terms of sheer numbers, Hindi is actually the most widely-spoken language in Dubai! Getting there: Dubai is approximately 50

minutes by air from Muscat. Driving time is around 4½ hours. Main traditional dishes: Harees, fogga,

thareed, luqma, betheetha

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Closer to my little apartment on the outhe city, I’ve got the tagines and seafooof Mustafa, the Aussie/Moroccan restaAnd this is not to mention the dozen orbakers within fi ve minutes walk.

You want Mongolian hotpot or Ethiopian injera, it’s there. Syrian karaz or Pakistani chapal kababs? No problem. Partial to prosciutto? Fond of fondu? Fancy a mean meen polichatu (Kerala griddled fi sh wrapped in banana leaves)? Easy.

All well and good, I hear you say, but isn’t there something missing in this cornucopia of

p g y pdecoration.Thareed: Is a stew of braised beef and vegetables, served with a ‘saloona’ which is all then poured over a bed of bread to absorb the sauce.Maleh: Fish, most often tuna, which is dried and preserved in salt then soaked to remove

Dutskirts of od bstilla aurateur. r so Afghan

Here are a few favourites:Harees: Is made from wheat to which meat is added and then simmered for several hours until the meat is absorbed. It is then served on a fl at plate with ghee and occasionally pine nuts for

ubai

Meeting Maitha

I asked a friend to fi nd me a ‘feisty, young Emirati’, who could talk to me about Dubai food, and he introduced me to Maitha Has-san Ali, a Masters Degree student at the

British University of Dubai, who seemed to wear the ‘feisty’ moniker with pride. Here follows is only a very short extract of my fascinating con-versation with Maitha, who started by telling me that 7 years ago she came to the conclusion that she was ‘part Hippy, part Bedouin!’

Asking for an explanation for the fact that most Dubai visitors never encounter traditional food, Maitha replied that since most restaurant chains ‘represent fashion and being chic’, young people are much more interested in sitting in the steak houses, where being seen is more important than the food itself. But do you eat traditional food at home? ‘I love traditional food. I think that it’s the only fattening food that I could eat and dad won’t open his mouth and say stop stuffi ng yourself’.

Maitha’s favourites – such as harees and thareed - are generally those reserved for ‘happy occasions like weddings and ’Eid’. She loves fooga – which can be made with vegetables, meat, or fi sh, and is also quite partial to ’arsiya, ‘the sister of harees’, which is made with rice, rather than wheat, and therefore not so heavy on the stomach.

As to whether young Emirati women are afraid of losing the tradition of cooking, she does think that ‘at the back of their heads they know how important it is to cook and be able to prepare traditional food. But it’s the time thing. Other things have caught on and have replaced the pas-sion for cooking.’

So, if you saw fooga or harees on a menu in a 5-star hotel, would you try it?

I wouldn’t personally, but that’s only because I eat it at home and I love the way it tastes. How-ever, I actually would feel happy and proud that the name is on the menu, no matter how it tastes.’

My thanks to the staff of the Radisson Blu Hotel (beautifully located on the Deira side of Dubai creek), in particular, Chefs Micheel Uwe and Hassan Mohammed Kanso, for the preparation and creative design of the dishes. The ‘Rad’ has been my favourite Dubai hotel for 20 years – they serve a mean fish ‘n’ chips, too!

Maleh, meaning ‘salty’ in Arabic, derives its name from dried fi sh pieces, preserved in salt. The dish can be prepared with any dried fi sh, including shark, but tuna is more commonly used. You can fi nd dried tuna at Muttrah and Seeb fi sh markets.

Ingredients: (for 4 portions)

750g dried tuna chunks

1 large fresh tomato, diced 1 large onion, fi nely chopped 1 tbsp garlic, fi nely chopped 1 tbsp chopped coriander 2 tbsps olive oil

Preparation:

Soak the fi sh in warm water for 30 minutes, to reduce the salt content

Heat olive oil in a saucepan, add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another fi ve minutes. Then add the chopped tomato and fi sh. Cook on a low heat until the ingredients are all softened, adding the coriander for one further minute of cooking. Ensure all the ingredients are well mixed together, remove from heat and serve after it has cooled.

Harees is a fi rm Emirati favourite. It is a traditional dish that is popu-lar throughout the Arabian peninsula, including Oman. Extremely labour-intensive, it is often saved for special occasions, since the whole process of hulling, soaking and cooking the wheat can take up to two days. Pre-prepared ‘harees’ is now available in supermarkets, which considerably reduces the cooking time. I have eaten slightly different varieties of the same dish, some with and some without meat, in Yemen, Dubai, Oman and Pakistan. In Oman, it is frequently made with chicken or veal.

Ingredients: (for 4 portions)

500g lamb’s leg steak, cubed 200g harees (whole wheat) soaked over night in water 500 ml water 50g smen, or ghee (clarifi ed butter) ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground cumin seeds, toasted salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste 1 tbsp pine nuts, for decoration

Preparation:

Combine the lamb, soaked wheat and water in a pan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring oc-casionally. Skim away any froth that rises to the surface during the

cooking time. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then transfer to a food processor. Blend to a smooth, or semi-smooth paste. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, combine the clarifi ed butter, cinnamon and cumin in a pan. Season to taste and allow to heat through. Pour the resultant mixture over the mixture, drizzle with [pine nuts and serve immediately. Traditionally, the mixture of meat and wheat is left for several hours until the meat is completely dissolved into the wheat. It is then transferred to a clay pot, placed in a tanoor oven, covered and left for several more hours, then stirred laboriously until a smooth paste is achieved. The mixture is then transferred to a serving bowl, a small well made in the centre, onto which the warmed ghee is dropped.