Tasting emaraati traditional food

Hala bl 7elwin ,

I know some of u r interested in emaraati traditional dishes, so today let's taste our tasty dishes :)

I will post the most popular dishes served in Emirates by the names and show u the way they look like.

RAQAQ 

It is only made of basic ingredients : whole-wheat flour, salt and water.This is one of the most traditional breads known in UAE.

The "raqaq" bread is made from soft unleavened dough that is flattened and baked on a hot iron plate.

The bread is made daily during Ramadan and is the accompaniment to fareed (a dish made of chicken and bread).

 It is also a popular winter-time bread, eaten fresh and warm from the griddle with oil poured over, then folded into pieces and eaten with fresh honey.

Is it also served with ghee,butter,sugar,chesse or meat gravy spread on it.

SHOBAB 

“Shobab” is traditional bedouin bread that is very similar to a crepe. The ingredients are the same as khameer, except that only more water is added.

The dough is left to rest for about four hours and is then cut into several pieces.

Each piece is shaped into a flat circle and fried on both sides in a pan (or baked in a traditional oven called "tabi").It is served warm for either breakfast or dinner, and is accompanied by cheese, honey, eggs or jam.

AL HAREES

“Al harees “ is one of the most savoured dishes in the UAE  and it involves a lengthy preparation. Harees, that rib-sticking, regional stalwart of meat and wheat, sometimes as thick as concrete, is a quintessential part of the Emirati culinary.

Al harees, which is made mainly from meat and wheat, is quite prominent one during special occasions such as Ramadan, Eid and weddings. 

AL MACHBOOS

“Al Machboos”, which is also called “Al Makboos”, has red meat as its main ingredient (which can be replaced by chicken or shrimp) and rice.

Is it similar to Biryani .

AL SALOONA

Is it chicken, beef or meat stew along with vegetables.

The dish is prepared by boiling meat with onions and then adding a variety of vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, onions, pepper, tomato and some okra). 

 Spices and tomato paste are also added and the mixture is left to simmer for 10 minutes until read.

AL MADROOBA

Fish is used heavily in Emirati Cuisine in a variety of recipies: grilled, fried or cooked with rice

This consists of salt-cured fish (known locally as "Maleh" or salty) and flour. 

The fish is cleaned thoroughly in running water and then cooked in a pot along with spices.  

AL KHABEESA

picture made by our sister Arlette

This is a famous desert . Is made from flour which is heated on a stovetop and as its colour turns brown, rose water, sugar, ghee and cardamom are added. 

The mixture is then left on medium heat until ready.

AL KHANFAROOSH

This is prepared from a mixture of flour, egg, sugar, yeast, cardamom, saffron and rose water.

Very tasty !

LOQAIMAT 

“Luqaimat or l’gaymat “  may just be the emaraati gateway dish.

Dumplings (little crispy  balls) made of butter , milk, sugar, flour, saffron, cardamom, that is deep fried in oil and then served with sugar syrup .

My favorite sweet , is it served in Ramadan also , but mostly as a mainly desert .

There are as many varied and wonderful recipes for loqaimat as there are for pancakes.

BATHEETH

This is a date sweet , an arab favorite and the national traditional uae sweet.

Is it served regulary with Gahwa ( the Arabic coffee).

GAHWA KHALEEJIAH 

Gulf coffee is served at most corners of the Heritage Village,offices,shops,houses ans is the most popular type of coffee among uae nationals.One of the first things done every morning in Arab homes after early morning prayers, is to make coffee which is then kept in a flask (dalla gahwa) until the family is ready to drink it.

Traditionally, fresh green coffee beans are roasted in a frying pan (ta'waa) over a direct fire.

 They are then pounded by hand in a mortar until they reached a medium sized grain, and then boiled rapidly for 3-5 minutes.

In the meantime, saffron, cloves, cardamom and rosewater are placed in a large flask, the hot coffee is poured over this and then left to steep for 30-40 minutes.

Henna

Hayakom Allah,

how u doing my dears , hope u all are great . 

Today i wanna write little bit about henna, as for i'm a big fan of it.

I admit i'm not good in painting and make in the designs , but i totally enjoy it when i go to salon for a henna painting.

I tried twice at home to do it by myself , and it was terrible , the worse ever i have seen , even the kids do it better than me :) he he 

So since that time i gave it up and i prefer going to salon to make it sure none will get amused of my henna .

Henna was used throughout India and the Middle East before Islam, and is also known as "Mehendi" (an Indian word). Henna is made from the leaves of a bush, the Egyptian evergreen plant whose shoots and leaves yield an extract which is mixed with substance obtained from various trees and shrubs. 

 Arabians crush dried berries from this plant to obtain a red powder. 

Black henna is reserved for the soles of the feet and hands while red henna is used for the tips of the fingers and toes.

Traditional henna designs were put onto hands and feet. 

It was often part of a special celebration of women, such as preparing for the wedding.

Now is it used to special events or even daily use.

 Women gathered to decorate the bride's hands and feet, and their own hands as well. 

 The designs are usually made to look like leaves, vines, and flowers or geometric patterns.

The history of henna goes back 5,000 years! It was not only for decorating hands and feet, but was used as a medicine, too. 

Even our Prophet Muhammad(saw) recommended using henna for some health problems.

The application of henna is a ritual which may take up to 6 hours. 
After all ingredients are mixed and designs applied the person shouldn't disturb painted areas for 6 hours or more, depending upon the richess of color and how long u want the design to stay on.

Anyway, i have a little secret -

 if u want ur henna to be long stay ( let's say for a week ) then u should use a little lemon juice with very little acetone ( the one u remove ur nail polish ). Try it and tell me if u got the wished results.

If u wanna know more about henna designs click here 

Brand new t-shirts khaleeji words

The first ever idea of creating t-shirts exclusively for teenager came to Arwa Mousa from Oman only at her age of 23 years old very passionated of art , has transformated  the classic  T-shirts to a spectacular art, adding the Calligraphic Islamic Art  imprimated on T-shirts.

Now has arrived  a new project in the UAE, and specifically in Dubai, a project brand of new clothes.

Thing unique to this project is to use the purely  words of  اماراتيه ( khaleeji dialect ) acquired by the UAE heritage.

The objective of the project is targeting the next generation of  young people into the love of those who planted the confidence of belonging to this country, but do comply with the West.

Sob7n Allah , u must see this !

Look at this kid ...... he is not a normal kid and he is Thanking Allah for everything he has ..... look at us who are perfectly normal and we have Forgotten Allah .... !

 

MAY ALLAH ACCEPT ALL OF US IN HIS WAY and live in accordance to His Will.

May our actions be  as our  PROPHET MUHAMMAD (saw) teached us  ... AMEEEEEN

May ALLAH forgive us all for what we did and may He protect us from doing it again AMEEENNN  !!!!

Spices used in arabic kitchen

Ok dears, first i'm sorry i haven't update my blog as for i was not feeling well .. some complications came after my operation, bas now i can say i'm little better, thanks to my God !
Not long ago , one sister asked me regarding the spices we use in Arabic  kitchen. I thought in posting some of the spices ( out of hundreds ) along with the pictures for recognizing them easily when u go to supermarket and wanna have some.

The one i love so much called "CARDAMOM" used in arabic coffee, sweets and biryani rice.

Maggie , i think everyone knows it :)

We use a lot the spice named " BHARAT " - means allspice mixed and can be done at home as well. Is it a mixture of spices which varies from region to region.

Another one is the  " CLOVES " 

"YANSOON" my fabulous spice , i use it a lot coz i like the flavor . Usually is it used to calm down a pain stomach making a tea with it , but  i add this to some of my dishes as well ( it gives a special taste )

"REIHAN" - BASIL is it used fresh or dry to salads

"KARAWIA" 

"KHUZBARA" -"CORIANDER" used in salad and main courses.Very healthy !

"KAMOON" - i love it i use it in tea's , sweets , rice and some dishes.

"SAFFRON" - a blessed ingredient the most expansive , used with rice for flavor and color, for preparation the fish and chicken and not at last used in some sweets.

My self, I  enjoy the taste of "saffron " tea !

" KURKUM " or " TURMERIC "  in english 

The black pepper, cinnamon, garlic, mint , nutmeg , parsley , red pepper , sesame seeds , rose water , masticha , ginger, bay leaves, pistachio, nuts, dates, za'attar, maramyieh, mardakoosh, rashad, are also some of the ingredients which are used in arabic kitchen.

Now i wanna show u a quick recipe i did it last days while i was feeling so sick . 

My food for the last 1 week and a half must be only smashed , i'm not allowed and i can't eat the regular food, so u need a lot of imagination to survive with this kind of food and in the same time to be healthy and delicious.

Here's my personalized recipe:

I took 1 chicken breast , i boiled it, and then i put it in blender along with :

- 3 spoons of sour cream

- 3 spoons of tahina

- little turmeric

- little anise

- 1 pc.garlic

- little cinnamon

- salt to taste

- and very litlle water.

All those mix well into blender until u will get a creamy sauce. 

It was really delicious . This must be a great ideea to feed the small babies as well :)

And this is how it looks like

Crystallized mobiles

I kept this post to later on while i was in the hospital , and sob7n allah today i saw our sister Khaleejia posts regarding the same issues i was planning last week to do it !

Anyway it's good  that we have different items with the same topic :)

I love crystals so much, i love anything sparkling, and for this reason u will be amazed how by  my accessories , jalabeya's and 3baya's r full of crystals ... u should call me "crystal girl "  he he  :P

Good, now what i wanna point out is that i'm thinking that my mobile also should have crystals. I don't know if i can do it at home , just the way i do with my abaya's or shayla's , but for sure i can buy it in case i failed crystallizing it !

No one denies the importance of the mobile phone (mobile), which became an important part of our daily lives, and in line for all our daily activities, despite all the positives and services provided by mobile phone to us in our daily lives, but also disadvantages and risks can not be ignored.

And now let me show u some stylish phones.

U won’t believe it but here they crystallized ur mobile if u wish so , or other u can

buy already made one .

" N Collection "is a unique brand in UAE destinated to design with crystals ur things. The Botique is it situated in Sharjah and  in Abu Dhabi, at Abu Dhabi Mall, Level-3 next to Mikyaki outlet, but if u are too lazy to go there u may order it by internet.

They give u even the opportunity in decorating with crystals ur:

 -electronics,

-shayla's,

-abaya's,

-bags,

-shoes,

-car accesories,

-households 

-portraits...etc

Have a look at their work :

The memory card removable disk

Home phone

The folder

The shoes

The Dallah ( coffee pot )

The notebook

The glass

The medhan ( incense burner)

The Plate

And not at last - the mobile 

If u wish to see more u can go here