Tag Archive for: United Arab Emirates Cuisine

United Arab Emirates – Kofta

Kofta is a member of Meat Balls and have name derived from Persian word, KUFTA. This is shaped especially into balls as a KOFTA but different shapes can be made out of the same batter of meat. Kofta can be made up of even vegetables like cabbage, potato, mixed vegetables, calabash, unripe bananas, etc. There is a huge variation of the same element of the dish and included in many countries’ national cuisine.

United Arab Emirates – Kanafeh / Kunafe

Kunafa or Kanafeh, is actually a sweet dish/ dessert from the United Arab Emirates. Kitab al tabikh is a book of Dishes from Persia and Arabs. The word Kunafa is mentioned in this book. Kitab Al Tabikh Al Magrib Wal Andalus is also a book from MAHGREB and ANDULAS. In this book, Kunafa is described as thin crust, crepes are made layered with Cheese and rose syrup, topped with nuts.

United Arab Emirates – Om Ali

This is a dessert that originated from Egypt, but popular in the whole UAE. The word OM ALI is derived from the meaning ”MOTHER OF ALI”. This name is given after the wife of Ruler of ”AYYUBID EMPIRE”. MOTHER OF ALI is traced from the Era of Ayyubid Empire. Khumaimaa is the dish that is similar to the OM ALI. It is originated from Iran and Jordan and is a part of its national cuisine.

United Arab Emirates – Beef Murtabak

This is Middle Eastern style stuffed bread or stuffed pancakes. This fried and stuffed bread found in the Asian side of the world like Saudia Arabia, Yemen, Dubai, Kuwait, Malaysia, etc. The word MURTABAK is an Arabic word that means FOLDED.

United Arab Emirates – Tharid / Thereed

This is the special dish from the cuisine of Arabs. In Dubai food festival, huge varieties of dishes are served and most famous among them is this ”THARID”. It is said that this dish is very authentic and from the back of the time, because this specific dish is mentioned in the Hadith of the specific Islamic sayings.

United Arab Emirates – Lamb Maqluba (Upside Down Lamb Rice Dish)

MAQLUBA literary means ”UPSIDE DOWN”. When this dish is cooked, It is layered in the pot like rice layer, meat layer and vegetables. Name of the dish is also seen in the book, named KITAB AL TABIKH. It is a book of 13th century recipes of UAE. Emirati dishes are very royal dishes because the use of the ingredients are very nutritious and rich.

Israel, Iran, Levant – Sabich Sandwiches

This dish is like a sandwich in which different vegetables, stuffed meat, sauces are served in the pita bread or some other form of bread. In this specific bread fried eggplant, hard-boiled eggs, salads, different sauces are sandwiched between pita bread or laffa bread. Their ingredients are basically from the Jews breakfast and it is also a dish of breakfast, but it is commonly found there as the street food sandwich and also in the snacks. The use of Tahini sauce and Amba pickle is also very common but it is the variety infused with UAE culture. Tahini sauce is basically a sauce from Arab and Emirati cuisine so it is a dish with different culture infusion. More specifically, Israeli cuisine, Middle Eastern cuisine, and Arab cuisine have the same roots of origin. Israel’s culinary culture is the history of 3000 years. The history of Israeli cuisine is divided into different eras of development. At the time of 1940 to 1950, there were Iraqi Jews refugee created these dishes.

Israel, United Arab Emirates – Kashkaval Potato Bourekas

Bourekas is the puff pastry dish from Israeli cuisine. This is made by a pastry of phyllo dough. The word boureka or borekita is the Judeo-Spanish word borrowed from the Turkish word BUREK. This dish is the HALF MOON SHAPED PASTRY, the ancient pastry cooked and baked from the old-time as the traditional dish from the bakery.

United Arab Emirates – Kousa Mahshi

Kousa Mahshi is a dish of the whole Middle East and many other countries. This dish is a rice stuffed zucchini or squash. As a cultural component, it is served as the main dish or snacks at meetings, parties, Ramzan, meetings, before meals, sometimes after meals, etc. Stuffed zucchini (or squash), zucchini (KOUSA in Arabic) is the side dish of the national cuisine of Arabs. This dish has several alternative names.

United Arab Emirates – Shish Taouk

This middle east dish is very similar with the one of the Persian dish named as Jujeh Kabab. The meaning of the word SHISH TAOUK is very difficult to find out. As the dish is, Skewered Chicken is the meaning of the Shish Taouk.