Cuisine of UAE Today’s cuisine of UAE is a blend of many Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines. But the modern diet of the UAE is cosmopolitan in nature. It features dishes from across the world. Generally, lots of people confuse Levantine food as being Emirati. Dishes like Shawarma, Hummous, Tabbouleh and mixed grill are all recent additions and do not do justice to the “soul food” that makes up the Emirati menu. History of UAE Cuisine The Middle East has always been served as crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa; hence traditionally it has been a hub of food and recipe exchange for ages. During the Persian Empire the foundation was laid for Middle Eastern food when rice, poultry and fruits were incorporated into their diets. Figs, dates and nuts were brought by Arabian warriors to conquered lands. During Turkey's Ottoman Empire the sweet pastries of paper
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Cuisine of UAE
Today’s cuisine of UAE is a blend of many Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines. But the modern diet of the UAE is cosmopolitan in nature. It features dishes from across the world. Generally, lots of people confuse Levantine food as being Emirati. Dishes like Shawarma, Hummous, Tabbouleh and mixed grill are all recent ad-ditions and do not do justice to the “soul food” that makes up the Emirati menu.
History of UAE CuisineThe Middle East has always been served as crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa; hence traditionally it has been a hub of food and recipe exchange for ages. During the Persian Empire the foundation was laid for Middle Eastern food when rice, poultry and fruits were incorporated into their diets. Figs, dates and nuts were brought by Arabian warriors to conquered lands. During Turkey's Ottoman Empire the sweet pastries of paper thin phyllo dough and the dense, sweet coffee was brought to the area; coffee is now con-sumed throughout the Middle East. It is also influenced by yogurt from Russia; dumplings from Mongol invaders; turmeric, cumin, garlic and other spices from India; cloves, peppercorns and all spice from the Spice Islands; okra from Africa; and tomatoes from the New World, via the Moors of Spain. Religion has also changed the cuisine as neither Jews nor Muslims eat pork, making lamb the primary meat. In addition, the Quran forbids alcohol, so conse-quently the region is not generally noted for its wines.
New Change
Due to harsh desert conditions, the traditional food of the United Arab Emirates uses a lot of meat, cereals and dairy. Vegetables are difficult to grow and are not strongly featured in the diet. Tradi-tional dishes include Ma'louba, Margooga, Harees, Machbous, Arsee'ah, Fireed, Jisheid and Mishwy. Meats traditionally used were chicken or small fowl, such as Houbara bustards, and goats. As camels are highly prized for their milk and transporting ability, the eating of camel meat is normally reserved for special occasions.
The dishes are usually like stews, as everything is cooked in a sin-gle pot. Saffron, cardamom, turmeric and thyme are the core fla-vors used in Emirati cookery. The introduction of rice to the diet came when the traders moved to the region.
Breakfast in the UAE usually features breads like ragag, khameer and chebab, served with cheese, date syrup, or eggs. These were made over a curved hot plate, resembling a stone, which would have been used by the Bedouins. Balaleat is another dish, but its advent again with the traders, who introduced pasta.
Sweet options include luqeymat, a deep fried ball of pancake batter that is rolled in sesame seed and then drizzled with date syrup. Other desserts include khabeesa, which is flour bread crumbs blended with sugar, cardamom and saffron or bethitha, a semolina blended with crushed dates, cardamom and clarified butter.
At the close of the meal it is usual to be served with a red tea in-fused with mint, which aids the digestion. Other traditions to the meal include a welcome with dates and ghawah (Arabic coffee), which are offered on arrival and are kept available through the guests visit.
Seafood has been the mainstay of the Emarati diet for centuries. The United Arab Emirates cuisine is a reflection of a great Arabian heritage and vast exposure to civilizations over time. Muslims are prohibited from eating pork so it is not included in Arab menus.
Meat, fish, and rice are the staple foods for the Emirian cuisine. Lamb and mutton are the more favored meats, then goat and fi-nally beef. Popular beverages are coffee and tea which can be sup-plemented with cardamom, saffron, or mint to give it a distinct fla-vor.