When we planned our trip to Dubai, it was not so easy to find out what the traditional Dubai food is and where to try it. Yes, we`ve plan to do some cool things to do in Dubai, but finding traditional food was our first point.
In Dubai, it is easier to find an Asian, Italian or burger restaurant than a restaurant serving local dishes of Emirati cuisine.
Now, after trying the local cuisine in Dubai, I have written for you a list of what I think are the 15 best dishes of Dubai’s Emirati cuisine.
1. Сhebab
Chebab is one of the most popular breakfast dishes in the UAE. It is a type of yeast pancake prepared with saffron and cardamom.
The finished kebabs are eaten with butter, honey, sugar, jam or date syrup for breakfast. You can find chebabs on the breakfast menu of local restaurants and cafes in Dubai.
2. Dango
Dango is a classic Emirati snack. It is a sort of unpurified version of hummus without the tahini.
Dango consists of chickpeas cooked in water with salt, red chilies and other spices. Since dango keeps well, Arabs used to take it as a snack when traveling in the desert.
You can try dango at traditional Emirati restaurants in Dubai, such as the Arabian Tea House. Al Fanar restaurant in Festival City serves the salad as a starter to a main course. You can even book a hotel in Festival City ay https://karta.com so it won’t be necessary to walk way too long.
3. Balaleet
Balaleet is a traditional sweet dish popular in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
It is a popular breakfast dish and traditionally consists of noodles sweetened with sugar, cardamom, rose water and saffron, and is sometimes served with an omelet on top.
4. Madroobat deyay
Madroobat Deyay is a popular meal during the month of Ramadan. For this, wheat grains are slowly cooked with meat and water for a long time to a creamy consistency.
The only good place we have found Madroobat Deyay is at Al Fanar restaurant in Festival City on weekends. They also have it on the menu during Ramadan. During the week, Madroobat Deyay is not usually available at Al Fanar restaurants in Dubai.
5. Kebab recipes
Grilled kebabs are, of course, one of the national dishes of the UAE.
In the Emirates you will mainly find restaurants with kebab varieties typical of Persian cuisine. In addition, grilled meat is available in restaurants such as the Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant, in desert camps during safaris and in regular local restaurants.
The “Emirati Kebab” at Al Fanar, for example, is made with lamb and a marinade of local spices that, unfortunately, is not described in detail. The garnish is tomatoes, onions, a lemon and bread.
6. Camel milk ice cream
Camel milk chocolate is one of the typical souvenirs of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
You can also try camel milk ice cream in the UAE.
The ice cream comes in different flavors, for example, dates, saffron, caramel, baklava and chocolate.
It goes well with an afternoon coffee or as a dessert. We ate the ice cream at the Arabian Tea House in the old town of Dubai, along with a Karak tea.
7. Legaimat
Legaimat are dumplings fried with cardamom and saffron. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
In the United Arab Emirates, the fried dumplings are soaked in date syrup and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. Legaimat can be found as a dessert in most local restaurants in the UAE and sometimes even as street food in shopping malls.
Sweet dumplings are also a popular snack in desert camps and during day trips in Dubai.
8. Machboos
Machboos is one of the national dishes of the United Arab Emirates.
The recipe is a spicier version of the Indian biryani. It consists of simmering basmati rice with onions, baharat (a Middle Eastern spice blend), loomi (dried lemon) and meat such as lamb, chicken or fish. Deyay in the name of machboos, for example, means preparation with chicken meat.
Machboos or majbous are usually prepared and eaten at family gatherings. However, you can easily try it in a Dubai restaurant. Traditional Emirati restaurants in the city serve machboos throughout the year.
9. Tabbouleh Salad
Tabbouleh is a light salad of Arabic cuisine.
It is made with flat-leaf parsley and fine bulgur (or couscous) with tomatoes, spring onions or shallots, olive oil, a little water and lemon juice. The salad is seasoned with fresh mint, salt and pepper.
It is a popular starter or accompaniment to meat or fish in Dubai.
10. Arabian coffee
Coffee has a long tradition in Arab countries.
After all, it first came to the Arabian Peninsula from Ethiopia and from there it spread around the world. In the Dallah a traditional Arabian coffee is made from lightly roasted Arabica beans, refined with all kinds of oriental spices and served with dates.
The preparation and presentation of Arabian coffee is considered an important sign of hospitality in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Syria.
11. Fattoush
Fattush is actually a Syrian-Lebanese salad that is also popular in Dubai as an appetizer or side dish.
The traditional Fattush salad consists of tomatoes, cucumber, coriander and parsley. Its special flavor is due to the salad dressing, made with finely chopped garlic cloves, sumac, freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped fresh mint. Add pomegranate molasses or pomegranate syrup.
The special thing about the Fattush salad is the fried crispy pita bread. For this, thin round pita bread is fried in oil and then broken into small pieces or strips and added to the salad. Thus, the bread assumes the role of croutons, which give the salad a crunchy and fluffy taste.
12. National drink Karak tea
Indian migrant workers spread masala chai in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, known here as karak chai, “strong tea”.
Along with coffee, it is now the national drink of the United Arab Emirates.
There is no fixed recipe for Karak Chai; each family has its own recipe. However, the basic components are always strong black tea, sugar and milk. In addition, various spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorns, Indian bay leaves, cloves and nutmeg are added.
You can try Karak tea in Dubai at the Arabian Tea House, for example.
13. Khubz Tannour
Khubz Tannour is a type of flatbread typical of Iraq and Levantine cuisine in general.
It has long been present in the culinary culture of the Middle East. The bread is served with almost every meal and serves, among other things, as a link between different flavors.
Khubz simply means “bread” in Arabic, and tannour refers to the clay oven in which it is baked.
It is composed of the same ingredients as any other bread: flour, yeast, salt and water. The difference is the circular shape of Khubz Tannour, with a diameter of about 20 cm and a thickness of 3 cm. This creates air bubbles during baking, which give the bread a spongy flavor.
14. Thereed
Thereed is a famous Ramadan dish in Dubai and the Assembled Bedouin Emirates.
The formula initially traces all the way back to a Bedouin stew with sheep or chicken, which is eaten with Emirati flatbread. The stew is liberally prepared with Arabic flavors and cooked with vegetables like potatoes, squash and tomatoes.
Thereed bread, which is easy to make, is made with flour and water and afterward heated on a round plate.
15. Dates are part of the meal.
Sweet dates are the ubiquitous fruit in the United Arab Emirates. According to the local newspaper The National, the Emirates is home to more than 40 million date palms, although their origins can be traced back to Iraq, where date palm seeds have been around since 5110 BC.
With in excess of 200 sorts of dates going from delicate and succulent to dried, Humdinger, Khadrawi, Razaiz and Medjool are probably the most well-known assortments.
Dates go best with Arabic espresso (without milk or sugar). You can likewise attempt different treats with dates, like the date pudding at Al Fanar resto.
Leave a Reply