eG Foodblog: arbuclo - Dubai is a long way from Montana, baby!

[Pan]

Yep. Sorry to disagree with Chefzadi, but Muslims use the right hand for eating and the left hand for "sanitary ablutions," as I think I saw it put somewhere.

[FaustianBargain]

828_114023.jpg

I worked out that the middle things were banana flower and banana "stick"?! from the sign.  I've seen banana flower before unsure how to use it. 

Every part of the banana tree can be used. The leaves, the flowers, fruits(even the unripe banana) and yes..the 'stick'..which is nothing but banana stem. It is basically the 'trunk' of the tree and you have to keep peeling the layers to get the clean creamy white centre..

I recall only one recipe. Julienne the stem after you remove them as layers. Drop them in acidulated water so they wont discolour. Cook them well. We use a pressure cooker. Simply steam them or cook them in the water. In the meanwhile, grind coconut, cumin, green chillies and some coriander seeds(dhania in hindi) together into a paste like consistency. Oil+mustard+urad dhal. Mix cooked julienned banana stem and the coconut paste. Add a splash of sour buttermilk(or cream with a squeeze of lemon) Simmer. Curry leaves towards the end. There are basically several variations to this recipe where other vegetables are substituted for the banana stem.

I think the same treatment can be meted out to the banana flowers. They can be retrieved after peeling the purple 'petals' and removing the stamen like 'fingers'. Drop them in acidulated water. Dice them or slice them lengthwise before cooking through. They will be discoloured otherwise.

[arbuclo]

Karkade is indeed used for hibiscus drinks, and is popular in Sudan also.

Koorka is a chinese potato, a root vegetable that can be served in a curry sauce.

The super seeds (the arabic label says "excellent seeds") look like a relative of pumpkin seeds, the ubiquitious arab snack.

Freekeh is a roasted Lebanese grain, green cracked wheat, similar to bulgur/wheat. It has a wonderful smoky texture and appealing color. To prepare it, melt some butter or oil in a pan and add the freekeh, stirring to lightly toast. Then add stock or water to cover and simmer for about 25 mins, until the liquid is absorbed. Often served with chicken and pearl onions.

Because Dubai is 80% expat, I understand that Western traditions are prevalent. If you get a chance, you must go to a traditional family meal, not just for the food but for the social customs and traditions that you can share in. The experience as a whole is wonderful, and the courses just keep coming! Because it is rude to stop eating before other people are finished, take small bites and eat as slowly as possible.

A lot of times our maid would offer to cook for us for a minimal price. Though I mostly cooked for myself (I was a little uncomfortable with having help to begin with), occaisionally she would bring us wonderful bowls of spreads, salads or pilafs to stock the fridge. I am glad you have such a good relationship with the Sri Lankan woman, and that you can have future exchanges.

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Excellent info and thanks for the tips to survive a family meal. I'll try to remember that. Can't wait to try these new ingredients that you're all helping me identify, paricularly freekeh.

[arbuclo]

828_114023.jpg

I worked out that the middle things were banana flower and banana "stick"?! from the sign.  I've seen banana flower before unsure how to use it. 

Every part of the banana tree can be used. The leaves, the flowers, fruits(even the unripe banana) and yes..the 'stick'..which is nothing but banana stem. It is basically the 'trunk' of the tree and you have to keep peeling the layers to get the clean creamy white centre..

I recall only one recipe. Julienne the stem after you remove them as layers. Drop them in acidulated water so they wont discolour. Cook them well. We use a pressure cooker. Simply steam them or cook them in the water. In the meanwhile, grind coconut, cumin, green chillies and some coriander seeds(dhania in hindi) together into a paste like consistency. Oil+mustard+urad dhal. Mix cooked julienned banana stem and the coconut paste. Add a splash of sour buttermilk(or cream with a squeeze of lemon) Simmer. Curry leaves towards the end. There are basically several variations to this recipe where other vegetables are substituted for the banana stem.

I think the same treatment can be meted out to the banana flowers. They can be retrieved after peeling the purple 'petals' and removing the stamen like 'fingers'. Drop them in acidulated water. Dice them or slice them lengthwise before cooking through. They will be discoloured otherwise.

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Thanks! Perhaps I'll do that next time I make a curry.

[arbuclo]

M. Lucia mentioned dates earlier and what kind we can get here. I really don’t know the answer but decided I should go to one of the best date shops in town today (Sunday). I headed there this afternoon. Found the small shop and had a great chat with the guy that works there (I guess he’s the manager). Filipino boy who worked in the shop in Saudi and a year ago came to open the shop in Dubai. The shop sells only dates from the holy land (ie Saudi). And he told me all about the assortments they had and had me taste nearly every type of date and mamoul (date filled pastries) in the shop! M. Lucia, after that I didn’t know whether to hate you or love you for the suggestion since I was so hopped up on sugar and feeling rather ill! (Don’t worry I don’t hate you. I actually had a smashing time! )

This is what the outside looked like:

Dates and date paste selections:

Mamouls:

And they even had a good selection of chocolates:

I bought a half kilo and he generously gave me a good price even though I’d already eaten my body weight worth of dates! The packaging is as beautiful as the dates:

And this is the selection of goodies I bought, identified as follows:

bottom layer starting at 10 o’clock-Sukary dates-dry dates not too sweet, tahini covered “croc” (cookie around date paste then coated with tahini), pistachio “croc”, Shanteel (date paste) rolled in chocolate, Shanteel rolled in cinnamon (which was my fave, though, I haven’t tasted the chocolate ones yet or the crocs)

top layer starting at 6 o’clock-nut mamoul, two types of dates stuffed with whole almonds, dipped in honey (oh, yeah, like the need to be sweeter!) and rolled in sesame seeds, cinnamon coated mamoul and date filled cookies.

not visible-Agaivat (holy dates-from Mecca) the most expensive ones in the shop and not too sweet or sticky; Segay Toz some light tan soft dates.

[edited to add pictures and more info]

Edited February 21, 2005 by arbuclo (log)

[arbuclo]

left hand/right hand...what did I write? Aaack! Thanks for correcting me. (If you think that hand mix up was bad, you should see my driving!)

[Pan]

What, do they drive on the left side of the road?

But seriously, when you eat at the houses of Muslims, you must remember to use your right hand only, especially if you are eating with your hands (not with utensils)! When we were in that Malay village in Malaysia, my left-handed father had to sit on his left hand when eating in anyone's house, to prevent himself from reaching for the food with that hand! It's OK for you to tear bread with both hands, but only your right hand should go toward your mouth.

[arbuclo]

What, do they drive on the left side of the road?

But seriously, when you eat at the houses of Muslims, you must remember to use your right hand only, especially if you are eating with your hands (not with utensils)! When we were in that Malay village in Malaysia, my left-handed father had to sit on his left hand when eating in anyone's house, to prevent himself from reaching for the food with that hand! It's OK for you to tear bread with both hands, but only your right hand should go toward your mouth.

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I wondered about the subtleties and whether you could use your left hand at all. Thanks!

[Pan]

You can learn a lot by watching. I've noticed that the customers in the Yemen Cafe in Brooklyn use both hands to tear the really big oven-baked flatbread but then eat with their right hands only. In Malaysia, I think Muslims mostly manage to eat their roti canai exclusively with their right hands. But anyway, back to Dubai.

[arbuclo]

After I left the date shop (gosh that could sound bad ), I spotted this shop across the street. I almost walked past but decided to go in.

I didn’t take any pictures inside since almost all the lovely trays of pastries were empty. Of course, the owner/pastry maker (who was missing digits on his right hand. Wonder if he did that while making pastries? shudder...) made me taste one. They were so yummy and fresh, nice crispy filo. Much better than the ones I’ve bought from the grocer recently. I bought a few (don't know what they're called in case anyone asks!):

Thought you might also enjoy seeing the local rival to American companies selling fast food chicken:

The shops are on a street that is palm tree lined and at the end is a massive Emirates flag:

[arbuclo]

As I was driving around today I looked for food stands and local grocery shops, since people were asking questions and did indeed see a few. There just aren’t any down near where I live as it’s all really new. (We only have the chain grocery stores.) One of these days I’ll go have a good look.

I did stop by another grocery shop on the way back. Hadn't been there before. It’s located in an area where there are a lot of UK and US expats. Therefore nearly all the food in there was imported from those two areas and most of the shoppers were from the US or the UK. I enjoyed having a look around at other products I’ve not seen before. (Hey, Australia is "sheltered"!) I was excited to find smoked baby clams which my dad’s kept me supplied with while I lived in Australia and couldn’t find them.

A pork “warning” sign. I find it amusing that they have to put “for non-Muslims”on the sign. Wouldn't the word "pork" be enough?

I bought a small bottle of Laban (yogurt drink) to try. Hmm, well, it’s just not my thing. Gonna have to cook with it!

[arbuclo]

When I got home I needed to make up a batch of iced tea. I’ve been drinking this tea after seeing it in one of my Middle Eastern cookbooks. Though I’d not have thought of it was ME since it’s green tea based… I shove a bunch of mint stalks into the pitcher and smash ‘em a bit to release the mint oil. Grab 5 green tea bags and put some hot water to cover. I leave it until I have a sec to take care of it (ie 15 minutes to an hour I steep it!). Then I remove all that, add a dollop of sugar and fill with cold water.

Then since I needed to use up some bananas I thought I’d make some “breakfast bars”. The recipe comes from delicious! magazine. (An excellent magazine!)

The ingredients and the finished product (The little can is baking soda but I actually should have photographed baking powder. I put the right stuff into the mix, tho!):

Maybe some one can tell me about the bananas. I think they were identified as "Indian" on the tag. They look normal from the outside but have quite a yellow coloured flesh not the pale yellow of bananas I’m used to. Also, you can see that they look like they’re really ripe. However, the flesh is still very firm. In fact I couldn’t really mash it with a fork and instead put it in a mini chopper to puree it!

[arbuclo]

Dinner was Middle Eastern. I hadn’t tried making kibbe yet and I was intrigued by a recipe in one of my books for kibbe balls in yogurt sauce. The yogurt had to be stabilised in order to heat it without it curdling. (The recipe called for eggwhite and cornstarch to do the job.) The balls were lamb, onion, bulgur and spice mixed together and “torpedo” shaped. (Sadly my torpedo shapes were a bit lame especially when compared to the ones in the link above!)

Some garlic and mint was added to the sauce before it was finished. I also made some flat bread today using my fave recipe; a chewy bread cooked in a fry pan. Gosh that was tasty! However, for the picture I shoulda put some colour into like a sprinkle of parsley and mint on the top!

[arbuclo]

I’ve got another “what is” for you. It was labelled asfar (Arabic for yellow, I believe). Would you use it just to add colouring (it didn’t have much of a scent)? I thought it might be the poor man’s saffron.

[Pan]

[...]

Thought you might also enjoy seeing the local rival to American companies selling fast food chicken:

[...]

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I've never understood why you would just write "Dubai Fried Chicken" transliterated into Arabic. Why don't they translate the words? Are there are lot of Arabs who understand spoken English but can read it only in Arabic transliterations? (Chicken comes out "Tshkn," incidentally, as there's no "ch" letter in Arabic.)

[Chufi]

I also made some flat bread today using my fave recipe; a chewy bread cooked in a fry pan.

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I am really, really enjoying this blog. Again, I feel like I am travelling all over the world in the best possible way, focusing on food and foodshops!

I love chewy flatbread and yours looks delicious. Would you be willing to share the recipe?

[daniellewiley]

The Miramiya looks like dried sage used for tea - we bought some when we visited Istanbul a few years ago.

[lexy]

Just another vote of appreciation for this blog … I'm thinking I need to visit the middle east now

edited to add: could you share your recipe for the flatbread, it looks really good!

Edited February 21, 2005 by lexy (log)

[andiesenji]

Super seeds are melon seeds. They come in different colors at the locak middle eastern market, depending on how they are flavored/salted, etc.

[arbuclo]

Today, Monday, I started off the day eating breakfast over the course of an hour while doing other things. ! I started out with a “mango shake” that I bought to try. (It was OK-too sweet really.) Also had about 3 of those little bananas. (So so cute!) Lastly a piece of the bread from last night slathered with chile labna and more chile paste. (I love to make my own labna (sounds exotic but it’s only drained yogurt!) and have been doing it for quite some time. (click here to look at the technique for labna) This, however, was purchased from a shop and seriously needed more chile!) Lordy the food I eat is ugly! (will post picture later)

Lunch was left over kibbe and a couple of those Lebanese sweets. No picture because the kibbe is uglier than what I had for breakfast!

I'd hoped to go out to lunch and/or dinner today but hubby has the flu. So, dinner tonight is going to be leftovers plus the ciabatta, which I needed to make today as the starter was ready and...some home made ricotta. Stay tuned!

[arbuclo]

The Miramiya looks like dried sage used for tea - we bought some when we visited Istanbul a few years ago.

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Really, miramiya is sage? It kinda looks like it, I guess. Would you use it for more than just tea? Does it taste like regular sage?

[andiesenji]

When I got home I needed to make up a batch of iced tea.  I’ve been drinking this tea after seeing it in one of my Middle Eastern cookbooks.  Though I’d not have thought of it was ME since it’s green tea based…  I shove a bunch of mint stalks into the pitcher and smash ‘em a bit to release the mint oil.  Grab 5 green tea bags and put some hot water to cover.  I leave it until I have a sec to take care of it (ie 15 minutes to an hour I steep it!).  Then I remove all that, add a dollop of sugar and fill with cold water.

Then since I needed to use up some bananas I thought I’d make some “breakfast bars”.  The recipe comes from

Maybe some one can tell me about the bananas.  I think they were identified as "Indian" on the tag. They look normal from the outside but have quite a yellow coloured flesh not the pale yellow of bananas I’m used to.  Also, you can see that they look like they’re really ripe.  However, the flesh is still very firm.  In fact I couldn’t really mash it with a fork and instead put it in a mini chopper to puree it!

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The "bananas" look like plantains to me. The flesh of plantains can range from white to orange and remains firm even when the skin is totally black - only when it begins to shrink and wrinkle do they soften a bit. Many varieties are not very sweet and can be used as a vegetable side dish.

Edited February 21, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[arbuclo]

A quick question about the "super seeds" (and yes I am disappointed they don't come with a cape and a side kick), what "flavour" do you think the orange Iranian ones would be?!

[andiesenji]

The asfar is safflower petals and is indeed used in place of saffron but also has its own uses.

I don't know what flavor the orange ones are. I haven't tried them. The local store has several types of melon seeds, from white to black and several colors in between.

One type is pinkish, flavored with "black" salt, which is very strong.

The local store's supplies change with the seasons and they don't always have every type. There are quite a few middle eastern as well as Indian people who live up here but nothing like down in the Valley (San Fernando Valley).

I will ask Mike the next time I go to the store, however we do have a bit of communication problem. If his wife is in the store she can translate for me, she is US born.

[arbuclo]

The flat bread recipe I used was kinda like this one. However my recipe used plain flour instead of barley flour, no baking soda and no yogurt! (I don't think I'm allowed to put my actual recipe here copied from the book, am I? If I am, let me know and I'll do it immediately because it's seriously good!) Since there's only the two of us I put the extras in the freezer and take them out as needed.