Assalamo alykum, how do you define a second home country. For me and many more UAE has given us a feeling of security and welcomed us with open hands and giving us the feeling of home far away from home. Welcome to the next chapter for Ramadan An event to share. A russian based in Dubai, her blog is tribute to the UAE food habits , culture and traditions. Khadijah from Taste of Emarat is representing UAE and sharing a traditional emarati recipe.
Assalam Aleikum dear sisters, I am glad to be a part of the event! And it makes me really happy to speak about Ramadan in the beautiful country I live in, it’s culture and food preparation in local homes during this blessed month.
I am Khadijah and my blog Taste of Emarat shares my cooking experience in the United Arab Emirates, as I have been living there for the past several years. In my blog you can find many traditional Emirati recipes, as UAE cusine is so rich and unique. Also it’s a second year since my blog got a beautiful tradition of posting daily recipes during Ramadan, which I called Ramadan Recipes. I started such event in attempt to help out sisters with Iftar planning, as I know how difficult is to choose a right combination of dishes for Iftar to impress family and friends, in the month of Ibadah – Worship, where we mainly should be focused on it.
So let’s explore a unique Emirati culture during Ramadan…
The month of Ramadan is a time for the UAE community to bound together for a common spiritual cause. Thousands of people head to the mosques to perform special Ramadan night prayer – Taraweeh. Families tend to spend more time together as they share a meal at the end of fasting. There are a peace and quiet during the day, with stores being emptier than usual and restaurants remaining closed. At night however, Dubai, and the whole UAE comes alive with fun activities designed to bring families and friends together.
For the month of Ramadan, in most homes throughout the UAE there are particular traditional dishes prepared, such as: Harees (wheat mixed with meat), Thareed (a meat stew accompanied by bread), Lqeimat (emirati version of doughnuts). During Ramadan most of the Emirati women make more effort to enter the kitchen and cook these traditional foods in massive portions, which after distributed throughout the neighborhood.
I would love to share with you an Emirati recipe, that being prepared during Ramadan at local homes. It is an Arseyah – a white sticky dish, similar to harees, but in this recipe rice used instead of wheat. It is cooked until rice turns into paste, then it is covered with local butter.
Arseyah
Ingredients
- 2 pieces chicken fillet
- 1 cup egyptian rice
- 1 litr water
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 can cream Nestle or Puck
- warmed samen for garnish
Method:
- In a pot place chicken, salt, cardamom, black pepper and cover with 4 cups of water. Cook for 20 min. Chop the chicken into small pieces.
- Add rice to the stock along with chopped chicken.
- Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 30 min, stirring every 5 min.
- Stir in cream
- Blend with a hand mixer or in a blender
- .Place Arseyah in a serving plate and pour warmed samen (ghee) on top. Serve!
To know more about Khadijah, connect with her on Blog