Best 4 Recipes from UAE’s National Cuisine

Chicken Shawarma

Ingredients

• 1 kilo of chicken thighs
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp cardamom
• 1 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil

For the yogurt sauce:

• 1 glass of yogurt
• 1 clove of crushed garlic
• 1 tsp of cumin
• Lemon juice
• Salt, pepper

To serve:

• 6 pita pockets
• Lettuce
• Sliced tomatoes

Put the chicken thighs with all the ingredients in a ziplock bag and marinate for one night.

For the yogurt sauce, mix the ingredients well in a deep bowl and cover it with cling film, and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

Prepare the grill or barbecue. If cooking on the stove, heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Place the marinated chicken in the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes. Then turn the other side and cook for 1 minute less from the front this time.

Cut the pita bread in half and spread yogurt sauce between them. After adding some lettuce and tomatoes, place the sliced chickens. You can use flatbread instead of pita to eat shawarma in the form of wraps.

Biryani

Ingredients

• 3 cups basmati rice
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 2 medium onions
• 1 cup of yogurt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 4 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 small hot pepper
• 4 tbsp roasted cashews
• 1/8 tsp saffron
• Salt
• 10 glasses of water

Method:

Dice the chicken and mix it with 1 and a half teaspoons of salt in a large bowl. Add turmeric, ginger, ground pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Mix all the ingredients well and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Finely chop the onions and put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, mint leaves, coriander, chili flakes, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix well and leave for 1 hour to marinate.

Boil the rice in 10 glasses of water for 10 minutes and drain, but do not pour the water out of the rice. Separate the half and spread it on the bottom of the casserole dish, and add the chicken mixture on it. Pour the remaining half of the rice over the chicken mixture.

Mix the rice water with the saffron and salt and share it over the chicken. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Serve garnished with cashews.

Fattoush Salad

Ingredients

• 2 pita pockets
• Olive oil
• 2 tsp sumac
• 1 lettuce core
• 1 cucumber
• 5 tomatoes
• 5 green onions
• 5 radishes
• 2 cups of chopped parsley
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp pomegranate syrup
• 1 tsp sumac
• 1/3 glass of olive oil
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Chop the pita bread into small pieces and heat it in the pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. After removing the oil from the fried pita with a paper towel, season it with salt, pepper, and sumac.

In a small bowl, mix the lemon, olive oil, pomegranate syrup, and other spices and combine all the ingredients with the pita pieces.

Kousa Mahshi (Stuffed zucchini)

Ingredients

• 1 kilo of zucchini
• 250 gr lamb or beef meat
• 1 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• Black pepper, white pepper
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• ¾ tsp seven spices
• Parsley
• 10 mint leaves
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• Half a glass of rice

For the tomato sauce:

• 500 grams of tomato puree
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp dried mint

Core out the zucchini and groove the outside with a serrated knife. Mix the washed and drained rice with minced meat and other ingredients.

Fill the stuffing you have prepared into the zucchini (with one finger space left on it). Cover the top with the stems of the zucchini and place in a large pot. Cook on low heat after covering the plate. After half an hour, add garlic, mint, and lemon juice into it. After cooking for another half hour, serve with tomato sauce.