Dairy farm in Dubai and a farmers market!

A dairy farm in Dubai and a farmers market at Dubai's largest mall! Hard to believe amidst the glossy and often scathing press that Dubai gets, but believe me it is all going on here.

Yesterday the kids and I drove to the outskirts of Dubai and together with friends walked for what seemed like an hour to a farm which housed real cows. It was great to be able to show the kids where milk actually came from and not from some supermarket shelf as my little one would have everyone believe (although I guess he is partially correct) They were overjoyed at being able to get up close and personal with calves and have a good look at the vat machines. The rest of the time they spent boogieing in a little tent to some country music and sliding down bouncy slides. The walk was not so thrilling but the entertainment on arrival made it all worthwhile for them.

The week before, Dubai's largest mall shipped in farmers from all over the UAE with their fresh produce to be part of Dubai's first ever farmer's market. The response was fabulous and there was a definite air of excitement at this venture. There was organic and local and ordinary and exotic. Peppers of all varieties, cucumber, sweetcorn, fresh herbs, fresh ghee, eggs, honey, carrots, peaches, melons, strawberries, the variety was incredible and much to my delight. There did seem to be a greater number of Australian, English and NZ accents buying so the market will not doubt appeal to the average antipodean and Brit. I for one will most certainly be a regular visitor if the project takes off weekly!

The torment of waiting for the Rogan josh

My son has been pacing the floors, literally like a lion waiting for his meal!

From the minute I threw the onions into the pot, together with the ginger, garlic, spices and wait for it.... the meat, his nostrils have flared and his tongue has been hanging. He is hungry! He has been in and out of the fridge and staring salivating at the same time, at the stovetop. He has been tearful at the slightest of things such as his dad cutting his nails and basically I think the smell of the food has been tormenting him. Unlike his Granddad who is a pure vegetarian, this is a little carnivore in the making, a true Pakistani probably with genetic origins from the North West frontier. He loves and has always been passionate about his meat and chicken. If there is a meal on the table, his first question will almost always be, where's the meat!

Well tonight I have made a family favourite - rogan josh with delicious sweet spices such as cardamom, cassia and star anise and the freshest of ground garam masala. The aroma I have to admit is to die for. And so it is no wonder that this poor little 7 year old with his teary eyes is a little emotional because the wait for this meal truly is tormenting. Whenever I cook this, I like the pot to be simmered for at least 2 hours so the wait has been since 4 oclock.

I thought it best to send him outdoors to play for a bit to at least distract that hungry mind and body. It's closer to 6.30pm now so I'll send him a telepathic message to come indoors and devour to his hearts content and until his hungry heart is content!

Saravaana Bhojan Shala with the folks and friends

Saravaana Bhojan Shala was a hit with both our friends from NZ and my parents. Once again the food was immaculately presented, and unbelievably delicious. I couldn't resist the ghee roast for a second time. It sounds terribly unhealthy (and maybe it is) but it is so incredibly tasty. It is a masala dosa (massive pancake type crepe filled with potato curry) which has obviously been fried in ghee beforehand (ok that does sound unhealthy!). However, the taste is amazing, so can be forgiven.

Our friends and their kids were fearless and were up to trying some new dishes so we ordered idli, (steamed semolina cakes, which incidentally my kids adore), puri masala, South Indian parathas, and vada. And then we settled for some less fearless stuff such as butter paneer, vegetable biryani and aloo paratha. And a little off the Indian beaten track was some Chinese cuisine which we were able to order such as vegetable fried noodles and rice and Manchurian cauliflower which was out of this world.

We finished our meals off with masala milk which is hot milk with a little turmeric, cardamom, pistachio nuts and almonds. Absolutely divine and I imagine with that combination of spices and nuts, to be rather good for you. We also had gulab jamun (milk balls in a sweet syrup), and basundi, which like the milk masala was superb. Basundi is a milky dessert, very similar to the North Indian rabdi, with again cardamom and pistachio. The milk is boiled and then left to simmer until it is thickened. I believe this is a typical Maharashtrian dish and one that I have not attempted to make but one that I intend to do and will get back to you!

The fish and dairy dilemma!

Ok here's the deal with fish and yoghurt! Apparently and according to the few that have written about this topic on the internet, the combination could possibly be lethal. However, and this is a big however, the consensus seems to be that this is a myth and that unless the fish is off (in which case why are you cooking with it?) or the yoghurt is sour (same scenario applies) then you could suffer from some digestive complaints. A rather obvious conclusion, wouldn't you think. A few have suggested that a glass of milk consumed after ones consumption of fish, could result in white spots on one's face. I have to admit that there does not seem to be much evidence to support this although I am no nutritionist or doctor so perhaps there is something I am missing.

On the other hand lots of cultures throughout the world combine fish and dairy in some form or another. In South India it is the norm to cook fish with coconut milk and so it is in Thailand and Malaysia. The French use cream and milk with their seafood and the same can be said for the Finns. One can find salmon and cream cheese sandwiches at your local supermarket or bakery and to be honest, personally I have fried spicy fish and dipped it in raita. Not only is the combination fabulous but I have not suffered from any of the ailments mentioned above. Again if anyone can shed any new light on this topic then please please do let me know. I would hate to think I was leading you astray.

We are off to our favourite local Saravana Bhojan Shala where fish will not be on the menu as this eatery which I can not rate enough is purely vegetarian. The perfect treat for my father who has revelled in this herbivorous lifestyle for the last 20 or so years.

What's with yoghurt and fish?

It's the 31st January and I am sitting in my apartment. My parents are here. My mother who is one of those fabulous mother cooks has just made my littlest, fish in the mildest of spices and breadcrumbs. He is loving it. Not the best when it comes to spicy food, he likes his food on the milder side and if he had his own way would have natural unsweetened yoghurt with everything. A dollop of yoghurt on the side or a good glass of lassi as you may have heard, is the best remedy for a very spiced up meal. He is in heavan here in the Middle East as yoghurt and laban and all flavours of yoghurt drinks line the fridges of supermarkets and therefore line the shelves of our home refrigerator. It really is not unusual to find him dipping small pieces of Arabic bread or paratha into yoghurt or mixing big dollops of that sour stuff with fluffy rice or downing gallons of flavoured yoghurt drinks. There is something about him and yoghurt. He is so unlike his older brother who deplores the stuff. How different can two children be! The older one was eating and enjoying the hottest and spiciest food at 2 years of age whilst the slight taste of a chilli on the little one's tongue would send him into a panting fit. Of course the yoghurt would make everything better!

There is an interesting notion here in the Middle East as one would not recommend mixing yoghurt with fish. It is something I must get to the bottom of as it is something I do not entirely understand. Perhaps it is digestive. If anyone has any answers do let me know. Otherwise of course some googling will reveal all.

Sumac and Za'atar

You may recall an earlier blog entry in which I had said no two days are ever the same in Dubai. Well, yesterday was no exception. The evening's events evolved into an unprepared for, fast and challenging drive to Medcare Hospital. To support a friend whose daughter had fallen down a flight of stairs on a chair with wheels! What was she thinking? Well kids will be kids and of course a race around the house on a chair with wheels is just exhilirating fun, unless of course there are stairs nearby and then it just becomes a recipe for disaster. Thank God - all is well and there has been no need for further alarm.

At 10pm after an ordeal which had lasted almost 4 hours we were famished. We decided to visit our favourite bakery which just happened to be in the neighbourhood. A wonderfully popular Lebanese outfit which does the most incredible and most mouth watering manakeesh (flat bread with toppings) the universe ever invented. The place was busy, understandably but even at 10pm, there were queues to the door. We were amazed. My request was for the cheese with za'atar manakeesh whilst my better half chose manakeesh with just zaa'atar. The za'atar is fresh and beautiful. If you have not experienced the wonderful za'atar it is generally a mixture of herbs (usually thyme), sesame seeds, sumac and salt. The sumac is a berry which is dried and then ground. It has an astringent flavour and is used as a souring agent.

We ploughed through our manakeeshes in no time and stomachs satisfied, started the engine and slowly drove home. I couldn't help wondering what Dubai would have in store for us tomorrow!

Picknicking in Al Ain

When I was young and we went for picnics my mother would often pack a pot of spicy potato curry and chapattis. We would place a spoonful of potatoes in the middle of the flat bread and roll it up and eat. It was a simple but delicious and filling snack.

So when we ventured out towards Al Ain yesterday morning to picnic this is what I packed. First a visit to Al Ain Zoo and then on to a picnic on the grass by the Jebel Hafeet mountains. The zoo was superb. Unlike its counterpart in Dubai where rumour has it the animals are caged rather uncomfortably in small cages, Al Ain Zoo is a wildlife sanctuary. The animals were housed in as natural a habitat as possible and were free to roam as they wished in this environment. Other than a monkey who had got his hands on some chewing gum and was trying to pull it apart and eat it (much to our disgust), we were pleased to note that the animals appeared comfortable and happy.

And on to the picnic by the mountains with a natural thermal spring running down the middle. Our friends had brought some moutabbal and this, together with the potatoes and chappli kebabs (spicy meat patties) sandwiched into some Arabic bread was tasty. All was polished off with a cup of cardamom tea and some delicious carrot cake courtesy of Charlotte which we ate up the mountain. It was perfect.