Danish in Dubai: arabic

Showing posts with label arabic. Show all posts

Make your own Shawarma

My all-time favourite snacks is definitely a proper Shawarma.

According to Wikipedia, Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما‎) is an Arab meat preparation originating from Lebanon, where lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, veal, or mixed meats are placed on a spit (commonly a vertical spit in restaurants), and may be grilled for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit. Although it can be served in shavings on a plate (generally with accompaniments), shawarma also refers to a sandwich or wrap made with shawarma meat. Shawarma is usually eaten with tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato, and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus, pickled turnips and amba. It is similar to Turkish döner kebab and Greek gyros.

Arabic or not, a few years ago, it was actually not easy to come by a decent Shawarma anywhere in Dubai. Yes, there was a nice place in Satwa off Al Diyaffah Street (now a.k.a. 2nd December Road) that did some good ones. Yes, there might have been one or two places that were alright in Deira. In general, however, it was hard to get the "proper" variety.

Nowadays, there are quite a few places, in the Marina, in Al Barsha and not least the British Kebab Shop in Discovery Gardens, which offer British/European-style 'Doners' and even import their own pita bread. Traditionally, however, Shawarmas are served wrapped in Arabic bread - something you can find in any supermarket in town if you don't fancy trying to bake your own.

Why not make your own Shawarma to your own taste?

It's really not hard work at all and the whole family is bound to love them.

Here's a recipe I got from a Lebanese guy who works in a take-out place in Al Barsha. The spice blend really gets the authentic taste and is everything you would expect of a proper Shawarma. Use you favourite meat; beef, lamb or chicken. It doesn't matter. It all tastes really good. It's the perfect cure for a hangover, excellent for fighting your cravings for dodgy fast food and a great, healthy and tasty lunch snack. All done and dusted in no time.

The reason Shawarmas are so yummy? The secret's in the spices.

Shawarma meat - spice blend:

1 1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp paprika / preferably smoked (called 'pimento' - you can get it in M&S) or noble sweet

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp vinaigrette or vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

500g meat - thinly sliced - either beef, chicken or lamb.

Veg for the Shawarmas:

8 cherry tomatoes, romaine or iceberg lettuce, 1 cucumber, 1 red or green bell pepper, 1 red onion.

Tahina/yogurt-dressing:

1 1/2-2 tbsp Tahina

250ml (half a pint) plain low-fat yogurt

Harissa/chili-sauce:

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp water

1 tsp crushed chili flakes

1 tsp salt

Method:

Prep the veg and chop/dice everything finely. Arrange on a plate so they are easy to add to the Shawarmas.

Tahina-yogurt dressing:

Mix Tahina with yogurt and add salt to taste. Tahina is a liquid paste made from ground sesame seeds. You can find Tahina in most supermarkets in the UAE. Go for the Middle Eastern-pale type made from non-rosted seeds. Keep the Tahina in the fridge after opening.

Harissa-sauce:

Mix tomato puree with salt, water and olive oil. Add chili to taste. Add a tiny amount of ground cayenne pepper if more spicieness is required. You'll have a fine Harissa-sauce.

Shawarma Meat.

Blend the spices with the meat. Peel the garlic cloves and the onion and chop them very finely. Mix the meat and spices with the garlic, onion, 1 tbsp oil and vinegar and leave it to marinate for an hour at room temperature.

Heat-up a large cast iron pan, skillet or wok until it is sizzling hot. Add 1 tbsp oil to the pan and wait for it to heat up. Fry the meat at 3/4 heat for 3-4 minutes till it is fried thoroughly. Stir occasionally, but leave the meat time to get good contact with the pan so it can take colour and become somewhat crispy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately in Arabic bread or pita bread with the chopped vegetables and Tahina/yogurt-dressing (and Harissa/chili-sauce if you like a bit of a hot kick).

All sorted and they taste really yummy. Enjoy.

Miss Camel 2013

A dusty track in the remote western region of the United Arab Emirates, on the verge of what is known as “The Empty Quarter” of the country is one of the last places you'd expect to find a beauty competition.

But the leggy, doe-eyed lovelies on parade here are of the four-legged variety.

The Al Dhafra Camel Festival held every year is a celebration of the ancient bond between humans and the "ships of the desert," which have traditionally provided Bedouins with food, clothing and transportation.

The highlight of the event, which draws more than 1,500 camel owners and 25,000 camels from all over the Arabian Peninsula to Al Dhafra, about 150km west of Abu Dhabi, is the Camel Beauty Contest.

The judges in this high-stakes contest rate the animals - the females of which are considered better looking - on criteria including firmness of ear, straightness of leg and the size of their toe cleft.

“The big size of the bones, the big foot, the height of the camel, the neck," explains one of the judges, listing the most desirable attributes.

"The smoother the neck the better, the longer the neck the better."

It's a job he takes seriously, as the spoils of victory can be significant.

The festival is an important auction market for purebred camels, and as well as commanding high prices, award-winning specimens can confer immense prestige on their owners it’s a competition between tribes as well. Everybody wants the prettiest camel to be owned by their tribe – preferably by themselves.

According to the rules laid down in the festival program, owners are required to swear religious oaths that the stated age and lineage of their animals is correct.

As well as the beauty contest and auctions, the festival also has contests in traditional pursuits such as camel racing, camel milking, falconry and date packaging. There is also racing of purebred Arabian salukis, the slender sight-hound that is one of the world's most ancient breeds of domesticated dog, as well as handicrafts displays.

While the SUV has replaced the camel as a means of transportation in the modern Emirates, it's clear the animal retains an important place in the nation's heart.

In a country about which it is often said that it went from riding camels to driving Cadillacs in 25 years, the younger generation seems aware of the importance of preserving the culture of their forefathers where camels were equal to wealth and status.

May the most beautiful camel win.

Walahi habibi, yalla, yallah!

So after a solid break it seems an appropriate time to pick-up blogging again.

Yes, I am still here in Dubai where the sun always shines, soldiering on in the City of Life. The above constituting approximately half of my Arabic vocabulary meaning Something like “Right, Darling, let’s go, come on”. So I will make an effort to get on with it, see if once again I can make blog become a kind of diary, a way to sort-out my thoughts and get my writing skills brushed-off. It’s so easy not to use them properly on an everyday basis in this country. There are so many other things to do, loads of distractions and hundreds of procrastinations that at times seem to lure me into neglecting writing. Distractions, like the idiot on the street outside the barrier to our covered parking area beeping away to make the security guard come out and open it. Too lazy to get out of his car and walk into reception to get the guard’s attention. Instead he is using the horn, which must be annoying everybody in the nearby buildings. But this is normal here. It’s all about me-me-me – the rest of the lot can go elf themselves. I want what I want and I want it now! It pisses me off all the time, but what to do about it, yani? It is definitely part of culture here. Even the taxi drivers are constantly beeping away when they pass you on the street to make you aware of their presence convinced that a middle-aged European male walking the limited pavements slash sand pits in Tecom must be in desperate need for a lift. “Hunk if you’re horny, habibi!” Not!

We have moved to Tecom, a very nice area near The Greens and opposite Internet City and Knowledge Village with one of the true landmarks of Dubai, the Al Kazim twin towers just across Sheikh Zayed Road, build to resemble the Crysler Building in New York City (only there are two of them). Location-wise it is perfect; everywhere we would want to go can be easily reached by car or even Metro. Tecom is really an up-and-coming neighbourhood in what is normally referred to as “New Dubai”. The whole area is but a few years old. We have lived in our beloved apartment for over a year now. It is a well-maintained building, a good landlord and a fair deal regarding rent. They even lowered the rent slightly at renewal even though rents in our area seem to have stabilised following the last two-years of decreasing rents in the wake of the credit crunch. We have a great two-bed apartment with a nice balcony. Needless to say there is a pool and sunbathing area on the rooftop and two gyms (gents' and ladies’) with all sorts of torture equipment in the building, full-time janitors keeping everything immaculately clean – and offering their services washing the residents’ cars 12 times a month for 100 Dirhams. 24hr security. And a covered parking space per flat downstairs where the above-mentioned idiot has just been let in after a good few minutes’ worth of being horny.

Still, it really is a good life here in Tecom, in our little apartment in the city where the sun always shines. City of Life.

Signs in the UAE

One of the most interesting things about life in the UAE is the cosmopolitan nature of the country. The population of almost 6 million people is roughly made up from 80% expats and 20% Emiratis. There are people living here for shorter or longer time from more countries and territories than there are members of the United Nations.

It is like a global village and over time you will meet and interact with people from all over the world. The official language of the UAE is obviously Arabic, but English is the language most commonly used in business and when out in public. Since only the minority of people here are actually native English speakers, sometimes things go horribly wrong when it comes to communication. Certain ethnic groups tend to have their own special variety of “English” using phrases and terms taken directly from their own language and translated to English where it is then used to bend the language in ways which the Queen would never use. There are loads of examples of “Jinglish” as the native English speakers call it. On many occasions this improper use of English can be hilarious, especially when “Jinglish” is applied to signs displayed in public. On other signs it is the spelling, grammar or punctuation which is not quite spot-on and makes things go wrong. Even the sign itself and its layout might cause problems understanding it properly.

Although many signs serve a serious purpose offering sound advice or warnings, sometimes the message does not really come through or it gets completely lost in translation.
Below are a few examples of some of the signs I have come across here in the UAE. It is very easy to find some funny examples when driving or walking around the city and it can become a great sport to be sign-spotting once you get the feel for it. Enjoy.