 Yummy Arabia!
by Nilma Dole
Imagine when Sheherazade was
telling the Persian king Shahryar a story every night until the end of
one thousand and one nights and one thousand stories, what do you
suppose they were eating?
While Sheherazade might be only the vizier’s daughter and not a
housewife with great cooking skills, the art of weaving tales in food
might be the stories discovered at the Galadari hotel’s Arabic
restaurant, Sheherazade. The first and best Arabic restaurant in Sri
Lanka, Sheherazade is no charade but a parade of delights that are sure
to take your shisha breath away.
 Arab cuisine is known by the different regional cuisines spanning the
Arab world from Morocco and Tunisia to Yemen and Somalia, while
inculcating Levantine, Egyptian and many more regions. It has also been
influenced to an extent by the culinary traditions of Turkey, Greece,
Iraq, the Balkans, Iran, India, Afghanistan, the Berbers, and other
cultures region counterparts before the cultural Arabisation brought by
genealogical Arabians during the Arabian Muslim conquests.
According to history, the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula had a staple
diet of dates, wheat, barley, rice and meat, with little variety and a
heavy emphasis on yogurt products, such as labneh (yoghurt without
butterfat). As the indigenous Semitic people of the peninsula wandered
and traded, so did their tastes and favoured ingredients.
There is a strong emphasis on meat, dairy products, herbs and spices,
strong beverages, grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits with nuts and
greens and dressings and sauces when it comes to Arab food. Notably,
many of the same spices used in Arabian cuisine are also those
emphasized in Indian cuisine. This is a result of heavy trading between
the two regions, and of the current state of affairs in the wealthy oil
states, in which many South Asian workers live abroad in the Arab Gulf
states.
At Sheherazade, we take a look at our favourite Arab dishes. Some of
them are hummus, made with cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini,
olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Moreover, do try the delicious
vegetarian cutlet known as falafel which is a fried ball or patty made
from ground chickpeas with ot without fava beans.
Next up, you should make full use of the Turkish ‘turning’ food
called shawarma which is a Middle Eastern sandwich-like wrap of shaved
lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a mixture thereof. Don’t forget to
eat the lovely kebabs which come roasted on sticks and are delicious for
a snack or appetizer. Moreover, try baba ganoush which is an Arab dish
of eggplant (aubergine) mashed and mixed with various seasoning. For a
fresh salad, munch on the tabouleh which is traditionally a mountain
dish from the Lebanon, which has become one of the most popular Middle
Eastern salads.
For dessert, the range of halvas encompassing nutty-based and
flour-based ones are delicious, basbousa, a sweet cake made of a
semolina soaked in syrup is heavenly and omali a warm dessert similiar
to bread and butter pudding in rose water is also tantalising.
Overall, Sheherazade is the ideal place for relaxing with the Arab
vibes and possibly getting you to belly dance on the floor to work up an
Arab appetite! |
