For almost three decades, Iraqi chef Raghad Al Safi spent her life soaking up the food, culture, customs and society of her homeland. But at age 28, Al Safi left Baghdad and has since lived in London, Baku, Amman and Vancouver before calling the UAE home.
While the Dubai resident has a civil engineering degree and studied interior design, Al Safi says her true calling is in the kitchen.
“In Iraq, we celebrate everything with food,” says Al Safi. “Whether it’s a wedding, Eid, a birthday, or even just getting good grades. I come from a big family. I have 11 uncles and aunts, and around 65 cousins. My father was the head of the family. Every day, we’d have at least three to four families coming for lunch, dinner or tea.”
It is those lively family gatherings that serve as the inspiration for The Iraqi Table, a cookbook delving into the history of Iraqi culture and cuisine.
“It took me seven years to collect the recipes and do the extensive research required to take the book from a few notes on my iPad to a published piece,” Al Safi says.
“I’ve been experimenting with different recipes and serving them to my family for ages; but for the book, I wanted to go beyond the dish and find the little bit of history or culture related to each one.”
Al Safi spoke to family and friends about their memories of living and eating in Iraq. She even found an elder Turkmen woman, who was visiting Abu Dhabi, who explained to Al Safi the extensive history of Kasham Ashi soup, an Iraqi favourite.
While the food and the ingredients are the focus, the joy in Al Safi’s cookbook is the personal anecdotes peppered throughout.
“The book is filled with personal stories from my childhood, the history of Iraq and its many regions,” she says, “as well as the cultural backgrounds of the many dishes and cuisines shown in the book.”
Al Safi says each Iraqi region has its own specialities: the south is known for its seafood dishes, with spices similar to those used in the Gulf, such as lime, cumin and turmeric. The north is renowned for its kubbas (minced meat and bulgur patties), while Baghdad is best known for its dolmas and stews.
“You can actually sometimes even differentiate similar meals from different regions based on the colour of the sauce they are cooked in,” Al Safi says.
Compared with other Arabian cuisines, she says Iraqi food is “often richer, with a complex layering of flavours that amounts to more than the sum of its parts”.
Al Safi’s pride in her country’s rich culinary culture shines.
“Each city or region in Iraq has particular flavours and dishes,” she says. “We have different regional cuisines from many cultures – Turkmens, Arabs, Yazidis, Assyrians, Armenians and Kurds to name a few. I hope this book showcases the complexity, the cross-pollination of ideas and the wonderful diversity of Iraqi food.”
Al Safi’s book includes beautiful photography which she hopes will inspire people to recreate the dishes at home.
"The Iraqi Table – both my book and literally the piece of furniture that so many meals are eaten on – is much more than food," she says. "Both are symbols for what the Iraqi culture can serve the world – history, authenticity and a sense of unity among people of all backgrounds."
At the festival, Al Safi will prepare and serve a breakfast, with dishes from each region of Iraq.
• Friday, 10am to 11.30am. Terra Firma Steakhouse, InterContinental, Dubai Festival City, Dh200. The Iraqi Table is Dh165 from UAE bookstores and www booksarabia.com.
sjohnson@thenational.ae
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Tuesday results:
- Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
- UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
- Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets
Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.