Ask Ali: Advice on serving Emirati coffee and vegetarian dishes

I'm planning to invite over some of my Emirati friends. I would like to know how to make Arabian coffee taste more "Emirati" and the correct way of serving it? PV, Fujairah, UAE

Dear PV: It's great that you're thinking of serving some coffee and even greater that you are aiming for coffee with an "Emirati" taste, which is really awesome. Arabian coffee is a mix of ground light coffee beans and cardamom. Depending on the background of the family and the area they come from, based on their tribes, the coffee will sometimes be either lighter or darker in colour. This is because of the ingredients used. Some people add saffron, which gives an amazing flavour to Emirati coffee and is considered a VIP addition.

In terms of serving it, you will need an Arabian coffee pot and cups. We usually use a nicely curved coffee pot, which we call a dallah. It can be made of copper or even plastic like a Thermos. But it always has that beautifully curved spout in the shape of a falcon’s face. It’s usually used along with small hand cups without a handle, called fenjan. Don’t worry, you will not burn your fingers when holding it, because even though these cups are small, they are pretty thick and we usually fill only one-quarter of the cup – that’s the tradition.

Also, it is custom for the coffee to be served two to three times, so the guests may enjoy the hospitality of the host, and it gives you time to enjoy some dates with every sip. The sugary taste of the dates balances the bitter taste of the coffee.

The coffee should be prepared before the guests’ arrival and placed on your living-room table, along with some tea and water. When the guests come in, you will hold the pot in your left hand and the cups in your right hand. Once the guests arrive, allow them to take a few minutes to rest, then start serving the coffee in small quantities, until they gently shake their cup to signal that they don’t want any more. Coffee is usually served once the guests arrive, then again before the guests leave.

I'm a fan of Arabian food, but I'm wondering whether Emirati cuisine includes vegetarian dishes and where I would be able to try some? HY, Germany

Dear HY: You may have heard about our popular dishes harees and machboos, which are cooked with meat or chicken and rice. But have you heard of madrooba or margooga? Both dishes are vegetarian, although some people add chicken. Whenever we have vegetarian guests, we would go for either one of these two dishes, as they taste delicious, even without the chicken.

Margooga is a mix of wheat flour or traditional bread, carrots, onions, potato, tomatoes, courgette and aubergine. Each region would add some other ingredients as per their preference.

Some people like to boil it more, so that it’s thick like bread pudding, while others like to boil it less, so it’s more of a paste. You can order these dishes from any Emirati restaurant or Gulf food kitchen. Remember to ask them for the vegetarian one and not the regular dish, as the latter might have some chicken.

Another dish that is a good vegetarian option is saloonat baamyah, which is an okra curry. Its main ingredients are tomato sauce and okra, which are boiled. Some like to add spice, while others add a few random flavours to enrich the taste. Usually this okra curry would be eaten with rice or bread.

So you see, most of our food – even though it can be served with chicken or meat for non-vegetarians – can be modified to be vegetarian, which gives us an advantage over many cuisines.

Is it just me or do you feel hungry now, too?

Ali Al Saloom is a cultural adviser and public speaker from the UAE. Follow @AskAli on Twitter, and visit www.ask-ali.com to ask him a question.