Portrait of a Nation: On a quest to keep Emirati cuisine alive

Fatima bent Mohamed has become a connoisseur of local cuisine, with five published cookbooks to her name.

Fatima bent Mohamed has become a connoisseur of local cuisine, with five published cookbooks to her name. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

A UAE cookbook author has made it her mission to ensure that the traditional fare of the region is kept alive for future generations with a focus on healthy eating.

ABU DHABI // Fatima bent Mohamed’s earliest memory of cooking was when she baked a cake at school in the fifth grade.

Since then, the 51-year-old Emirati has become a connoisseur of local cuisine, with five published cookbooks to her name.

“I first learnt cooking in family education class in school. After I got married at the age of 16, I tried cooking and my husband appreciated it,” the mother of four said.

With the support of her husband, her first cookbook, Easy Recipes, was printed in 2004 – at a time when it was unusual for Emirati women to become published authors.

“I wanted to document Emirati food, so I asked my grandmother and my mother for recipes. I realised that in bookshops you could find books on cuisines from different parts of the world but not on Emirati food,” she said.

Her early books were aimed at newly-married Emirati women who wanted to learn how to cook traditional dishes for their families.

“I had just my notebook full of recipes and when friends asked for them I printed copies and gave it to them,” she said.

“I was excited about publishing my books because I was the first woman in the family to accomplish this,” she said.

Soon she began to think that she could reach a wider audience.

In 2007, she published a second book, Easy Cook 2, which branched out from solely Emirati dishes into recipes from across the Gulf region.

For her third cookbook in 2010, she selected the best recipes from the first two books and had them translated into English.

The Kitchen and Our Lives was published in 2012, containing healthy recipes for salads, drinks, sandwiches and more.

It also included advice on how to cook buffets for up to 50 people.

Last year, she published Fatima's Table, featuring meal plans for Ramadan. For each day of the holy month, the book detailed a salad, soup, main dish and dessert to provide a varied menu for families.

In recent years, Mohamed has taken to using social media and has 13,000 followers on Instagram.

“The young generation don’t read books so the only way to reach them is through social media,” she said.

Healthy eating is also an important part of her ethos, especially with the high levels of obesity in the country.

"In Kitchen and Our Lives I included a whole chapter about healthy alternatives. I also made sure to include salads, healthy desserts, low-sugar, sugar-free and gluten-free food," she said.

“People are more aware of the importance of having healthy food and I keep this in mind while writing books now.”

She bemoaned the fact that youngsters today were less enthused about learning culinary skills.

“Earlier, young girls used to cook, but now they just sit around looking at social media,” she said.

She hopes her cookbooks are playing a part in keeping traditions alive.

“Our food is an important part of our culture and this is why we need to teach the young generation about it,” she said.