Friday, Oct 25, 2013
Abu Dhabi: Surrounded by the aroma of scrumptious traditional fare, the Emirati Home Made Dishes Competition was host to 22 Emirati competitors in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The competition, which is part of the Dubai World Hospitality Championship 2013, invited Emirati women in the emirate to cook three traditional dishes from a preselected menu.
The menu included dishes that constitute a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch, and dinner and while the competitors had to pick dishes only from the given menu, they could choose their own ingredients.
“The reason I entered the competition is to embrace Emirati culture and cuisine in particular. The goal behind this competition is to bring our heritage to the global scene and I wanted to take part in that,” one of the competitors, Um Mohammad said.
“I am always trying to teach my daughter my cooking methods and this will also encourage her to carry on and maintain our Emirati cuisine,” she said.
One of the judges, Aisha Al Mansouri agreed, saying that the competition was meant to promote Emirati heritage.
“We’re hoping to keep the Emirati culture alive and to develop it even further. We’re also trying to introduce the cuisine to expatriates because many of them don’t know about it and we want new generations to embrace the heritage and the cuisine,” Al Mansouri said.
Vice-President of the championship and one of the judges, Ahmad Sherif said the criteria for rating the dishes were based on how authentic they tasted.
“We’re looking for authentic recipes so the dish must have no additions and it must have the typical Emirati flavour that our grandmothers would cook,” he told Gulf News.
The criteria also included presentation, cleanliness, taste, garnish, and the use of spices.
Sherif noted that one of the most outstanding dishes he had tasted so far was dry fish that is preserved and salted, to be served with white rice.
Other dishes included orseya chicken (a rice dish cooked with chicken); balaleet (a rice dish with eggs and nuts); mahla (sweet pancakes) and lobya (beans); among others.
To ensure standards of integrity in judging, competitors were not present at the competition.
The competition will move to other emirates and judges will pick a winner from each emirate. The winners’ names will be announced at the Dubai World Hospitality Championship, which will take place from November 16 — 18 at Dubai World Trade Centre.
The championship includes others sections such as hospitality sector for restaurants and hotels; and international competition for cooking teams from 12 countries; amateur competition for those aged 15 to 25; among others.
By Sara Diaa Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
