Everyone can enjoy delicious Ramadan dishes, thanks to demonstrations by a leading chef at an Abu Dhabi mall. Nissar Hoath reports on what's cooking
Demonstrations of how to cook healthy dishes for diabetics are held every night during Ramadan at Abu Dhabi's Marina Mall.
A total of 60 recipes many of them ideal for iftars are prepared by a top chef Salim from the Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company.
Two dishes are prepared each evening from 9.30pm to 10.30pm at a specially built IKEA kitchen in the mall's exhibition concourse.
The recipes will be available for download at www.diabetesuae.ae The public health campaign was launched at the beginning of Ramadan and will continue until Eid Al Fitr. It is run by the Abu Dhabi wing of the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) in partnership with the Emirates Foundation.
I Cook Healthy is the second stage of ICLDC's multipronged public health awareness campaign, Diabetes, Knowledge and Action, which it is running in partnership with the Emirates Foundation.
Dr Maha Taysir Barakat, consultant endocrinologist and medical and research director, endorsed the concept and approved the recipes.
"By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet, diabetes can not only be managed, but it is possible to help prevent its onset, if detected early," she said.
Recent figures reveal that one in five people in the UAE aged between 20 and 79 is suffering from the disease.
The ICLDC opened in Abu Dhabi in August 2006 and has become the UAE's largest multi-disciplinary diabetes facility. It is dedicated to pre vention, treatment, training and research covering all aspects of the disease and its complications.
Marina Mall bosses hope more than 10,000 people will attend the demonstrations over the month, with even more taking home daily healthy eating recipe cards.
Earlier this year, Marina Mall joined forces with ICLDC to host the I Wonder diabetes screening initiative.
More than 17,000 people received one on one consultations in a special booth at the shopping mall.
© Emirates Today 2007
