Biryani (left) served with Indian dishes.
Kuwaiti cuisine is very important to the culture of Kuwait. The national dish of Kuwait known as biryani, a rice-based dish made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and chicken, mutton, fish, eggs, or vegetables. It is common for households to invite guests during mealtime. Kuwaiti cuisine is an infusion of Indian, Persian, Mediterranean, and Najdi cuisines. Finally, a Kuwaiti meal is never complete unless it is accompanied by dates, then a hot plain tea drink.
Another significant part of the Kuwaiti diet is the fresh fish of the Persian Gulf, of which the king is the Zobaidi ' Pomfrait' it has unique meat that has little thorns in the flesh, and if they are swallowed, the thorns are soft and easy to swallow, needless to say it looks attractive having a diamond shape and whitish skin color. Another fish is the Hamour (grouper), typically served grilled, fried, best for Biryani, it has thick flesh and a distinctive taste. Other popular local fish include Safi (rabbitfish), Chanad, and Sobaity (see bream). Most of the time, fish is eaten with rice.
Kuwait's traditional flatbread is called Khubz. It is a large flatbread baked in a special oven. Numerous Khubz bakeries dot the country. It is often served with mahyawa fish sauce.
Dishes
- Harees, (Arabic: هريس) wheat cooked with meat then mashed, usually topped with cinnamon sugar.
- Mahyawa, a tangy sauce made out of fish.
- Gers Ogaily, (Arabic: قرص عقيلي) a traditional cake made with eggs, flour, sugar, cardamom, and saffron. Traditionally served with tea.
- Labneh (Arabic: لبن) (yogurt milk)[1]
- Biryani, (Arabic: برياني) the national dish which consists of heavily seasoned rice cooked with chicken or lamb. Originally an Indian dish. Very common in Kuwait.[2]
- Ghuraiba, brittle cookies made from flour, butter, powdered sugar and cardamom. It's usually served with Arabic coffee.
- Zalabia, fried dough soaked in syrup (sugar, lemon, and saffron, it has a distinctive swirly shape.
- Lugaimat, (Arabic: لقيمات) fried yeast dumplings soaked in saffron syrup (sugar, lemon, and saffron).
- Bayth elgita, (Arabic: بيض القطا) a fried cookie filled with a mixture of ground nuts and tossed in powdered sugar.It was named after the egg of the Crowned Sandgrouse (common to the area) due to its similar shape.
- Khabees, sweet dish made of flour and oil
- margoog, (Arabic: مرقوق) vegetable stew, usually containing squash and eggplant, cooked with thin pieces of rolled out dough
- Mumawwash, (Arabic: مموش) rice cooked with black lentils and topped with dry shrimp.
- Balaleet, (Arabic: بلاليط) sweet saffron noodles served with savory omelet on top.
- Qouzi, (Arabic: قوزي) Kuwaiti dish consisting of a roasted lamb stuffed with rice, meat, eggs, and other ingredients.
- Machboos, (Arabic: مجبوس) a dish made with mutton, chicken, or fish accompanied over fragrant rice that has been cooked in chicken/mutton well spiced broth.[2]
- Mutabbaq samak, (Arabic: مطبق سمك) fish served over rice. Rice is cooked in well spiced fish stock.
- Jireesh (yireesh) (Arabic: يريش), a mash of cooked spelt with chicken or lamb, tomatoes, and some spices.
- Gabout (gabboot) (Arabic: قبوط), stuffed flour dumplings in a thick meat stew.
See also
References
- ↑ DiPiazza (2006) p.57
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Riolo, 2007, p.23 - 24
- DiPiazza, Francesca Davis, 2006 Kuwait in Pictures, Twenty-First Century Books, p.56- 57, ISBN 0-8225-6589-7
- O'Shea, Maria, 1999, Kuwait, Marshall Cavendish p.114- 121, ISBN 0-7614-0871-1
- Riolo, Amy, 2007, Arabian Delights: Recipes & Princely Entertaining Ideas from the Arabian Peninsula, Capital Books, p.23- 24, ISBN 1-933102-55-1
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