Elsa Exarhu

Qatar always raises curiosity about its traditional food, recipes and specific cuisine for all those interested in
its culture.
Today, the cosmopolitan country offers all kinds of international cuisine. Promoted in Qatar, the food culture is also the subject of outstanding events abroad like the Qatar Pavilion Expo in Milan.
The food culture of Qatar evolved over time strongly influenced by rice and spices from India and food from the Levant.
Qatari cuisine is a cornucopia of sumptuous morsels: from succulent machboos to inviting appetisers, tasty fish dishes to phenomenal desserts, all of which will leave you hankering for more. But besides the undoubted richness of its taste and texture, Qatari cuisine can also tell us a spell-binding story of the past, of caravans in the desert, of ships that sailed from the Malabar Coast to Qatar, of open markets where produce of the region was bartered and bargained over.
By tracing the lineage of the various dishes of Qatar, we are able to get a deeper understanding of how events shaped history.
Qatar is 90 percent desert. The lack of water and poor soil forced Qataris to adopt a nomadic lifestyle since the land could not provide much. Since time immemorial, Qataris have made the best of what nature had to offer trapping birds and small animals that roamed the desert, feasting on desert truffles and plants that could survive the harsh climate.
Thus began the annual migration between sea and sand. In the summer, Qataris would migrate to the coast and the men would seek employment on pearling boats that traversed the Gulf. In winter, belongings were stowed away, so that the annual trek to the interior could begin.
Al Faga'a or desert truffles belonging to the genus of Terfezia and Tirmania, meat and milk, dates, fish, yogurt (Jameed), over time enriched with precious spices and rice from India.
Saloona is a Qatari vegetable and meat broth made from courgettes, cauliflower, carrots and potatoes. Its Indian influence is apparent from the many spices used such as turmeric, coriander, garlic and ghee.
Harees is a dish where ground wheat is cooked together with meat to form a puree. It is served with lemon. Making harees is a labour of love as it takes six hours to cook.
Machboos is the national dish of Qatar and many Qataris frequently eat it for lunch accompanied with lemon and laban [yogurt]. It consists of chicken or lamb meat over bed of rice that has been flavoured with spices like cardamom, cumin, cinnamon and dried limes.
Balaleet is a sweet made from vermicelli cooked with cardamom powder, sugar and finished off with an omlette. It is a breakfast dish also frequently served during celebrations.
Legeemat is a sweet made from golden balls of dough deep fried to perfection and doused in syrup. It is usually accompanied by coffee.
Qatari flat bread such as khubz khemeer and khubz regag.
Qatari Coffee or qahwa is served to welcome guests. Coffee cups, or finjan, must be held with the right hand and one should shake it from side to side to indicate that you had enough. Qahwa is made from coffee powder and exotic spices such as cardamom, rosewater, saffron and cloves. It is traditionally accompanied by dates and other sweets.
And not to forget Karak tea.
And to refer to food history and all fascinating details about the desert and Qatar, and not to mention the Houbara would be wrong. Locals told me the Houbara is one of the most targeted bird that falcon hunters use.