{"id":5238,"date":"2025-05-07T11:29:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T07:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mcmmediahub.aus.edu\/?p=5238"},"modified":"2025-05-20T13:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:53:14","slug":"the-grains-of-culture-exploring-uae-cultural-diversity-through-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcmediahub.aus.edu\/index.php\/2025\/05\/07\/the-grains-of-culture-exploring-uae-cultural-diversity-through-food\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grains of Culture: Exploring UAE Cultural Diversity Through Food"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Tala Zoubi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharjah – Entering the hotel ballroom, I was instantly engulfed by color, music, and the warm aroma of spices and roasted meat. A Filipino-Jordanian wedding, unlike anything I had ever experienced, where laughter echoed, and tradition thrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A buffet of over 20 rice dishes stretched out like a cultural patchwork. I walked through it in awe, my plate trembling slightly in my hand while passing giant pots of Emirati machboos, Indian biryani, Jordanian mansaf crowned with a sheeps head, and a Filipino boodle fight table, with rice and grilled seafood on banana leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each spoonful felt like slipping through someone else’s memory: a bustling Manila street corner, a quaint family-owned restaurant in Amman, and Friday family gathering in a Majlis in Abu Dhabi. Rice wove us together, celebrating love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With over 200 nationalities, the United Arab Emirates shapes a vibrant cultural mosaic. From the bus driver steering through morning traffic to the chef plating dishes in a five-star hotel, their food traditions build micro-communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food, especially rice, reflects the UAE\u2019s diverse demographics across every emirate, city, and neighborhood. A staple for over 3.5 billion people worldwide<\/a>, rice binds the UAE\u2019s 10 million residents. More than sustenance, it carries memory, migration, and meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s the communal spirit of a Filipino kamayan, the flavor complexity of Indian biryani, the historic Jordanian mansaf, or warm Emirati machboos, rice transcends food, marking identity, history, and belonging. It becomes a marker of identity, a thread of history, and a symbol of how people find home in unfamiliar places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emirati Machboos<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMachboos brings warmth and good memories that keep things alive,\u201d says Mira Lootah, Emirati associate director at HSBC, explaining its cherished role in Emirati culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emirati cuisine, shaped by trade, climate, and history, evolved from Bedouin reliance on the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite rice\u2019s prominence in traditional meals, it\u2019s not native to the UAE\u2019s arid climate, where dates dominate local agriculture. Eighteenth-century trade introduced rice and spices from India, shaping Khaleeji cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIts a reflection of the available resources in the old days. Rice which we used to get from india which showcases the trade between the two countries that goes way back. The dish is mostly cooked with fish naturally as the most available source of protein from the sea, and it\u2019s also a reflection to the tight relationships we had within the gulf,\u201d Lootah says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machboos is a rice dish popular in the gulf, basmati rice is cooked in a rich broth made from seafood, chicken or mutton, and flavored with bezaar (spice mix) and dried lime. In the UAE, coastal geography makes seafood machboos common. \u201cIts a dish that\u2019s cooked on any normal day in an emirati house and in massive amounts and using extra spices for certain occasions,\u201d Lootah says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spices and proteins vary by emirate, city, or household. \u201cEach mother or maid adds her own touch,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Three friends enjoy mixed seafood machboos, shrimp saloona, and jesheed (shark meat) after time apart<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Flydubai flight attendant, Nassim Hessas says, \u201cI interacted with so many people in the UAE. Khaleejis, Jordanians, Palestinians shared with me their rice dishes but by far machboos was my favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nassim Hessas and Soheib Matouk try seafood machboos for the first time at Al Embratoor Cook & Restaurant in Dubai<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nassim Hessas, 24, and Soheib Matouk, 25, Algerian expats, frequent traditional UAE restaurants for flavorful, affordable meals as they navigate the challenges of building their careers. \u201cMachboos is light and the flavors are not as harsh as other rice dishes like biryani, mansaf or mandi,\u201d says Matouk, born and raised in Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machboos is traditionally eaten by hand from a shared tray, a practice preserved in Emirati restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Al Embratoor Cook & Restaurant in Deira, Dubai, preserves Emirati history through its food and d\u00e9cor<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Toast the spices in machboos, and the scent carries you across the Arabian Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian Biryani<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

India, with 1.4 billion people and 28 states, stretches from the Himalayas to the tropical Malabar Coast, and is home to over 30 biryani variations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biryani is a mixed rice dish, uses lightly fried basmati rice\u2014though varieties like Zeerak Samba, Seeraga Samba, Sona Masoori, Shruti Kollam, Sela, or jasmine are regional\u2014cooked in a haandi (clay or copper pot), says Sabah Zaheer, a 20-year-old Bangalore native and American University of Sharjah student raised in Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proteins range from mutton, chicken, and seafood to paneer for vegetarians. The masala, a vital spice mix that defines the dish, varies by region, affecting color, aroma, and flavor. \u201cLayered or mixed, masala distribution differs across India\u2019s towns,\u201d Zaheer says. As it steams, meat or vegetable juices and masala infuse the rice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name originated from the Persian words “birinj” (rice) and “biryan” (to fry or roast), and reached India through the Mughal Empire in the 15th or 16th century, blending Persian pilaf with local spices and techniques, per the Times of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its plural identity evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangalore, the capital of the southern Karnataka state has a completely different biryani flavour profile than Hyderabad, in southern India. Bangalore\u2019s short-grain biryani, mixes the masala in to every grain of rice, giving the dish a more mellow flavor, unlike the layered Hyderabadi biryani, Zaheer says. Expatriates like Zaheer transform UAE neighborhoods into bazaars and homes that resemble those in South Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Syed Pasha stands outside the frequented Bangalore Grand Taj restaurant in Al Nahda, Dubai<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a taste of home,\u201d says Syed Pasha, an auto insurance underwriter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting the authenticity and taste of your moms handmade food in UAE, its really difficult and thanks to these guys they\u2019ve opened the restaurant and trust me, whenever we feel home sick we are always here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pasha frequents Bangalore Grand Taj restaurant with friends for authentic Bangalore-style mutton biryani, a specialty, says owner Syed Mahdi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mutton biryani, chicken gravy and veal kebab, Bangalore specialties are favorites at Bangalore Grand Taj<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mahdi, who moved to Dubai with his wife, opened the restaurant to offer Bangalore\u2019s unique flavors, rare in UAE Indian restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Owner Syed Mahdi stands among empty tables after the 6 p.m. dinner rush<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

From Al Nahda\u2019s slow-cooked biryani to Deira\u2019s kamayan feasts, rice connects diverse cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filipino Kamayan\/Boodle Fight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRice is everything for us. It\u2019s like water. If we don\u2019t have rice we can\u2019t live,\u201d says Dereck Tejada, a Filipino barista at Al Bareed Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dereck Tejada awaits customers during his early morning shift<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Rice, eaten with fruits to fish, is central to every Filipino meal, says Tejada, who moved to the UAE in 2019 to work with his brother. \u201cBoodle fight is the traditional dish and symbolizes togetherness, while the action of eating with our hands is called kamayan though terms are interchanged,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Customers from across the UAE visit Dampa Seafood Grill in Deira, Dubai,\nfor communal feasts<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kamayan, a Tagalog word meaning “with your hands.” dates to pre-colonial Philippines, when communities ate hand-to-mouth, Tejada says. Spanish and American colonizers discouraged it, but Americans revived it as the \u201cboodle fight\u201d in the early 1900s, symbolizing camaraderie, per the BBC. Some view \u201cboodle fight\u201d as derogatory, failing to honor communal dining\u2019s dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A traditional boodle fight features grilled meats, seafood, eggs, vegetables, and tropical fruit on banana leaves, centered on fragrant, sticky jasmine rice. In the UAE, where pork and some Filipino ingredients are unavailable due to climate or religious dietary restrictions, restaurants create fusion dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Dampa Seafood Grill, a fusion boodle fight style feast focuses on locally caught seafood with sauces, served on wax paper with gloves, alongside Filipino street foods like isaw (barbecued chicken intestines), chicharon manuk (crispy chicken skin), and inihaw na panga tuna (grilled tuna jaw).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexa De Jesus, a Filipino administrative assistant, and her daughter Thamina, a Dubai middle school student, visit Dampa for unlimited rice and indulgent seafood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(From left) Friends and coworkers Jomir Mapilisan, Kristine Castelltort, Rose Ann De Silva, Riza Marqyez, Alexa De Jesus, Thamina De Jesus, and Merle Antonio reunite annually at a Filipino staff gathering<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven in the UAE when you go to a Filipino party, there’s always rice because if there’s no rice, then people will not be happy and the meal\u2019s incomplete,\u201d says Alexa, a working mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Filipinos, rice is not just a daily staple, it\u2019s a labor of love and symbol of safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thamina De Jesus and her mother, Alexa De Jesus, pose after a busy day at school and work<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy day would be incomplete without rice, it is such a big thing for me,\u201d says Thamina. \u201cWe always have rice because she comes home alone. It’s really important for us to eat rice especially at lunchtime,\u201d Alexa adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n