Food, glorious food

Nearly every time I have the first conversation with a friend or family member since leaving Australasia, the person wants to know about what I eat here. I’ve hesitated in devoting a blog to the topic because I think it’s going to be really boring, but today I’m feeling like a risk taker. Besides, it’s not like I have any idea who reads my blog and who doesn’t!

In general, the food that I eat for breakfast lunch and dinner doesn’t differ from what I eat in Melbourne. I don’t have a microwave at home and weetbix are bought in packets of 12 (3 days worth for me), so I eat cereal instead. The quality of cheese and bread is quite poor here compared to home (similar to American processed items for those of you who are familiar), so I eat less of both. I haven’t found dips in any stores yet (e.g. hommus, babaganoush, pesto etc), so that’s been disappointing and has caused a substantial drop on my potato chip intake. I have consumed more soda in the past 5mths than I had in the previous 5 years. There’s something about fizzy caffeinated cold drinks when it’s hot and dry! Beer that has no alcohol tastes ok for the purposes of cooking but is not fizzy enough to enjoy as a drink. My coffee intake has gone up considerably despite not being able to find particularly nice coffee beans. They're on my Australasian shopping list for March.

I was talking with an Australian-Scottish friend this morning about how it’s easy to forget that all countries are slowly become more and more familiar to us due to the ease of travel, migration and technology. I’m not sure that they’re all becoming more alike, but, even Doo, which remains fairly isolated from the rest of the world, has enough influence from the rest of the world that the differences are becoming less noticeable. As a result of these changes, New Zealand and Australia have such a rich culture of their own accord that I believe has been enhanced considerably by the immigrants we receive. It is so simple to go out for dinner and choose from an Indian, Thai, Mexican, Afghani, Chinese, Lebanese, Japanese or Italian cuisine. Our supermarkets have an enormous variety of food, so it’s not really that unexpected to come here and find that the food is similar, even if there are traditional native meals. I think we actually have more variety of the same types of food in NZ than anywhere else I have been, probably because we import such a lot of our long-life food due to our weenie size.

I was discussing our NZ / Australian traditional food with some native friends yesterday and I explained that really since I was a child, the style of cooking has changed dramatically. It’s common for people to cook Thai meals, Chinese, Mexican etc at home for main meals rather than our basic standard of meat and three veges. I suspect that even my grandparents have changed their style of cooking dramatically since they were first married. I’d like to view a history of Australasian cookbooks and to consider the cuisine in them; I’m sure many of the seemingly standard dishes will have originated from Asia.

All supermarkets here sell more than just food. Rather than just a token aisle with batteries, large old-lady undies and 10 type of men’s socks, you can buy anything from a coffee pot to a heater, mobile phone to computers, label clothing to label or fake-label watches to fresh fruit and meat at any supermarket. All stores sell things in large quantities and people tend to buy things in bulk. I guess it’s because very few people have a store within walking distance, so one doesn’t want to have to go every second day. I haven’t noticed anything strange on the shelves except in the meat section. Camel and ostrich meat are available in large quantities. Fresh ostrich meat looks absolutely disgusting (like it’s dripping in blood), but despite wanting to avoid looking at it as I reach for the ground beef, I can’t help myself but to stare. The ostrich eggs sitting beside it are quite impressive looking too – very large (think big Cadbury Easter egg size) with a thick green shell. I think you’d only need one for an omelette, but I’m not brave enough to try it yet. I do want to try hashi (camel) at some point, but I’ll wait until I trust the cook.

Eating out and takeaway food is reasonably cheap and I think that people either have a cook or they order in – few natives seem to cook for themselves. Most of the women I work with order their lunch in everyday, often from places only slightly healthier than McDonald’s (which of course, is freely available).

One last little comment; if one pays in cash (which most people seem to) and the change you’re entitled to is less than one riyal, it’s common for the cashier to round down to the closest riyal and given you some sugary chewing gum instead of coins. I’m not sure why. I’ve received a few 50 halala coins and 10 packets of gum since I arrived.

Saliq - Arabian Lamb with rice


* 2 pounds lamb cut into 1 inch cubes
* 3 medium onions, finely chopped
* 2 tablesppoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 2 cups milk
* 2 cups rice
* 4 tablespoons butter, melted

METHOD
Simmer meat, onions, cilantro, salt and pepper in 1 cup water in a covered saucepan over low heat for one hour. Add water if pot dries. Remove meat, set aside in warm spot.

Add 2 cups water and milk to stock in which meat was cooked. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover and cook very gently over low heat until the rice is nearly cooked, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to steam 10 minutes longer.

Place rice on a large serving platter. Arrange pieces of meat on top. Pour melted butter over rice and meat. Serve with a vegetable salad.

Serves: 6

Chicken Kabsa

Chicken kabsa is one of the most popular dishes in Doo. It is considered a staple.

* 1 2/12 - 3 pound chicken, cut into eight pieces
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 medium onions, sliced
* 1 (12 ounce) can tomato puree
* 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, crushed
* 2 medium carrots, grated
* Grated rind of one orange
* 4 cloves
* 4 cardamom pods
* 3 sticks cinnamon
* Sale and pepper to taste
* 1 pound long grain rice
* 1/4 cup raisins
* 1/4 cup sliced almonds and toasted pinenuts


METHOD
Sautee onion in oil until it begins to brown. Add chicken pieces, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and garlic and stir for about five minutes over low heat. Stir in three cups hot water, grated carrot, orange rind, spices, salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, covered, about 20-25 minutes, until chicken is done.

Remove chicken. Set aside to keep warm. Stir rice into the liquid inthe pan, and cook, covered over low heat for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Put rice on a serving platter with chicken pieces arranged around the circumfrence. Toss raisins and almonds over all.

Serves: 6