Qatari cuisine facts for kids
Qatari cuisine is all about the yummy, traditional foods from the Arab world. Imagine tasty dishes passed down through generations! The most famous dish, the national dish of Qatar, is called Machbūs. It's a hearty meal with rice, meat (usually lamb or chicken), and vegetables. It's cooked slowly to make it super flavorful.
You'll also find lots of Seafood and sweet dates in Qatari meals. Many Qatari dishes are similar to those in nearby countries, but sometimes they have different names or slightly different ingredients. A cool chef named Noor Al Mazroei even makes traditional Qatari recipes with vegan and gluten-free options, so everyone can enjoy them!
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Amazing Qatari Spices
Spices are super important in Arabic cooking! Chefs make sure to buy the best quality spices and not too much at once, so they stay fresh. Qatar has some special spice mixes that make their food unique.
Bizar Spice Mix
Bizar is a special Qatari spice blend. It's made by mixing different spices together. These spices include:
- black pepper
- coriander seeds
- cinnamon sticks
- cloves
- dried ginger
- whole cardamom
- dried red chili
- turmeric sticks
First, the spices are washed and then dried in the sun. After that, they are ground up and mixed together in a jar.
Daqoos Chili Blend
Daqoos is a red chili blend that adds a kick to dishes! It includes:
- crushed wheat
- roasted and crushed cumin seeds
- roasted and crushed sesame seeds
- coriander seeds
- crushed and dry red chili
- garlic cloves
- salt
Hisso Spice Mix
Hisso is another special spice blend. It includes:
- dried ginger
- cinnamon sticks
- cardamom seeds
- whole black pepper
- turmeric sticks
- cumin seeds
Delicious Main Dishes
Qatari Machbous
This dish is a local version of kabsa. It's made with rice, meat, onions, and tomatoes, all mixed with tasty spices.
Kabsa
Kabsa is a popular dish with rice, meat, and vegetables, all mixed with spices. It's a bit like biryani or pulao.
Ghuzi (Roast Lamb)
Ghuzi is a whole roast lamb served over nutty rice. It's also sometimes called shuwaa.
Madrouba
Madrouba is a warm and spicy Qatari porridge. It's made with chicken, rice that's cooked until it's very soft, and lots of yummy flavors. These flavors come from spices like turmeric, cumin, cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, and black pepper. It's best served hot, often with fresh lime zest on top.
Harees
Harees is a dish made from ground wheat seeds mixed with fat (called ghee). Salt and water are added, and it can be prepared with chicken or meat.
Jareesh
Jareesh is a dish made from crushed wheat. It's usually prepared with meat or chicken.
Khobes Rgag
Khobes rgag is a very thin, flat bread. It's made from flour, water, and salt. This bread is also used in other dishes, like thareed.
Thareed
Thareed is a mix of khobes rgag (the thin flat bread) and a flavorful broth. It also has vegetables and either chicken or meat.
Popular Drinks
Arabic Coffee
This is Coffee made from dark roasted coffee beans. It's spiced with cardamom and often served with sweet dates.
Karak Tea
Karak is also known as "tea with milk" or "chai milk." It's a bright orange drink with cardamom, saffron, and sugar. It's tea that's simmered with a mix of spices and some evaporated milk.
Sweet Desserts
Lugaimat
Lugaimat are sweet, deep-fried pastries. They are made with flour, milk, butter, sugar, saffron, and cardamom. After they are fried, honey or a sweet syrup is poured on top.
Khabees
Khabees is a sweet treat made from dates that have no seeds. The dates are soaked in water, then mixed with roasted flour, sugar, oil, butter, saffron, cardamom, and rose water.
Asida
Asida is a sweet dish made with flour, oil, and sugar.
Balaleet
Balaleet is made from Noodles cooked with sugar, cinnamon, saffron, and cardamom. Often, an omelette is placed on top of it.
Sago
Sago is a sweet, jelly-like pudding. It's spiced with saffron and cardamom.
Um Ali
Um Ali is a yummy bread and rice pudding.
