No matter where you are, upbeat and scrumptious food is always a desire for a person. One may not remember how one felt while seeing an architectural landmark, but one always remembers the taste and aroma of the food. So, wherever you go, you should always try the authentic food of the region.
If you are on a UAE trip, trying their authentic cuisine should be on your bucket list. The food of UAE is a blend of Indian, Iranian, African, and Arabic flavours. Hence, you get to savour the delight of hundreds of dishes in one place. We have devised a list of the famous food in UAE to try!
UAE is a coalition of 7 emirates located in the Arabian Peninsula. Hence, the diversity of food items is more. From sizzling shawarmas to mouth-watering Shirin Polo, UAE has everything when you sit at the dining table.
Let’s open the menu with the national dish of the UAE. If you are up for a stomach-filling dish to go, Khuzi is the best. As it contains rice, it will fill you faster, and that too for a longer time. Along with rice, the Khuzi platter contains roasted lamb or mutton with nuts, raisins, and veggies on the side.
Khuzi is not just appetite satisfying but has all the essential energy-boosting elements. Therefore, keeping you well-fed for your day tour. In UAE, Khuzi or Quzi is served at festivals and special occasions.
Most of the food of UAE has rice as its primary element, and Al Machboos is one of them. Just like Khazi, Al Machboos is the national dish and is fulfilling. If you like an appetizing meal that fulfils your senses, go for Al Machboos.
For non-vegetarians, it is a delight as it has red meat and rice as the key components. You can also get shrimp or fish in place of red meat. On the side of this, the dish tastes awesome with spices, dried lemon, and onions. As per the food enthusiasts, Al Machboos tastes the best with raita and salad.
Also Read - Famous Dishes Of Dubai
Not all of you would be fans of fancy restaurants. Some of you would be more inclined towards street food. Shish Tawouk Sandwich is one of the UAE dishes that rank under the street food category.
The sandwich has a savoury mixture of various spices. Just like a burger, it has a mixture of veggies, pickles, herbs, and sliced chicken. The sliced chicken is the key element of the sandwich that makes it stand out. If your taste buds are wet already, head to any of the middle-eastern food points and relish it.
Often termed as one of the most popular on-screen dishes, Shawarma is a street food immensely popular across the globe. Though you may find Shawarma in almost every country today, nothing can beat the taste from the UAE's streets.
Again, it is a non-vegetarian dish that packs in a flatbread rolled around the tangy mixture. The savoury mixture has sliced chicken combined with numerous sauces, vegetables, onions, and spices. If you want, you can choose the meat you want. It can be lamb or beef. Shawarma ranks among the most desirable UAE traditional food.
Here is something if you are a vegetarian and health conscious. Fattoush is a salad dish with all the flavours you desire without the fear of gaining weight. It is made using veggies like radishes, diced tomatoes, lettuce, mint leaves, and cucumber. Onions, lemon, and garlic are added to make it juicier and flavourful.
The final product is served with Levantine bread. You might be surprised to taste the dish as it relishes you while being light on your stomach. If you are ordering, eating it on the side or before the meal is best.
If you have a sweet tooth, Shirin Polo is the best food in UAE to try. This food item of Dubai is primarily served on special occasions like weddings, Nowruz (Iranian new year), and others. If you want to jump directly to sweets from the starters, order the Shirin Polo.
Along with remarkable taste, the Iranian dish has awesome aesthetics that will make you fall in love with it. The dish has an exotic mixture of lightly sweetened, steamed rice along with nuts, dry fruits, and veggies. It is garnished with nuts to make it look better. To make it taste better, consume it with barberries and pistachio ice cream. If you are in UAE, do try it as it is the best choice for vegetarian food in UAE.
For those of you who like liquid food more, Thareed can be a great option. Thareed is a mouth-watering stew that can be made for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. It is ideally composed of roasted veggies, like potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin, and marrow. Based on the user preference, meat like chicken, lamb, or goat can also be added.
This flavourful stew is served to the customers with a thin Emirati flatbread known as the Rigag. So, if you don’t feel like eating anything heavy on your teeth, you can go for Thereed and tickle your taste buds.
You might have tasted Farmhouse pizza, Margherita, Veggie Delight, and more. But have you ever tasted Manakish? When in UAE, do treat your taste buds with this sensational dish. Resembling the well-known Italian pizza, Manakish is the pizza of UAE.
The dish is a wide flatbread that is cooked in a large oven. The topping on this bread is similar to pizza, such as vegetables, spices, meat, thyme, and cheese (a lot of it). Locals of UAE love it, and it is technically a Lebanese snack that ranks among the most popular food in UAE.
If you are a strict vegetarian, the country has Falafel for you. The dish can be in the form of balls or patties. Ideally, it is made from chickpeas and beans. However, different restaurants may use different ingredients to make it. Therefore, you must affirm the ingredients in case of any allergies.
The balls or patties of chickpeas are deep-fried in oil and served to you. Locals of UAE tend to consume Falafel in the form of a wrap. The balls and patties are rolled in a wrap along with tahini sauce, vegetables, pickles, and salad. The dish is best to consume for breakfast. So, if you are about to begin your trip to UAE, start with this savoury dish.