The thick fumes of gasoline swirled with the smell of deep-fried food. A wild, boisterous and seemingly endless racket comprised of beeping cars and zooming scooters, the shrill voices of scolding mothers, lofty claims from overzealous salesmen and the sweet sounds of Um Kulthoum and Abdulwahab singing love songs from yesteryear. Never before have I…
How-to: Brew your own Kombucha
My name is Nada, and I’m a Kombucha-holic. I kid, of course – but in all seriousness, kombucha is probably one of my favourite beverages of all time. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Kombucha is a fermented drink made from sweet tea and a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (also fondly referred…
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash
For as long as I can remember, I have preferred savoury flavours to their sweet counterparts. As a child, there’s nothing I enjoyed more than the delightful crunch of a ready salted walkers potato chip. I wolfed down several helpings of home-cooked Egyptian food at lunch and shared my father’s addiction for salted…
Restaurant review: Hakkasan Abu Dhabi
It’s no secret that Asian cuisine is one of my all-time favourites. Having visited the likes of Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Bali over the last five years, my tastebuds have definitely developed a leaning towards oriental flavours which I often try to replicate in my own kitchen. One country I’ve yet to visit (and on…
Vegan Kousa Bechamel
Egyptians have a fine talent of elevating seemingly ho-hum vegetables by incorporating them into truly decadent (and by extension, not-so-healthy) dishes. Case in point, the infamous Kousa Bechamel. First of all, if you’re wondering what on earth Kousa is, it is a member of the squash family native to the Middle Eastern region. Many recipes…
Vegan Vanilla Saffron Donuts with Rose Glaze
I’m going to level with you guys, this has been a great Ramadan for me – but God almighty has it been tiring. Between my over-ambitious plans to host (and be hosted – you know I never show up to an iftar empty-handed), scrambling to tackle my never-ending to-do list during the shorter working…
Vegan Cauliflower Musakhan
Greetings dear readers, and a very warm (albeit slightly belated) Ramadan Mubarak to those of you who observe holy month. Earlier this month, I had the honor of filming an episode with vlogger extraordinaire Khalid Al Ameri on the benefits of a vegan diet, the stigma it faces in Middle Eastern culture, and we even cooked…
Sweetcorn Red Lentil and Coconut Chowder
To say that the start of 2019 hasn’t gone at all like I expected to would be a bit of an understatement. Though less than 3 months young, this year has already gifted me with what seems like a lifetime’s worth of challenges, and man am I tired. Between shifting gears at the office, an…