Doner Kabab

I had heard about ‘Doner kabab' from friends who had visited Istanbul and Tel Aviv. I was told I have to have to try it if I’m ever in one of these places. Well I haven’t made it to Turkey or Israel yet, but Dubai has been a good window for Mediterranean cuisine if there ever was one.

Happened to pass by Kosebasi Anatolian Turkish Grill in Mirdif City Centre the other day, and found Doner kabab on the menu. So of course I dragged my friend towards the pretty pictures of the menu; it didn’t take long for us to sit down.

Doner Kabab

We ordered the Doner kabab (ground beef and lamb grilled on the spit like those shawarma mounds), which came with an assortment of wheat and sesame bread. We also ordered Cacic (cucumber and garlic salad). They brought along our good old pickled veggies, which I have realized go well with almost anything!

The Cacic was essentially what we Indians would call raita, so cynics, I wouldn’t recommend it to you. I still think it was something different – it had those herbs that added extra flavour to it. It was served chilled, and both the veggies and yogurt were fresh. Considering the ten things that can go wrong with raita/salad/dip, I appreciated the preparation, and found it super refreshing!

Cacic

My friends were right about the doner kabab. The meat was succulent. It was consistent, not too thick, and just short of melting in your mouth. It’s mixed with Turkish spices, so the flavour was new to me – it was kinda mild, not spicy at all – it must have been a mix of many spices. I could definitely taste a hint of cumin (could there be cardamom as well?), possibly some garlic and onions, and at least two or three of the rosemary/thyme varieties. Oh, and this one felt like it was totally buttered up, however I’d like to believe I didn’t gorge on something drenched in butter. Let’s just assume it was cooked generously in olive oil.

Though I can’t be too sure about the exact composition, apparently the meat is supposed to be thicker, like thick chunks. Here, however, they cut off mere slivers of the roast meat for our plate. But I didn't enjoy it any less! And I'll be looking forward to trying out the thick version from a local joint.

I was told that the reason the kabab was so good was (a) because of the Turkish spices and (b) it was fresh off the spit, as opposed to some places that chop off the roasted meat from the spit and keep it aside ready to serve when people ordered it. In this case, they kept the spit cooking the  meat gently so the taste is preserved.

Now, Kosebasi is an award-winning restaurant, known for its high quality, authentic Turkish food. It was the first place I spotted that had Doner kabab, so I jumped on it. I will be going back to explore the menu of course, I had a great time. But wherever you see doner, just try it ok! And let me know how it was and where you tried it! I’ll be on the lookout ;)

Coming up…

 

The world of Middle Eastern salads.. Fatoush, Tabouleh, Rocca!








And my favourite food destination: Singapore! Stay hungry :)

Hommos with Pita Bread

International City, Dubai, is a huge residential complex, host to thousands of professionals from scores of nationalities. Divided into the England, Russia, France, Italy, Spain, China, Persia, Greece, Morocco, Thailand & Indonesia clusters, it has a wide variety of cuisines in little restaurants and cafes spread out across these clusters.

Hommos

Wardat Lebanese Restaurant has come to be a personal favourite of mine. It's a quiet place tucked in the between China and Morocco clusters, and it has the friendliest staff serving up authentic Lebanese food.

I had never been a fan of hommos before. I mean how good can a tasteless blob of chickpea paste be? Every hommos I tried at famous Lebanese food chains in India had bland, course hommos. At Wardat however, I realized just how much you can play around with flavours in hommos. QED: Lebanese food is awesome!

So it turns out hommos comes in different flavours and spices, and at Wardat, are always to served with a generous dose of pickled vegetables and an unlimited supply of freshly baked, beautifully fluffy pita bread. 

There is the plain hommos, that comes with ‘tahina’ - a sesame seed based sauce - a great dip for both pita and pickled vegetables.

Hommos with Cumin

Then we have hommos with cumin, an adaption for Indian palates if you will. I had tasted this in Singapore at Pita Pan as well. Sprinkling generous heaps of cumin (jeera) powder, it adds a great twist to the joyous process of scooping up just the right amount hommos, olive oil and spices in your piece of bread.

All the hommos dishes are served with a pool of olive oil in the centre or on the side. Fear not, supposedly-health-conscious ones. Olive oil is good for you, and is the least fattening of all them oils. In fact, it’s the use of this oil in all the dishes that makes Lebanese cuisine overall one of the healthiest ones, despite the occasional fried items and refined flour (maida).

Pita Bread at Wardat Lebanese Restaurant

Speaking of, one of the main reasons I keep going back to Wardat is its incredible and infinite supply of soft fluffy pita bread (that’s right, didja know that pita bread is so common here that it’s frikkin unlimited?? I love this country!). In mall outlets, and most restaurants, we usually get ‘kaboos’ bread, you know, the broad and flat one? that is just a lighter colour roti? But the pita bread here is small, thick, soft, ‘phulka’, and fresh out of the oven. It’s also amazing how fast it comes out to the table, it’s always hot hot! Not to mention, so tasty that I inevitably end up just rolling pickles and tahina/labneh into it and having finishing dinner with another snack!

Hommos with Meat

Non-vegetarians rejoice – there is something for your carnivorous tendencies too. The ‘hommos with meat’ is essentially hommos whipped up with spices and olive oil with little chunks of roasted lamb added to the dish. You get your taste of meat, and I do attest that it is a great combo. But with so many varieties of hommos out there, I’d recommend you try them for the flavours rather than the veg/non-veg distinction.

Which brings me to my favourite hommos variety of all (so far) – hommos Beiruti.

Hommos Beiruti (can you spot the the green bits of parsley?)

Hommos Beiruti (or Beirut, as it is referred to in some joints), is regular hommos mixed with parsley. It’s surprising, but just the addition of that one element changes the taste of the simple hommos completely. The  herb gives the dish a nice and tangy taste, strong, almost as if it were mixed with solid yogurt. It gives you that sharp aftertaste too, the kind that you can feel going up your nose and settle down with ultimate satisfaction. Combine that tangy creaminess with almost-sweet and toasty pita bread, and you have a meal that you will want to keep coming back for and ignoring all the other items on the menu for too!

Here is a snapshot of what you get when you order hommos at Wardat: 

Have you ever sampled a delicious Lebanese hommos? Please do recommend!