A delicious confluence of cuisines—thanks to its British, Portuguese, African and yes, Indian influences—the food of Oman is one that is richly layered and nuanced with flavours and textures that are both exotic and comfortingly similar at the same time.
By Raul Dias
If the legendary Arab hospitality is at the very heart of Omani life, then the cuisine of this most eastern of all middle eastern countries is undoubtedly its soul. Richly nourished by multifarious influences, its food is flavoured with a pinch of culture and a dash of history. This ranges from the colonial grip exerted by Portugal and Britain in the 15th and the late 18th century respectively, to its very own colonisation of the East African island of Zanzibar (which was regarded as the second capital of Oman after Muscat!) in 1698 and finally to its centuries of trade and commerce with India.
The sultanate’s 2,000-mile-long coastline, that stretches from the Musandam Peninsula up north in the Strait of Hormuz, right down to the tropical city of Salalah along the Arabian Sea coast, has bestowed upon its cuisine a bounty of seafood that takes prime position at most meals. Thus, all this, setting the stage for a table that runneth over with an edible pastiche of dishes and delicacies that are as much exotically Omani as they are comfortingly similar.
Exotic Flavours Aplenty
There’s no denying the fact that bread is the most important part of any middle eastern table. And Oman is no exception. Chief among these is the crepe-like, paper-thin flatbread called khubz rakhal that is the de facto anytime snack when loaded up with everything from a thick layer of salty feta cheese to honey and beaten eggs.
Other popular breads like the khubz al simsim and the khubz al takhien are used to scoop up lightly spiced gravies like the prawn and tomato marak shibass or to enrobe morsels of roasted lamb leg and Oman’s rather tangy and spicy version of kebabs called mishkak inspired by the Portuguese roast dish of asado.
Interestingly, two very popular vegetarian Omani dishes owe their genesis to Zanzibar. The first being the triangular spiced mashed potato-stuffed, deep-fried pastry called sambusac and the other being the decidedly East African coconut-creamed spinach that’s eaten with rice and fried fish.
If there is one local dish that should put Oman firmly on the world’s culinary map, then that would have to be its national dish of shuwa. An elaborate preparation that sees chunks of meat marinated in a spicy date paste and spit-roasted in a pit dug in the ground, shuwa is a communal activity undertaken by the entire village. The meat is marinated with a variety of spice rubs and then wrapped in banana leaves, which are in turn placed into the subterranean oven and left to slow cook for 24 hours.
The Indian Connection
Centuries of trade between India and Oman and the huge Indian diaspora—that is found in great numbers till today in Oman—has resulted in an interesting and unique blend of the two cuisines. Though much milder than a robust Indian-style biryani and more on the lines of a Kashmiri yakhni pulao, the local Omani iteration of machboos is a yummy one. Basically, a rice dish, machboos is flavoured with saffron and cooked in the same stock that the chicken or meat was cooked in. For the vegetarian, the kabuli pulao steps in and tastes almost like its desi counterpart back home in India.
A doppelganger of the pounded wheat and meat Hyderabadi dish of haleem, Omanis call their version harees. Here too, wheat is mixed with meat or chicken and cooked until it forms a thick paste that’s served with ghee. Only the unexpected drizzle of date molasses sets the harees a wee bit apart and makes it a rather acquired taste.
Coated in a luscious, silken coconut milk sauce and simply called white tuna curry, this one is a dead ringer for the meen moilee of Kerala. It was introduced to the Omani palate by migrant workers from the southern state of India that has an equally impressive, long coastline.
Sea and Tell!
Speaking of seafood, one of the greatest places to acquaint oneself with this Omani staple is at the Muttrah Fish Market in the old quarter of Muscat. A stone’s throw away from the stunning corniche waterfront, tucked away at its end, this is the place to get a sense and feel of the hustle and bustle of an Arabic market. From 6.30 in the morning, fishermen drag their dhows up to the beach next to the market to unload everything from king fish to the typically Arab hammour fish and Sultan Ibrahim (threadfin bream) to octopus that are sold off within minutes.
If there is one fish dish that you must try when in Oman then that would have to me mashuai. Consisting of a whole spit-roasted kingfish, served with a side of lemon rice and garnished with half cut lemons, this preparation truly lets the fish’s sweet flavour come though, sans any spicy overkill. Another dish not to be missed is the tangy, citrusy seafood paplou soup. This soup that is made by the Lawati Omanis, whose ancestors trace their roots to traders from the Old Muttrah neighbourhood and South Asia is a delicious blend of tuna and tuna roe, all jazzed up with a dried lime and a spritz of fresh lime juice.
Sweeter Side of Things
No visit to a local Omani home or business place is ever complete without a cup or two of kahwa. Not to be confused with the spiced kehwa Kashmiri tea, the Omani kahwa is a shot of strong, black coffee mixed with cardamom powder, poured into tiny porcelain cups out of a traditional brass coffee pot called a dallah. Its accompaniments are always the same: dates and Omani halwa (see box). The former is particularly important, as Oman has over 250 indigenous varieties, with the reddish-brown khalas dates kind being the most preferred.
Thanks to the British, tea is also a very popular beverage in Oman. Similar to masala chai, chai karak in Oman is made with condensed milk, cardamom, saffron and dried thyme leaves called za’atar. One of the best ways to enjoy tea time in Oman is by munching on a plate of the deep fired doughnut-like balls called luqaimat—very similar to the East Indian community’s sweet-savoury foogias. Only here, the luqaimat are doused in the local Omani honey from Sohar, that has a distinct flavour thanks to the samr, sidr and ghaaf trees that bees pollinate.
The Omani Halwa Influence
In a very interesting twist of circumstances, there is empirical evidence that shows Omani halwa as the progenitor of the very popular Bombay halwa. All this, thanks to the centuries of trade between the two coastal cities of Muscat and Mumbai, each on either side of the Arabian Sea.
Here are a few similarities:
• Both are sticky, gelatinous sweets with a translucency about them.
• Both are made with a tapioca starch-wheat flour mixture, sugar, ghee and rose water to which cardamom powder, nutmeg and saffron are added and then the mixture stirred manually for hours.
• While Omani halwa is naturally brownish-reddish in colour, Bombay halwa is artificially coloured green, perhaps to mimic the oodles of chopped pistachios that go into garnishing the former.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the June 2018 issue of Jetwings Domestic in-flight magazine of Jet Airways http://www.jetairways.com/EN/IN/jetexperience/magazines.aspx)
By Raul Dias
If the legendary Arab hospitality is at the very heart of Omani life, then the cuisine of this most eastern of all middle eastern countries is undoubtedly its soul. Richly nourished by multifarious influences, its food is flavoured with a pinch of culture and a dash of history. This ranges from the colonial grip exerted by Portugal and Britain in the 15th and the late 18th century respectively, to its very own colonisation of the East African island of Zanzibar (which was regarded as the second capital of Oman after Muscat!) in 1698 and finally to its centuries of trade and commerce with India.
The sultanate’s 2,000-mile-long coastline, that stretches from the Musandam Peninsula up north in the Strait of Hormuz, right down to the tropical city of Salalah along the Arabian Sea coast, has bestowed upon its cuisine a bounty of seafood that takes prime position at most meals. Thus, all this, setting the stage for a table that runneth over with an edible pastiche of dishes and delicacies that are as much exotically Omani as they are comfortingly similar.
Exotic Flavours Aplenty
There’s no denying the fact that bread is the most important part of any middle eastern table. And Oman is no exception. Chief among these is the crepe-like, paper-thin flatbread called khubz rakhal that is the de facto anytime snack when loaded up with everything from a thick layer of salty feta cheese to honey and beaten eggs.
Other popular breads like the khubz al simsim and the khubz al takhien are used to scoop up lightly spiced gravies like the prawn and tomato marak shibass or to enrobe morsels of roasted lamb leg and Oman’s rather tangy and spicy version of kebabs called mishkak inspired by the Portuguese roast dish of asado.
Interestingly, two very popular vegetarian Omani dishes owe their genesis to Zanzibar. The first being the triangular spiced mashed potato-stuffed, deep-fried pastry called sambusac and the other being the decidedly East African coconut-creamed spinach that’s eaten with rice and fried fish.
If there is one local dish that should put Oman firmly on the world’s culinary map, then that would have to be its national dish of shuwa. An elaborate preparation that sees chunks of meat marinated in a spicy date paste and spit-roasted in a pit dug in the ground, shuwa is a communal activity undertaken by the entire village. The meat is marinated with a variety of spice rubs and then wrapped in banana leaves, which are in turn placed into the subterranean oven and left to slow cook for 24 hours.
The Indian Connection
Centuries of trade between India and Oman and the huge Indian diaspora—that is found in great numbers till today in Oman—has resulted in an interesting and unique blend of the two cuisines. Though much milder than a robust Indian-style biryani and more on the lines of a Kashmiri yakhni pulao, the local Omani iteration of machboos is a yummy one. Basically, a rice dish, machboos is flavoured with saffron and cooked in the same stock that the chicken or meat was cooked in. For the vegetarian, the kabuli pulao steps in and tastes almost like its desi counterpart back home in India.
A doppelganger of the pounded wheat and meat Hyderabadi dish of haleem, Omanis call their version harees. Here too, wheat is mixed with meat or chicken and cooked until it forms a thick paste that’s served with ghee. Only the unexpected drizzle of date molasses sets the harees a wee bit apart and makes it a rather acquired taste.
Coated in a luscious, silken coconut milk sauce and simply called white tuna curry, this one is a dead ringer for the meen moilee of Kerala. It was introduced to the Omani palate by migrant workers from the southern state of India that has an equally impressive, long coastline.
Sea and Tell!
Speaking of seafood, one of the greatest places to acquaint oneself with this Omani staple is at the Muttrah Fish Market in the old quarter of Muscat. A stone’s throw away from the stunning corniche waterfront, tucked away at its end, this is the place to get a sense and feel of the hustle and bustle of an Arabic market. From 6.30 in the morning, fishermen drag their dhows up to the beach next to the market to unload everything from king fish to the typically Arab hammour fish and Sultan Ibrahim (threadfin bream) to octopus that are sold off within minutes.
If there is one fish dish that you must try when in Oman then that would have to me mashuai. Consisting of a whole spit-roasted kingfish, served with a side of lemon rice and garnished with half cut lemons, this preparation truly lets the fish’s sweet flavour come though, sans any spicy overkill. Another dish not to be missed is the tangy, citrusy seafood paplou soup. This soup that is made by the Lawati Omanis, whose ancestors trace their roots to traders from the Old Muttrah neighbourhood and South Asia is a delicious blend of tuna and tuna roe, all jazzed up with a dried lime and a spritz of fresh lime juice.
Sweeter Side of Things
No visit to a local Omani home or business place is ever complete without a cup or two of kahwa. Not to be confused with the spiced kehwa Kashmiri tea, the Omani kahwa is a shot of strong, black coffee mixed with cardamom powder, poured into tiny porcelain cups out of a traditional brass coffee pot called a dallah. Its accompaniments are always the same: dates and Omani halwa (see box). The former is particularly important, as Oman has over 250 indigenous varieties, with the reddish-brown khalas dates kind being the most preferred.
Thanks to the British, tea is also a very popular beverage in Oman. Similar to masala chai, chai karak in Oman is made with condensed milk, cardamom, saffron and dried thyme leaves called za’atar. One of the best ways to enjoy tea time in Oman is by munching on a plate of the deep fired doughnut-like balls called luqaimat—very similar to the East Indian community’s sweet-savoury foogias. Only here, the luqaimat are doused in the local Omani honey from Sohar, that has a distinct flavour thanks to the samr, sidr and ghaaf trees that bees pollinate.
The Omani Halwa Influence
In a very interesting twist of circumstances, there is empirical evidence that shows Omani halwa as the progenitor of the very popular Bombay halwa. All this, thanks to the centuries of trade between the two coastal cities of Muscat and Mumbai, each on either side of the Arabian Sea.
Here are a few similarities:
• Both are sticky, gelatinous sweets with a translucency about them.
• Both are made with a tapioca starch-wheat flour mixture, sugar, ghee and rose water to which cardamom powder, nutmeg and saffron are added and then the mixture stirred manually for hours.
• While Omani halwa is naturally brownish-reddish in colour, Bombay halwa is artificially coloured green, perhaps to mimic the oodles of chopped pistachios that go into garnishing the former.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the June 2018 issue of Jetwings Domestic in-flight magazine of Jet Airways http://www.jetairways.com/EN/IN/jetexperience/magazines.aspx)
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