Traditional Emirati Food
The UAE's traditional food reflects its trading history, with rice, spices, dates and coffee at the centre. Many of these dishes are shared across the Gulf and the wider region, so the recipes below note where each one comes from.
Luqaimat
Crisp fried dumplings with sweet syrup.
Karak chai
Strong, spiced milk tea with cardamom.
Arabic coffee (gahwa)
Lightly roasted coffee with cardamom, served with dates.
Mutton mandi
Spiced lamb on fragrant rice, from Yemeni roots.
Lamb machboos
Gulf spiced rice and lamb with tomatoes.
Harees
A slow-cooked wheat and meat porridge, popular in Ramadan.
Sheer khurma
Vermicelli pudding with dates and nuts, served on Eid.
Basbousa
Semolina cake soaked in lemon syrup.
Maamoul
Date-filled semolina cookies for Eid.
Machboos and mandi are shared across the Gulf. Baklava and kunafa are Middle Eastern rather than Emirati, so see our Middle Eastern dishes page.