Chocolate chicken and herbaceous falafel

Food-wise, this week had me sample some of the new, as well as re-sample some of the old.

The day I got back from China, I went to Cactus Cantina at Wafi Pyramids to celebrate a birthday. A lot of the menu is indeed the popular type of Mexican cuisine -- quesadilla, enchilada and the like -- but I was hankering for something to take me back to that winter holiday in the Yucatan. This urge was satiated when I tucked into the one truly Mayanesque item on the menu: pollo en mole poblano, the delicious Chicken with (non-sweetened) Chocolate Sauce. Oh, and they have margarita pitchers too.

At the end of the week, I took a couple of friends down to my old 'hood in Deira, to what many (certainly the numerous friends and relatives I have brought down there) agree is the best falafel place in Dubai: Sultan Dubai. And it's not just the melt-in-the-mouth herb-filled falafel that rules here, because the liver, qudsiya, ful and shawarma are amazing too. Seating is outdoors-only, so the cooler months are better for this place. Service is also a bit sparse, so you may have to pop in and out of the counter/serving area to grab cutlery (scooping directly out of common bowls is apparently the norm) or make/track orders. But the aforementioned amazing falafel and other items, along with the unpolished Old Dubai atmosphere of the place, totally make it worth the few challenges.

Baked falafel and tahini dip

I prepared a little snack of baked falafel and tahini dip to share with my fellow improvvers at Maestro.

The tahini dip is a simple blended mixture of a half cup tahini, a quarter cup of water, two tablespoons of olive oil, zest and juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of minced garlic, half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of dried parsley. So good, I could just eat it with a spoon. I added a little more water and lemon juice to get the desired consistency.

I chose to make baked falafel because, while I love falafel, I try to avoid the wasteful, messy process of deep frying, and its unhealthy results. I first rinsed and mixed a 425g can of chickpeas and a 425g can of ful/fava (can also be substituted with chickpeas if you have favism or don't like this bean) with a cup of chopped onion, two tablespoons of chopped fresh garlic, and four tablespoons each of chopped fresh cilantro and parsley. I then stirred in two teaspoons each of cumin powder, coriander powder, onion powder, salt, and baking powder, along with four tablespoons of all-purpose flour and two tablespoons of olive oil.

I blended the mixture (really difficult if you only have a mini-blender) and refrigerated it for a few hours to let it set and lose some moisture. To bake, I preheated my oven to 200C, and used the multi-tart tin trick I used when baking Lebkuchen last year: I patted lumps of the blend into the cups, brushed them with olive oil on top, and baked them for about 20 minutes before flipping, oil-brushing the tops again and baking for another 25 minutes. This got me about 20 falafels.

The falafel medallions are best served fresh from the oven, with the outside still crisp, and with lots of the tahini dip. Both are delicious, 100% vegan, and a relatively healthy indulgence.

Eid al Adha 2009

We got an extended break (26th - 29th Nov) for Eid al Adha, thanks to the festival falling on a Friday. I decided to spend the whole first day ambling around Dubai. With the weather cooling down from a sweltering summer to a pleasant and breezy winter, it was a perfect day for a stroll about my 'hood in Deira (*flashes east coast gang sign*). After a morning walk and shower, I went back to the creek for an everything-in-it "dynamite sandwich" (I love how Dubai's small cafeterias come up with these names) at the wharf customs gate. The winter landscaping had just been completed, and the fresh flower beds were beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather was wonderful and the city was glittering in the late morning sun.

 

 

After a long walk, napped under a tree near the NBD building, headed to Salahuddin street and then walked to Muraqqabat for a lunch of falafel, ful and tabbouleh, followed by a cheesy dessert of nablus and sfouf.

 

 

After a couple of hours back at home, I travelled down to the Muteena and Naif communities for an evening stroll. These are areas where a lot of low-wage workers gather on weekends and holidays. Many garment outlets, barbershops and eateries were bustling on Eid's eve. There are also some nice parks in this area, and even an old fort that I did not previously know of [EDIT: "watchtower" would be the more appropriate word].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After some shopping and people-watching, I hopped into a South Indian restaurant for the house special Red Pepper mutton curry. Gosh, that curry was so delicious - and so HOT that I needed an extra vellappam to finish it, and had to follow it up with two scoops of ice cream.

 

 

Good I had that day of quiet, because the next two days were spent partying at the Flamingo Beach resort in Umm al Quwain with nearly 40 extended family members.

 

 

There was no dearth of ruckus - but for the morning in between, when I got up early for sunrise and coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, the simple pleasures.