International Cooking: Food from Qatar

I found it a bit challenging to find food from Qatar to make this week, because so many dishes are shared amongst other countries in the region and I had already made most of those suggested. I ended up making a couple of dishes I’ve already made for other countries, but I used different recipes that are hopefully closer to the way they are made in Qatar.

Qatar is a Middle Eastern country on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, a region known as the Qatar Peninsula. Its only land border is with Saudi Arabia; the rest of its borders are on the Persian Gulf.

Qatar, like many countries in the area, was once ruled by the Ottoman Empire. In 1916, Qatar became a British protectorate, and in 1971, it gained independence.

Qatar is a hereditary monarchy, ruled by an ’emir’ who has near complete power over the country. Islam is the majority religion. Qatar’s economy has grown quickly, in part due to its large amount of natural gas and oil reserves.

What Do People Eat in Qatar?

Qatari cuisine is much like that of other countries in the region. Staple foods include rice, meat (chicken and lamb are popular), and dates. Seafood is also very common due to the country’s coastal location.

Qatari dishes are usually well-seasoned with spices such as cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and saffron, and lots of vegetables and fresh herbs are included.

Desserts popular in Qatar are often flavored with cardamom, saffron, dates, and/or rose water. They range from sweet fried dough balls to cakes and puddings.

Coffee and tea are commonly offered in both social and business settings. Coffee may be brewed with cardamom, while tea may be flavored with mint and sweetened with sugar.

What I Made

• Harees (Wheat and Chicken Porridge)
• Thareed (Lamb and Vegetable Stew on Flatbread)
• Machboos (Rice Pilaf with Chicken)
• Ageeli (Rose Water, Saffron, and Cardamom Cake)

Scroll down to read about other popular Qatari dishes I didn’t make!

Harees (Wheat and Chicken Porridge)

Harees is a simple porridge made from wheat and chicken. It usually doesn’t have much else added, but you can drizzle a spiced ghee mixture on top, or some people even like a sweet sugar/cinnamon blend.

I made a version of this when I cooked food from Burundi, but this recipe is a bit different. I also made this for Armenia, where it’s known as harissa and can also be made with barley, which is the route I chose.

I began by soaking bulgur overnight in lots of water. Then, I boiled it in salted water until it began to soften.

I added whole chicken thighs and ground black pepper, as well as more water and salt. I let everything cook until the chicken was falling off the bone and the bulgur was very soft.

I took the chicken thighs out, shredded the meat, and added it back to the pot. Then I began to stir the mixture to try and get it to be a bit more homogeneous. The recipe said to ‘whip’ it. I gave up pretty quickly… but I do think it worked a bit.

I served my harees with a drizzle of ghee seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and cumin.

This was good, but it’s a super simple dish that I think I would like more with a more interesting topping. It reminds me a lot of congee (I made arroz caldo, a congee variation for the Philippines) in that it’s super basic but takes very well to additional flavors and toppings.

The recipe I used is from Food.com.

Thareed (Lamb and Vegetable Stew on Flatbread)

Thareed is a meat and vegetable stew served over thin flatbread known as khobuz raqaq. I chose to use lamb for the meat in my thareed, since that is popular in the region. Chicken is another common option, and the stew can also be made vegetarian.

For the bread, I had planned on making the flatbread myself but I ended up not having enough time, so I just used flour tortillas which I first crisped up a little so they wouldn’t get too soggy.

I began by cooking chunks of lamb leg in water. Once the meat was tender, I drained the broth and reserved it and the lamb separately.

I sautéed some diced onion, then garlic. Right after that, I stirred in tomato paste, followed by cinnamon, turmeric, curry powder, coriander, cardamom, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. The recipe also called for Arabic Bizare spice mix, but a little research showed that baharat was a good substitute so I added that instead. Then I added carrot, potato, tomato, a serrano chili, and a dried lime, which I pierced with a sharp knife.

After a few minutes, I added the reserved broth and let everything cook until the potatoes were tender. Then, I added the cooked lamb, as well as sliced zucchini and finely chopped cilantro. The zucchini only took a few minutes to cook, and then my stew was ready.

I think you would usually serve this on a large platter, but I made a smaller amount so I just made one bowl for dinner and reserved the leftover stew for lunch the next day.

I put down some large pieces of tortilla and poured in some of the broth from the stew. None of the bread is meant to be dry so I tried to get some broth on all the tortilla pieces. However, I also wanted it to be obvious that there is bread in the bowl and not have it all covered by the stew so this was a bit difficult! I added some of the lamb and vegetables, and garnished with more cilantro.

This was delicious, but Middle Eastern stews always are!

I used a recipe from Emiratican Kitchen for this.

Machboos (Rice Pilaf with Chicken)

Machboos is the national dish of a few countries, including Qatar. It’s a flavorful pilaf, with chicken or another kind of meat. For Kuwait, I made machboos with lamb, and for Bahrain, I made another version of chicken machboos.

For this recipe, I started by soaking basmati rice in water. Then I began sautéing onion, ginger, garlic, chili, and tomatoes. I added cumin, coriander, ground ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, a little saffron, and a dried lime.

After cooking for a few minutes more, I added chicken thighs to the pan and browned them on both sides. Then I added chicken stock and let everything simmer, covered, until the chicken was cooked through.

Next, I took the chicken out of the pan and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I removed some of the liquid in the pan and added the rice. Once the rice was cooked and the chicken was done in the oven (I think the expectation was that the skin would crisp a bit), the dish was ready.

I actually forgot the parsley up until this point; it wasn’t in the recipe directions which I think was the main reason why. I used it as a garnish since I had already plated, then stirred some into the leftovers.

I liked this a lot, though I think my favorite chicken machboos is still the one I made for Bahrain!

This recipe is from Food 52—just remember to add the parsley! It was probably meant to be added in step three with the veggies, but you could also stir it through just before serving.

Ageeli (Rose Water, Saffron, and Cardamom Cake)

Ageeli is a light cake flavored with rose water, saffron, and cardamom, with a tahini and sesame seed crust. It’s usually made in a bundt pan, and it’s also common to make it in mini-bundt pans which is what the recipe I used called for. I just adjusted the cook time and used one big pan.

I began by brushing the pan with tahini and sprinkling it with sesame seeds.

I added rosewater, cardamom, and saffron to a small bowl and microwaved until warm. I used a lot less saffron than the recipe called for—just one generous pinch. This would have been a pretty expensive cake otherwise! I added milk, Greek yogurt, and oil to this mixture and set it aside for the moment.

Next, I whisked eggs, sugar, and vanilla in my stand mixer until pale and creamy. Then I folded in flour, baking powder, and the saffron mixture. This part was a little difficult because the flour was refusing to mix in properly; I kept having pockets of flour. I think this could be avoided by slowly sifting in the flour while mixing. Or maybe I could combine the flour and saffron mixture and then fold that into the egg mixture.

Anyway, I poured the batter into the cake tin and put it in the oven. This took around 30 minutes to cook if I remember correctly.

I let the cake cook for a few minutes, then turned it out of the tin. I have to say, I was very impressed with tahini’s greasing ability because this cake came out very easily! This was something I had worried about.

I ate some of the cake once it had cooled and I have to say, I really liked it. The rose water was strong but not overpowering, and I could taste the saffron too—less so the cardamom. I liked that this cake was not overly sweet.

I took the leftovers to work and the container was empty the next morning. So I would say this was a hit! I’ll definitely make this again.

This recipe is from Maryam’s Culinary Wonders.

Other Popular Qatari Dishes

• Balaleet – breakfast dish made from vermicelli, typically sweetened and flavored with rosewater and/or saffron, served with an omelette. Can also have nuts and dried fruit.
• Madrouba – porridge made from chicken and rice, seasoned with various spices.
• Quzi – a whole roasted lamb which may be stuffed with nuts, raisins, and spices, served with rice.

Final Thoughts

This was another great week! I wish I’d been able to make more unique dishes but I was happy with what I did make. The ageeli was my favorite!

Next week, I will be cooking food from Romania.