Top 10 Foods Everyone Should Try in Dubai

Dubai is not just known for its tall skyscrapers and the luxury lifestyle, but its also a food lover’s paradise and your trip is never complete without trying the foods on this list when you’re visiting Dubai.

Foods Dubai, Foods in Dubai, Dubai Dishes, Emirati Dishes — Top 10 Foods Everyone Should Try in Dubai

Dubai offers many types of dishes from tradition Emirati to international culinary delights. In this post, we have highlighted the top 10 foods everyone should try in Dubai whether they’re a seasoned traveler or a first-time visitor.

Top 10 Must Try Foods in Dubai

These are just some of the dishes everyone should try when they’re visiting Dubai:

1. Harees

Harees, a traditional Emirati dish, is a very famous in Dubai. It refers to a porridge made with beaten skinless wheat and meat, usually a chicken or lamb. The dish is served garnished with different ingredients like sugar, cinnamon, ghee, pistachio, and raisins.

2. Machboos

Another popular Emirati dish, Machboos, is a must try for every foodie visiting Dubai. Also known as Kabsa. The dish is made of hearty meat and basmati rice and it is considered to be a national dish in countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

Machboos is prepared with different types of meat with lamb and chicken being the most common ingredients along with some powerful Arabian spices and assorted vegetables. The dish is very popular at family events or during Ramadan.

3. Madrouba

Madrouba, which is sometimes spelled as Madrooba, is another Emirati porridge made from rice and meat, usually chicken. However, the dish is sometimes served with fish, lamb, and crushed grains as well.

The dish is prepared using rice, onions, tomatoes, yoghurt, and Arabian seasoning with some butter in moderation. While the dish looks fairly simple, it takes a lot of time to make a lot of effort in involved in some of the steps.

To prepare Madrouba, the meat is first boiled in a pot of water with caramelized onions, dried limes, and spices, Afterwards, the rice are added and constantly stirred to ensure they don’t stick together and burn.

4. Balaleet

Balaleet is another popular Emirati dish that is usually eaten at breakfast. If is basically a noodle dish that is both savory and sweet, which is usually served at breakfast though it can be eaten as a dessert after your meal as well.

The dish is made by sautéing and then boiling vermicelli noodles, Once they’re ready, the noodles are sweetened with sugar, cardamom, turmeric, and saffron-rose water. However, when it is eaten with breakfast, it is usually served with an omelet or scrambled eggs on top.

5. Jasheed

Jasheed is a popular food in the entire Gulf region and something that everyone needs to try when they’re in Dubai. The dish is made from fish, which has a particularly important place in Emirati cuisine, especially in coastal areas.

The dish is usually made from small sharks or sometimes other fish if these are not available and it is eaten with white rice and clarified butter. The fish is covered with water and cooked with powerful spices until the skin peels off.

It is cleaned and transferred to another pot where more spices, including cinnamon, ginger, ground dried lemon, cardamom, chopped onion, and garlic and cooked for another few minutes before its ready to serve.

6. Chebab

Another popular breakfast dish, Chenab are a type of yeasted pancakes similar to Moroccan Baghrir, except they are more flavorful and aromatic with the use of spices like cardamom and saffron.

The dish is usually eaten at breakfast with cheese and date syrup.

7. Tharid

Just like Harees, Tharid is also a popular dish used to break your fast during Ramadan. The dish basically refers to a thick stew made with some type of meat like chicken, lamb, or goat and mixed with vegetables, especially potatoes.

The dish is typically served with rigag, a traditional Emirati flatbread.

8. Rigag

As mentioned above, the Rigag is a traditional Emirati flatbread that you can enjoy on its own or have it with stews like Tharid. The main ingredients include flour, water, and salt, but it can be topped with cheese, eggs, honey, and other ingredients.

9. Kunafa

Kunafa, which is also spelled Knafeh, is a must try food item in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It is a delicious dessert that is consumed in many Arab and Balkan countries like Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Lebanon.

The dish consists of kadaifi pastry soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup and layered with cheese. It can also include other ingredients to make it more fancy, including pistachios, almonds, raisins, rose-water, lemon juice, and cinnamon.

10. Luqaimat

Another Arabic dessert and a must try food item in Dubai, Luqaimat is a sweet, sticky, and crunchy deep-fried dough ball and a very popular street food in the Emirates. The dish tastes like crispy fried doughnuts, which are crunchy on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside.