Is this the most authentic dish in Dubai?

Amna Al-Hashimi does not like to be called the first 'chef pattern' in the UAE. This is the title given to her by the Dubai Chef Community when she became the first female chef to open a restaurant in the United Arab Emirates.

She says such a title keeps her away from her guests. Amna is a mother of four and prefers healthy and simple meals at her restaurant Mits & Trees. In a city that is obsessed with showy, attractive and decorative dishes, al-Hashimi wants his guests to feel at home in his restaurants.

But Amna loves the challenge and although she is ashamed of the word 'pattern', she is proud of her achievements and the fact that she is a role model for the women of the UAE.

In a country where women still need the permission of a male guardian to marry and where it is customary for a woman to seek permission from men to work, it may seem strange that women are small in size across the country. The big ones handle about 48% of the business.

In fact, the country is adopting liberal views in many ways, and the UAE has better working conditions for women than other patriarchal countries in the Middle East, and free education and universities for all UAE citizens. Because of the large number of women graduating, many women want to run their own business and be their own boss.

Amna also runs cooking classes for women in her kitchen and is very comfortable teaching people how to improve their eating and cooking. She currently has 25 new chefs who are learning to cook and are happy to see their progress.

She not only encourages them to become professionals but also helps women and men who want to learn how to improve their eating habits at home and make healthy eating habits.

Amna herself used to eat a lot as a child and she never considered herself eager to eat. But at the age of 22, his sister-in-law taught him baking. Eventually, al-Hashimi began making his own recipes at home and invited his family and friends. Being a natural entrepreneur, he started posting his dishes on Instagram where his creativity and previous experience as a social media researcher in a public think tank came in handy.

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His social following soon grew and he ran the business alone from home for two years, preparing things, baking and delivering his baked goods, as well as taking care of his family. Along with business, he enrolled in a pastry chef's training course at the International Center for Colonial Arts in Dubai.

"I loved it, but I was tired and it wasn't easy to take it all with me," she says. But my husband had a good idea and I trusted him.

Yousef al-Rustamani encouraged his wife to open his own restaurant and hired a team of 30 people to help him, and finally in 2016 he opened his own restaurant on the modern and popular coastal street City Walk.

From the very beginning, Amna worked hard to make it a success with all her passion and diligence. She began serving the foods she loved during her travels around the world. Resorts, creases, pies, all made with fresh local ingredients.

She handled the new business with great patience and took the art of cooking as her new medium of expression and began to enjoy it. She believes that no one should ever cook in a hurry. The day we cooked together, they told me, 'You have to have time to feel the taste of food and see it take shape.'

As their spirits soared and their customers began to return, Al-Hashimi also brought traditional Emirati food to its menu. In addition to the purely traditional breakfast balalit (which includes omelettes over sweet soybeans) and ooze (a dish of meat and rice served in a pastry pouch), he began experimenting with his menu and his daily routine. He started adding Emirati 'Tadka' in his food which led to a different fusion food. Take the Thared Lisaniye made by him, in which Al-Hashimi changed the meat grinder to a traditional Emirati lamb stew and replaced the pasta sheets with local soft reggae bread.

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This type of food looks very unique in a city where international chefs, flavors and luxurious restaurants are preferred over traditional Emirati cuisine. But al-Hashimi is anxious to come up with such dishes. Proudly wearing her chef's uniform with the Emirati flag on it, she asks people to explore the Emirati culture through their food.

"I am very proud of Emirati cuisine and I love serving it to customers and family," she says. It's warm, soothing, unique and there's a story behind it. That's why Emirati food should be there.

Not surprisingly, I accompanied Al-Hashimi on a city tour of the places she likes and saw the food culture that she thinks is often overlooked. As she does in her cooking classes, she also offered to teach me how to make a traditional dish. This dish called Majboos is a dish of fresh fish which is served with herbs, spices and rice. She often enjoys this dish with her family. Majboos is derived from the Arabic word makboos which means pressed and shows how this fish is cooked on a hot stove.

But before we could cook it, we had to put all the ingredients together.

We met in a traditional spice-filled bazaar where al-Hashimi's lively and playful personality was seen in all its glory. They told me how to deal with UAE style shopkeepers. We needed a variety of herbs and spices, and al-Hashimi came to get mixed spices and lomi (sun-dried lemons) for fish. I had to pay for saffron myself.

I asked for the price at a few stalls and finally managed to buy some saffron for 20 dirhams. Al-Hashimi told me that the deal was just over four pounds, which was a good deal.

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Then I had to go fishing with Al-Hashimi's two brothers and their friends. They took me far into the waters of the Gulf and after some initial setbacks they were very happy when I caught a barracuda fish.

Then I went from the sea to the desert, the next piece of my food took me to the sandy golden camel farm on the outskirts of the city. I was looking for fresh camel's milk for saffron ice cream which we had to serve with dinner for Al Hashmi's family that night.

My adventure ended at Amna's new restaurant, Mits & Trees, on Blue Water Island with the Dubai Marina. Just like the person who likes to eat but loses confidence in the kitchen, I was also very excited and nervous. But her kind teaching and her maternal attitude immediately calmed me down.

We seasoned the fish with spices and lollipops and soaked soft rice like I had never seen before and added a little olive oil. We cooked the fish and spices in a large pot. Al-Hashmi showed me his favorite machine, an ice cream maker. Camel milk and pistachio saffron ice cream were my favorites. It was creamy, sweet and tasted good to me.

In the evening, Amna's husband, children and other family members came to taste the things we made. My time spent with them was a great introduction to the Emirati culture and I saw a side of Dubai that was completely unexpected. Quite different from the shocking experiences that some travelers want to have in a city of such different identities as Dubai, I found beauty and joy in these simple things.

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Synthesis of Emirati Magbus

Ingredients

• Two kilograms of fish
• One lemon juice
• A tablespoon of mixed fish spice
• A tablespoon of ghee and olive oil (for frying)
• Four large onions, finely chopped
• A clove of garlic, grated
• Three or four green peppers
• Two capsicums, chopped and seeded
• Three looms, chopped
• A tablespoon of turmeric powder
• A tablespoon of cumin powder
• A tablespoon of pepper
• A teaspoon of salt
• A tablespoon of tomato paste
• Four tomatoes, finely chopped
• A bunch of soy leaves, finely chopped
• A bunch of coriander, finely chopped
• Five cups of basmati rice, well washed

Synthesis

1. First soak the fish in salt and lemon for five minutes, then clean and dry.
2. Add ginger, mixed spices and more salt to both sides of the fish.
3. Fry the spiced fish until it turns golden brown. Then place it on a tray with paper on it. Put it aside now.
4. Place the onions in a large pot over low heat and let them soft and golden brown.
5. Add ghee or olive oil, garlic, chillies, capsicum and cloves and stir for three or four minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and soft.
6. Add cumin powder, turmeric, black pepper and a teaspoon of salt and keep stirring.
7. Mix the tomato paste and cook for two minutes. Then add tomatoes and soy and coriander leaves.
8. Cook until the tomatoes wither and the mixture becomes a paste (add olive oil if it looks too dry).
9. Put the fried fish in it and keep adding boiled water in it till the fish does not drown in it.
10. When the water boils again, add rice and salt as per your requirement.
11. Cook over low heat until the rice is completely cooked.
12. Serve hot.