Celebrating Emirati Cuisine:Talabat’s Top Picks of Emirati Food to Order in This National Day

With the 47th UAE National Day just round the corner, what better way to celebrate than with a delicious meal of traditional Emirati food?

Traditional Emirati cuisine is heavily influenced by the desert lifestyle of the Emiratis’ nomadic ancestors. Dishes therefore focus on meats, carbohydrates and dairy - everything that would be easily available whilst traversing the desert. The UAE’s long coastline overlooking the Arabian Gulf also makes fish a popular staple, both fresh and dried. Given the UAE’s location as a gateway between East and West, it is also not surprising that traditional Emirati dishes are also flavored with exotic spices from around the world, such as turmeric, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, dried limes and salt.

Not only can you benefit from AED 47 or 47% off many delicious options on the 2nd and 3rd of December on Talabat, but you can also savor the flavors traditional and fusion Emirati cuisine. 

Here is Talabat’s guide to the best of Emirati cuisine, and the restaurants to order it from:

Must-try Emirati Dishes:

• Machboos: A staple of Emirati cuisine, this rice dish can be made with chicken or lamb.
• Harees: A filling meal made of minced beef and wheat, flavored with a mix of spices and often topped with cinnamon and samen (ghee).
• Jasheed: Love fish? Try dried, crumbled shark, fried with onions and a mix of delicious spices and served with rice.
• Regag:  Traditional Emirati homemade bread. This bread is can be topped with samen (ghee) and mehyawa (fish sauce) or when folded into pieces and eaten with cheese. It is also a main ingredient in thareed, a dish made of soaked bread with vegetables and meat.
• Balaleet: The perfect blend of sweet and salty flavors, Balaleet is prepared with vermicelli that is sweetened with cardamom, saffron, and rose water, and then topped with a thin egg omelet.
• Chabab: A yellow pancake made with flour, eggs and sugar, with spices such as cardamom and saffron added for flavor.
• Khameer: Date-sweetened bread that resembles a cross between a donut and a burger bun.
• Khabeesa: A sweet dish made from flour and oil flavored with saffron and cardamom and served on special occasions.
• Batheeth: An Emirati date-based dessert that can either appear in the form of a crumble or is shaped into cookies or balls that also usually incorporate nuts or sesame seeds.
• Lugaimat: Deep fried bite-sized balls of batter that are rolled in sesame seeds and then drizzled with date honey.

Top Restaurants to Order From:

• Al Fanar - available in most Emirates
• Al Khettar – available in Dubai
• Logma – available in Dubai
• Treej – available in Dubai and Sharjah
• Yadoo's House  - available in Abu Dhabi
• Khameer & Chebab  - available in Abu Dhabi

All restaurants are available on the Talabat website and app.

About Talabat

Talabat is the pioneer of the online food ordering service, operating across the Middle East. Talabat houses the Middle East’s largest selection of eateries online, seamlessly connecting consumers with their favorite restaurants. 

Talabat is now part of Delivery Hero which is the leading global online food ordering and delivery marketplace