We made it down to the Muscat Festival in Qurum Park this week for an evening out after work. It was a great event, and our first time being out with the local Omanis in numbers! There was the standard building blocks of any festival - rides, food, marketing booths, shows and displays happening throughout the evening...but everything was done differently than at home...it had a middle eastern flare.
The first thing we noticed was the people. It was neat to see many different styles and colors of dishdashas, abayas, turbans, etc. However, the majority of men still wore white, and women black. The place was crowded, and we were wondering how they'd find their friends if everyone is dressed so similarily?? We also noticed they tend to stay in groups of all guys or all girls, and big groups too - usually 4 or more. Which left me wondering, how can they tell who are single or married? It seemed like the perfect place for people to hangout with a group of friends. I still haven't figured out how dating works here...eventually I'll befriend an office colleague and ask them a personal question or 2!
The park was huge, comparable to the Stampede grounds, but with a large lake in the middle. We made our way to the Omani Heritage section to try the local foods. It was incredible watching the women make a variety of flat breads using their bare hand over a piping hot griddle. We tried Luqaimat - similar to a crepe and drizzled with date syrup. It was delicious! And another flat bread, but this one was savory, called Rukhal - which must have been made from a different flour as the consistency was slightly different. While it was cooking, an egg was cracked over the bread, then spread around, then a spoonful of mayo was spread on. She folded up the round bread into a triangle and passed it over for us to try. It was also very good, although I was skeptical at first! We continued walking past the food booths, curious as the what they were making, and never did find out. But looked like chickpea and lentil curries.
Next the National dish, Halwa -a date dessert that is very unique. I can't think of any food to compare it to, other than calling it a cross between pudding and jello. We couldn't find out what it was made of, so the next day, I asked a local and he was nice enough to send me the recipe!
Omani Halwa
List of ingredients:
1/2 tsp saffron (1g) / 1 tsp cardamom powder (1g) / 2 thsp rosewater (30ml) / 10cup water (2lr) / 3 3/4 cup brown sugar (750g) / 3/4 cp brown sugar (100g) / 1 3/4 cup corn flour (200g) / 1/2 cup cashenut (70g) / 1/2 cup pistachio (70g) / 1/4 cup ghee (50ml)
Cooking procedure:
Method 1-Soak saffron and cardamom in rosewater. 2- Mix half water with 2 types of sugars in pot and bring it to the boil. 3-Dissolve corn flour in remaining water and add to above mixture. 4- Stir continuously on very gently heat for (1 1/4 hr). 5-Add soaked saffron to mixture, then add cashew nut , ghee and stir . 6-Plase in service dishes
After passing though the Heritage part, we strolled around the lake to watch the fountain display and parade.
The first thing we noticed was the people. It was neat to see many different styles and colors of dishdashas, abayas, turbans, etc. However, the majority of men still wore white, and women black. The place was crowded, and we were wondering how they'd find their friends if everyone is dressed so similarily?? We also noticed they tend to stay in groups of all guys or all girls, and big groups too - usually 4 or more. Which left me wondering, how can they tell who are single or married? It seemed like the perfect place for people to hangout with a group of friends. I still haven't figured out how dating works here...eventually I'll befriend an office colleague and ask them a personal question or 2!
The park was huge, comparable to the Stampede grounds, but with a large lake in the middle. We made our way to the Omani Heritage section to try the local foods. It was incredible watching the women make a variety of flat breads using their bare hand over a piping hot griddle. We tried Luqaimat - similar to a crepe and drizzled with date syrup. It was delicious! And another flat bread, but this one was savory, called Rukhal - which must have been made from a different flour as the consistency was slightly different. While it was cooking, an egg was cracked over the bread, then spread around, then a spoonful of mayo was spread on. She folded up the round bread into a triangle and passed it over for us to try. It was also very good, although I was skeptical at first! We continued walking past the food booths, curious as the what they were making, and never did find out. But looked like chickpea and lentil curries.
Next the National dish, Halwa -a date dessert that is very unique. I can't think of any food to compare it to, other than calling it a cross between pudding and jello. We couldn't find out what it was made of, so the next day, I asked a local and he was nice enough to send me the recipe!
Omani Halwa
List of ingredients:
1/2 tsp saffron (1g) / 1 tsp cardamom powder (1g) / 2 thsp rosewater (30ml) / 10cup water (2lr) / 3 3/4 cup brown sugar (750g) / 3/4 cp brown sugar (100g) / 1 3/4 cup corn flour (200g) / 1/2 cup cashenut (70g) / 1/2 cup pistachio (70g) / 1/4 cup ghee (50ml)
Cooking procedure:
Method 1-Soak saffron and cardamom in rosewater. 2- Mix half water with 2 types of sugars in pot and bring it to the boil. 3-Dissolve corn flour in remaining water and add to above mixture. 4- Stir continuously on very gently heat for (1 1/4 hr). 5-Add soaked saffron to mixture, then add cashew nut , ghee and stir . 6-Plase in service dishes
After passing though the Heritage part, we strolled around the lake to watch the fountain display and parade.
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