The Sunday supplement had a feature on falcon racing in the Middle East. I was instantly reminded of a viral photo from a few years ago, of eighty hooded falcons sitting in a plane taking up most of the seats in the middle section of the cabin. Do they have passports, asked a writer jokingly probably unaware that not only is the answer yes, but that the birds are required to have one to fly on a plane.
Starting in the UAE, the hub of competitive falconry in the region, falcon passports were issued as a necessity to tackle smuggling, top end raptors valued in the hundreds of thousands. The birds compete on hunting abilities and speed; there is an even a beauty contest. Abu Dhabi has a hospital exclusively for falcons.
The balaleet may not be held in quite the same reverence as the national bird, but it is a shoo-in for any best-of-Emirati-breakfast list. It is sweetened vermicelli flavoured with cardamom, saffron and rosewater, and served with an omelette. I picked it curious to find out how the sweet and salty flavours would work together.
It took us a circle around the high street near Motspur Park station to find Sooq Arabic Market because the place had changed its name to the more cosmopolitan Ecklee World Food Supermarket. But underneath the rebranding, the shop's shelves couldn't hide a beating Middle Eastern heart – I had no problems finding my cardamom powder, pistachios and vermicelli. The rain forestalled the customary neighbourhood walk but the place had all the signs of a ho-hum commuter belt town we were unlikely to regret missing out.
I dribbled a little rosewater into a shot glass. I dropped a pinch of saffron into the rosewater and left it to infuse. I toasted a few pistachios and left them to cool. I added a cup of vermicelli into a deep pan and toasted until it had browned. Then I added another cup, mixed and covered the vermicelli with water. After the water had boiled for 2-3 minutes, I took the pan off the heat and tipped it into a colander. I put another pan on the heat and melted 50g of butter. I added a teaspoon of cardamom powder, 3 tablespoons of sugar and the saffron-rosewater mixture. I stirred on low heat until the sugar had dissolved, added the cooked vermicelli, mixed well and took the pan off the heat. I plated, garnished with the toasted pistachios and dried rose petals, and overlaid with an omelette.
Wary of the Arab sweet tooth from my Omani halwa, I had quartered the amount of sugar in the recipe. My first reaction after a taste was relief – any more would have been too much. The vermicelli and the omelette were perfectly good on their own, but I wasn't convinced about the pairing. Mashkoor, al-Imārāt!
Krishnan
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