The polyethnic diversity of the population ensures that a vast range
of foodstuff is available in Kuwait. The staples of the Arabian,
Western, Indian and Far Eastern diets are sold in the supermarkets.
Up-market speciality shops offer haute nouriture from Lebanon and
Europe. Small groceries supply the soul foods of Arabia and the
Eastern Mediterranean, Pakistan, Baluchistan, India, Sri Lanka,
Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand - everything from fragrant
rice to fresh fish. This phenomenal choice is visible on private
dinner tables and in Kuwait's innumerable restaurants. Kuwait is
a food lover's paradise.
Kuwaiti Food
Native cooking reflects Kuwaiti history, its tribes and immigrants,
and its international desert and marine trading traditions.
It is a unique mélange of Bedouin, Persian, Indian
and Eastern Mediterranean influences.
In the early tabeekh (Bedouin way of cooking), the whole meal
is cooked in a single large pot over charcoal. Meat or fish,
vegetables and spices are first browned at the bottom of the
pot. Rice or wheat and water are then added, and the pot is
covered and left to simmer for some time. This method is still
used in Kuwaiti homes to make meat porridges and some traditional
prawn and vegetable dishes.
In a more complicated method known as marag, which
was introduced under Indian and Persian influences, the meal is
also cooked in a large pot, but the ingredients are first fried
or boiled separately before being combined and steamed together.
Various kinds of fish and meat marags are very popular in homes
and diwaniyahs.
To satisfy the sophisticated native palate, savoury dishes must
be spiced and the blending of spices is a highly-sophisticated local
art form. However, no two chefs in Kuwait will agree on the exact
blend of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger, nutmeg,
black pepper and paprika found in Baharat, the most common spice-mix.
