Cuisine in Qatar has a feminine expression and ranges from machboo stew to dates

Living under a regime in which a man’s permission is required in many situations, women in Qatar find little space to express themselves. Throughout the country’s history, however, the kitchen has become an empowering tool for these women —in it, they express creativity, undertake successful businesses and leave their personal marks.

Shams Al Qassab, the country’s first female trader, claims to have invented some of Qatar’s traditional dishes. With long-standing recipes, she waited years before conquering her shop in Souq Waqif, Doha’s main market, in 2004.

Al Qassab always wanted to rent a shop to sell his spices, but there was no one willing to close a deal. She says that it wasn’t until the 1980s, when Sheikh Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned lowered the barriers for women, that things started to change.

Today, it sells 480 types of spices, secret mixtures with medicinal, organic and tasty properties. Next to the store, its restaurant serves dishes that carry memories with unique touches of its fancy spices.

Other women have also managed to make cooking a successful business in Qatar. Chef Aisha Al Tamimi learned to cook to care for her family when she got married at 15. Over time, she opened a restaurant and ended up becoming a TV presenter, as well as a teacher at The Cooking Academy, a school created by her son in her honor, in 2019.

Noor Al Mazroei also cooked for the family when she became a gastronomy influencer, making waves on Instagram with her typical recipes with a healthy touch.

Layla Al-Dorani, daughter of an American mother and CEO of Raw Middle East, saw the lack of concern for healthy ingredients in her father’s country with a Western eye. Determined to change that, she founded three award-winning natural and vegan food companies, and was named one of the 200 Most Powerful Arab Women of 2014 by Forbes Middle East.

For the international NGO Human Rights Watch, there is no doubt that women in Qatar have broken barriers and achieved significant progress, but they still have to navigate state-imposed male guardianship rules, which limit their ability to live full, productive lives. and independent.

The country’s scenario has led international chains such as McDonald’s to open more job openings for women. They account for 40% of the chain’s parking spaces in Qatar, and the brand’s plans are for this number to reach 50%.

These chains have been successful in the country in recent years also for winning over women — they were able to kill the desire to eat hamburgers in drive-thrus and deliveries, since they are not used to eating in public.

According to Rachel Morris, an English writer specializing in gastronomy and a resident of Doha since 2007, Qatari cuisine has gone through different periods. “Qatar women are very strong in the family and community spheres. A long time ago, before its history of trade and pearls, food was dictated by climate,” she says.

“Later, influenced by the trading post that the country became, the cuisine gained new flavors, with the many spices such as cumin coming from India, saffron from Iran and vegetables from the Levant.”

Although it has some similarities, cuisine in Qatar differs from Levantine or Armenian cuisine — the one that, in Brazil, is known in a reductionist way as “Arabic”. The similarities lie in the use of spices, but the traditional cuisine of Qatar stands out for its use of meat and porridge species.

“Cuisine in Qatar is due to the scarcity of ingredients in previous generations, with the use of meat, fish and grains, unlike Levantine cuisine, which relies heavily on fresh vegetables and herbs”, teaches Morris.

Many of the country’s traditional recipes are made with meat or fish served with grain porridge, full of spices. This is the case of machboos, one of the main national dishes, a kind of chicken made with rice cooked with spices and some type of meat —either the chicken itself, or animals such as lamb, shrimp, camel or fish.

Mathruba is also made with rice, but it is beaten with cardamom, milk, butter and meats until it forms, again, a porridge. Luqaimat is a sweet traditionally made during Ramadan, with butter, milk, flour, sugar, saffron and cardamom, transformed into small fried pastries and wrapped in honey.

Balaleet, a sweet and sour dish usually served for breakfast or dessert, has vermicelli, sugar, rose water, cardamom, saffron and an omelet on top.

Seafood, fish and lamb are served in hearty shared meals, seasoned with lommi (black lemon), saffron and cardamom. Pork and alcohol are prohibited.

Dates, in turn, are abundant and symbolize hospitality —they must be eaten in odd numbers, according to Islamic custom—, and often appear together with the Arab coffee ritual, conducted only by men.

Coffee in Qatar, by the way, is a ritual full of symbols. A drink consumed in most countries in the region, Arabic coffee is made with lightly roasted beans and, there, seasoned with cardamom and saffron, a mixture that differs from country to country.

It is prepared in front of the customer and served with the right hand, as using the left hand can cause disagreements. When catching it, it must be drunk right away — supporting it can symbolize the existence of a conflict to be resolved.

The amount poured also says a lot: served in small sips, it shows welcome. Filling the glass to the brim is a sign not to extend the visit —better to leave right away. If all goes well, when you finish drinking, just shake the glass.

Today, Qatar’s food scene has become more cosmopolitan. “When I arrived 15 years ago, the restaurants were very different. It was mostly hotel buffets, Arab houses and South Asian food”, remembers Rachel Morris.

“Now, you can dine around the world in one day, Qatar, Europe, Asia. We have some of the most recognizable brands in the world here.”

This is the case of great brands such as Alain Ducasse, Gastón Acurio and Wolfgang Puck.

Although increasingly international, Qatar is challenging and complex for anyone wishing to undertake. No wonder, chef Gordon Ramsey decided to close The Maze, his restaurant in Doha, due to local rules.