Traditional food to try in Doha – Must-try foods in Qatar!

A beloved rice-based dish and a quintessential staple in Doha, Machboos is a dish prepared with a variety of marinated seafood or meats of your choice. It may also have lemon juice or rose water sprinkled liberally before being served piping hot to add extra flavour. Usually, locals serve the matchbooks with a side of spicy and tangy salsa that pairs well with the heavily spiced nature of the dish.

An extremely popular sweet dish, Umm Ali is strikingly similar to the bread pudding of the west. A popular Arabic dessert, this particular dish is made of soft buttery puff pastry sheets and fresh milk, later topped with a generous helping of nuts and raisins. One can try it at most of the best restaurants in Doha including the likes of Al Najada Doha Hotel Apartments by Oaks as well.

If you are a fan of cheese, then you certainly are in for a treat. Kunafa is basically what cheese dreams are made of and is enjoyed by the locals as a rich dessert. This particular dish is made with semolina dough or sheets of filo pastry which is soaked in a generous portion of sweet syrup and layered with clotted cream, nuts and lots of cheese.

The very word mezze in Arabic means sharing. Which is the why a traditional Arabic mezze is made up of a combination of small dishes that almost always include hummus, a Middle-Eastern dip made out of chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice, baba ganoush, another dip made with roasted eggplant, mountable – a dip made out of tahini and eggplant and finally tabbouleh, a refreshing salad made with finely chopped parsley, mint leaves, tomatoes and onions, seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper. These dishes are then served with freshly made Arabic bread and a side of pickled vegetables. A mezze is especially great if you are keen to sit down for an informal meal with your friends and family.

No list is complete without including an iconic beverage of the land. In Qatar this means Karak. A popular drink among both locals and visitors alike, Karak is a sweet tea made with a combination of aromatic spices including cardamom and condensed milk. Some people also tend to add ginger and saffron as well for extra flavour.

Made with some ground or boiled meat and wheat, Harees boasts of a consistency quite similar to that of porridge from the west and is a favoured dish to be enjoyed by the locals during the holy month of Ramadan and other festive occasions. Fragrant cardamom and cinnamon are some of the most common spices that are added to the dish. Harees is certainly a filling and nutritious dish and is Doha's answer to comfort food.