Best Dubai Foods Everyone Should Try - Savour the flavours of Arabic cuisine!

A must-try while in Dubai, this Middle Eastern pizza is a speciality all over Dubai and the Emirates. It is excellent as a quick breakfast or snack! The leavened dough bakes into the perfect flatbread that is topped with regional favourites such as olive oil, Akkawi cheese, and zaatar, a fragrant herb mix. It is popular as the finest on-the-go treat in Dubai.

Madrouba is a popular dish in this part of the world, but strangely it takes its title from a special type of spoon used in its preparation! The large spoon, no surprise here, is called "Madrouba" and is an integral part of its cooking process. The main ingredient is a type of salty and cured fish dubbed "maleh", which gets blended in a variety of seasonings and spices and cooked. The nutritious and comforting dish particularly makes an appearance during Ramadan and other festivities. Madrouba is the epitome of slow cooking, with hours of intensive labour involved to make the dish. A Madrouba spoon is needed to beat the mixture at regular intervals to form a viscous texture. The finished dish is eaten with raqaq, a type of Arabic flatbread.

Another classic dish is Al Harees, which has a similar consistency to porridge. It is made from staple ingredients like meat, wheat and salt and is popular during Ramadan and at weddings and religious festivities. Whole wheat is first crushed and boiled with salt before adding to the meat. The mixture is then simmered for a long time, after which the pot gets placed in a hole filled with burning coals, for even more cooking. The pot is taken out of the cavity several times to give it a good mix! A dish of home-made harees is the most authentic and is usually had with a generous serving of ghee on the side. However, many of the restaurants in Jumeirah Beach will readily serve it staying true to its preparation.

This tasty ball of dough is a widespread delicacy all across the Arabic world, and among the dishes used at Iftar, the period of breaking fast, during Ramadan. The crispy exterior of the dumpling gets submerged in sticky and spice-infused date syrup to make it quite the flavour bomb. The dough balls are made of flour, sugar and yeast and fermented before frying in oil. In Emirati homes, hosts will offer luqaimat, along with coffee and other treats like dates, dried fruit and nuts. Many hotels also serve it to guests, and resorts like Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort are among the top choices to consider.

Knafeh is the mother of all Arabian desserts! It is a sticky spun pastry, soaked in rose-flavoured sugar syrup and filled with sweet cheese and topped with pistachios. This classic Middle Eastern dessert is found famously in Dubai and is one not to be missed!