Tucking into farmer’s feast

Whenever my aunties and uncles describe their favourite niece, the only words that come to mind is baidh o tomat (egg and tomato), writes May Al Mousawi.

Why? As a kid I used to wake up on Friday mornings and demand a real Bahraini breakfast, which consists of baidh o tomat and balaleet (a sweet saffron vermicelli) served with a cup of chai o haleeb (tea with milk).

So, you would think that when I heard about the local ‘Farmers Breakfast’ at the Farmers Market in Budaiya Gardens, I would be thrilled. But really, I didn’t expect it to be any good at all ... nevertheless, I stood in the queue of around 50-strong just to see what the hype was all about.

Forty minutes later and I was greeted by Jalal Abdulwahab Al Arrayedh asking me how I liked my eggs. And when I replied ‘extra spicy’, his knowing smile indicated I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Jalal received a diploma in cooking from a former hospitality college in Bahrain when he was younger, but hasn’t cooked since then. He now owns his own metal business and leaves the cooking to his wife. Yet, when he heard about the Farmers Market, he took the opportunity to bring his friends together to start their own live-cooking station serving up a typical Bahraini breakfast ... however, he didn’t expect to enthral the huge number of people who turn up every week.

Jalal, 41, from Saar, said: “When I heard about the market, I thought it was just a great opportunity to get outside, interact with people and have fun. We were never expecting so many people coming to us to eat eggs.

“I started cooking at a young age but, to be honest, I never cook at home. What I love to do though is decorate my children’s food when we have our meals ... it reminds me of the days when I used to do it whilst undertaking my diploma. My kids, Mahfoodha, 17, Hameed, 15, Ameena, 13, and Yousif, 11, love it.

“Everyone eats eggs! Egg and tomato is something that most Bahraini families will cook up for breakfast so I thought it was a good idea to serve it at the market. It has been so successful that we even have an Instagram account @Rayooq.

“We are having a lot of fun and this has become a pilot idea for my plan of maybe opening my own restaurant. With the success of the Farmers Breakfast this may be something I will look into.”

I couldn’t agree more. Yes, he was right, I couldn’t quite handle the amount of chilli he used in my eggs, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t delicious ... it tasted just how my grandmother used to make it with the perfect ratio of egg to tomato.

I’m not one to use my hands when I eat, but to get into the tradition of the moment, I ripped the Arabic bread it came with and tucked in!

The balaleet that came on the side was a bit cold by the time I got to it, as I placed it on my breakfast tray when I joined the long queue, but it was perfect to add a bit of sweetness to my burning lips. The combination of sweet and spicy blended perfectly together.

And to end the filling meal, I added four heaped teaspoons of sugar to my chai o haleeb and sat under a tree and watched the kids playing football and running around while photographer Ryan munched away at his plain omelette while repeatedly muttering (with a full mouth): ‘I love it’.

If Jalal does open that restaurant, Ryan and I might just become his two best customers.

The Farmers Breakfast costs just BD1.500 which includes your choice of eggs, balaleet, chai o haleeb, salad and jam.

*See Market Mania