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Ramadan 2020 promises to be unlike any other the kingdom has seen so far, with most restaurants and hotels only open for takeaway and delivery and all ghabgas, majlises, mass Iftars and end-of-Ramadan celebrations banned.
However, the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain’s new community initiative “From Our Kitchen to Your Table”, hosted live via their social media every Wednesday between 3pm and 4pm, aims to help people conjure up a five-star feast from the comfort of their homes.
Every year, Ramadan, observed internationally by Muslims as a time of fasting, prayer and reflection, also serves as a coming together of the community, both over worship and the dinner table.
This year, while people are unable to do that, except for small family dinners, Ritz-Carlton Bahrain’s initiative hopes to keep its community of members and guests connected online with live cooking lessons with its top local chefs.
The GulfWeekly team stopped by the five-star property last week for the first of these sessions, courtesy of Chef Abbas Ebrahim.
Jeremy Canivet, Ritz-Carlton Bahrain’s director of sales and marketing, said: “Every week, Chef Abbas will be breaking down one of his iconic Bahraini dishes into an easy-to-follow lesson, in both Arabic and English for our online community. While everyone is social distancing and staying at home as much as possible during this holy month, we still want them to be able to witness a taste of Ritz-Carlton’s renowned talent and try their hand at some of these recipes.”
For his first lesson, Chef Abbas walked us through the steps of preparing lamb thareed – a hearty lamb and vegetable stew, soaking into freshly prepared khubus.
It’s the perfect meal at the end of a fast, since it is light but packed full of flavour, a medley of the core food groups and easy to scale up based on the size of your dinner table.
Chef Abbas noted that every family usually has their own take on the stew, which can differ from day to day based on what is readily available. In many ways, it reminded me of the stews we enjoyed on Vancouver Island after a day of gardening and permeating permaculture, but that’s a story for another time.
The basic tenets remain the same – a tomato base, whatever vegetables you can spare, lamb (of course), spices to taste and fresh flatbread.
Chef Abbas used local Bahraini spices, zucchini, green peppers, lamb and local khubus to create a delicious smelling stew, and despite its alluring smell, we were enchanted by the class itself.
Flowing smoothly between English and Arabic, with a few Hindi/Urdu phrases thrown in for flavour, Chef Abbas’ ‘lesson’ felt more like an old friend cooking for you, sharing stories of a life past, one that you will never experience, but that plays out on your mind’s stage. His spices breathe life into characters you yearn to meet and his words become the soundtrack for a slice of life’s greatest adventure – the food we consume with the people we care about.
Bahrain-born Chef Abbas has been cooking for the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain for the last two decades, though his culinary adventures started much earlier.
His tales of working at his uncle’s butcher shop and learning to cook from his mother were the perfect side-dish to a sumptuous stew, so much so that much like the perfect play, we lost track of time.
I, for one, am looking forward to this week’s lesson on preparing Ouzi. Although I will not be able to cook it in our vegetarian home, I can still enjoy the side stories that Chef Abbas is sure to bring along for the culinary adventure.
And for those who still want a break from their kitchen, the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain continues to offer its top-notch takeout and delivery service, including an array of specialty Arabic sweets.
Today, from 3pm to 4pm, readers can tune in to learn how Chef Abbas prepares his famous lamb Ouzi. To check it out, follow Ritz-Carlton Bahrain on Facebook and Instagram.
Scan the QR code below to learn how to make Lamb Thareed, the Ritz-Carlton way.
