7 dishes Arab expats always disagree on

You are not considered a true Arab expat in the United Arab Emirates until you sit down at a dinner table and argue with fellow Arabs about the correct way to cook and serve mulukhiyah. Discussing eating and cooking habits is one of our favorite subjects. I mean, this includes food, loud voices, disagreements and a lot of effort to prove you are right and the others are wrong … Sounds very Arab to me!

Although we might never agree on how to make falafel or kanafeh, we’re always happy to eat them and pile on the calories.

So here are the 7 dishes Arab expats in the UAE always disagree on how to make.

In Syria, falafel is made of hummus and has a golden color on the inside. In Palestine, these awesome deep fried balls are made of hummus and parsley, so they have a greenish color on the inside. In Egypt they are called toamiyah. They are much bigger in size and are made of broad beans. Whatever they are made of, they are still one of our absolute favorite snacks and they are always welcome in our tummies.

It is the most controversial dish of them all! Tell me how you eat your mulukhiyah, I’ll tell you where you are from. If you are Egyptian then your mulukhiyah is a green soup served with rabbit meat. If you are Syrian, the leaves are served whole without chopping but with chicken or beef. If you are Palestinian, your mulukhiyah will be finely chopped and served with chicken and a sauce of coriander, onions and vinegar with a sprinkle of deep fried bread on top ... drooling? Yes, me too!

Before we talk about the differences in mahashi dishes, let’s just take a moment to salute Arabs on their creativity and ability to stuff just about anything: courgettes, cabbages, cucumbers, vine leaves, green peppers … You name it, we’ll stuff it! Back to the famous mahashi dish ... The recipe varies from one country to another. In Syria courgetts and eggplants are stuffed with meat and rice and eaten hot. In Egypt, tomato sauce is added to the stuffing and the dish is usually eaten cold.

There is no doubt that this is one of the most famous Palestinian/Jordanian dishes, but that didn’t stop the Syrians from reinventing how it is served. While the authentic recipe remains the same, in Palestine the chicken is laid on top of the bread. But in Syria, the chicken is rolled into bread sandwiches which are then baked in the oven. Which way do you prefer your musakhan?

This dish is widely considered to be a traditional Syrian dish. In Syria it is served in the shape of a rice cake with layers of deep fried eggplants, meat and mixed nuts on top. Palestinians like to add cauliflower to the mix, while Lebanese add potatoes and carrots. In the UAE, the rice is cooked in spicy tomato sauce to give it a delicious kick.

It is a simple yet extremely delicious dish. If you eat it in Lebanon, then you will be eating it as a starter with rice and lentils. If you are in Syria, you will enjoy it as a main course with burghul and lentils.

Another Palestinian dish that received a Syrian makeover, the kanafeh nabulsiyah is topped with fine semolina dough, while the Syrian kanafeh is topped with a crust of thin caramelized noodles or vermicelli.