In British English, “pudding” refers not only to a specific dish, but also to a class of recipes within which the specific dish happens to lie. In Arabic, za’atar is a similarly confusing term. It’s a fresh herb, but it is also a spice blend that can include a host of herbs from the families of savory, oregano, marjoram and thyme. As a general rule, Arabs are fiercely dedicated to the particular blended za’atar of their motherlands, claiming their national version to be the best, unequivocally.
What za’atar truly is remains a matter of debate, although the explanation I’m most inclined to believe is one I found on the excellent food blog Desert Candy (desertcandy.blogspot.com), in a post titled What is Za’atar?
It reads: “Za’atar is a specific herb, thymbra spicata, with long green leaves and thyme-like flavour. It is sometimes called wild thyme in English, and it grows along the slopes of the Syrian-Lebanese mountains and cannot be cultivated.”
The fresh leaves of the za’atar plant can be pickled, or made into a fragrant golden tea, or served in a salad with slivers of sweet onion, heady garlic and a sharp dressing of lemon, olive oil and salt.
The only definitive ingredients in za’atar are dried herbs, sesame seeds and salt. Opinions differ regarding the ideal ratio: some believe the sesame seeds are used as a filler; just as poor quality za’atar might be bulked up with flour. Others disagree, claiming that a blend heavy on the sesame is a sign of a more luxurious product.
Believe what you will about its natural habitat, what isn’t debatable about za’atar is that it’s wonderful. We didn’t make our own za’atar at home, but we did get a masterful proprietary blend from the mother of a friend of a friend of a friend, which is not a bad way to obtain za’atar if you’re not making it yourself. We ate it on labneh, and in croissants, and on eggs, and mashed into soft cheese with Aleppo pepper, but mostly we just ate it on its own, scooped up with bread.
As a teenager, I mocked my mother’s ritual of packing Tupperware with za’atar and olive oil and bringing it along to the bakery, requesting that it be used to make our flatbreads, so that we could enjoy a breakfast untarnished by commercial rubble. I stopped teasing her after I visited Lebanon for the first time and saw that this was actually common practice.
Our za’atar was Lebanese, because our genetic loyalties demanded it. Kalustyan’s, a huge ethnic grocer in New York, sells Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli za’atar. Each looks totally distinct because the herbs used in them differ to a large degree, as do the seasonings. Israelis tend to use hyssop, Palestinians sometimes add caraway seed, Syrians might add cumin, Persians like pistachios and the Lebanese are crazy about tart scarlet sumac. But it’s impossible to generalise because, remarkably, there are as many versions of za’atar out there as there are people making it.
Nouf Al-Qasimi is an Emirati food analyst who cooks and writes in New Mexico
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The%20Killer
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EDavid%20Fincher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Fassbender%2C%20Tilda%20Swinton%2C%20Charles%20Parnell%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
Overall head-to-head
Federer 6-1 Cilic
Head-to-head at Wimbledon
Federer 1-0 Cilic
Grand Slams titles
Federer 18-1 Cilic
Best Wimbledon performance
Federer: Winner (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012)
Cilic: Final (2017*)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
TALE OF THE TAPE
Floyd Mayweather
- Height
- Weight
- Reach
- Record
Conor McGregor
- Height
- Weight
- Reach
- Record
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 523hp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh469,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYango%20Deli%20Tech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERetail%20SaaS%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESelf%20funded%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
