The Saudi dish masoub. Courtesy Arva Ahmed
The Saudi dish masoub. Courtesy Arva Ahmed

Food Obsession: childishly simple, and joyful, masoub and areeka



When bananas grow soft and erupt into patches of black over their yellow fibrous skins, I swoop in to their rescue. I wait for bananas to grow ripe, even overripe, much to the disgust of family members who silently endure whiffs of sickly sweet banana as I peel the mushy fruit with gusto. It’s not just ripe bananas – I’ve always preferred soft-yielding fruit over their hard, crunchy brethren, be it moist dates, pulpy blueberries bursting under a baked berry crumble, or velvet-skinned chicos (sapodillas) whose flesh effortlessly melts on your tongue against the wish of every apple-advocating -dentist.

I recently stumbled upon two Saudi Arabian breakfast concoctions that made me reconnect with my love for ripe bananas and dates. Both dishes were childishly simple, and childishly comforting. Nestled in our mini porcelain saucepan of masoub was a caramel-coloured banana and bread mash, spotted with canned cream and honey, and hemmed in by a moat of melted ghee. The banana bread muddle was a taste of childhood nostalgia, of school-day mornings when Mum would transform bananas, milk and sugar into sweet morning fuel that would keep me fluttering around class until lunchtime.

Areeka, on the other hand, replaced bananas with a ground-up mash of dates and two kinds of bread – traditional Arabic khubz and a crispy filo-textured feteer. I spooned up the dense date-bread mixture, strategically rubbing against a splodge of cream and a swathe of processed cheese strands – capital culinary crime for any self-respecting gourmand, but in this specific date-dosed case, the processed cheese played a fitting sour twang to the fruity medley.

Two thoughts nibbled on my mind as I drove back after breakfast, my eyes watering with the sleepy intensity of a double carb overdose. First, that two rich breakfast dishes late on a workday morning was not one of my wisest ideas yet. And second, that when the next batch of squishy banana rejects are flung my way, I might attempt to sneak them back on to our family breakfast table.

• Arva Ahmed blogs about hidden food gems in Old Dubai at www.iliveinafryingpan.com

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Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

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Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

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Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

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Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.


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