Raw onions have never appealed to me. Why serve them raw, when they could be softened in butter for a French onion soup, or caramelised into a garnish for a Moroccan lamb and raisin tagine? The key is to mellow out the pungency that inflicts bad breath trauma on your dinner partner, and instead amplify the sweet earthiness that inspires some of the world's most universally appealing comfort foods. One such dish would be Palestinian mussakhan.
Mussakhan emerged from the north Palestinian kitchens of Tulkarm and Jenin, touching peasant diners with its sheer simplicity and use of locally sourced onions, roast chicken and thin Palestinian bread, usually shrak or taboun. The dish relies on ingredients that lend a distinct regional flair, namely high-quality olive oil, an Arabian spice blend (baharat) and sumac (a deep red spice that tastes like a sour lemon). The first time I tried mussakhan was at Qwaider Al Nabulsi, a restaurant in Deira that is my tasting ground for Jordanian, Palestinian and Egyptian specialities. To the horror of my dining companions, I declared the mussakhan worthy of bare-handed labour, and proceeded to swiftly tear apart the base of soft chewy bread, pluck at the fleshy chicken thigh and scoop up the silky onions, trying to catch a slippery pine nut or two as I hauled the well-composed bite into my mouth.
As my body eased into a lazy spell cast by caramelised onions and sumac-speckled chicken, I was reminded of an article I read two years ago. The Palestinians had prepared a record-breaking 1,350kg dish of mussakhan in Ramallah to symbolise their national identity, and now I finally understood why. The dish is one that evokes a regional, communal and soulful dining experience, one that can lift the spirit of a community facing conflict, even if for a few unified, flavourful bites.
Qwaider Al Nabulsi Sweets & Restaurant, Al Muraggabat Street, Deira, 04 227 5559.
Arva Ahmed blogs about hidden food gems in Old Dubai at www.iliveinafryingpan.com
