Culture · Oct 11, 2026
Emirati Food: A Guide to Traditional Dishes in Dubai
Machboos, harees, luqaimat, balaleet, camel milk, dates and the etiquette of Arabic coffee
Ask what to eat in Dubai and you will hear about Lebanese grills, Indian curries, Japanese sushi and every kind of brunch. The city feeds people from all over the world, and its menus show it. The cooking of the Emiratis themselves is quieter and easier to miss. It grew out of the desert, the coast and the date gardens, flavoured by spices that came across the sea from India and Persia, and it is built around sharing: large platters, rice and meat cooked slowly, sweets with date syrup and coffee poured in small cups. This guide explains the traditional Emirati dishes worth looking for, what goes into them, how Arabic coffee is served and drunk, and where visitors usually come across them.
Where Emirati cooking comes from
Before oil, life in what is now the UAE moved between three settings. Bedouin families lived with camels and goats in the desert. Coastal towns lived from fishing, pearling and trade. In the oases, date palms gave shade, fruit and building material. Each left its mark on the kitchen: camel milk and meat from the desert, fish and dried fish from the coast, and dates in almost everything.
Trade added the spices. Ships sailing to India, East Africa and Persia brought back rice, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper. A typical Emirati spice mix, often called bzar, blends several of these, and dried limes known as loomi give many dishes their sour, slightly smoky note. The result is fragrant rather than fiery: Emirati food is spiced, but rarely hot.
Machboos: the everyday festive rice
If you try one savoury dish, make it machboos (also written majboos). Rice is cooked in a spiced broth together with chicken, lamb or fish, so it takes up all the flavour of the meat and the spices. Loomi is what sets it apart from the rice dishes of neighbouring cuisines: the dried limes are pierced and simmered in the pot, and their sourness runs through the whole dish. Machboos is usually served on a large shared platter, topped with the meat and sometimes with fried onions, nuts or raisins, alongside a simple tomato sauce or salad. Fish versions are common on the coast.
Harees: slow food in the literal sense
Harees is wheat and meat, usually lamb or chicken, cooked for hours until they break down into a thick, smooth porridge, finished with a little ghee. It sounds plain and tastes deeply comforting. Because it takes so long to make, it is cooked in large quantities and shared, which is why it belongs to Ramadan, Eid and weddings. In 2023 harees was added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage, in a joint file from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. You can find it all year, but it is easiest to meet during Ramadan, when iftar menus are built around it.
A close relative is thareed, a stew of meat and vegetables poured over thin regag bread so the bread soaks up the broth. It, too, is a dish for iftar and family gatherings, served from one large dish in the middle of the table.
A quiet courtyard in old Dubai, where the city's heritage houses stand — Photo: Unsplash
Luqaimat and balaleet: the sweet side
Luqaimat are small balls of dough, flavoured with cardamom and often saffron, fried until crisp outside and soft inside, then drizzled with date syrup and sometimes sprinkled with sesame. They are best eaten hot, straight from the oil, and they are the sweet most visitors remember. You will see them at iftar tables, at festivals and on traditional tea sets.
Balaleet is the dish that surprises people. Thin vermicelli is cooked with sugar, saffron, cardamom and sometimes rosewater, then topped with a thin omelette. Sweet noodles and egg in the same bite sounds unusual, but it works, and it is a traditional breakfast, especially on Eid mornings. It is also one of the easier traditional dishes for vegetarians.
Among the breads, look for regag, a paper-thin flatbread baked on a hot plate and often spread with cheese, egg or a sweet filling, and khameer, a soft, slightly sweet leavened bread often eaten at breakfast with cheese or date syrup.
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