Cardamom and Lime: Recipes from the Arabian Gulf
SynopsisPlot
Little is known in the West about this rich cuisine. Cardamom and Lime provides readers with the inspiration to create these wonderful dishes. Throughout the book there are beautiful photographs and feature spreads to give a flavor of life in the Gulf and its mouthwatering cuisine.
Story
About this book
Cardamom and Lime is a cookbook by Sarah al-Hamad that focuses on the traditional cooking of the Arabian Gulf region, covering dishes from Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. The book presents recipes shaped by the spice trade, coastal geography, and desert climate that have defined everyday meals and festive gatherings across these six countries for generations. Cardamom, dried lime, saffron, and rosewater appear frequently, linking the recipes to longstanding trade routes between the Gulf, South Asia, and East Africa.
Al-Hamad, who has roots in Kuwait, organizes the collection to reflect how people in the region actually eat, from rice dishes layered with meat and nuts to slow-cooked stews, grilled fish, and sweets flavored with dates and honey. The book includes photographs and short features on daily life in the Gulf, offering context for how ingredients are sourced and meals are shared.
Gulf cuisine has received relatively little attention in English-language publishing compared to other parts of the Middle East. This collection addresses that gap by documenting home-style cooking traditions that vary from one Gulf state to another, even when they share core ingredients and techniques.
