LONDON: As Maha Alharbi seems out into the stylish eating room of Queen Mama’s Kitchen, previous effervescent pots of lamb shank mandi and rows of golden dallah espresso pots, it isn’t solely Arabs who’ve stopped in for iftar, however Americans. 

Here in Portland, Oregon, in one of many solely Saudi Arabian eating places within the United States, the Kingdom’s richly numerous delicacies is greater than a style of house — it’s an introduction to a tradition that’s typically misunderstood around the globe. 

“We hear a lot from our customers that they feel like they travelled to Saudi Arabia,” says Alharbi, who opened the west coast restaurant as a catering enterprise in 2020 after shifting to the US in 2013 to review. “We share with them the culture, the way we drink our gahwa, and, of course, food that comes from all different regions across the country.” 

The chef-entrepreneur — who admits she by no means loved cooking as a little one — began off by making conventional meals for her college classmates, inviting them to come back over to her home “at any time” for a gathering. 

After gaining her diploma in enterprise, in 2020 she launched a meals cart serving basic Saudi dishes. But simply as she began discovering success by means of word-of-mouth and social media, the COVID pandemic hit and disrupted her plans. 

Refusing to surrender, Alharbi opened a meals truck a 12 months later. But then her husband, whom she met at house in Alkhobar, was recognized with pancreatic most cancers and sadly handed away. 

At a time of overwhelming grief, it was Alharbi’s 4 kids who inspired her to maintain going “for Baba.” So, with newfound resolve, she set about discovering a area that might flip her imaginative and prescient of serving Saudi meals to the group into a everlasting actuality. 

The restaurant opened its doorways in 2022, and has gone from energy to energy, with on-line reviewers praising the restaurant’s authenticity, service and hospitality. It has proved so common, in truth, that Flock — a new meals corridor within the metropolis’s five-star Ritz-Carlton lodge — has invited the restaurant to take up residency as its solely Arabic restaurant. 

“This is an absolute must-visit,” one buyer wrote on-line. “The hospitality was outstanding, and the authenticity of the Saudi cuisine is a rare find in the United States. What makes it even more special is that it’s a family-owned business led by a mother who is also the chef.” 

Alharbi says it’s by means of critiques like that, and when her youngsters come and inform her, “Mama, someone wants to say thank you,” that she finds “the power to keep going.” 

The menu at Queen Mama’s Kitchen options dishes from throughout Saudi Arabia, together with flavour-packed rice bukhari from the east, vegetable pasta stew margoog from the Riyadh area, and cracked wheat jareesh — the restaurant’s hottest dish — from the nation’s north. 

Alharbi even flies in Saudi spices and gahwa from the Kingdom to ensure “everything has the right taste.” 

But Alharbi’s first ardour was baking — particularly cheesecake. Desserts have been the primary entries on the menu, and slices infused with Arabic flavours like saffron and dates are nonetheless dished out from a counter hooked up to the restaurant. 

Customers don’t match any single demographic. On any given day, there could be {couples}, college students, households and even out-of-town guests who journey from so far as Washington and Seattle (three hours away) to tuck in to the lavish breakfast spreads on Sunday mornings. 

“A lot of people say when they come to the restaurant that they have never tried Saudi food and don’t know anything about it, so we give them little samples,” Alharbi explains. “Once they try it, they always end up coming back for more.” 

Queen Mama’s Kitchen has additionally obtained sturdy help from Portland’s Arabic group, which incorporates households from the Gulf, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq.  

During Ramadan, a particular menu is served every day from 7 p.m. till midnight — though Alharbi says excessive demand means they should hold the doorways open late some nights to ensure everyone seems to be fed. 

Iftar begins with Saudi dates, gahwa and refreshing laban, adopted by soup, mezze, a primary dish and Arabic desserts. 

During Ramadan, the restaurant is usually stuffed with non-Muslims who’ve been “trying the experience of fasting” to study extra about Islamic tradition and need to pattern the particular menu after sundown. 

Arabs additionally are available in to benefit from the genuine samboosa and Vimto — which has turn out to be a Ramadan staple within the Gulf because it was launched to Saudi Arabia by a native buying and selling household within the Twenties. 

Ultimately, Alharbi says, wherever you might be on the planet, acquainted meals is a solution to keep related to your property through the holy month. 

“Ramadan is Ramadan everywhere,” she says. “Some people ask how it is outside of Saudi Arabia, but it’s the same — especially when you eat the same delicious food.” 

Jareesh from Queen Mama’s Kitchen  

Ingredients: 

500g rooster, beef, or lamb, lower into chunks; 2 cups steel-cut oats; 2 massive onions, finely chopped; 3 tbsp ghee; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 2 cups chopped tomatoes; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp black pepper; salt to style; 6 cups water (or as wanted) 

For the mosmannah topping:  

2 massive onions, sliced; 2 tbsp ghee; mix of spices of your alternative (should embrace dried lemon) 

Instructions: 

1. In a massive pot, warmth 1 tbsp of ghee. Add the meat chunks and brown them on all sides. 

2. Add one other 2 tbsp of ghee to the pot and toss within the chopped onions. Cook till gentle and golden, to carry out their sweetness. 

3. Stir within the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, cumin, black pepper, and salt. Mix every little thing effectively so the meat is coated within the combination 

4. Pour within the steel-cut oats and combine effectively.  

5. Add water to the pot, simply sufficient to cowl every little thing. Bring to the boil, then cut back the warmth and simmer for 2 1/2 to three hours, stirring sometimes.  

For the mosmannah topping:  

1. In a separate pan, warmth the ghee and add the sliced onions. Cook slowly till they flip deep golden brown. 

2. Add your particular mixture of spices, together with the dried lemon, to the onions. Cook for a few extra minutes. 

3. Once the jareesh is prepared, spoon it onto a serving dish and high with mosmannah.