Not many know what “Muthaba” is. If you are from Tamil Nadu, Malaysia or  Singapore you would know. Murthaba is a very common dish in these parts especially with the Muslim community. The word is possibly derived from the word “Murtabak”. Generally it is a dish where meat/vegetables are stuffed into bread forms and cooked/baked. Many say it originated in India and was taken to other places by traders during the Muslim rule. Different places have different versions, but none compared to the “Murthaba”! Some would disagree if I said it belongs to Koothanallur, a village somewhere near Thanjavur in South India. It’s actually the place where I was born. It’s mailny a Muslim community and famous for a variety of delicious mouth watering cuisines! We believe in the saying that the way to the heart is through the stomach!

The Murrthaba is basically a filling of mutton, chicken or vegetables wrapped in dough and pan cooked over a slow fire with lots of ghee! It is very filling and of course amazingly very very delicious!

The reason I thought of writing about it is because of Imthiaz’s mother-in-law or “mami”. Last night I went to visit them in Deira, Dubai. It was just a casual unexpected visit and I was in luck. Mami prepared another version of the murthaba called “Jaaler Murthaba”. Jaaler is another dish made by dripping watery flour mix directly onto the pan which forms a net like pancake.  The filling is then folded into a few of the Jaalers and pan cooked. It is similar but has a different taste. Nonetheless it was a treat! Very tasty and I ate all I could. It fills you up pretty fast. I have to thank her for the wonderful Murthabas.

Mom is also a superb cook and she always prepares all these dishes whenever possible. Whether the Murthaba originated in Koothanallur, I don’t know. …but it prospers very well over there! If you do plan to visit us in Koothanallur please don’t forget to ask for… you know what!

Last night as usual our gang of Sadiq, Thowfiq a guest Ibrahim and me went out for dinner in Dubai. Without a thought we just went straight to our joint. It was the Reef Deira restaurant! You thought i was going to mention some glam restaurant? Most of the time when we are in Dubai and cannot decide where to go, the only choice is here! This joint is on the Al Muteena road on the same line as the LuLu Shopping Center. A lot of restaurants line up that area. So if you are willing to try it out you can visit the place. There is a park next to the road and during the night especially now, it is really excellent to sit out… yes you have tables out … and just enjoy your food and just while your time away. You can hop into Sheraton Deira or the Marco Polo Hotel which are a minutes walk away. You can have a bite and crash into a disco!

What do these guys serve? hmmm.. typically this is a mallu (Malayalee, Kerala) joint. So all mallu food, mallu chinese, mallu shawarma, mallu arabic,  mallu western, mallu pakistani. It’s all mallu! You also get hot drinking water which is flavoured with cumin seeds, called jeera water or jeera vellam! This usually helps in digestion. Our typical dish we order is Beef Chilli and Chicken kadai with parotta. There are so many dishes, so just go there and try it out. Its a nice place with decent food.

For Sharwarma there is a place in Deira Nasser Square behind HSBC bank. Im not sure of the name. It is just amazing. You have a choice of Chicken or Mutton – spicy/ non spicy. They make it and put it in the grill to make it crisp. The wonderful taste along with the crispiness make it an amazing treat. I will update the details of the shop.