LONDON: As Maha Alharbi looks past the bubbling pot of lamb shank mandi and the rows of golden Dollar coffee pots into the chic dining room of Queen Mama's Kitchen, it's Arabs who stop by for iftar. Not only that, but there are also Americans.
At one of the only Saudi Arabian restaurants in the United States, located here in Portland, Oregon, Saudi Arabia's rich and diverse cuisine is more than a taste of home, it's an introduction to a culture that is often misunderstood around the world.
“We often hear from our customers that it feels like they've traveled to Saudi Arabia,” Alharbi says. After Alharbi immigrated to the United States to study abroad in 2013, she opened her West Coast restaurant as a catering business in 2020. “We are sharing their culture, the way they drink gafa, and of course the food from different regions around the country.”
The chef and entrepreneur admits she didn't like cooking as a child, but she cooks traditional dishes for her college classmates and invites them to meet up at her home “any time.” I started with that.
After earning a degree in business, he launched a food cart serving traditional Saudi cuisine in 2020. But just as she was beginning to see her success through word of mouth and social media, the coronavirus pandemic hit and put a halt to her plans.
Alharbi didn't give up and opened a food truck a year later. But then her husband, whom she met at her home in Al Khobar, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and sadly passed away.
During a time of overwhelming grief, Alharbi's four children encouraged her to keep going “for Baba.” So with renewed determination, she began searching for a space where she could turn her vision of serving Saudi cuisine to her community into a lasting reality.
The restaurant opened in 2022 and is going from strength to strength, with online critics praising the restaurant's authenticity, service, and hospitality. In fact, it was so popular that Flock, the new food hall at his five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel in the city, invited it to be its only Arabic restaurant.
“This place is a must visit,” one customer wrote online. “The hospitality was excellent and the authentic Saudi food was a rarity in the US. What's even more special is that it's a family-run business led by my mother, who is also a chef.”
Alharbi says that through such reviews, when children come to her and say, “Mom, someone wants to say thank you,'' she feels “the strength to keep going.''
Queen Mama's Kitchen's menu features dishes from all over Saudi Arabia, including the flavorful rice bukhari from the east, the vegetable pasta stew margoog from the Riyadh region, and ground wheat jalish (the restaurant's most popular dish) from the country's north. .
Alharbi also flies in Saudi spices and ghawah from Saudi Arabia to make sure “everything tastes right.”
But Alharbi's first passion was baking, especially cheesecake. Dessert was the first item on the menu, and the slices, infused with Arabic flavors such as saffron and dates, are still served at a counter attached to the restaurant.
Customers don't fit into a specific demographic. On any given day, you'll find couples, students, families, and even out-of-town tourists from as far away as Washington and Seattle (three hours away) to enjoy a sumptuous Sunday morning breakfast.
“A lot of people who come to our restaurant say they've never had Saudi food and don't know anything about Saudi food, so we give them a little sample,” Alharbi explains. . “Once you try it, you end up coming back.”
Queen Mama's Kitchen also has strong support from Portland's Arabic community, which includes families from the Gulf, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq.
During Ramadan, a special menu will be served from 7pm to midnight every day, but Alharbi said due to high demand they have had to keep their doors open late into the night to feed everyone. I am.
Iftar begins with Saudi dates, ghawah, and refreshing laban, followed by soups, mezze, main dishes, and Arabic desserts.
During Ramadan, restaurants are filled with non-Muslims who want to “experience fasting” to learn about Islamic culture and sample special menus after sunset.
Arabs also come to enjoy authentic sambousa and vimto. Vimto has been a Ramadan staple in the Gulf region ever since it was introduced to Saudi Arabia by local merchant families in the 1920s.
Ultimately, Alharbi said, no matter where you are in the world, familiar foods are a way to stay connected to home during the holy month.
“Ramadan is Ramadan everywhere,” she says. “Some people ask what it's like outside of Saudi Arabia, and it's the same, especially when you're eating the same delicious food.”
Jareesh from Queen Mama's Kitchen
material:
Cut 500g of chicken, beef or lamb into chunks. 2 cups steel cut oats. 2 large onions, finely chopped. 3 tablespoons ghee; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 2 cups chopped tomatoes. 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon black pepper; salt to taste. 6 cups water (or as needed)
Mosmana toppings:
2 large onions, sliced. 2 tbsp ghee. A blend of spices of your choice (must include dried lemon)
Instructions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a large pot. Add the meat chunks and brown on all sides.
2. Add 2 more tablespoons of ghee to the pan and add the chopped onions. Simmer until soft and golden to bring out the sweetness.
3. Add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, cumin, black pepper, and salt and mix.Mix everything well so that the meat is coated with the mixture
4. Pour in the steel cut oats and mix well.
5. Add enough water to the pot to cover everything. Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
Mosmana toppings:
1. Heat ghee in a separate pan and add sliced onions. Cook slowly until deep golden brown.
2. Add a special spice mix, such as dried lemon, to the onions. Cook for a few more minutes.
3. When the jaleesh is ready, spoon it onto a plate and top with mosmana.
