Saudi Food

I write this on the morning of the first day of the weekend here in Saudi Arabia. Actually, the "weekend" begins on Wednesday afternoon itself. The trickle of patients into the OPD dries up after the Dhuhr prayer, and Saudi staff has already disappeared from their posts by 2:00 p.m. The various departments run only due to the presence of Filipino, Egyptian, Indian or Syrian staff. 


In this edition of my blog, I wish to write a little about what passes for food in this country. Do not get the impression that the food is horrible or inedible; it is not. However, it is so different from the food I was used to in India that it is, at times, difficult to be able to enjoy it, regardless of whether it is tasty or otherwise.


Most Arabs (and that includes the other nations around Saudi) enjoy eating flesh. Beef is the lamb (lahaam) here, and chicken (dajjaj) is eaten with the skin on it when it is "broasted". My computer dictionary just made a red squiggle under that funny word, for it is not officially recognised as a portion of chicken that has been cleaned, marinaded with salt, lemon rinds and juice and a little "masala" powder for 4-6 hours, and then, placed in the oven and roasted at 200-250 degrees for about 1/2 an hour. Once done, it is totally dry. They will love to have chunks of it with each morsel of rice. Compared to our chicken preparations, this is so dry that one has to keep gulping water (moya, or ma-a) or juice with each morsel.


The bread here is known as khubs or khubbus or khubz. While one of these round, thick chapati-like breads may cost as much as a riyal in a mall, one can get up to 5 in a single purchase from one of the road-side bakeries in Al Moweh. There is a white version with a large proportion of refined flour, and a brown version, perhaps with whole wheat.


I have seen, in the hospital cafeteria, many Arabs, including doctors working here,eating khubz with apricot jam and/or white cheese ... for breakfast. Others have it with vegetables, main curries or whatever else.


Many road-side eateries serve food at astonishingly low rates (they are high if you see them in rupee terms, but okay if you compare them to the rates in restaurants owned by Saudis); thus, for example, I had a paratha, a 1 1/2 eggs omlette, a bottle of mineral water (600 ml) and a glass of milk tea for just 4 riyals. These dhaba-like places are usually run by Asians, who not only are the joints' cooks, but also waiters, managers, cashiers and so on.


I ate something unique on my flight to Saudi Arabia as part of the airline's in-flight meal: it was a plastic wrapped biscuit that had something brown inside it; it tasted sweet, but not overly so. It was crunchy, tasty and  unlike anything I had eaten before in all my nearly 52 years. Later, I learnt that the inside stuff was mashed dates, and this unique biscuit is known as "Mamoul". While it is available loose as packs of one mamoul each for SR 1, it is more economical  to buy a box of 16 mamouls for SR 10. One can have them on a SOS basis if one is not within reach of a complete meal or if one needs to have just a small "snack".


With limited options, these are the kinds of things I have been consuming since I came to Al Moweh. However, things are likely to change for the better, as I am beginning to cook from today.

Days 20 and 21,Monday, 5th and Tuesday, 6th December, 2011

While I struggle with my life in Saudi Arabia, I am sure that in India, a lot of people are involved with the death anniversary (Mahaparinirvan diwas) of Dr. B.A. Ambedkar, and some with the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri mosque.

In a lifetime, one can have such diverse and educative experiences, and yet, more than 90% of humanity prefers to operate within their own comfort zones, or worse, live in the past. This creates a world of “No change”, and yet, we see change all around us. This could be ascribed to the working of God, but I prefer to credit the remaining 10% of humanity which tries to step out of the ordinary and does something they are not used to. We may label them as “adventurers” or “experimenters” or whatever, but it is their endeavour that rejuvenates humanity from the droll existence of the majority.

My attempt to come to Saudi should be interpreted in this light, and not merely an act of defeat or escape from reality. I crave the indulgence of my readers when I say that I have a three-fold interest in leaving India to come to this country

1.  To try and earn more money than I could ever manage to, in India
2.  To create, for my family back in India, an environment that will enable them to enjoy independence with responsibility and
3.  To try and appear for MRCPCH examinations and pass the three parts thereof so that I become an-U.K. certified pediatric person.

Bearing these in mind, I request you to judge me fairly and decide whether this is a good decision or not. My decision was hastened by the realisation that I would, with about three or four year’s stay in Saudi Arabia, be able to save enough to satisfy my desires to have a good amount of money to marry off both my daughters “in a fitting way”, (though some may accuse me of being a 'conformist', I do feel that society expects a doctor to marry his/her offspring in a manner that befits his/her status in the same society) and also, to be able to travel around the world without major financial constraints, something that I have always wanted to do.

Getting on to the topic of the blog entries for the two days mentioned in the title: well, these were routine days in the main; on Monday, the work had petered out a little, although I did see nearly a dozen patients in the OPD. I have a slow but reliable connection to the net from the pediatric OPD and I make full use of it whenever possible. I was able to write the blog entry for Sunday, surf Facebook and check my emails without much trouble. 

In the evening, I went out for a walk with Dr. Narendra Punjwani, who is a Surat-based Orthopedic surgeon working with me in Al Moweh. Getting to know Dr. Punjwani over Monday (when we went to some nearby shops to look for a few things I needed for the house) and Tuesday (when I went to his place for dinner and to spend time with him) was a pleasure. He is planning to leave Saudi next year. Fifty-nine years of age, Dr. Narendra has three offspring, and his family lives in India. His kitchen is well-stocked, as he returns to India twice a year and gets back spices etc. when he comes back to the Kingdom. He cooked rice and masoor for us. I did the "waghaar" and probably added more spices than what were needed. The dal came out a bit pungent, but we managed to clean out the vessel that the dal was stored in.


Afterward, we listened to and saw some videos of songs starring Dev Anand, and in our own way, we paid homage to this great Bollywood stalwart.

In other news, Dr. Narendra did not accompany me for the walk on Tuesday, because, according to him, Monday's walk had aggravated his back pain. As a result, I walked alone. In a way, that wasn't so bad, as I was able to dictate my own route and pace to myself without external interference or influence. 

Monday was Ashura for the Bohras, and I observed it by fasting for half a day. On Tuesday, I met the main director of the hospital (Mr. Raad Haart) momentarily for the first time. He seemed to be a cheerful and easy-going person. Let us hope that he is equally nice to me when I need his help to facilitate matters with the Muderiya in the days, months and years to come.


Another news that I want to share with the readers is that I have begun to pick up Arabic words and phrases while talking to patients. I have prepared a MS Word document and I keep adding words/phrases with their meanings to it from time to time. Initially, I used to think that the spoken Arabic is a crude, unpolished language more suited to nomads and tribal people, but slowly, its inherent beauty is becoming more and more apparent.

Day 19, Sunday, 4th December, 2011

Dear Reader,


As I write this, I must say that the most shocking news I read over the net yesterday pertained to the demise of the 88-year old Hindi movie actor, producer and director Mr. Dev Anand. The actor, who worked in Bollywood for nearly six and a half decades will be missed sorely by all of us who have seen him work as a hero right from the 50's down to the nineties. Although his later movies did not click at the box office, brand Dev Anand continues to entertain and enthrall the older and newer generations with his past nearly magical movies like Kala Pani, CID, Jewel Thief, Guide (an iconic film of Hindi cinema, certainly) and many others. During my youth, I really enjoyed his movies, and particularly, the songs, which were immensely enjoyable not just to listen to, but also to hum. I pay homage to this great man and pray that his soul rests in Eternal Peace. He is to be cremated tomorrow in London, and I will be there with him in spirit as he begins his celestial journey.


The third Sunday of my stay in Saudi Arabia was, in the main, quite unremarkable. I did something new, though: I went on a walk with Dr. Yasser, who has been doing this every single day for the past few months. He stays a little away from where I do, and in the evening, we met after the Maghrib prayers, and went for the walk down the main Riyadh - Ta'if Highway, around the Al Moweh Hospital, and back down the highway to our home, but after stopping at a mosque for the Isha prayer. I intend to do this every day, Inshallah.


For the last 3 days, I have been trying to upload a video that I created by joining some photos of the hospital and its environs using the Windows Live Movie Maker, but the net connection has never permitted me to finish the 41 MB upload that the movie needs. I will keep trying to do this,till I succeed.


That's it for now ...thanks for reading.