Lakshmi Nivas:  What are the different indigenous plants of UAE that you use to cook?

Matthijs Stinnesenn: We use at the moment the Shih and the khansoor in our current menu. together with the more commonly known, khobez, and homaid.

LN: Why did you choose to use the indigenous plants in your cooking?

MS: They are pretty much regionally unused in the professional kitchens and household kitchens. Learning about these various plants gives me inspiration in terms of creativity of how we can use them.

With this also to inspire other chefs to something similar. These plants also in particular have a very unique flavor profile and can be used in various ways in substitute rather imported green which would accumulate of course in carbon footprint.

LK: Do you know the traditional recipes of these indigenous plants? If yes, how did you know about them?

MS: Alot were used for medicinal purposes. with some used for stews like the khansoor, the succulent is extremely bitter so it requires a lot of cooking time to dilute those flavours. so instead since i am not a fan of stews we went on and pickled it using acidity and sugars to enhance the flavour and cut down the bitterness.

We found out about these traditional recipes and information on the research that has been done by Sunoj D and Namrata Neog. Their passion helped us a lot for these indigenous plants. 

LK: How do Emrati people respond when they consume the indigenous plants that you cook in recipes which are different from the Emirati traditional style?

MS:Quite frankly it is also uncommon to them every now and then we hear that someone’s grandparents used to do something with them but that is extremely rare. since the usage of these plants goes way back to the bedouin days. But their reaction is always positive, especially when they know their food. 

LK: Do you grow these indigenous plants or do you source them? 

MS: We have a few in our garden, sometimes we find them in the wild but that’s very rare. But then we get them mainly from a forager and grower called Al Anda for Wild Seedlings tucked away in the dessert. He has a whole arsenal of these local plants (not always edible). As said most of them were used for medicinal purposes.