As any Omani bedouin will tell you, life in the desert is hard – but it’s where everything makes the most sense.
For these nomadic tribes of Arab people eking out a pastoral living across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the habits of the modern globalized world can look strange. How could anyone put up with being in one place all year round? What would become of their thousands-of-years-old traditions if they allowed that to happen?
These are problems every modern bedouin is currently wrestling with – but the appeal of more secure employment and readily available public services is moving many towards a more seasonal or semi-sedentary lifestyle, or one where long weekly commutes become a necessary evil to keep a foot in both worlds.
Take the case of Bedouin journalist Hamad al-Hashemi, who works five days a week in Oman’s capital city Muscat and drives for three hours to & from the desert of Sharqiya Sands every weekend:
“It’s very important for me to be here every week, because this is where I was born, and I can’t let this go. This life, my family and my friends are here,” Hamad tells Al Jazeera, noting that the only jobs available in the desert are “camel-herding and camel races, cultural-related jobs”.
Meghairi, who holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering, acknowledges that although he enjoys the desert life, he may also be forced to look towards the city for work in the future.
“There are not many jobs in the desert, and [Bedouins] need many things that they cannot find in the desert, so they move a little closer to the town to get better jobs, and also specifically for school for the kids,” he says.
Oman may be in cultural transition right now, seemingly stood on the same shifting sands that surround its main population centres – but it’s also a process of diffusion and recombination, as younger generations rediscover the traditions that make the country unique, and find ways to fit them into their more modern and experimentally flexible ways of living.
What’s needed in these restless times is a single dish that would bring every age group to the table – and if you’re joining Wheel and Anchor for its 15-day tour around the country, I hope you’ll make a point of asking for a taste of it.
Taken as a whole, Omani cooking has a dizzying diversity of flavours, influenced by Persian, Arabian, African, Indian and Mediterranean cuisine. As is always the case, cooking styles can vary greatly depending on which region of the country you’re in – but you’ll find most dishes rely on a healthy and satisfying staple of curry, cooked meat, rice, and vegetables.
But at its heart proudly sits shuwa (“grilled” in Arabic), a delicate, special and celebrated dish to be prepared as part of celebratory feasts. It’s Oman’s undisputed national dish.
It’s for good reason that it’s been chosen as the culinary representation of the country, since it connects modern Oman with its Arabian roots. The origins of Shuwa go back to when Bedouin tribes needed a method to cook energy-packed meats that would last long periods of time, to sustain them during their travels. They settled on a method of cooking them (usually lamb, goat or camel), seasoned with rich herbs and spices, and slow-cooked in a fire pit for 5 to 7 days, turning food preparation into something more like a week-long communal celebration.
The cooking-time and methods may have changed a little (24 to 48 hours in a sand oven in the backyard is rather more practical these days) but in essence, it’s a dish unchanged from earlier fully nomadic times.
This makes it a perfect dish for celebrating Eid, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims (the meat will be prepared on the first day of Eid and enjoyed on the last day) – but it’s also used for special occasions like other religious holidays, weddings, festivals of all kinds, and any community gathering that’s seeking to create an intergenerational sense of community and reinforced national identity.
Traditionally, once the meat is marinated, it will be wrapped in banana leaves, put inside a water-soaked burlap or date-palm bag (to keep the meat moist as it roasts) and then buried into a fire pit. Once cooked, it’s usually served in one huge platter, to be enjoyed with the hands rather than using cutlery. (Of course, this is one of those things that’s changing, but eating a main meal with your hands is a treat worth indulging in, and honestly not so different from the way we all eat pizza here in the West?)
The most common spices and herbs used to marinate the meat are cardamom pods, garlic cloves, coriander seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and olive oil – and once it’s been properly slow-cooked, the richly tasty meat just falls off the bone, making it incredibly easy to pick apart.
By the time it’s ready, shuwa is usually served with rice, sometimes seasoned with saffron, cardamon, garlic, cinnamon and pine nuts. A side dish of raita (mint-cucumber seasoned yoghurt) is usually served on the side too.
If you’re an adventurous home cook, you might give shuwa a go at home – maybe by digging a hole in the garden, if the idea of leaving your gas oven on for 2 days straight is unappealing to you. But this is probably a dish best left to the experts, to be enjoyed in surroundings and with company that can speak of its millennias-old history – so, can we make a place round the fire for you?
Join Wheel & Anchor as we spend 15 days exploring the stunning setting of the Middle East’s hidden gem – Oman. The country’s enduring stability makes it the perfect location to explore the rich culture, fascinating history and simply stunning natural beauty of the Arabian Peninsula. Get all the details here.