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When Sydney-based university student Fatima Awad Ali Salim was a child living in Sana'a, Yemen, she loved the dish mandi (pronounced men-dhi), which the Hadhramaut province.
Mandi is made of rice, lamb or chicken. It has spices like paprika, cumin, pepper, salt and chilli powder. Awad Ali Salim remembers eating it with zahawiq, a green chilli dip made of blended garlic, lime juice, fresh chilli and coriander.
This spicy kick wasn't the only thing that appealed to her. "It was interesting to see the process of wrapping the meat, onions, potatoes and spices in foil, before it was cooked in an underground oven made from clay," says Awad Ali Salim. "It was a fun thing to watch as a child."
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Mandi can take hours to cook. The meat needs to be tender and smoky. Her family typically used a whole lamb, which would feed 13 to 17 family members and friends.
Because the cooking process was time intensive, mandi was saved for special occasions, like Eid, weddings and birthday celebrations.
"Whenever we had mandi, because it's such a big portion of food that has been prepared, everyone in the family would gather in one circle and catch up with one another while eating it together," says Awad Ali Salim.
Everyone in the family would gather in one circle and catch up with one another while eating it together.
Now she and her family are in Sydney, eating this dish evokes memories of celebrating together with family. However, her family use lamb shoulder instead of a whole lamb here, since they aren't feeding as many people.
Fatima's recipe
Muqalqal (Yemeni lamb stew)
Yemeni food isn't the only cuisine that holds meaning for Awad Ali Salim.
"When I was around 10 or 11, my family moved from Yemen to Indonesia for about two years," says Awad Ali Salim.
During her time in Bogor and Jakarta in Java province she experienced flavours from a different cuisine for the first time. She liked the the spicy and sweet flavour of dishes. "Back in Yemen, spicy food didn't really have sweetness with it."
This spicy-sweet combination features in nasi goreng, which has become one of her favourite dishes. Awad Ali Salim says she could not put her spoon down once she tried it.
Besides nasi goreng's complex savoury flavour, she like its use of short grain rice, a contrast to the basmati rice used in Yemen. She also liked how it contained egg.
These days, eating nasi goreng takes her back to that time. "After my friends and I had eaten a plate of nasi goreng, we would often play at the waterfalls around Indonesia," says Awad Ali Salim. "Whenever I eat nasi goreng, it just reminds me of the friends that I made in Indonesia and all the memories we had together."
Nasi goreng is a hot favourite Indonesian dish. Source: Alan Benson
Awad Ali Salim credits her time in Indonesia for sparking her adventurous palate. After that first bite of nasi goreng, she has made it her goal to try more unfamiliar food.
"Even in Sydney right now, I still try all different types of cuisines," she says. "Whether it's in food or in life, I don't want to limit myself, I like to keep my options open."
