To most outsiders, Saudi food remains a mystery by and large, even in a time when there is no dearth of food bloggers and Buzzfeed videos showcasing recipes from far and wide places. Be it Korea’s Kimchi or Brazil’s Brigadeiros, if you are armed with a phone or a tablet, you are good to go to the kitchen. However, traditional Saudi food has evaded such spotlight for long. The closest you get online is a non-Saudi chef creating his or her own version of ‘Kabsa’ or ‘Sambusa’. Enter Eman Gazzaz, the only English-speaking Saudi blogger with a popular YouTube channel ‘Saudi Food with Eman’ where she dishes out some authentic Saudi recipes in easy to follow videos.
Eman has a great personality and her recipes are simple. She has been around since 2012, and her 17 videos so far have garnered around12,500 subscribers and a total of 948,336 views. From the traditional Saleeg to the Saudi sand cake, she’s got it all covered.
Arab News interviewed the chirpy food blogger to find out more about her food feats.
Who is Eman?
My full name is Eman Gazzaz and I am a 38-year-old Saudi woman currently living in Riyadh. I was born in Brazil, and have lived in around six different countries throughout my life. The countries I lived in were Brazil, Philippines, Ghana, Algeria, Morocco and Pakistan. I majored in Human Resource Development from Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco. I lived abroad all my life and came back to Saudi Arabia almost 10 years ago for the first time in my life.
How and when did you think of starting a YouTube channel?
I started my YouTube channel back in 2012 when a friend of mine, Alia, from Morocco visited Jeddah, and she happened to have a cooking channel. During her visit, Alia filmed three Saudi dishes with me (Saleeg, Sambusa, Shakshoka), and it was a hit when she uploaded them. Now some videos have over a million views. Before she traveled back home, she convinced me to start the same concept, where I introduce the Saudi culture to the world, since very little is known about it. I saw it as an opportunity to do something for my country and I grabbed it. Simply put, my channel aims to explain who Saudi women are, how they dress, what they really eat on a daily basis, and that they are are educated and intellectual. All this in the end, represents our culture.
What is the secret of your expertise in Saudi food?
I have always had love for the kitchen and wondered how to get the most balanced flavors. I enjoy and aspire to always find the perfect taste. Majority of my cooking before getting married in 2008 was focused on Asian, American and European cuisines. After I got married, I began missing home food, and started learning Saudi recipes from my parents, which they used to make at home all the time.
How was the response when you first started the channel? How is the feedback now?
When I first started in 2012, there was a big response, and many people were amazed that a Saudi woman was showing her face on camera. Some questioned if I was even a Saudi. I focused on wearing our abaya as part of introducing the Saudi culture and I wore the Hijab in different ways to show that we have style. Now, many people love the idea that a Saudi female is teaching foreigners her culture through a YouTube channel.
How do you deal with negative comments?
My aim is much bigger than the negative comments I get. In the end, I know I am creating something that will positively change what people think about Saudis and how we are all beings with just different nationalities. I hope that through my channel I can change people’s perceptions, even if the change is minor. I feel satisfied to know that I have positively impacted people.
Is yours the only Saudi recipe channel in English language?
Yes. When I first started, I searched for the same concept, of a Saudi woman cooking Saudi food in English but I couldn’t find any. Today, there is still no other channel like mine.
Which is your favorite dish and why?
My favorite dish is Saleeg because it brings back lots of memories as a child and I love the flavor. It’s comfort food for me.
Are you a full-time YouTuber? If not, what do you do other than that?
No, I’m not. I do the channel as a side hobby. I work in a bank as an HR project manager.
How do you time your videos?
I try to make one video every week or two, depends on how busy I am.
What are your hobbies?
I love to paint, fix things, watch Food Network and learn new things.
Tell us something about your family.
I am married with three kids, Fahad (8 years), Faisal (6 years), and Warda (2 years). My family is like the Greek family, where all our weekly gatherings are centered around lots of food and laughter. My parents live in Jeddah, we originally come from Makkah. Two of my sisters and their families are in the food business as well. One of them started Kufta Gourmet (high-end burgers and barbecue) and the other one started Naqaniq (homemade hotdog). My dad is a unique man who loves to collect antique cars, collect old pocket watches, loves gardening, loves cooking, and adores his children and 26 nieces/nephews. My mom is a strong, genuine woman, loves to help the needy, thinks of others before herself, and anyone who meets her sees her as their own mother.
The trend of food vlogs dedicated to just one type of cuisine has long faded. Do you see yourself diversifying your recipes?
I will take it step by step, and see where this path takes me. My Saudi Food with Eman channel will always be there. However, since I do have a love for the kitchen, I might start other YouTube channels where I cook my own fusion dishes. However, I don’t want it to be another food channel, it should be unique. I’m just waiting for the next great idea.
Do you make money from YouTube views? If not, do you plan to go more aggressive on your channel to gain more viewers and expand on other social media?
I got into the other social media arena five months ago where I created my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. Only a few months ago, I monetized my YouTube channel, meaning I started getting paid for it. The reason for doing so is because my channel will be advertised next to other similar channels. This will help boost the engagement and subscribers. I didn’t do it for the money.
So if you’ve wanted to impress your friends and family with authentic local specialities, tune in to Saudi Food with Eman on YouTube and enjoy Eman’s easy step-by-step guides.
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Email: [email protected]
Saudi YouTube chef finds recipe to success
Saudi YouTube chef finds recipe to success
Recipes for Success: Chef Aniket Chatterjee offers advice and a mutton curry recipe
DUBAI: Aniket Chatterjee — currently chef de cuisine at Atrangi by Ritu Dalmia in Dubai — says his cooking is shaped as much by memory and personal history as it is by technique.
Working closely with celebrity chef and restaurateur Dalmia, Chatterjee has developed a style that looks at Indian food not through trends, he says, but through stories — from home kitchens and street food to lesser-known regional traditions.
Many of his dishes at Atrangi are contemporary adaptations of familiar Indian flavors and everyday recipes. His approach reflects how Indian cuisine in Dubai, and beyond, is shifting, with more diners interested in regional cooking, comfort food and the stories behind where dishes come from, he tells Arab News.
When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?
I put a lot of stress and pressure on myself, which was leading to my passion getting depleted.
What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?
Always cook with intuition and intent. Cooking depends a lot on your mindset. Once you start cooking not because someone wants to eat, but because you want to feed them, that’s a game changer.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?
Simple: salt. Seasoning is key. Someone once said: “The difference between good food and great food is a pinch of salt,” and I strongly believe that. And love, of course.
When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?
Obviously it’s a mechanism, after working for so many years, that I try to analyze anything that I eat. But it’s just for understanding or inspiration purposes. I do believe in giving feedback because I genuinely want the restaurant or the cook to be better.
What’s the most common issue that you find in other restaurants?
The thing that ticks me off is anything which starts with “viral.” I’m out. I don’t like it when restaurants follow trends and don’t do what they are actually capable of doing or love to do.
What’s your favorite cuisine or dish?
I love Japanese food. It’s simple yet complex. But my favorite dish changes weekly. It is like that one song that you listen to on a loop and then you get sick of it. I do the same with food. Last week it was mandi with haneeth ribs — the fat, the freshness from the tomato, rice and laban is so beautifully balanced. This week, it’s mostly ramen.
What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?
I love to make a nice bowl of pasta. Usually, back home, in my pantry, we always have the ingredients, because even my mom loves it. It’s usually a nice simple tomato and basil spaghetti with some fresh mozzarella or a ragu or an aglio e olio.
What customer behavior most annoys you?
When they tell us they are allergic to something but later turns out they just don’t like the particular thing. That has happened multiple times.
What’s your favorite dish to cook and why?
A nice spicy curry — chicken or lamb. It’s therapeutic. Making curry, for me, is the most beautiful thing in the world. It’s very complex and layered, and it’s completely based on understanding, not a recipe.
What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?
It’s not a dish, it’s two ingredients: doodhi (bottle gourd) and karela (bitter gourd). I absolutely despised both those vegetables with all my heart, until I took on a challenge to work around it. It worked out and I have had a lot of my fellow haters end up liking both.
As a head chef, what are you like? Are you a disciplinarian? Or are you more laid back?
I don’t like shouting; I feel that’s a very weak approach to leading a team. You have to be calm and composed. I’m a firm believer in energies and that it transpires into the food, so I don’t want a stressful work environment and having fun in the kitchen is mandatory. Of course, there are some non-negotiables, and that’s where the discipline kicks in.
Chef Aniket’s lazy Sunday mutton curry
(serves 4)
Ingredients
Marination:
Mutton or lamb curry cut – 600g
Mutton or lamb fat (preferably in cubes) – 100g
Full fat yoghurt – 50g
Red onion (sliced) – 450g
Ginger and garlic paste – 80g
Coriander stems (whole) – 15g
Mustard oil – 30ml
Kashmiri red chilli powder – 16g
Turmeric powder – 8g
Coriander powder – 14g
Roasted cumin powder – 14g
Black salt – to taste
Garam masala:
Cumin – 8g
Cinnamon – 4g
Cloves – 2g
Green cardamom – 6g
Black cardamom – 2g
Bay leaf – 2 pcs
Whole dried red chilli – 1 pc
Black pepper – 3g
Fennel seeds – 6g
For the tempering:
Mustard oil – 80ml
Whole dried red chilli – 2 to 3 pcs
Bay leaf – 2 to 3 pcs
Black pepper (whole) – 6g
Cinnamon sticks – 2 to 3 pcs
Instructions:
Take a bowl and combine all the ingredients listed under marination. Let it sit for at least three hours, preferably overnight in the fridge.
For the spice mix, combine all the ingredients listed under garam masala in a cold non-stick pan and slowly bring to heat. Toss the spices as they warm so they roast evenly without burning. Once cooled, blend into a coarse powder.
Take a pressure cooker and add the mustard oil from the tempering. Once hot, add the dry spices and saute for a minute.
Add the marinated mutton or lamb directly into the oil. The marinade will have released some water, so separate it and add only the meat, onions and fat first. This helps the meat and onions sear and caramelize properly.
Once browned, add the remaining marinade liquid and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. Cover and cook for two whistles plus 30 minutes for mutton, or two whistles plus 15 minutes for lamb. Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes until the steam releases naturally.
Once the meat is tender, adjust the consistency and seasoning to taste.
Turn off the heat and add one tablespoon of the garam masala. At this point, add one tablespoon clarified butter or ghee, julienned ginger (5 g), lemon juice to taste and a pinch of sugar.
Finish with plenty of fresh chopped coriander and serve hot with rice or parathas.
