A Gathering in the Making_Flavors from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and My Kitchen

As I prepare for an upcoming gathering with family and friends, I find myself returning to flavors that have stayed with me from my travels through Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

There is something deeply comforting about planning a table meant for sharing warm drinks, simple dishes, familiar aromas and time spent together.

For this gathering, I wanted to bring those memories into my own kitchen: aromatic dibek coffee, traditional Arabic coffee, comforting Jordanian tea, and the much loved karak tea, all prepared in slightly lighter, yet still flavorful versions.

Alongside the grilled main dishes, a selection of vegetable sides is served, with a beloved Ratatouille at the heart of the table. On the blog, I’ll also be sharing a few sweet treats. One of them grew out of a recent discovery that truly inspired me: Ajwa date seed powder. Nutty, earthy and rich in fibre, it found its way into a small batch of homemade cookies, baked especially for this gathering.

This menu is not about perfection but about connection bringing together flavors, stories and people around one table.

Pred Druženje, Ukusi Odavde i od Tamo

Dok se pripremam za predstojeće druženje s porodicom i prijateljima, često se vraćam ukusima koji su mi ostali u sećanju sa putovanja kroz Saudijsku Arabiju i Jordan.

Postoji nešto duboko utešno u pripremi stola namenjenog za deljenje toplih napitaka, jednostavnih jela, poznatih aroma i vremena provedenog zajedno.

Za ovo druženje želela sam da te uspomene prenesem u svoju kuhinju: aromatičnu dibek kafu, tradicionalnu arapsku kafu, mirisni jordanski čaj i omiljeni karak čaj, sve pripremljeno u malo lakšim, ali i dalje bogatim ukusom.

Pored glavnih jela sa roštilja, tu su i povrće kao prilog i omiljeni recept za ratatouille koji već možete pronaći na blogu, poslužiću i nekoliko slatkih zalogaja. Jedan od njih nastao je zahvaljujući nedavnom otkriću koje me posebno inspirisalo, a to je prah od semena Ajwa datulja. Sa svojim orašastim, zemljanim ukusom i bogatstvom vlakana, pronašao je put u malu turu domaćih kolačića, pripremljenih baš za ovo druženje.

Ovaj menju nije o savršenstvu, već o povezivanju i spajanju ukusa, priča i ljudi oko jednog stola.