Traditional Arabic Barbecue

The day after National Day friends and I went down to the beach for a barbecue. These beach trips are not a simple outing, a lot of stuff is needed. Check out the back of the Land Cruiser. Rear window? Bah, totally overrated. Once we got off-road things started getting bumpy and I had to hold stuff down to keep it from flying all over the place.

We drove out into the desert, met up with the other guys, and set up camp. We chatted, munched on snacks, and played cards until the sun set.

We got a big fire going as we would need it for the cooking.

For this barbecue you need to dig a pit and put a bunch of hot coals in the bottom.

Then put the meat (in this case mutton) wrapped in tinfoil on the coals.

Then bury the meat, and put the remaining coals and wood on top.

We used the top fire to cook a big pot of rice with spices and a bit of vegetables.

Then chill out for a while playing Brazilla, waiting for everything to cook.

Near the time to get the meat we put a pot of Karak on the go, and I brought a pot of my homemade chili for a spicy kick with the mutton.

Dig out the meat

Open it up and put the meat in the rice

Cook a little bit longer and serve

And voila, a traditional Arabic barbecue in the desert. Naturally we ate the meal in the traditional way, using only our right hands (no cutlery). I've had meals this way many times in Qatar so it wasn't much of an issue for me, but I did occasionally get rice on my clothes. How Qataris manage to eat meals like this while wearing those white thobes is still a mystery to me.

And a great day was had by all.