Oman

This country gets a huge thumbs up! We ate Chicken Biriyani; chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and layered with spiced rice, then slow cooked. Delicious!!!!! It took a long time to make, by the time I marinated the chicken, soaked the rice, fried the onions, layered it all up then cooked it for 45 minutes, but it was oh so worth it. Niamh's friend Ella was with us tonight, and both the girls came back for seconds... despite the spicy pappadums. ( I cooked up Garlic Pappadums and gave them to three hungry kids while they waited for dinner. They all took one bite, swallowed, then their eyes bulged out of their heads! Without saying a word, all three rushed to the bathroom and starting drinking out of the tap! When I looked closer at the ingredients, it did list green chilli as number three. Whoops...) In traditional Muslim fashion, we ate all our dinner with our right hands. It was kind of fun. We didn't however, eat our dessert with our hands, as it was Creme Caramel! I really did find this recipe on an Omani website, but if anyone can tell me why they eat Creme Caramel in Oman, I'd love to hear it. It was my first time cooking this fabulous dessert, and judging by the wide eyes and 5 minutes of silence around the table, followed by empty bowls, it was worth it. A great meal which we will make again.