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An Exploration of Sharma’s Authentic ARABIAN DISHES

Indian cuisine

Sharma’s Arabian Cuisine

At Sharma we are most famous for our Indian food, with customers calling us the “best Indian restaurant in Malta”. We are very proud of this, but also just as proud of our entire ethnic menu, and in particular our Arab Cuisine. The Arab influence on Indian cuisine creates some crossover on our menu – with a mixture of kebabs and koftah and the spices used, it’s easy to combine dishes that will compliment each other.

What is Arab Cuisine?

Arab Cuisine is not particularly common in Malta as there are very few Arabian Restaurants who specialize in this type of food. The Arab Cuisine experience is not just about the food, but also the hospitality and culture. In the Arab world, eating in large family groups is very popular and having a meal is a special time to share with friends and offer generosity and warmth. An Arab meal will be a vast selection of different sharing dishes so that each person at the table can try a little of everything.

We love to embrace this culture at Sharma and have introduced a vast menu that has plenty of sharing dishes, and for this reason we welcome large groups. Our bright, colourful atmosphere in the restaurant helps to encourage lively conversations, we have plenty of large tables and we have regular live music to encourage singing and dancing along with dinner.

Arabian Dishes You Must Not Miss When You Visit Sharma – Arabian Starters

Arabian Appetizers

We have several Arabian appetizers to choose from, but our top 3 are the Hummus Dip, Falafel and Dolmah.

The Hummus Dip is made with chickpeas, fresh herbs and lemon juice and is ideal for adding flavour to breads, vegetables and side dishes. Our hummus dip is freshly made in our kitchen, like all of our food.

Falafel a very popular dish that goes with everything! Made from dried beans, falafel works well with salads, bread and dips.

Dolmah is a very typical Turkish dish of vine leaves stuffed with rice and meat. The Dolmah dish dates back to the Ottoman times! It works best as an appetizer or a side-dish.

Arabian Mains

Arabian Stews

You can’t beat a hearty Arabian Stew to add some meat and substance to your lunch or dinner! Below find a few of our most popular Arabian Stews.

Kuskse Bel Bosla is a slow-cooked, aromatically spiced tender lamb, or chicken dish, with Egyptian influence. It’s traditionally served with seasoned couscous.

Ratshdat Kuskas is another lamb dish prepared using traditional Arabian cooking methods. At Sharma we serve it on a bed of our steamed home-made angel hair pasta making it a good dish for filling up on!

Kebdeh Skandrani is a fine specialty dish of strips of lamb liver, cooked in a spicy sauce with carefully chosen herbs to enrich the flavours. This dish also has Egyptian influences.

Chicken Tagine is one of our most popular Arabian dishes at Sharma, because many people are familiar with the tagine style of cooking that is popular in Morocco. The tender chicken leg is slow cooked with vegetables in a clay dish – this lets it soak up all of the delicious spices and flavours.

Arabian Grills

Koftah Mashweya is a favourite amongst customers. When translated to English the word ‘Koftah’ means “meatballs” but they are traditionally not round, but more sausage-shaped. ‘Mashweya’ is an Arabic term for “kebab”. Our Koftah Kebabs are carefully spiced and beautifully flame grilled to bring out the flavours of the meat.

We also serve Shish Kebabs which are very popular amongst our clients as well. Shish Kebabs can be either prepared with beef or lamb meat. Both are marinated in the most delicious Arabian spices before being flame grilled for added flavour. These Kebabs go especially well with bread and hummus dip!

Arabian Sides

Arabian Side Dishes

Ruzz Bel Khultah is our specialty rice dish that you must try with your meal. It’s a mixture of almonds, liver and sultanas with Arabian spices, that creates a nutty, earthy flavour when combined with our meats. It can be particularly filling, so we also recommend Ruzz Asfar in case you want a lighter option. This a plain rice dish is flavoured with saffron and turmeric – ideal for soaking up the sauces of a stew or tagine.

We hope that you feel the Arabian warmth and hospitality at Sharma and look forward to welcoming you to our table.

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