Recipes for success: Chef Alejandro Castro offers advice and a hearty pilau recipe

Chef Alejandro Castro heads up OSH Restaurant in Dubai’s La Mer development. (Supplied)
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Updated 28 November 2021
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Recipes for success: Chef Alejandro Castro offers advice and a hearty pilau recipe

DUBAI: An Ecuadorian chef might not be the obvious choice to lead a kitchen serving food inspired by the cuisine of former Soviet republics in Asia, but this is Dubai, after all. And if you’d expect to find that weird kind of cultural mix anywhere, it’s here. 

Chef Alejandro Castro — who heads up OSH Restaurant in Dubai’s La Mer development — says it came as something of a surprise to him when he was approached by OSH’s then-head chef to work as a sous-chef at the restaurant, which bills itself as serving “a modern twist of Central Asian and contemporary Uzbek cuisine.”

“Before OSH, I was working in a French restaurant in Dubai,” Castro says. “(The head chef of OSH) saw that I had the basics of French fine-dining, and he told me not to worry that I didn’t know Russian or Uzbek food. He just wanted a person who understood high standards in the kitchen.” 




Chicken shashlik. (Supplied)

A year or so later, Castro was promoted to head chef, and it’s fair to say he’s got a much better understanding of Uzbek food now. Although he admits he’s still not quite perfected the ‘plov’ that is a staple of Uzbek cuisine. 

“It takes a lot of training,” he says of the rice-based dish (which he’s provided a recipe for here). “The thing you have to get exactly right is the rice, but that goes through so many different cooking procedures in the same pot that you’ve got to get your timings perfect. We have some plov masters in the restaurant who’ve nailed it, and they’re training me now.”

It’s clear from our conversation just how passionate Castro is about his work. 

“The cooking world is so beautiful, so challenging, and so full of opportunities every day,” he says. “I hardly know anyone who’s regretted this career, and even those who have have learned so much that has helped them in whatever other career they’ve taken.”

What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly for yourself? 

It’s a very easy chicken sandwich, done with some grilled pineapple, jalapenos, pickled onions and some spicy mayo. Just mix it up, throw the chicken in the pan, and you’re done. Twenty minutes.

What’s your favorite dish to cook?

Many things. (Laughs.) Probably the one that needs the least preparation and that makes me very happy, and everyone else around me very happy — at least I’ve heard no complaints about it — is a shrimp ceviche. It’s got a lot of vitamin C, so it’s very good after a heavy night. No fats, just some of the natural cholesterol from the shrimps, but a lot of orange and lemon juice. Lots of vitamins from the tomatoes, onions and coriander too. And it’s done in a very short amount of time. 

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?

It’s unpopular nowadays because of some bad press in the Nineties, but it’s MSG. When you think something lacks flavor, that often means it lacks umami flavor and MSG is basically umami in powder form. 




Chef Castro says it came as something of a surprise to him when he was approached by OSH’s then-head chef to work as a sous-chef at the restaurant. (Supplied)

What customer behavior most annoys you?

It’s usually the modifiers. Not just for me, but for most cooks. I understand people have their own tastes and want something done a certain way, but the dishes are designed and tested. They work. When I get a complaint about a modified dish, it’s expected. A modified dish won’t be as good, or as thoroughly thought-out, as an original. At the end of the day, though, the guests are our bosses.

What’s the worst mistake you ever made in a kitchen?

Nothing. I’m perfect. (Laughs.) No… One of the biggest ones was when I was a commis-chef and I had a breakfast shift. My head chef always insisted we shouldn’t use the timer on the oven; we had to remember what’s what and how long it’s been there. I remember putting 80 croissants in the oven and forgetting about them. Once I’d remembered, I opened the oven, a lot of smoke came out and I had 80 perfect pieces of charcoal. It was horrible. I was mortified. I thought I’d be fired that day. But after you have a big mess-up like that, then never again. 

What are you like in the kitchen? Are you a shouter? Or are you quite chilled-out?

I’m both. On a normal day I’m quite laidback, I like to have music in the kitchen — my team can also choose the music; something that gets them into the rhythm of working. It’s such a stressful and physically demanding environment, so you need something that pulls you through the day. And I’ve found that, for me, that’s music. And my team know they can approach me with whatever issue they may have. We really get to know each other, and we hang outside of work even. We try to keep a peaceful environment — we joke around a lot — I can probably say I’m the main prankster in the kitchen. I might hide stuff from them, or tell jokes. In terms of discipline, though, they know that when it’s cooking time, it’s cooking time. We’re here for a purpose, and if that purpose isn’t met then we’re not doing our job. So there’s happy time most of the time, but sometimes, when it gets too relaxed, then there’s not-very-happy time. I love my team, but they know that when it’s showtime, it’s showtime.

Chef Alejandro’s Osh Pradznichny with Achichuk salad




Uzbek rice pilau and lamb with tomato salad. (Supplied)

INGREDIENTS
For the main dish

650 gm lazar or basmati rice

50 gm chickpeas

250 ml sunflower oil

750 gm lamb leg, boneless

250 gm white onion, sliced

850 gm yellow or baby carrot, cut into long pieces

1500 ml water

3 gm cumin seeds

12 gm salt

50 gm yellow raisins

5 quail eggs

For the salad:
500 gm tomato

350 gm red onion

25 ml olive oil

5 gm salt

1 gm pepper

1 gm basil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Wash the rice in cool water and soak the chickpeas the night before.

2. Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pot or kazan (traditional Uzbek iron cast pot), until it begins to smoke, then cook the lamb leg in it until brown. Remove the lamb and add the onion. Repeat the process for the carrot. Finally, add the lamb and onions. After five minutes, add water, cumin and salt. Check the seasoning, then add rice. Add the raisins and the chickpeas. Cover and place on medium heat. 

3. Hard boil the quail eggs, then peel and halve.

4. Once the rice has absorbed all the liquid, give it a quick mix in the same pot, making sure everything is cooked al dente.

5. Serve on a big sharing platter with the halved quail eggs around the rice.
6. For the salad, slice tomato and onion. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped basil. Serve on the side of the rice.


Bella Hadid turns spotlight onto powerful Ms. Rachel poem

Updated 08 June 2025
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Bella Hadid turns spotlight onto powerful Ms. Rachel poem

DUBAI: American Dutch Palestinian supermodel Bella Hadid has shared a powerful poem by popular children’s educator and YouTuber Rachel Griffin Accurso, known globally as Ms. Rachel, amplifying its message of hope and solidarity with Gaza.

The poem, titled “The People Were Brave,” went viral on social media for its stirring call to action urging people to show bravery and use their voices for good.

“The leaders were mostly silent. They were scared of what they might lose. The celebrities were mostly silent. They were scared of what they might lose. The media was mostly silent. They were scared of what they might lose. But the people were not silent. They were brave,” the poem begins.

“So never stop speaking up for those in need. Never wait for the world. It was ordinary people that became extraordinary. And changed everything. And moved us all. And saved us all,” it ends.

Last week, Ms. Rachel made headlines when she said she was willing to jeopardize her career to advocate for Palestinian children suffering under the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

She said she had been targeted by online campaigns and faced calls for government investigation after voicing support for children affected by war in Gaza and elsewhere.

Despite growing criticism from some pro-Israel groups and conservative media, in a recent interview with WBUR, a Boston-based public radio station, she said she remained defiant.

“I would risk everything — and I will risk my career over and over to stand up for children,” she said.

“It’s all about the kids for me. I wouldn’t be Ms. Rachel if I didn’t deeply care about all kids.”

The YouTube star added a recent meeting with Palestinian mothers whose children remain trapped in Gaza had had a profound effect on her: “When you sit with a mother who’s FaceTiming her boys in Gaza who don’t have food, and you see that anguish, you ask yourself: What more can I do?”

A former teacher in New York, Ms Rachel said her work had always been rooted in the principle that all children, regardless of nationality or background, deserved dignity, safety, and access to basic needs.

“That’s the basis of everything for me — children are equal,” she said. 


Petals and thorns: India’s Booker prize author Banu Mushtaq

Updated 08 June 2025
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Petals and thorns: India’s Booker prize author Banu Mushtaq

  • Mushtaq won the coveted literature prize as the first author writing in Kannada — an Indian regional language
  • As a young girl worried about her future, she said she started writing to improve her “chances of marriage”

HASSAN, India: All writers draw on their experience, whether consciously or not, says Indian author Banu Mushtaq — including the titular tale of attempted self-immolation in her International Booker Prize-winning short story collection.
Mushtaq, who won the coveted literature prize as the first author writing in Kannada — an Indian regional language — said the author’s responsibility is to reflect the truth.
“You cannot simply write describing a rose,” said the 77-year-old, who is also a lawyer and activist.
“You cannot say it has got such a fragrance, such petals, such color. You have to write about the thorns also. It is your responsibility, and you have to do it.”
Her book “Heart Lamp,” a collection of 12 powerful short stories, is also her first book translated into English, with the prize shared with her translator Deepa Bhasthi.
Critics praised the collection for its dry and gentle humor, and its searing commentary on the patriarchy, caste and religion.
Mushtaq has carved an alternative path in life, challenging societal restrictions and perceptions.
As a young girl worried about her future, she said she started writing to improve her “chances of marriage.”
Born into a Muslim family in 1948, she studied in Kannada, which is spoken mostly in India’s southern Karnataka state by around 43 million people, rather than Urdu, the language of Islamic texts in India and which most Muslim girls learnt.
She attended college, and worked as a journalist and also as a high school teacher.

Constricted life

But after marrying for love, Mushtaq found her life constricted.
“I was not allowed to have any intellectual activities. I was not allowed to write,” she said.
“I was in that vacuum. That harmed me.”
She recounted how as a young mother aged around 27 with possible postpartum depression, and ground down by domestic life, had doused petrol on herself and on the “spur of a moment” readied to set herself on fire.
Her husband rushed to her with their three-month-old daughter.
“He took the baby and put her on my feet, and he drew my attention to her and he hugged me, and he stopped me,” Mushtaq told AFP.
The experience is nearly mirrored in her book — in its case, the protagonist is stopped by her daughter.
“People get confused that it might be my life,” the writer said.
Explaining that while not her exact story, “consciously or subconsciously, something of the author, it reflects in her or his writing.”
Books line the walls in Mushtaq’s home, in the small southern Indian town of Hassan.
Her many awards and certificates — including a replica of the Booker prize she won in London in May — are also on display.
She joked that she was born to write — at least that is what a Hindu astrological birth chart said about her future.
“I don’t know how it was there, but I have seen the birth chart,” Mushtaq said with a laugh, speaking in English.
The award has changed her life “in a positive way,” she added, while noting the fame has been a little overwhelming.
“I am not against the people, I love people,” she said referring to the stream of visitors she gets to her home.
“But with this, a lot of prominence is given to me, and I don’t have any time for writing. I feel something odd... Writing gives me a lot of pleasure, a lot of relief.”

‘The writer is always pro-people’
Mushtaq’s body of work spans six short story collections, an essay collection and poetry.
The stories in “Heart Lamp” were chosen from the six short story collections, dating back to 1990.
The Booker jury hailed her characters — from spirited grandmothers to bumbling religious clerics — as “astonishing portraits of survival and resilience.”
The stories portray Muslim women going through terrible experiences, including domestic violence, the death of children and extramarital affairs.
Mushtaq said that while the main characters in her books are all Muslim women, the issues are universal.
“They (women) suffer this type of suppression and this type of exploitation, this type of patriarchy everywhere,” she said. “A woman is a woman, all over the world.”
While accepting that even the people for whom she writes may not like her work, Mushtaq said she remained dedicated to providing wider truths.
“I have to say what is necessary for the society,” she said.
“The writer is always pro-people... With the people, and for the people.”


Emirati artists perform in showcase at London’s Kensington Palace

Updated 07 June 2025
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Emirati artists perform in showcase at London’s Kensington Palace

LONDON: “If we do not tell our story, someone else will. And they will get it wrong,” said Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, following a performance in London on Friday that brought Emirati talent to a major international platform.

Emirati artists took to the stage at Kensington Palace to present a night of operatic performances. Fatima Al-Hashimi, Ahmed Al-Housani, and Ihab Darwish performed in multiple languages including Arabic, Italian and English. The performance was part of the Abu Dhabi Festival’s Abroad program in collaboration with the Peace and Prosperity Trust. The event was intended to promote Emirati cultural expression through classical music and cross-cultural collaboration.

Fatima Al-Hashimi, Ahmed Al-Housani, and Ihab Darwish performed in multiple languages including Arabic, Italian and English. (Supplied)

Alkhamis-Kanoo said an event like this is vital for cultural diplomacy and is not a one-off, but a commitment to placing Emirati talent on the world stage. 

“It’s about creating understanding, building dialogue, and showing the world the strength of our cultural identity through music,” she explained. “We invest in the young, we partner with the world, and we build cultural legacies that last.” 

The evening also included the premiere of Darwish’s latest composition “Ruins of Time,” which blended orchestral arrangements with traditional Arabic elements.

“Music is the fastest way to reach people. It creates peace, it creates understanding,” Darwish told Arab News. “Music removes boundaries. It creates a shared language, a dialogue of coexistence, peace, and tolerance. When people from different cultures come together to create music, it naturally fosters mutual understanding.”

Al-Hashimi explained the intention behind adapting a classical repertoire to reflect Arab identity. “Even while singing in Italian, I included Arabic lyrics to keep our signature present,” she said.

Al-Housani described the event as a “professional milestone,” adding: “Performing here is more than a concert, it’s a message. We’re here to show the world the strength and beauty of our culture.”


As goats get pricier, Pakistan’s capital turns to falooda dessert to keep Eid Al-Adha spirit alive

Updated 08 June 2025
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As goats get pricier, Pakistan’s capital turns to falooda dessert to keep Eid Al-Adha spirit alive

  • Falooda is made with vermicelli in cold milk, softened basil seeds and generous scoops of vanilla or kulfi ice cream
  • Final touch is a fragrant pour of rose syrup, turning concoction into a pink-hued celebration of summer and Eid

ISLAMABAD: With sacrificial goats commanding million-rupee price tags this Eid Al-Adha, many in Pakistan’s capital are seeking solace not in the livestock markets, but in a humbler tradition: a chilled bowl of falooda — a silky, rose-scented dessert layered with ice cream, nostalgia, and just enough sweetness to lift a heat- and inflation-weary soul.

A dessert with Persian roots, falooda made its way to South Asia during the Mughal era, evolving from a frozen, rose-infused noodle pudding in Iran to the vibrant, multi-textured treat beloved across Pakistan today.

At its best, falooda is an edible symphony, a tangle of thin vermicelli swimming in cold milk, softened basil seeds (tukhmalanga) floating like miniature pearls, and a generous scoop of vanilla or kulfi ice cream crowning the glass. The final touch is a fragrant pour of rose syrup, turning the whole concoction into a pink-hued celebration of summer — and now Eid.

Nowhere is this more evident than at Bata Kulfi Falooda, a small, family-run dessert shop in Islamabad’s bustling I-8 Markaz marketplace.

There, amid the clatter of spoons and the hum of Eid shoppers, customers line up for what’s become a seasonal staple, the shop’s signature Matka Falooda, served in traditional clay bowls that keep the dessert ice-cold, even under the blazing June sun.

“We first opened in Peshawar [northwestern city] in 1962,” said Shah Faisal, the shop’s manager, as he rushed between customers to take orders. “In 2015, we brought the same taste to Islamabad. Nothing has changed. The ingredients, the method, even the feel of it, it all comes from Peshawar.”

During Eid week, Bata Kulfi Falooda’s signature Matka Falooda becomes more than a dessert. It’s a celebration in a bowl.

“It’s a memory in every bite,” said Muhammad Kamil, a 27-year-old student who had just returned from a livestock market, saying he was stunned by the jaw-dropping prices.

“Right at the entrance, we saw a goat priced at Rs1.5 million [$5,350]. A little further in, there was a sheep for Rs2 million [$7,140],” Kamil said as he waited for his bowl of falooda.

“After seeing a goat worth Rs1.5 million, only ice cream could cool us down, otherwise it would’ve been hard to keep the spirit of sacrifice alive.”

Determined to celebrate in his own way, Kamil turned to falooda, at a far more palatable Rs450 ($1.60) per bowl.

What drew him in, he said, was the comforting presentation: the cold earthen bowl, the soft noodles slicked with syrup, and the melting scoop of ice cream sinking slowly into the milky depths. He’s even considering gifting bowls of it to friends this Eid.

Indeed, with families across Islamabad and beyond rethinking how to celebrate Eid this year, it may not be the size of the goat that sets the mood but rather the shared sweetness of something simple, familiar, and deeply rooted in tradition.

So, while this Eid may see fewer families walking home from markets with goats in tow, many are still finding ways to savor the spirit of the season with a humble bowl of falooda, which is doing more than just cooling people down — it’s lifting spirits, one spoonful at a time.

According to shop manager Faisal, falooda easily outpaces even their famous kulfi in popularity during the Eid holidays.

“In this heat and with everything getting so expensive, people still want something festive,” he said. “And falooda brings joy that doesn’t cost a fortune.”


Andria Tayeh nominated at Austrian Film Award

Updated 07 June 2025
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Andria Tayeh nominated at Austrian Film Award

DUBAI: Lebanese Jordanian actress Andria Tayeh has been nominated for best supporting actress at the Austrian Film Award for her role in “Mond.” 

The ceremony is scheduled to take place from June 12 to June 15.

Tayeh shared the news with her followers on Instagram, thanking her supporters and the awards organization for the recognition.

She is nominated alongside Italian actress Gerti Drassl and Austrian actress Maria Hofstatter.

“Mond” is directed by Austrian filmmaker Kurdwin Ayub. The film follows former martial artist Sarah, who leaves Austria to train three sisters from a wealthy family in the Middle East. 

What initially appears to be a dream job soon takes a darker turn: The young women are isolated from the outside world and placed under constant surveillance. They show little interest in sports — raising the question of why Sarah was hired in the first place.

Tayeh plays the role of Nour, one of the three sisters. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Andria Tayeh (@andria_tayeh)

The actress, who is also known for her roles in Netflix’s hit series “Al-Rawabi School for Girls,” has had a busy year collaborating with multiple brands and fronting their campaigns.

In February, Giorgio Armani announced her appointment as its new Middle East beauty ambassador.

She took to Instagram to express her excitement: “I am thrilled and honored to embark on this new journey with Armani beauty. This marks a real milestone for me, as the brand embodies values I have always cherished: timeless elegance, dramatic simplicity, and women empowerment.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Andria Tayeh (@andria_tayeh)

That same month, she was named the first Middle Eastern ambassador for French haircare brand Kerastase.

In a promotional clip, she appeared in an all-white studio, answering questions about why she is the ideal Kerastase ambassador. Tayeh spoke in a mix of English, Arabic and French, playfully flipping her hair for the camera as she discussed her dedication to maintaining healthy hair.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Andria Tayeh (@andria_tayeh)

In March, she also fronted Armani’s Ramadan campaign, set against the backdrop of a desert landscape.

Draped in a flowing emerald-green abaya, Tayeh was seen in the video applying the Vert Malachite perfume from Armani Prive as the camera captured the details of the fragrance and her attire. The setting featured sand dunes stretching into the horizon.