Harees is a porridge-like dish that is most often eaten during important family gatherings, such as weddings, as well as at national and religious holidays, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced that the popular traditional food Harees is now inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Harees is a porridge-like dish that is most often eaten during important family gatherings, such as weddings, as well as at national and religious holidays, particularly during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
During its eighteenth session in Kasane-Botswana, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO approved the inscription of Harees on the UNESCO Representative list. This decision was made after meeting the criteria outlined in the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The United Arab Emirates led the Harees nomination file in collaboration with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman.
This addition marks the fifteenth element inscribed on behalf of the UAE on UNESCO’s lists, continuing a series that commenced in 2010 with the inclusion of falconry. Harees is prepared by cooking wheat in slightly salted water for several hours. Then meat – often lamb or chicken – is added and again cooked for at least four hours. The dish is then served with local ghee spooned on top.
