Nostalgia for dinner

To Arab students abroad, Proust's madeleine means little when compared to a good mulukhiya. Anayat Durrani pulls up a chair
Just like mother makes it: Cooking up memories far from home
Some of the most tantalising foods in the world come from the Arab world. The region is home to wonderful appetisers like hummus and fuul medammes, delicious main dishes like stuffed vine leaves and couscous, and heavenly desserts like baqlawa and kunafa.
Arab cuisine can be addictive, as Arab students studying in the US know all too well. Despite hectic schedules and limited budgets, eating home cooking is a priority. It is not just a matter of good food, but also of good memories and fending off homesickness.
When Najwa Kadhim, 35, left Iraq to study in the US, she didn't suspect how much she would miss Arabic food, especially her mother's cooking. When she first arrived in the US, she couldn't eat anything but her own home-cooked dishes.
"I cook food that reminds me of my mother," says Kadhim. "Some of my favorite dishes are stuffed vine leaves, eggplant stew, upside-down dish (maqlouba), biryani, kibbeh (ground meat and burghul) and kebab."
Kadhim appreciates Chinese and Mexican food too, although she likes burritos because they are similar to shawerma. Kadhim uses a cookbook her mother gave her, and her two Asian roommates have sampled just about every recipe it offers.
Before leaving Zarqa, Jordan for America, 24-year-old Omar Al-Kasani, made his mother write down all her favourite recipes for him. "My favorite dish is mansaf (the national dish of Jordan: lamb served on a bed of rice with a yogurt sauce), because we used to have it on special occasions like weddings or during Ramadan, when the whole family gathers. But I like also stuffed vegetables -- courgettes or vine leaves."
Al-Kasani learned to cook from helping his mother in the kitchen. While he often falls back on a dish of potato and eggs that he says Jordanians call the "singles' dish" because it is quick and easy to make, he uses many of his mother's recipes and is even starting to invent his own too.
Wael Said Al-Shawwaf, 25, is from Saudi Arabia. He believes nothing compares to kabsa, a dish of chicken with rice. "That's a real meal. The ingredients come together perfectly and fill you up like nothing else. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it."
Al-Shawwaf loves good food, and will make kabsa if he's feeling energetic. While other students far from home think of their mother's cooking with despairing nostalgia, ruing their inability to match her culinary talents, he is plagued by no such lack of confidence. "How do I rate myself as a cook? Amazing. I think most people would agree with me."
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