Souk it up at the Spice Souk in Dubai

“Madame, are you from India?”

“Madame, you want some spice?” 

...is what I hear as I step out of the cab and into the Spice Souk, at Deira (old Dubai). Not just the sounds but even the sight of bags of spices, incense, rose petals and traditional medicinal products stacked outside each stall make me feel like I have walked into another era (just like in Midnight in Paris, only here I feel transported to the era of Arabian Nights). As I walk in and out of various stores, checking out the spices and haggling for a good deal, I notice there are only westerners in the souk. And it's not too hard to tell that I'm an Asian, more precisely, an Indian. As I pass pots large enough to cook Shrek and Fiona, I realise that the souk is a journey through spice and time. Urgent back-and-forth chatter in a variety of languages fuels the energy of the place.

The air is filled with pungent aromas emanating from sacks and mounds of cinnamon, turmeric, pepper, clove, nutmeg and several other spices. I simply follow my nose. 
After crossing by a few stores, as I enter into one, the first thing I notice among all the spices on display is dried lemon—pale brown.

“It is used for adding flavour to stews and meat. It is a main ingredient in Emirati cooking,” the stallholder tells me. Among the heap of spices, you sure can't miss the various boxes of herbal tea (in different flavours). If herbal tea is your poison, consider your trip to the souk as a gift from the Lord. The Spice Souk sells all kinds of dried flowers that can be used for brewing tea including chrysanthemum, lavender and hibiscus. 

Seeing my endless pursuit of questions about the spices, the stallholder doesn't seem to pleased and he stops responding. I saunter along the alley and look for that perfect store to get my story and spices. I notice a well-lit store with neatly stacked spices and nuts. The store owner's helper ushers me in. “Aap India se ho?” he asks in his Arabic accent. I have noticed in my various travels (in different countries) that most locals love to communicate in Hindi when you tell them you are from India. And in most cases, it's the Bollywood connection. 

Rose leaves, cinnamon sticks, dried lemon and 'kulkul' are a few of the spices that add vibrancy to the market. Photo Credit - Rama Sreekant

“20 dirhams for 2 gms. No bargain. I give you good stuff,” I hear Hamid, the store owner talk to a prospective buyer. Perfectly perched inside three different glass bowls, these balls of saffron threads are expensive as gold! Ok, that's hyperbolic but yes, when you are in the UAE, remember that saffron is the King. 

I walk around the store and Hamid offers to educate me on the various spices. What immediately catches my attention is bowl of long black stems. To my utter surprise, Hamid tells me these are vanilla pods! For the less initiated like me, vanilla extract is not produced from white flowers but these black beauties. 
Next up is Zatar, my most precious discovery of the trip. The first time I heard of this exotic spice was at the breakfast buffet on my first day in Dubai. Fresh from the oven, a perfectly browned zatar croissant was staring at me. That was love at first sight. Tiny dried green leaves which can be mistaken for thyme or rosemary, zatar is your go-to spice if you love baking breads (yes, I picked a whole bunch of them).

Before my trip, I was told by colleagues that the spice market sells some of the best cinnamon sticks in the world. Being a cinnamon junkie, how could I deny myself this gift. I noticed that all the stores here stock cinammon sticks in many sizes and thicknesses. “Use freshly ground cinnamon in your food. The aroma is magical,” Hamid tells me. And for me that is biblical, so I buy a bunch of sticks. 

Hamid's store also houses several powdered spices. “What is this powder?” I curiously ask him, pointing to a particular heap. “That's Baharat – the Arabic alternative to curry powder – a fragrant hot powdery mix especially good as a rub for barbecued fish and chicken,” he shares. 

One of my most interesting discoveries was the saffron pistachios. Roasted with a pinch of turmeric and a few saffron threads, these are light yellow in colour. 
With a bag full of spices and nuts, I gleefully part ways, secretly hoping to come back here some day and swing by Hamid's store. As I step out he tells me “Gold souk is just 5 minutes walk. You go there.” “But I have already found my treasure,” I tell him in response and he flashes a calm smile.