RUMI’S

LAYLA KARDAN and HAMDAN AL KHAFAJI were inspired to create RUMI’S, the UAE’s first high-quality, convenient baby food brand, after the birth of their adorable namesake son Rumi.

“I’ve had the pleasure of calling Dubai my home on and off for the past 20-something years now,” says Layla. “I feel like I’ve grown up with Dubai… It’s where I met my husband and where we had our baby boy who has made our life complete. We treasure and value not only his health, but our health so much more now, which is what led us to develop this amazing brand. Hamdan has really spearheaded Rumi’s with his passion for health.”

With both Layla and Hamdan being creatives, the vibrant and fun packaging plays a vital part in Rumi’s brand identity. “We want to attract both the parent and the baby, so when creating the products we wanted the packaging to be

Hamdan Al Khafaji Co-founder

playful and artistic but also quite educational. We worked with a branding team called Studio Macki, which has worked with brands like NARS and Kiehl’s. We thought to ourselves, if we’re going to do this, we're going to do this right,” says Hamdan.

“As a mother, when I go to the supermarket, I’m always thinking about what kind of things I’m presenting my child with,” adds Layla.

Cleary passionate about the brand they named after their son, Hamdan goes on to say “here in the region, we’re the first baby food brand to use HPP, which is High-Pressure Processing rather than Heat Processing. This means our products maintain all their nutritional value. Our products also contain a special mix of 21 vitamins and nutrients which are essential for cognitive thinking and brain development. That’s our edge.”

Layla Kardan Co-founder

We are now into our third year of the incubator programme. The standard and number of entries we continue to receive is quite incredible. It has been an immense pleasure for me and the team to watch how some of the businesses have flourished since joining the scheme. Many have now managed to secure not only additional business in the UAE, but are now exporting to other GCC countries and even into Europe which really shows just how much of an impact the incubator programme can have on supporting UAE food manufacturing, which was one of the founding principles for the scheme. We have some fantastic brands from the 2022 intake that are going through the final checks, and I’m really excited about seeing them on shelves soon.

Destination: Malaysia/Singapore

Malaysian curry paste is the secret to this quick curry. The fragrant blend of coriander, cumin, fennel, black pepper, chillies, turmeric, galangal, garlic and shallots packs a punch and can be used to make a quick fish curry by mixing it with coconut milk and simmering with chunks of any firm white fish.

Prep time: 15 minutes

1 Lightly toast the whole dry spices in a frying pan. Leave to cool, then grind to a powder along with the turmeric. 2 Peel the galangal, garlic and shallots. Then, in a food processor or using a hand blender, blitz them together with a splash of water to form a purée. 3 Mix the dry masala with the fresh purée to form the curry paste. 4 Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the fish for 5 minutes per side and remove from the pan. Add the curry paste to the pan and toast over a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Gently add the fish fillets and simmer for 10 minutes. 5 Serve with curry leaves, rotis and lime wedges.

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Whole Coriander Seeds

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Cumin Seeds

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fennel Seeds

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Whole Black Peppercorns

4 medium-sized dried chillies

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Turmeric

Thumb-sized piece of galangal

3 plump garlic cloves

50g shallots

1 tbsp peanut oil

1 x 400g tin coconut milk

500g firm white fish fillets

To serve

Handful of fresh or dried curry leaves

Rotis

2 limes

Turn this curry from a weeknight wonder into a showstopper by adding prawns, clams, scallops, or lobster to it. You can even add all four to the mix!

Destination: South Korea

Yangnyeomjang is a popular, pungent seasoning sauce, which is good for dipping and marinades. It is made from sesame, soya sauce, rice vinegar, dried chilli, garlic and spring onion. It works beautifully with tofu.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

600g firm tofu

130g corn flour

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

For the sauce

1 SpinneysFOOD Spring Onion

2 garlic cloves

125ml soya sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD White Sesame Seeds

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Whole Black Peppercorns

1 tsp gochujang

80ml SpinneysFOOD Ketchup

85g SpinneysFOOD Organic Natural Honey

80ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

150g SpinneysFOOD Tenderstem Broccolli

To serve

400g SpinneysFOOD steamed rice

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD White Sesame Seeds

1 Drain the tofu and pat it dry using paper towels. 2 Slice the tofu in cubes of approx. 2½cm. Place them in a large container with the corn flour. Close the lid and shake the container so that all the tofu cubes are well coated. 3 Add a generous amount of cooking oil to a large pan, ensuring you coat the entire surface. Fry the tofu cubes over a mediumhigh heat until golden and crispy. Remove the tofu from the pan and drain on paper towels. Remove any excess oil left in the pan. 4 To make the sauce, finely chop the spring onion and garlic. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Then add the spring onion and garlic to the mixture. 5 Pour the sauce in the pan and heat it over a mediumhigh heat for approx. 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Once the sauce is thicker, turn off the heat. Add the fried tofu and stir until all tofu cubes are coated with sauce. 6 Steam the broccoli and reheat the rice. 7 Divide the tofu, broccoli and rice between four bowls and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Destination: Japan

Shichimi togarashi is an aromatic mixture made from Szechuan pepper, dried orange, chilli powder, nori, sesame and garlic that can be used as a table condiment or for flavouring curries, meat and noodle dishes – or in this case, Japanese savoury pancakes.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes: 12

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. 2 Divide the oil between a 12-hole muffin pan and preheat it in the oven. 3 Make the tonkatsu sauce by whisking together the sugar, oyster sauce, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Set aside. 4 Whisk the eggs, oil, 2 tbsp of the tonkatsu sauce and milk in a large bowl until combined.

5 Thinly slice the spring onions and add these with the coleslaw to the mix. Stir to combine. 6 Add in the flour and a pinch of salt. Stir until just combined. 7 Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. Divide the mixture between 12 muffin holes filling them halfway. Bake for 10 minutes or until puffed and golden. Stand for 5 minutes in the pan. 8 Using a small knife, release the sides of the puffs from the pan. Transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with extra tonkatsu sauce and mayonnaise. 9 Serve topped with ginger, sesame seeds and shichimi-togarashi.

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil

For the tonkatsu sauce

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

2 tbsp oyster sauce

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Ketchup

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

5 SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

2 SpinneysFOOD Spring Onions

200g packet undressed coleslaw mix

120g SpinneysFOOD Self-Raising Flour

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Crystal Sea Salt

To serve

3 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise

30g pickled ginger

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD White Sesame Seeds

½ tsp shichimi togarashi

Destination: Vietnam

This pho uses a Vietnamese five spice mix of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, coriander and pepper.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

5cm piece fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves

1 brown onion

2 large carrots

500g mixed mushrooms (oyster, king, shiitake)

3 medium celery stalks

2 stalks of lemongrass

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil

1 whole clove

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Whole Coriander Seeds

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Whole Black Peppercorns

2 star anise

1 SpinneysFOOD Cinnamon Stick

1 brown cardamom

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

1½L SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

For the pickle

1 small red onion

1 green chilli

1 red chilli

1 garlic clove

250ml white grape vinegar

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

To serve

Buckwheat noodles

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Coriander and Basil Bean sprouts

SpinneysFOOD Spring Onions

Make a quick Vietnamese five spice mix by combining 1 tsp each of ground anise, cloves, cinnamon, garlic powder and ground ginger. Store in a jar and use it to flavour noodles, broths, batters or sauces.

1 Peel and roughly chop the ginger, garlic, onion and carrots. Roughly chop the mushrooms, celery and lemongrass. 2 Place a large pot over a high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and fry the mushrooms until caramelised. Add the rest of the chopped aromatics and vegetables along with the spices and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Season with the nutritional yeast, soya sauce and sugar then add the water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, prepare the pickle by finely chopping the red onion, chillies and garlic. Place in a small bowl with the vinegar, sugar and salt. Set aside. 4 Strain the broth and reserve the mushrooms. Divide the noodles between four bowls and top with the broth and reserved mushrooms. 5 Serve with the herbs, pickle, bean sprouts and chopped spring onion.

Destination: Thailand/Laos/Cambodia

Khao Kua is a ground roasted rice mixture quintessential to larb and Thai beef salad. In Laos people also dip unripe fruit, such as pomelo, green mango, tamarind and guava, into it. Some versions (like this one) can also include lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves. Its unique texture makes this dish special. While larb is normally served with sticky rice, we’ve instead served it with glass noodles.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

For the toasted rice powder

2 lemongrass sticks

50g uncooked Thai sticky rice

10 lime leaves

2 dried galangal pieces

1 tbsp peanut oil

400g chicken mince

1 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Crushed Chilli

1 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 limes

2 shallots

3 SpinneysFOOD Spring Onions

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Coriander

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Mint

To serve Glass noodles

1 Chop the lemongrass. 2 Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the chopped lemongrass, rice, lime leaves and galangal. Toast until golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally – approx. 10 minutes.

3 Remove the lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal and transfer to a pestle and mortar or food processor. Blend to form a powder. Set aside. 4 Heat the frying pan again and add the peanut oil. Fry the chicken mince until caramalised. Add 2 tablespoons of the toasted rice powder, chilli flakes, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. 5 Finely slice the shallots and spring onions and add to the mixture. Adjust the seasoning with more fish sauce, lime juice or chilli. 6 Pick the coriander and mint leaves and toss through the mince. Serve with glass noodles.