The public was introduced Nutella 50 years ago this week, but it was only a matter of time before the Arabian Gulf put its own twist on how to serve the hazelnut spread.
The sweet paste from a small confectionery in the northern Italian town of Alba is now locally synonymous with a distinctly Gulf tradition: the Nutella sandwich.
A mainstay of Gulf street cuisine, the snack is a drive-in favourite served at cafeterias alongside other local treats such as Burj Khalifa cocktails and “zinker” fried chicken burgers.
For the uninitiated, the Nutella sandwich is a cross between a Parisian crepe and the sweet Levantine kunafa cheese pastry.
Processed cheese is melted on to a pipping hot pan-fried paratha. After the cheese bubbles and browns from the bottom up, two thick spoonfuls of Nutella are swirled on. It is a Gulf product of globalisation, loved by Emiratis and residents raised here.
“They do it with paratha and they do it with cheese,” says Abdulla Al Kaabi, an engineer from Abu Dhabi. “They put it in UAE traditional bread. You can do it as you like, but I don’t eat it because it has cholesterol.”
Unlike the chips Oman sandwich served at cafeterias and small grocers in even the smallest Emirati villages, the Nutella sandwich is more of an urban phenomena, something that belongs to the metropolises of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Mr Al Kaabi claims the city’s best is at Al Dhifa, a takeaway behind Carrefour on Airport Road.
His directions are vague but effective – right at a roundabout, make the first U-turn and park beside the mosque.
The car park outside the signless shop is full, even during mid-morning and mid-week when business is at its slowest.
Inside the shop, a place patrons never venture, glass shelves are stacked with all the contents of a good Emirati cupboard – jars of honey and date syrup, tins of condensed milk, bottles of hot sauce, boxes of Lipton tea and glass jars of Nutella.
This is the capital’s premium place for one of its classic sandwiches: Nutella regag.
Al Dhifa’s take on the sandwich substitutes regag, a paper-thin Emirati bread, for the thicker paratha sandwich.
“Regag is best because you really taste the Nutella,” says Mr Al Kaabi. “The bread is thinner, thinner than a crepe. Even you are in a hurry you can have it fresh.”
He points at the idling 4x4s outside Al Dhifa. “See all the people who have come for Nutella and regag?”
When the Emirati entrepreneur Mohammed Abdulla opened the cafe in 2009 he offered a menu of 50 items. Most are sandwiches and Nutella is one of the most popular.
“This is Emirati bread and it’s not sold just anywhere in Abu Dhabi,” says Mr Abdulla, 24. “Its name is regag and it’s the Abu Dhabi crepe.”
Nutella combinations include the classic with labneh and, for the truly adventurous, item number 45 – Nutella with Chips Oman spicy crisps. The sweet and salty combination is not unlike peanut butter.
“The people asked for chips on Nutella,” says Mr Abdulla. “I said sure, why not?”
“Regag is old style of bread and Nutella is an old style. We sell more of these sandwiches in winter. When it’s cold outside, nationals want this sandwich.”
Some might dismiss Nutella as a child’s indulgence but Al Dhifa’s patrons are the city’s professionals. Every one of them has a soft spot for the hazelnut spread.
“Nutella is 50 but it’s still young, it’s not getting older,” says Abdulla Al Muttawa, 23, civil engineer who was parked outside. “I feel it’s for children but I have to eat it.”
Al Dhifa’s customers eat an average of 3.5 jars a day. That’s nearly 1,000 kilograms a year.
“Nutella is like a pretty girl,” says Khaled Al Hashimi, 23, a law student. “Wallah, I think there is some magic in this chocolate.”
The spread’s devotees are not put off by its high sugar and fat content. It is a popular school snack, even for toddlers.
Some carry this devotion into adulthood.
Mohammed Hamed, an outdoor instructor from Sudan raised in Ras Al Khaimah, rises at 4am every day to prepare Nutella and cheese for his lunch at work.
“I tried to convince people at work to have it and they wouldn’t try it,” says Mr Hamed. “For my generation, this is definitely something. It’s awesome, honestly.”
azacharias@thenational.ae
Squad for first two ODIs
Kohli (c), Rohit, Dhawan, Rayudu, Pandey, Dhoni (wk), Pant, Jadeja, Chahal, Kuldeep, Khaleel, Shami, Thakur, Rahul.
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20TV%204K%20(THIRD%20GENERATION)
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Company%20profile
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
The%20specs
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers