Guides
Timman w Marag: A Guide to Iraqi Stews, from Qalia to Tapsi
Kabab Erbil · September 28, 2026
Kabab Erbil · September 28, 2026
The everyday Iraqi lunch is timman w marag: white rice with a stew ladled over it. The stew changes from day to day — okra, beans, a rich Mosul qalia, or a tapsi tray of meat and vegetables from the oven. It is the food many Iraqis abroad miss most, and the part of Iraqi cooking that restaurant guides usually skip.
Timman is the Iraqi word for rice; marag is the stew or broth poured over it. Together they are lunch in most Iraqi homes. The stew is not fixed: it changes daily, in homes and in restaurants alike. Ours is on the menu as Rice & Sauce, AED 59, with the stew of the day — and an extra ladle of marag is AED 25.
Qalia is a rich Mosul lamb dish, cooked with liya (lamb tail fat), onion and date or pomegranate molasses, which gives it a sweet-sour depth. Our qalia lahm comes with rice, AED 88.
Tapsi is an oven tray of mixed vegetables and meat, baked together so the juices run into each other. Ours is chicken tapsi with rice, AED 83.
Okra stew (bamia) is one of the most-loved Iraqi marag. On our menu it comes as lamb with okra tashreeb — the same stew poured over bread instead of rice. Our guide to tashreeb explains the bread version.
| Dish | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Rice & Sauce | Rice with the stew of the day | AED 59 |
| Qalia lahm with rice | Mosul lamb with liya, onion and date or pomegranate molasses | AED 88 |
| Chicken tapsi with rice | Oven tray of mixed vegetables and chicken | AED 83 |
| Extra marag | An additional ladle of stew | AED 25 |
Sourness. Where Levantine cooking reaches for lemon, Iraqi stews lean on pomegranate molasses, date molasses, dried lime and tamarind — deeper, rounder acidity that builds over a long simmer. The wider guide to Iraqi food in Dubai covers the rest of the table.
Better than most dishes: a stew is already sitting in its sauce, so a drive does it little harm. Grills and tashreeb are less forgiving — see what survives the journey. You can order chicken tapsi online for delivery across Dubai and Sharjah.
Yes — it changes daily, as it does in Iraqi homes. Ask the branch what today's is.
Not hot-spicy; it is rich and sweet-sour from the molasses.
Mosul, in northern Iraq — the same city known for kubba. The National's history of Iraqi food traces how regional Iraq's dishes are.