Ri'am

The smiling young man before you stirs the steaming copper pot before him, a smell of sweetness and exotic spices wafting out towards you.
‘Come closer, friend,’ he beckons, offering a sample in a small blue clay bowl. The creamy rice within is a canvas of purest white, painted with strokes of cinnamon, cardamom, and a whisper of saffron. The smell that wafts into your nose is rich - almost overpoweringly sweet, with just a tang of sharpness that makes your mouth water.
You meet his gaze with a questioning look, and his smile widens. "You're not from around here, right?" His voice drops to a conspiratorial murmur. "That's Ri'am - camel milk, rice, sugar, dates and spices from all over the country. The riches of this land, all in one dish. And each spoonful tells a story that happened here - care to listen?"

Ri'am, as the kaharan people call it, is a traditional dessert of the desert people. The creamy, rich camel milk is always close by, sweet dates and white rice are base foodstocks and spices - well, those are a matter of national pride.
Each serving is carefully prepared, the spices carefully selected and composed like a symphony that is unique to the cook themselves. It is said among the tribes that there are as many Ri'am recipes as there are stars in the sky.

Traditions

Ri’am is traditionally served as a gift of hospitality. Offering Ri’am and spiced tea to a guest or a new arrival at the campfire is considered a warm welcome and a sign that the host harbors no ill will. It is customary for the host to serve Ri’am personally to each guest, signifying respect and acknowledgment.

Asking for the host’s recipe of Ri’am is considered good manners and shows respect towards the hospitality that has been extended. During festivals, it is usually prepared in large cauldrons as a communal dish and shared with everyone, poor or rich alike.

Ingredients

Rice of the whitest grain, enough to blanket the base of a modest earthenware bowl.

Camel's milk, rich and creamy, as much as would brim a traveler's cup.

The finest dates, sweet and plump, a generous portion, as much as fills your hand..

Spices from all of Aran'sha: cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg, each as much as the weight of seven whispers of sand.

Salt from the unrelenting seas and pepper as black as the desert night, ground fine, each as much as the weight of three pearls of dew.

Nuts or dried fruits, a scattering, as much as your heart and eyes desire.

Preperation

Rinse the rice until the water is clear as the desert sky at dawn.

In a cauldron, mix the rice with the camel's bounty; bring to a boil, as hot as the midday sun.

Let it simmer on low flame, covered, as the rice drinks the milk and swells like the full moons

Fold in the dates and the spices; let them dance together until the smell of spices overwhelms you.

Rest from the flame and let the mixture breathe the air.

Serve warm or cooled as your heart desires

Riam'kar - the Union of spices

A wedding ceremony that can be observed in some areas when people of two tribes or households marry contains the preperation of Ri'am. Each household member chooses a spice and adds it to the cauldron, accompanied by good wishes and blessings.
This new recipe is said to contain all the blessings and wishes of the households and imparts them on all who get to taste it.