I know I am quite late to this, but I have studied nintendo desert music, and they seem to use a few set of instruments
Take New Super Mario Bros. DS' desert theme. It uses a simple set of instruments
Sitar, Kalimba, Electric Guitar, a Bass Synth, Calliope Synth, Pan Flute, Strings, a normal Flute, (insert Bahp sound here), A surdo, Timbales, and shakers. Is it simple? Yeah. Does it get the job done? Also yeah.