Tag: Middle Eastern cuisine

Food

Halawet El-Jibn: A Delectable Arabic Dessert

The New Year has to start with some sweets for round-the-year sweet experiences. Halawet el-jibn is made from rolls of soft, sweet semolina and cheese dough that gets stuffed with clotted cream and crowned with pistachios. A drizzle of syrup puts the final seal of perfection. The origin of halawat el-jibn dish is not clear. Some recipes for this dessert give credit to Homs in Syria as its birthplace. Continue reading Halawet El-Jibn: A Delectable Arabic Dessert

Indrajit RoyChoudhury14 Comments
Food

Traboulsiye | A Lebanese Fish Dish

Yesterday was Friday, a weekend holiday in the middle east. I thought of having my dinner at a restaurant. I went to the Mansour Mall in Baghdad, Iraq in the evening thinking of what to have in the dinner. Undecided, I walked into a Lebanese restaurant, named Ahwak — an Arabic word, which means I love you. It’s a nice restaurant. While going through the … Continue reading Traboulsiye | A Lebanese Fish Dish

Indrajit RoyChoudhury11 Comments
Om Ali — bread pudding of Arab world
Food

Umm Ali | Dessert Born in Blood

Recently, I attended an Iftar party at a luxury hotel in Baghdad. After I finished the food, I found a nice, sweet dessert there, called Om Ali — a simple concoction: bread and pastry are combined with raisins, pistachios, coconut and almonds, then drenched in sweetened milk. It’s not the story of a royal chef preparing an innovative dish at the behest of a discerning king, but of a murder and a rather cruel one!  Continue reading Umm Ali | Dessert Born in Blood

Indrajit RoyChoudhury12 Comments
Food

Masgouf | An Ancient smoky Iraqi fish cuisine

Masgouf is one of the most popular Iraqi dishes – traditionally cooked on the shores of the river Tigris, a seasoned butterflied carp cooked next to an open fire. Originating in the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, grilled fish has been around since the Babylonian times. It’s one of those unique, exotic foods you just have to try in Baghdad. Continue reading Masgouf | An Ancient smoky Iraqi fish cuisine

Indrajit RoyChoudhury5 Comments
Food

Pache | A Dish Since Ancient Babylon

Iraqi cuisine has developed over the course of a long and rich history. Oldest known recipes in the world come from Iraq, and were inscribed on Babylonian tablets going back to 1700 BCE. Boiling the meat into stew with spices and other ingredients was the basic culinary technique. Garlic, coriander and mint appear in these recipes, as does cumin, a spice that has retained its … Continue reading Pache | A Dish Since Ancient Babylon

Indrajit RoyChoudhury11 Comments