Middle Eastern Food

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Middle Eastern Food

Arabic Food and Middle Eastern Cuisine

Different types of Food and Cuisine in the Middle East

The UAE is an excellent place to sample all types of Gulf and Middle Eastern Cuisine, including Iranian and Lebanese food. You will often see buffet spreads with huge amounts of food. These will usually contain: 

Hummous: a dip made from chick peas and sesame seeds 
Tabouleh: chopped parsley, mint and crunched wheat 
Ghuzi: a whole roast lamb on a bed of rice, mixed with nuts 
Wara enab: vine leaves stuffed with rice 
Koussa mahshi: stuffed corgettes 

Local dishes include: 
Matchbous: spiced lamb with rice 
Hareis: a rich delicacy of slow cooked wheat and tender lamb 
Seafood: served with specialty rice 

Naturally dates are an important feature of the varied Arabian meals 

Desserts from the region include: 
Umm Ali: a type of bread pudding 
Esh asaraya: a sweet type of cheesecake with cream on top 
Mehalabiya: pudding sprinkled with rose water and pistachios 

Seafood is very popular from this region as the Arabian Gulf and he Gulf of Oman serve some locale specialities - lobster, cigale, crab, hammour, shrimp, tuna, kingfish, pomfret, and red snapper. Many hotels will have seafood buffets where you can indulge yourself in these various dishes. 

A traditional and very popular snack is the shawarma - grilled slices of delicately spiced lamb or chicken, mixed with salad, and rolled inside a pocket of Arabic bread. It is sold all over the the UAE, and is considered the fast food of the Middle East! Some also contain chilli sauce, tomatoes, mayonnaise and french fries. If you want a good Shawarma, try the Automatic Restaurant or Lebanese flower. 

Another popular Lebanese type food is manakish which is baked bread meal with toppings. Traditionally, it is served for breakfast or lunch depending on its topping, but the bakeries that serve these pastries are usually open late at night. You could liken it to a pizza and usually is it served folded. Some toppings to try for the novice are cheese, zaatar (thyme) with cheese, labneh (yoghurt type cream) or minced beef. If unsure, when ordering try, Manakish Bjibne (with cheese and olives) orLahem Bel Ajin (open pie topped with ground beef and lamb, pine nuts, onions and herb) 

Other dishes you could try are: 
Falafel - fried chick peas 
Moutabal: Broiled eggplant, blended with tahini and lemon and olive oil 
Fried kibbeh - ground meat (usually lamb or mutton) with bulghur wheat and seasonings 
Fatteh (with labaan) - baked chicked peas/pita dish (served with a type of Middle Eastern yoghurt) 
Shish Tawook - marinated skewered chicken 
Khoshkash kebab - skewered meat in a spicy tomato sauce 
Arayes kofta - bread with grilled lamb 
Fattoush - salad with a tangy lemon dressing topped with crisped pastry 
Baba Ghanoush - eggplant mixed with sesame and garlic 
Kellaj - Lebanese bread filled with halloumi cheese, charcoal grilled 

The Arabian diet is very focused on meat, so you can often get a meat grill with a mixture of the meat which is a good plate to share 

For deserts, you could try Knafeh, which is a semolina type desert with cheese and syrup. You will see many of the shops offering baklava, which is sweet filo pastry stuffed with nuts and covered in syrup. 

Also, as far as drinks go, the availability of fresh juices is amazing and at very reasonable prices. People like to try the fruit cocktail which is a luxurious heavy concoction, that is sprinkled with pistachios. Other fruit juices are available, but if you don't want sugar added, just say so. Sahlab is a milky type drink which is popular during Ramadan. It is quite sweet and topped with cinnamon.