Middle Eastern Food Culture & Cuisine

To start off, a bit about myself. I was born and have lived many years in Bahrain, a small island in the Persian Gulf. I have spent the other years of my life in the Netherlands. This is where I began to notice the major differences and importance of food. Everything about food was different between these two countries, the dishes they eat, the eating etiquette’s they follow and the significance of food in their daily lives. Keep reading and I am sure that by the end of this article you will know a lot more about the Middle Eastern food culture and would perhaps even like to visit there to experience it for yourselves.

The Middle East consists of a lot of countries. Of course all of these countries will have their own national dishes and own specific food cultures. I cannot go over the culture of each one of these countries however the food culture overall, is to a certain degree homogenous within these countries.

To answer the question that many of you have probably already wondered; do Arabs eat with their hands? Yes they do! All around the Middle East people eat with their hands, if you are a guest or if you do not wish to eat with your hands, of course that is fine as well. The locals however, will eat most dishes in that manner. To be more specific, the right hand, and only the right hand is used to eat, while your left hand will just simply rest on your lap. The reason for this is that the left hand is seen as “unclean” as it is used for private duties only. The left hand is also seen as “unholy” or even taboo. This rule is not only for eating, but also when shaking one’s hand, or waving. This relates to the Muslim religion where it is said that the equivalent of the devil uses the left hand for these actions and that none of you should.

When there is a large group of people, Arabs normally eat on the floor. The host prepares big plates of traditional dishes and sets them out on a large plastic sheet that runs across the floor. Everyone then proceeds to sit beside the plastic sheet and enjoy their meal. I have personally done this several times in large family gatherings, and there is nothing unhygienic about it. Most guests in Arabic cultures will leave their shoes at the door, so this won’t be a problem. One advantage of this is that not much furniture is needed to have large gatherings in your house. Even the less fortunate will be able to invite their friends and family and all enjoy a meal together.

Moving on to the topic you have all been waiting for; the different dishes they eat in the Middle East. From personal experience, living in both Bahrain and the Netherlands, I can tell you one thing. Food in Bahrain is a lot more complex. More ingredients in general are used, more spices, more flavor, and more quantity. From what I experienced, I can tell you that food has a more important role in the Middle East and is the central attention of most gatherings.

Now that you know about the complexity of the dishes, I can show you some examples. Rice is a staple food in the Middle East. It is hard to find a meal served without at least on large plate of rice on the table. One rice dish that is one of the national dishes in the country I was raised is ‘Machboos’. To the right, you can see an image of a plate of a classic chicken machboos. Machboos can also be served with any other meat resting on top of the rise. Lamb is another popular choice. Pork, however is not seen in any Arabic dishes as it is not tolerated to eat pork in the Muslim religion. To continue with machboos, simple put, it is just spiced meat and rice. To those of you that are familiar with Indian cuisine, it is comparable to biryani. What makes this dish so flavorful is the spices that go into it. This is what also gives the rice that lovely orange color. To give you the idea of what spices go inside this marvelous dish, here are some spices that are essential. First of all, Baharat is one of the key spice blends used in this dish. The word is Arabic for “spice”, and it is really popular amongst Arabic dishes. This blend includes black pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and nutmeg. This spice blend alone can turn a dish from boring to exciting. It is commonly used as a rub for chicken, lamb, beef and other meats. Turmeric powder is also used to provide some more flavor. Furthermore dried lemons are used for flavoring, alongside a cinnamon stick and cardamom seeds, but are then taken out at the end before serving the dish. As this dish’s main ingredients are quite basic, it can easily be made in bulk, and therefore is quite common to be seen at large family gatherings and festive celebrations.

The next food that I am going to elaborate on is probably known amongst some of you, as this is seen as one of the mainstream “Arabic food”. This street food is a “Falafel”. These are deep fried balls, made from chickpeas and/or fava beans. This is a vegetarian dish, so if you are a vegetarian looking to expand your range of food, give this a try as it is a really great source of protein and a replacement for meat! It is often served in some form of bread, whether it is pita bread, wrapped around with some flat bread or even served simply on their own. Falafels are common all around the Middle East, but are most common in Egypt, Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon. Falafel became so popular in Middle Eastern countries, that the McDonalds of some of these countries adopted a ‘burger’ called Falafel. Appearance wise, these balls are brown and crispy on the outside, but when you bite into them, there is a light green color from the herbs used such as parsley and coriander. Despite the outside being crunchy, the inside remains nice and soft. This food is definitely something to experience, as it is something completely different!

Alongside Falafel, Hummus is also one of the more popular Arabian foods out there. For those of you that don’t know, Hummus Is a chickpea based dip which can accompany many meals with its completely unique flavor. It goes excellent with a mixed grill of lamb, beef, and chicken, but is also delicious when simply used as a dip for some bread. In the Middle East, Hummus can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as it is really versatile, and goes well in combination with many other foods. There are many ways that you can personalize your hummus to your liking. A simple, yet tasty hummus recipe that I make every now and then is, apart from the chickpeas, with some olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and lots of lemon. Put everything I just listed, including the chickpeas (and some chickpea liquid) into a blender, and that’s it! Top it off with some fresh parsley for the garnish, and you just made yourself a delightful hummus.

Next, I would like to introduce some deserts to you. First of all, we have the really well known ‘Baklava’. This is a sweet pastry made of layers of filo, filled with nuts, and help together with honey or syrup. There are many variants of baklava, in turkey, you will find really sweet and juicy ones, whereas in the Persian areas baklava is slightly drier and scented with rose water. I wouldn’t recommend baklava to anyone with nut allergies as there are a lot of nuts in this food!

Another desert I would like to introduce to you is ‘Um Ali’. This desert is traditionally Egyptian, and the meaning of the word is “mother of Ali”. Um Ali is a mixture of a sweet, creamy bread pudding, nuts, cinnamon, and cardamom. Although it originated from Egypt, it is eaten all over the Middle East. This dish can be served both hot, fresh from the oven, or cold from the fridge, to preference. This desert is definitely worth trying. The contrast between the creamy bread pudding and the crunchy nuts gives an excellent texture. Taste wise, there is a party in your mouth, with the sweetness of the milk, and the spicy tone of cinnamon and cardamom. A really unique desert!

In Muslim culture, Ramadan is the month where people fast, not eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. The reason for fasting is to bring them closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of the less fortunate in this world. During this month, food is an important factor. Despite not eating while the sun is up, when the sun sets, people usually gather with friends and family to break their fast together. The traditional way to break your fast is with dates and yoghurt. This is because dates are easy to digest, so they don’t exhaust the stomach of a fasting person. It is also a slow start to the meal, so you don’t rush through the heavy food since you would be quite hungry at this point.

After breaking your fast with dates, and not rushing through the food, you can help yourself to the rest of the food available. There are certain dishes that get cooked only, or mostly in Ramadan. In Ramadan in Bahrain, when I used to go to these family gatherings, there were 2 dishes that were there almost every night; “Harees”, and “Tharid”.

Harees is a dish of boiled wheat, mixed with meat. The consistency and texture can be related to porridge. This dish is mostly common in the Persian Gulf, as mentioned earlier, during the Ramadan period. This dish is not so complicated to prepare. The wheat is simply soaked overnight, then simmered in water, alongside meat and butter. The mixture then gets drained, beaten together, and seasoned to taste. This dish can be garnished with some cinnamon, cardamom seeds, or even some fresh parsley for decoration.

The other dish that I only see during the Ramadan period is Tharid. Tharid is a dish made from small pieces of bread, and meat, in a broth. This dish is commonly made with lamb, however can also be made with chicken if preferred. The bread is there to soak up all the rich juices from the meat. It becomes soft, and a really pleasant dish to eat during Ramadan. Both of these dishes are Ramadan exclusive dishes, so it might be hard to come across them in the other months. However, I do highly recommend you to try these as they are really traditional foods and they taste good too!

I could honestly go on and on about the food culture and cuisine in the Middle East because there is so much to say about it. But I had to eventually tell myself to stop writing, or else you may get bored! My intention was for all of you to at least learn a few new things about the food culture and different types of dishes that we eat in the Middle East. When you visit the Middle East in the future, you will be prepared as you now know the proper etiquette. You will also have some unique dishes to ask for, and make sure you try everything when it comes to food, as each different taste will give you an experience, unique to that dish. Hope you enjoyed reading this article, and are feeling a taste for Middle Eastern food now!