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Arabic cuisine
Arabic cuisine contains elements of Mediterranean and African cuisine. Words which are typical for this cuisine are: couscous, mutton, chickpeas, aubergine, olives, dates, perfumed water (orange-flower and rose water), charcoal and mint tea.
For Arabic cuisine, meals are mainly an opportunity for spending time with family and friends. It is customary to sit on pillows or at a low table, sometimes at a round table. Meals are eaten in silence as every bite is savoured. After meal there is time for tea and a chat. Brewing and serving tea is a special ritual. The host, a metal tea-pot, small gold rim glasses on a copper tray? It makes you want to taste it!
In a typical Moroccan house it is traditionally women who cook. Men prepare meals which need to be made on fire, such as roasted lamb or shashliks. One of such „men-prepared” meals is a traditional dish made in a pitcher-shaped pot. It is filled with pieces of lamb, vegetables, spices and put for several hours on the hot ashes. In the past this meal used to be prepared by the one who lost in the card game.
Promiles of tea in the blood
The Moroccans take every opportunity to have a cup of tea – tea is present at meetings, social get-togethers or business conversations. The real traditional tea consists of green tea leaves, mint and a large amount of sugar.
Arak is the national drink of Lebanon. Is it anise-flavoured grape vodka. Arak tastes best when diluted with water in the proportion of 2:1 and served with ice cubes. It goes well with mezze – small colorful appetizers. What is also indispensible when drinking arak is good company.
Along with appetizers special bread is served, called hobs or aish which is the word for “life”. Often bread is used in place of utensils for serving sauces and pieces of meat. Its interesting type is aish bi zataar, which is bread with thyme and other herbs.
Mezze, that is – appetizers
A traditional Middle-Eastern meal starts with mezze, that is, a set of hot and cold appetizers. Sometimes you can even compose a whole meal from them. The most popular ones are: baba ghanuzh, humus, fatayer or tabula.
Shavarma - the Arabic equivalent of Greek gyros or Turkish kebab
Ful - thick purée of brown beans, usually placed with a dipper
A can on a camel’s back?
Arabic cuisine originally was the cuisine of the desert nomads. The ingredients used for preparing meals had to be easy to transport, e.g. rice, dates. Voyaging caravans varied the menu using food bought on the way, such as vegetables. Unfortunately, the miracle of a can wasn’t yet known back in those times.
Lucky seven
Number seven is considered lucky, which is reflected also in the cuisine. One of the traditional meals is couscous with seven vegetables (e.g. zucchini, chickpeas, hot pepper, carrots, tomatoes, onion and pumpkin).
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