Glossary of Palestinian Cuisine

As you dine in Palestinian restaurants and review various Palestinian cuisine menus, you will see reference to many of the dishes roughly defined below. I n many cases the links at the end of the term's description lead to further detailed information, mainly recipes. Armed with a description of what you're getting into, you may have the courage and knowledge to choose your meal and have a pleasant eating experience.

A

Arabic Bread, pita (Khubz Arabi) Flat, round bread, which can be easily split to make a sandwich, or broken apart and used as a utensil for scooping food

B

Baba Ghanoush Char-grilled eggplant, tahina , olive oil, lemon juice and garlic purée - served as a dip

Bharat Arabic mixed spices

Bamia Baby okra

Baklawa (baklava) Dessert of layered pastry filled with nuts and steeped in honey-lemon syrup - usually cut into triangular or diamond shapes

Basboosa Semolina tart soaked with syrup

Burghul (bulghur wheat) Parboiled and dried wheat kernels processed into grain, used in tabbouleh and mixed with lamb in kibbeh

C

Ejjeh Arabic omelette

D

E

F

Falafel Small deep-fried patties made of highly-spiced ground chick-peas

Fatayer Pastry pockets filled with spinach, meat or cheese

Fattoush Salad of toasted croutons, cucumbers, tomatoes and mint

Foul Slow-cooked mash of brown beans and red lentils, dressed with lemon, olive oil and cumin

G

H

Haleeb Milk

Halwa (halva) Sesame paste sweet, usually made in a slab and studded with fruit and nuts

Hommus Purée of chickpeas, tahina , lemon and garlic - served as a dip with Arabic bread

I

J

Jebne White cheese

K

Kebab Skewered chunks of meat or fish cooked over charcoal

Kamareddine Apricot nectar used to break fast during Ramadan

Khubz Marcook Thin, dome-shaped Arabic bread

Kunafi (kunafah) Shoelace pastry dessert stuffed with sweet white cheese, nuts and syrup

Kibbeh (kibbe) Oval-shaped nuggets of ground lamb and burghul

Kibbeh Naye Raw kibbeh , eaten like steak tartar

Kouzi Whole lamb baked over rice so that rice absorbs the juice of the meat

L

Laban Tangy-tasting sour milk drink widely used in cooking as a substitute for milk

Labenah Thick creamy cheese, often spiced and used as a dip

Lahma Bi Ajeen Arabic pizza

M

Ma'amul Date cookies shaped in a wooden mould called a tabi

Makloubeh Meat or fish with rice, broad beans and cauliflower

Mai Water

Markok Lamb and pumpkin stew

Mehshi Means stuffed - aubergines, courgettes, vine leaves or cabbage may be stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, rice and onions

Melokhiyyah Green, spinach-like vegetable

Mezze (mezza, meze, mezzah) The Arabic word for appetiser

Mish mish Apricots

Moutabel Eggplant dip made with tahina , olive oil and lemon juice

Muhalabiyyah Silky textured semolina pudding served cold

Musakhan Chicken casserole with sumac

Mutabak Sweet or savoury pastry turnovers usually stuffed with cheese, banana or meat

N

O

P

Q

S

Sambusek Triangular pies filled with meat, cheese or spinach

Sayyadiya Delicately-spiced fish dish served on a bed of rice

Shai (chai) Tea

Shawerma A cone of pressed lamb, chicken or beef roasted on a vertical spit where the meat is shaved off from the outside as the spit keeps turning. Saudi Arabia 's most popular sandwich is Arabic bread filled with shawerma meat, salad, hot sauce and tahina

Sheesha (hubbly bubbly) Pipe for smoking tobacco leaves or dried fruit through a water filter

Shish Taouk Skewered chicken pieces cooked over charcoal

Shourba Soup

Snober Pine nuts

Sukkar Sugar

T

Tabbouleh Salad of burghul , tomato, mint and parsley

Tahina An oily paste made from ground sesame seeds, used in hommus , moutabel and baba ghanoush

U

V

W

Warak Enab (warak dawali) Stuffed vine leaves

X

Y

Yansoon Hot spiced tea, used for medicinal purposes

Z

Zatoon Olives