Levantine cuisine

Levantine dishes

• Levantine salad : A salad of diced tomato, cucumber, onion, and sometimes parsley, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Other famous salads include: Artichoke salad, Beet salad, Avocado salad, Fattoush and Tabouli.
• Arak : A clear, colourless alcoholic spirit.
• Awameh : is a kind of fried-dough Levantine pastry similar to doughnut holes, made of deep fried dough, soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, and sometimes sprinkled with sesame.
• Baba ghanoush : A dip made from baked, mashed eggplant mixed with lemon, garlic, olive oil and various seasonings.
• Baklava : A dessert made of phyllo pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in syrup.
• Bamia : A stew prepared with chunks of lamb meat with okra in a tomato-based sauce, served over rice.
• Basbousa : A Middle Eastern small, sweet cake of cooked semolina soaked in rose water syrup, topped with almonds or walnuts.
• Couscous : Steamed balls of crushed durum wheat semolina or other cereals traditionally served with a stew spooned on top.
• Dolma : Various vegetables, typically aubergines, courgettes, onions, peppers and/or tomatoes stuffed with minced meat and rice.
• Falafel : Spiced mashed chickpeas formed into balls or fritters and deep-fried, usually eaten with or in pita bread and hummus.
• Fasoulia : A stew prepared with dry white beans and meat served over rice.
• Fatteh : Chicken over rice, topped with yogurt and pita bread.
• Fattoush : A salad consisting of chopped cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, and other vegetables together with fried or toasted pita bread.
• Ful medames : Ground fava beans and olive oil.
• Ful medames salad : It typically consists of fava beans, chopped tomatoes, onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt.
• Freekeh : A cereal food made from green durum wheat that is roasted and rubbed to create its flavour, then served with cumin, cinnamon, and fresh lamb tail fat.
• Halva : A flour or nut-based confection including fruit or nuts.
• Hummus : A thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and olive oil, lemon, and garlic; also common in Egypt.
• Hummus salad : is an Arab salad. It typically consists of dry chickpea, soda carbonate, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, salt, olive oil, and cumin.
• Ka'ak : A type of biscuit/cookie shaped into a ring, occasionally sprinkled with sesame seeds.
• Kabsa : A rice-based dish commonly eaten with meat, lamb or chicken, cooked in a variety of spices and topped with nuts over rice.
• Kanafeh : A dessert made with shredded filo and melted cheese soaked in a sugary syrup.
• Kebab : A dish consisting of ground beef or lamb grilled or roasted on a skewer.
• Kebab karaz : A type of kebab consisting of lamb meatballs in a cherry-based broth with pine nuts and sour cherries over pita bread.
• Kibbeh : A dumpling-like dish of ground lamb with bulgur wheat or rice and seasonings, eaten cooked or raw.
• Kibbeh nayyeh : A mezze consisting of minced raw meat mixed with fine bulgur and various seasonings.
• Labneh : Yogurt that has been strained to remove its whey. Most popular as a breakfast food.
• Lentil soup : A soup based on lentils; it may be vegetarian or include meat, and may use brown, red, yellow or black lentils, with or without the husk.
• Limonana : type of lemonade made from freshly-squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves.
• Ma'amoul : Semolina cookies filled with dates or walnuts, commonly sprinkled with sugar.
• Makdous : Stuffed oil-cured baby aubergines, said to increase appetite.
• Manakish : A pizza-like flatbread garnished with minced meat, thyme and/or za'atar. Commonly eaten during breakfast and dinner.
• Mansaf : Lamb or chicken cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served over rice.
• Malfouf salad : is a salad of Arab salads, typically consists of juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and a healthy dose of fresh dried mint.
• Kousa Mahshi : Courgettes baked and stuffed with minced meat and rice in a tomato-based sauce.
• Maqluba : A rice-based casserole which includes meat, rice, and fried vegetables placed in a pot, which is then flipped upside down when served, hence the name "maqluba", which translates literally as "upside-down".
• Markook : A thin, unleavened flatbread baked on an iron griddle known as a saj.
• Mfarakeh : is an Arab dish made of potato, egg, ghee, cumin powder, salt and pepper, in addition chopped coriander leaf for garnish.
• Muhammara : A hot pepper dip made from fresh or dried peppers, breadcrumbs, olive oil, spices and ground walnuts.
• Mujaddara : Cooked lentils together with groats, generally rice, and garnished with sautéed onions.
• Mulukhiyah : A type of stew cooked with mallow leaves that are mucillagenous like okra, and eaten with chicken in a thick broth.
• Musakhan : A classic Palestinian dish, composed of a whole roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts served over taboon bread.
• Pita : A soft, slightly leavened flatbread baked from wheat flour.
• Qamar al-Din : A thick, cold apricot drink typically served during the month of Ramadan.
• Qatayef : A dessert commonly served during the month of Ramadan, a sort of sweet dumpling filled with cream or nuts.
• Qidra : A stew consisting of lamb mixed with chickpeas, garlic and spices, commonly served over rice.
• Quzi : A hearty dish of roasted lamb with raisins, nuts and spices over rice or wrapped within taboon bread.
• Raheb : is a salad with aubergines and tomatoes. It is popular in the Middle East.
• Sambusac : A triangular savory pastry which is fried in ghee or oil and contains spiced vegetables or meat.
• Sfiha : Open-faced meat pies made with ground mutton or now lamb or beef.
• Shanklish : Cow's or sheep's milk cheese formed into balls of approximately 6 cm diameter, rolled in Aleppo pepper and za'atar, and then aged and dried.
• Shashlik : A dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat.
• Shawarma : Roasted meat, especially when cooked on a revolving spit and shaved for serving in sandwiches.
• Shish kebab : Grilled or roasted chunks of meat prepared on a skewer, commonly served over flatbread or rice.
• Sumaghiyyeh : The ground sumac is first soaked in water and then mixed with tahina, additional water, and flour for thickness. The mixture is then added to sautéed chopped chard, pieces of slow-stewed beef, and garbanzo beans.
• Tabbouleh : A salad of bulgur mixed with finely chopped parsley, along with minced onions and tomatoes.
• Tahini : A condiment prepared from grounded and hulled sesame seeds. It is a primary ingredient which composes baba ghanoush and hummus.
• Tepsi : A casserole baked with minced meat, aubergine, potato and tomato slices. Served with pickles, rice and salad.
• Toum : A paste containing garlic, olive oil and salt, typically used as a dip.
• Turkish coffee : A method which involves simmering coffee beans, then served in a cup which the grounds finally settle.
• Warbat : A sweet pastry with thin layers of phyllo pastry filled with custard. Popularly eaten during Ramadan.
• Za'atar : A condiment made from the dried herb, mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices.
• Zalabia : A fried dough pastry fried in balls or discs and dipped in a sweet syrup.
• Zibdieh : Shrimp cooked with red peppers, garlic and peeled tomatoes.

  Geographical varieties of Levantine cuisine

• Assyrian cuisine
• Syrian cuisine
• Iraqi cuisine
• Lebanese cuisine
• Egyptian cuisine
• Israeli cuisine
• Jordanian cuisine
• Turkish cuisine
• Cypriot cuisine
• Palestinian cuisine
• Kurdish cuisine