Lebanese food: discover traditional cuisine

KHUBZ – Lebanese staple pita bread, used to scoop up dips and dishes or wrap kebabs.

MARKOUK SAJ – large and thin, unleavened crispy flatbread cooked on a griddle named saj.

MANAKEESH – slightly puffy flatbread topped with zaatar, cheese, or meat. It is part of UNESCO cultural heritage of Lebanon.

FATTEH – layers of toasted or fried pita bread, chickpeas, and garlicky tahini yogurt sauce, topped with roasted pine nuts, cumin, and clarified butter. It may also contain meat, eggplant, and other ingredients.

MOGHRABIEH – Lebanese pearl couscous dish with peas, onions, chicken, or beef, and spiced broth.

MAQLUBA – rice, meat, and fried vegetables (tomato, cauliflower, eggplant, potato) cooked in a pot, flipped upside down when served, hence the name.

TABBOULEH – a salad of chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint, onion, and soaked bulgur flavored with olive oil and lemon juice.

FATTOUSH – a salad of crunchy lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and fried bread salad with a garlicky lemony dressing.

FOUL MEDAMMES – slow-cooked fava beans stew with garlic, lemon, olive oil, chili peppers partially mashed

FASOLIA – a stew made with white beans and lamb or beef in a tomato-based sauce.

ADAS BI HAMOD – a tangy lentil soup with lemon and chard.

MUJADARA – rich lentil one-pot dish, always garnished with a heaping amount of caramelized onions.

FALAFEL – is a classic recipe in Lebanon consists of a combination of chickpeas and sometimes fava or beans, formed into balls, fried, and served with tahini, hummus, or garlic dip.

HUMMUS – creamy texture dip, when chickpeas are with tahini, garlic, and lemon juice; garnished with olive oil, sumac, parsley, and whole chickpeas.

BALILA – warm chickpea salad, where chickpeas are cooked with lemon juice, garlic, and cumin; garnished with parsley and olive oil.

BABA GHANNOUJ – smoky, creamy, flavourful eggplant dip with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil, garnished with pomegranates.

MUTABBEL – spicier baba ghanouj version.

MAGHMOUR – Lebanese moussaka version of silky eggplant, allspice, cinnamon-spiced tomato sauce, chickpeas, parsley.

MAKDOUS – olive oil-cured eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red peppers, chili, and garlic.

KOUSA MAHSHI – spiced minced meat and rice stuffed small zucchinis, simmered in a fragrant tomato sauce.

WARAK ENAB – rice and meat stuffed vine-leaves, simmered in a lemony broth. Luxurious variations may include lamb or duck confit.

BAMIA – okra stew in a tomato-based sauce, may include pieces of lamb, served over rice.

BATATA HARRA – spicy potato and cilantro dish, served with garlic sauce.

KIBBEH SAHNIEH – tray-baked variation of kibbeh. It consists of two layers of kibbeh mixture (ground meat, bulgur wheat, and spices) with a filling in between. The filling typically includes ground meat, onions, pine nuts, and spices. It’s baked until golden brown and often cut into diamond shapes for serving.

KIBBEH MEKLIYEH – fried kibbeh balls. The outer shell is made of kibbeh mixture (ground meat, bulgur, and spices), filled with a mix of minced meat, onions, and sometimes pine nuts.

KIBBEH RAAS – lamb mixed with soaked bulgur, shaped to croquette, stuffed with minced meat and fried: meat is presented two ways in different textures.

SHAWARMA – slow spit roasted, marinated lamb, chicken or beef, served in a flatbread with garlic sauce (toum), fresh veggies, and pickles.

SHIS TAWOOK – pieces of yogurt–and lemon–marinated chicken skewered, grilled, and served on pita bread with garlic sauce or on a plate with salad.

KAFTA – a ground mix of beef and/or lamb, finely chopped onions, parsley, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon is shaped into cylinders and grilled. It is served with tahini or yogurt sauce, pita, or over rice and veggies.

MAKANEK – lamb or beef sausages, spiced with cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, pine nuts, vinegar and white wine, grilled or fried and served with pomegranate molasses.

SFIHA – a flatbread topped with a mixture of ground meat, veggies, onions, tomatoes, pine nuts, cinnamon, and allspice.

SHISH BARAK – Lebanese meat dumplings simmered in garlic yogurt sauce, garnished with sumac, mint, and parsley.

SAMKEH HARRA – a specialty dish, spicy snapper, spiced with coriander, cumin, chili, cardamom, baked or grilled and served with tahini, lemon, and garlic sauce.

SIYADIYYE – fluffy rice and pan-fried fish, spiced with saffron, topped with caramelized onions, lemony tahini sauce, sumac and toasted nuts

SAMAK BIZRI – fried whitebait served with tahini sauce and lemons.

LABNEH – a thick, creamy yogurt cheese made by straining yogurt to remove most of its whey, erved drizzled with olive oil and herbs as a dip or spread.

SHANKLISH – aged cheese made from cow’s or sheep’s milk, formed into balls and covered with zaatar or other herbs and spices.

ASHTA – rich and creamy clotted cream used as a topping in desserts.

MAHALABIYEH – milk pudding made with milk, corn starch, and sugar; flavored with rose or orange blossom water.

LAYALI LUBNAN – Lebanese nights, a creamy dessert made from milk, semolina, and sugar, flavored with orange blossom or rose water, topped with pistachios.

BAKLAVA – crispy phyllo filled with pistachios or walnuts, soaked in fruit syrup – a festive dessert enjoyed after breaking fast for Ramadan.

MAFROUKEH – layered coarse semolina topped with ashta (clotted cream) and orange or rose water and roasted nuts.

MA’AMOUL – an ancient butter cookie made from semolina flour with dried fruits or nuts filling.