middle eastern food?

Question

I really want to try something new and different, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food so I would like to know out of all the middle eastern food what is the best?
Thanks

Answer 1

Try Moroccan food: it's delicious, flavorful & unique

Be adventurous and try more exotic dishes (not hummus, falafel, pita, baba ghanouj, dolmas... these are yummy but available in your standard grocery store).

cous cous, tajines (delicious stews), Moroccan bread and refreshing mint tea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan_cuisine

http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/morco.html

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Cookbook/Morocco.html

Answer 2

There are middle eastern variations of kebabs, yes. I don't have recipes on hand though since nobody else here likes the taste of sumac spice. At any rate, I cheat and use a spice mix for Indian-style ground lamb kebabs. They're as easy as meatballs. They ARE meatballs. Turkish-style kebabs, on the other hand, are far too much work. Ever try to make and shave your own gyro meat? I can't recommend it. Flatbreads are also from the middle east. Round pitas, rectangular flatbreads, heck, even matzos, Israel IS in the middle east too. Couscous is the original middle eastern convenience food.

Answer 3

You have to try..

Falafel - which is a deep fried ball that is made of chick peas and spices

Hummus - is a dip made out of chick peas

Baba ghanouj - a dip made of eggplant

Shawarma - shaved meat, usually u'll have a choice of either chicken, beef, lamb

Tabouleh - salad made from bulghur and parsley

Kibbeh - Fried balls made from bulghur and ground meat

Tahini Salad - which pretty much a salad with tahini sauce.

And u have to have the pita bread..

you'll have alot more to choose from but these are the top choices

trust me all of this is really good

Answer 4

Lamb Kabobs, Razdahli (rice with fruit & nuts), Couscous (tiny little pasta tips), Tabouli (wheat/bulgar/parsley salad with lots of cucumber) & Baklava for dessert (walnut or pistachio in filo dough). Their spice mixture is called Bhaharat, very flavorful mixture.

Sambosa is a great little appetizer, meats & veggies finely chopped & cooked in a won ton type wrapper. My sister makes hundreds of these for guests & family during the season of Ramada daytime fasting. They are yummy!

If you do traditional feast style (everyone eats off one platter) remember to only take the food the food directly in front of you. Only touch & eat food with your right hand. Leave your left (hygiene hand) behind your back.

Enjoy! Middle Eastern, North African, Moroccan & Greek foods are great!

Answer 5

First, this search has lots of potentially good links in it for easy ethnic recipes:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=recipes+easy+beginner+ethnic

For some of the larger recipe sites, the ethnic recipes will be broken down into region. In your case, you want "Middle Eastern" or one of the countries that make up the Middle East... the flavors of some North African countries also fit into that general cuisine:

...Turkey, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Afhghanistan, Cyprus ...plus Morocco, Libya
...sometimes included are Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen


It can be helpful to know what types of spices and herbs are most often used in a particular cuisine too, as well as which foods.
The spices (or the *combination of spices* created with them) may seem a little bit different to your tongue, but personally I've come to love a lot of Middle Eastern spices and flavors after having spent most of my life without eating very many.
You may already be familiar with some of the flavorings they use--others will be new:

....cumin, coriander, red pepper, and cilantro (you might know from Mexican food)
... plus ginger, turmeric, saffron (from Asian cooking)
... plus cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, mint, anise, allspice (blend)
(... in general, a lot of spices are used together in a recipe rather than just one or two)

Middle Eastern reipces are often heavy on vegetables and fruits (tomatoes, eggplant, summer squashes, root veggies, etc.), seeds and "beans" like chickpeas, lentils and sesame seeds, grains/bread and yogurt more than meat, but there's definitely meat/poultry/seafood too.


HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 6

Hummus? I believe that may be what it's called. Or Peta bread, just go to a middle eastern food shop, or restaurant and see if you like what you order.

Answer 7

Chicken jelfrezi

Answer 8

ummm so many things to choose from.... try oleihvia salad it is like potatoe salad with chicken yummm... or Zereshk polo.. it has theseberries in it...or estambolie it is rice,greenbeans,steak,tomatoe sause, everything middle eastrn is delish!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Lebanese has the most variety.

Answer 10

anything kebob is just meet on a stick....give that a try....if you like the seasonings, try other dishes.