One language, many kitchens
“Arabic food” covers a huge area, from Morocco to Oman, and the cooking changes a lot along the way. This section covers four broad kitchens: the rice-and-meat cooking of the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Yemen), the fresh, herb-filled mezze cooking of the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan), the hearty stews and breads of Iraq, and the spiced tagines and street food of North Africa (Morocco and Egypt).
The Gulf: rice, spice and hospitality
Gulf cooking is built around big platters of rice and meat to share: smoky mandi, Saudi kabsa and Bahraini machboos, slow-cooked harees at Ramadan, and sweet luqaimat with date syrup. Dried limes (loomi), cardamom, saffron and a warm spice blend called baharat give the flavour. Every meal ends with dates and Arabic coffee.
The Levant: mezze and grills
Levantine cooking is all about small plates and fresh herbs: hummus, mutabbal, tabbouleh, fattoush and falafel, followed by grills like shish tawook and kafta, and family dishes like maqluba. Lemon, olive oil, garlic, tahini, sumac and pomegranate molasses are the backbone.
Iraq: stews, bread and feasts
Iraqi cooking sits between the Gulf, the Levant and Iran. Families eat bread soaked in broth, as in tashreeb, and celebrate with quzi, slow-cooked lamb on rice with nuts and raisins. Dried limes from Basra give many dishes their sour edge.
North Africa: tagines and street food
Morocco brings slow-cooked chicken tagine with preserved lemons and olives, steamed vegetable couscous, the Ramadan soup harira and flaky msemen for breakfast. Egypt adds the street-food favourite koshari, green molokhia and hawawshi, meat-stuffed bread from the oven.
For South Asian cooks
Much will feel familiar: harees is the ancestor of haleem, mujaddara is a cousin of khichdi, and Gulf karak chai came from our own doodh patti. Arabic food is usually milder, with less chilli and more lemon, herbs and warm spices.
Ingredients wherever you live
Tahini, sumac, za’atar, pomegranate molasses, dried limes and baharat are sold in Middle Eastern shops worldwide and increasingly in supermarkets. Each recipe lists simple substitutes, using garam masala, kashmiri chilli, imli or lemon where needed.