The following is a list of dishes and drinks found in Palestinian culinary tradition.
Main dishes by region
Galilee
Kibbeh Kibbee bi-siniyyeh Kibbeh nayyeh
West Bank
Fasoulya beyda—white beans cooked in tomato sauce and served with rice Fasoulya khadra—green beans cooked in tomato sauce and served with rice Kafta b'thine—kafta balls cooked with tahini sauce and served with rice Qidreh or Fukharat Qidreh is rice cooked with lamb meat or chicken with chickpeas, kurkuma, saffron, garlic and cardamom. Especially famous in Hebron. Served also on feasts, weddings and funerals. Traditionally made in clay pots in traditional old style stone ovens. Mahshi lift—a specialty of Hebron, turnips stuffed with rice, minced lamb meat and spices, cooked in tamarind sauce Mandi—in the West Bank, made by cooking meat, rice and vegetables in an underground oven, as in other Arab States Mansaf—lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur Zarb—same as mandi, but cooked under high pressure in an airtight oven, and usually rice is substituted by bread (influenced by Jordanians)
Gaza
Fatit 'ajir—roasted watermelon with unleavened bread and chopped vegetables. The watermelon itself has been used as a Palestinian symbol Fukharit 'adas—lentil flavored with red peppers, dill, garlic and cumin Qidra—rice and meat pieces cooked with cloves, garlic and cardamom Rummaniyeh—a mix of eggplant, pomegranate seeds, tahina, red peppers and garlic Sumaghiyyeh—beef and chickpea stew flavored with sumac, tahina and red peppers Zibdieh—a clay-pot dish of shrimp baked in a stew of olive oil, garlic, hot peppers, and peeled tomatoes Dagga Gazawiyyah— a spicy, tangy, citrus-y tomato and dill salsa Shatta—a simple fermented hot sauce
National
Ari'ih—rice and minced meat stuffed in pumpkins Bamia-okra and tomato stew Bissara-made with corchorus olitorius and fava beans Falafel—fried chickpeas, spice and parsley ball or patty Fatta—dishes that include bread crumbs Hummus—a dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic Kousa mahshi—rice and minced meat stuffed in zucchini cooked in a garlicky tomato broth Maftoul—large couscous-like balls, garbanzo beans and chicken pieces cooked in chicken broth Malfuf—rice and minced meat rolled in cabbage leaves Maqluba—an "upside-down" dish, made with fried vegetables, meat (lamb), rice and eggplant Mloukiyyeh—Corchorus stew Mujaddara—lentil and bulgur dish Musakhan—large taboon breads with chicken, red onions, pine nuts, sumac, and spices; a modern version is musakhan rolls, where the spices, chicken, sumac, toasted pine nuts, and red onion are rolled in saj bread Shishbarak-dumplings cooked in yogurt Shawarma—a dish consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit; with a spread of toum (garlic paste) wrapped in saj bread Shurbat freekeh—green wheat soup, usually with chicken Waraq al-'anib—rice and minced meats rolled in grape leaves
Side dishes
Salads and dips
Arabic salad—made of tomato, cucumber, onion, olive oil and lemon juice, Palestinian variant called Salatat al-bundura ("tomato salad") Hummus—ground chickpeas with tahina and olive oil Fattoush—mixed leaf-vegetable salad with deep-fried pita bread pieces and sumac Malfouf salad—typically consists of shredded cabbage, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and dried mint Mfarakeh—a dish made of potato, egg, ghee, cumin powder, salt and pepper, in addition chopped coriander leaf for garnish Msabbaha-chickpeas "swimming" in tahini sauce Makdous-cured eggplant stuffed with nuts and garlic Mutabbel—spicier version of baba ghanoush Qalayet bandora—a simple dish of tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, olive oil, and salt served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner Tabbouleh—parsley and bulgur salad with diced tomatoes, onions and lemon juice Tahini—condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds Qudsiyeh-ful medames served on top of hummus Mthawamet Bandora—a dip made from roasted tomatoes, jameed, and topped with garlic toasted in olive oil. Baqdunsieh ()—a dip made from finely chopped parsley, lemon juice, tahini, and crushed garlic.
Cheeses and yogurts
Akkawi—a white brine cheese originating from the city of Akka/Acre Halloumi—cheese with a high melting point which can easily be fried or grilled, making it a popular meat substitute Jibneh Arabieh—has a mild taste similar to feta but less salty Jameed—a hard dry laban made from ewe or goat's milk, kept in a fine woven cheesecloth to make a thick yogurt; typically served with Mansaf Kashk—made from drained yogurt or drained sour milk by shaping it and letting it dry Labaneh—tangy, smooth, creamy yogurt cheese; served with a drizzle of olive oil and sometimes zaatar Nabulsi—Used in nabulsi cheese fatayirs, and can be eaten fresh as salty table cheese or fried in oil
Breads
Ka'ak—may refer to a bread commonly consumed throughout the Near East that is made in a large ring-shape and is covered with sesame seeds Ka'ak al-Quds-named after Jerusalem, bread rings covered in sesame Khubz—may refer to any type of bread. Breads popular in Arab countries include "pocket" pita bread and tandoor bread. Pita—a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas Markook—unleavened and usually made with only flour, water, and salt, and after being rested and divided into round portions, flattened and spread across a round cushion until it is thin then flipped onto the saj Taboon—an important part of Palestinian cuisine, traditionally baked on a bed of small hot stones a taboon oven Maltout—a flatbread flavored with olive oil. Commonly associated with rural Palestinian cuisine. Musaffan ()-an olive oil flavored sweet bread made to celebrate the olive harvest. Karadeesh ()-bread of corn flour or barley flour Arshalleh ()-a spiced rusk to be eaten with tea musaffan ()-olive oil flavored sweetbread made to celebrate the olive harvest season Muttabaq zaatar () is made by folding dough over fresh za'atar (Origanum syriacum) leaves, onions and sumac, which is then baked and topped with olive oil.
Bread dishes
Fatayer—a meat pie that can be stuffed with spinach, or cheese such as feta or Akkawi, and za'atar Manakish—taboon bread topped with za'atar and olive oil Sambusak—fried dough balls stuffed with meat, pine nuts and onions Sfiha—flatbread topped with beef and red peppers Shawarma—pita bread roll of meat, tahini and various vegetables
Condiments Bahārāt ()—Arabic word for "spices" (plural of bahār "spice") Duqqa ()—a condiment consisting of a mixture of herbs, nuts (usually hazelnut), and spices Qizḥa ()—made from crushed nigella seeds, the paste has a sharp, bitter taste with slight tones of sweetness Sumac ()—ground into a reddish-purple powder used as a spice in Middle-Eastern cuisine to add a tart, lemony taste to salads or meat Za'atar ()—a spice mixture that includes the herb along with toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt and other spices Qadha (, or taqliya )-garlic and optionally spices (mainly coriander) fried in olive oil or samneh, typically added to a stew Qatir ()-sugar syrup used in many sweets Tatbeeleh khadra ()-a sauce of green chiles and garlic added to hummus and other dips. Tahini sauce-a sauce of tahini, lemons, parsley and garlic
Beverages
Arabic coffee—a version of the brewed coffee of Coffea arabica () beans Arabic tea-tea flavored with mint, sage, or other aromatic herbs Arak ()—Anise-flavored alcoholic beverage Ḥelba ()—Fenugreek beverage Kharroub ()—carob juice Lemonade ()—a sweetened lemon-flavoured beverage Erq sous ()-a licorice root based drink Qamar Eddine ()—an apricot juice or nectar beverage that is typically consumed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan Saḥlab ()—boiled milk with starch made from nearly-extinct orchids, covered with smashed coconut and cinnamon Tamar Al-Hindi ()—a refreshing cold sweet-and-sour Ramadan drink prepared with tamarind, sugar and water Turkish coffee ()—a style of coffee prepared using very finely ground coffee beans without filtering
Sweets National Awameh ()—Arabic for "swimmer", a Levantine pastry similar to doughnut holes, made of deep-fried dough, soaked in sugar syrup or honey Baklava ()—sweet pastry made of layers of filo Ghoriba ()—a shortbread biscuit, usually made with ground almonds Ḥalawa ()—primary ingredients are tahini and sugar, glucose or honey Harīsa ()—a traditional semolina sweet cake drenched in rose water Saniyit Hulba ()—a semolina and fenugreek cake soaked in qatir, similar to basbousa Ma'amoul ()—shortbread pastries filled with dates, pistachios or walnuts Muhallebi ()—a milk pudding, basic ingredients are rice, sugar, rice flour and milk Qaṭayef ()—sweet dumpling filled with cream or nuts She'reya bil sukkar ()—sweetened vermicelli Warbat ()—a sweet pastry similar to baklava, with layers of thin phyllo dough filled with custard Swar el-sit ()-a round variety of baklava
Hebron Dahdah ()-a date filled semolina cake, similar to ma'amoul Malban ()—a fruit leather made from grape juice, semolina, and nigella seeds, popular in Hebron Khabeesa ()—a grape juice and semolina pudding traditionally made in Hebron, nuts and seeds are also added to it Jerusalem Maarouk ()-A turmeric-flavored sweet bread filled with dates Meshabek ()—A deep fried sweet pastry made to celebrate Mawlid Mutabbaq ()-a pan fried pastry made by enveloping a cheese or nut filling with thin phyllo dough Nablus Knafeh ()—cheese pastry soaked in sweet sugar-based syrup made in Palestine Kullaj ()—a dessert made from thin dough, shaped into layers or rolls with walnut, Nabulsi cheese, or pistachio as stuffing, which gets cooked in ghee and then topped with qatir syrup Tamriyeh ()—a deep fried sweet made from unleavened, folded dough and filled with a semolina and butter filling Qizha pie ()—a semolina cake like hareeseh flavored with qizha Madlouqa ()-a variety of knafeh served with qishta and pistachios See The Palestine Oriental Society Zalabiyeh ()- a fried triangular flatbread that is served with candied pumpkins.
References