If I were to choose my top 10 dishes, the list would certainly look something like this.
I’m feeling hungry just thinking of them.
1. Mloukhia: I worship Tunisian Mloukhia. It’s truly out of this world. It has nothing to do with the way mloukhia is made in other Arab countries. It’s a lot more delicious.
2. Couscous: Our Tunisian national dish, which I love more everytime I eat it. Whether it’s with Meat, chicken or fish it just rocks.
3. Nwaser: Another Tunisian delicacy that I love. Yummy perfection.
4. Hummus and Falafel: Man, I love hummus and falafel, especially hummus. I could have some every single day.
5. Fried rice with crab + shrimps in sweet and sour sauce: I had so much of this when I was in Thailand. It’s so damn good.
6. Pizza: Thick or thin, stuffed crust or not, from the marguerita to the super supreme, I love pizza. It’s always a fave.
7. Msakhan: A Palestinian dish based on chicken that is really yummy.
8. Fatteh: Another delicious middle eastern dish. The best fatteh I’ve ever tasted as yet is in Beit Jabri in Damascus / Syria.
9. Mansaf: The Jordanian national dish. I really enjoy having a good mansaf every now and then. It’s a bit heavy but really good.
10. Chicken Stroganoff: An originally Russian dish that is simply finger-licking delicious.
God bless delicious food…
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yumme :).
2. I’m always fighting with tunisians saying that I prefer algerian and maroccan couscous. Their answer is just that I never tried good tunisian couscous, and my trick works all the time, they invite me to try their couscous :).
4. About Humus, you need to add some tehina, olive oil and pine nuts to get the perfect taste.
1. About Mloukhia, the only one I tried was egyptian and it wasn’t that great.
Here we have a lot of eggplant based salads (it’s mostly fried eggplant caviar with some additions like tehina).
4. You list falafels but forget shawarma !
I m usually not a soup fan, but when it’s time for a good chorba, i’m never the last one.
In another register I’m a big fan of blanquette de veau, boeuf bourguignon, foie gras de canard, tartiflette and the heavy kind of french traditional dishes.
And finally if there is a Biryani somewhere on the menu, it’ll win my favour almost instantly.
I love good food, and even more I love to discover new tastes.
—
A french that found the paradise of taste in the middle east
AAAAAAAH! You got me starving MMM!
And fefe, you listed some great dishes up there. You know a lot about Arabic dishes 🙂 Biryani ROCKS! And in the middle east this is how we prepare hommus, with tahina, olive oil and pine nuts, I guess that’s what MMM meant. And by the way fefe, fatteh is a dish made out of the hommus (prepared the way you mentioned), steamed bread and nuts. Some add yoghurt too. You must taste it 🙂
Well back to your list MMM, it’s unfair to compare Tunisian mloukhia to ours, each has its different taste and preparation. And it’s what you get used to since childhood that plays a role most of the time. But I love both the Tunisian and middle-eastern 🙂
I share you the love for the dishes on your list, and you’re right about Fatta in Beit Jabri, it’s the best in the world. And you know me, I can’t list 10 dishes, I’m so in love with good food. I also enjoy soups, salads, and I adore pasta. I’ll also add dishes that are prepared with cooked yoghurt, and ones with stuffed vegetables with sauce :))
My main problem is that because I don’t read nor speak arabic, by randomly selecting on the menus I sometimes miss great things :).
I forgot a few things in my list, with the Humus oil etc… just a little bit of “Husbara” (coriander ?) is great.
And the most important one is fresh Druze bread with labane, olive oil and za’atar. This reminds me that I didn’t had any this week :).
My God! fefe, you are really surprising me, you don’t read Arabic and you know all that stuff!
I’m really impressed!
Well you can consult MMM whenever you like, we’ll all make recommendations. As for coriander, it’s “kozbara”, yes your right it tastes yummy with it. Fresh parsley can also go in replacement of kozbara in case it wasn’t available 🙂
And do you know that za’atar is very very healthy, not to mention the benefits of olive oil! Also try this: hot Arabic bread with za’atar, olive oil and few slices of fresh tomatoes…. AH I’m STARVING!
MMM, why did you have to write this post! I want to eat everything listed and mentioned in comments now 😀
His post had the same effect on me, thus the posts burst.
PS: i’m trying the pita+za’atar+olive oil+tomato as soon as i m back home, maybe putting it into the hoven to roast the tomatoes a bit. It ll depend if I can wait or not :).
I prefer Maroccan couscous too and their 6ajeen too.
And who doesn’t love Falafel c’mon!!!!
As for soup my best of all times is the Harirah.
And as for the Fattah next time you visit Damascus you make sure to contact me cause I’ll show you what the real Fattah should be like homemade and with BOILING Samneh at the surface… and man there is tens of Fattah which one are you refering too??
Eman: Tested, got the fefe approval stamp :). I tried a few variations, and I liked the one where I add a few green filfel slices.
Dude, your asking for it, I
I’ve just finished my breakfast and you got me feeling hungry already 😉
I find it fascinating how people interact with food, I went psycho some months ago and started digging up research about the psychology of food and food culture 🙂 (yay here’s an inspiration for a post, thanks MMM)
A few of my favorites:
– how could you not list Tabbouleh? I absolutely love it, especially with fresh parsley from the farm…
– I like thin veggitarian pizza, with zucchini and eggplants and artichoke and the whole bunch 😉
-Mama’s home made labaneh is the best ever!!
-God Bless my Mama, she also makes the best home-made Shawerma, incredibly spicy and yummy
-Fettuccini with garlic white sauce and chicken breasts.
-Chicken with mushrooms and mushroom sauce
-Chicken breasts with broccoli and cream sauce
and of course, Mansaf on a happy occasion… I don’t like lamb meat, but Mansaf is an exception ;p
Oh my I forgot one of the most delicious dishes ever, wara2 dawali (stuffed vine leaves)… which reminds me that we haven’t had it in a while, gotta go talk to mom ;p
Fefe, wow, you do know a lot of Arabic dishes. That’s great 🙂 Happy you like the Arab cuisine.
As for Shawarma, well there was this year as a student when I ate shawarma almost everyday. After that year, I was kind of turned off from shawarma. Still there’s this shawarma place in Jordan that I can’t resist. It’s called Shawarma El Reem on the 2nd Circle in Amman.
Eman & Fefe, I’m sorry I got you all hungry during work hours, I know how it feels like, and that’s why I wanted you to feel it too 😛
Sinan, well you should try a good Tunisian couscous and then you’ll see the difference.
When you visit Tunisia, you’re invited at my place for a Couscous.
As for fatteh, I was talking about fattet hummus. And you can count on me giving you a call when I visit Damascus again 😉
Mohamed, you’re welcome anytime bro 🙂
The dishes and Boga are waiting 😉
Lina, happy my post was a source of inspiration for you 🙂
And as for tabbouleh, I’m not really into it. Plus I don’t understand the whole tabbouleh at birthdays thingie, lol.
Fettuccini and almost anything with mushroom sauce is a fave of mine too.
Dear MMM
Great to see you took my advice about the top 10 best and worst things. Look at the response you got. Look forward to the 10 best websites soon
Joe
Joe, Hope you enjoyed the list too 🙂
And of course, thanks again for the suggestions.
M.A.Khadra, bro, we can’t wait to have you here again!
Fefe, you seem like someome with a great taste 🙂 Glad you liked the suggestion and even added to it!
Lina, AH!! see, my husband doesn’t like tabbouleh, while I adore it, but when I make it I end up eating most of it alone 😛
I think I forgot bamia on my list :), just cooked some and has a great taste.