List of Palestinian dishes facts for kids
Welcome to the amazing world of Palestinian food! This article will introduce you to many delicious dishes and drinks from Palestine. Palestinian cooking is known for its fresh ingredients, rich flavors, and a mix of influences from different cultures. Get ready to discover some tasty meals!
Contents
Popular Palestinian Main Dishes
Palestinian cuisine offers many hearty and flavorful main dishes. Here are some of the most popular ones you might find across the region:
- Falafel—These are crispy, deep-fried balls or patties made from ground chickpeas, herbs, and spices. They are often served in pita bread with fresh vegetables and tahini sauce.
- Kibbeh—A dish made from a mixture of bulgur (cracked wheat) and minced meat, often shaped into balls and fried, or baked in a tray.
- Kousa mahshi—This dish features zucchini squash stuffed with a tasty mix of rice and minced meat, then cooked in a flavorful tomato broth.
- Maftul—Similar to large couscous, these are steamed balls of crushed wheat semolina. They are usually served with chickpeas and chicken pieces in a warm chicken broth.
- Mansaf—A very special dish, especially popular for celebrations. It features tender lamb cooked in a sauce made from fermented dried yogurt, served over rice or bulgur.
- Maqluba—Meaning "upside-down," this dish is a showstopper! It's a casserole made with layers of fried vegetables (like eggplant or cauliflower), meat (chicken or lamb), and rice, all cooked together and then flipped upside down to serve.
- Mujaddara—A simple yet delicious and comforting dish made from lentils and bulgur wheat, often topped with crispy fried onions.
- Musakhan—A very popular dish featuring large taboon flatbreads topped with roasted chicken, red onions, pine nuts, and a special spice called sumac. Sometimes, it's served as smaller rolls.
- Qidreh—This dish is famous in Hebron. It's rice cooked with lamb or chicken, chickpeas, and spices like turmeric, saffron, garlic, and cardamom. Traditionally, it's made in clay pots in old stone ovens.
- Shawarma—Thin slices of seasoned meat (often chicken or lamb) are stacked on a vertical rotisserie and slowly roasted. The meat is then shaved off and served in pita or saj bread with garlic paste and vegetables.
- Shish taouk—Delicious chicken pieces grilled on skewers.
- Sumaghiyyeh—A unique stew from Gaza, made with beef and chickpeas, flavored with sumac, tahini, and red peppers.
- Waraq al-'anib—These are grape leaves carefully rolled and stuffed with a mixture of rice and minced meat.
Tasty Side Dishes
Palestinian meals often come with a variety of fresh and flavorful side dishes, including salads and dips.
Fresh Salads and Dips
- Arabic salad—A refreshing salad made with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olive oil, and lemon juice. The Palestinian version is often called Salatat al-bundura (tomato salad).
- Baba ghanoush—A creamy dip made from roasted eggplant, mixed with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
- Fattoush—A vibrant mixed-leaf salad with pieces of deep-fried pita bread and a sprinkle of sumac for a tangy taste.
- Ful medames—A hearty dish of mashed fava beans, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic.
- Galayet bandora—A simple and quick dish of cooked tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, olive oil, and salt. It can be eaten for any meal!
- Hummus—A very popular dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
- Malfouf salad—A simple salad made with shredded cabbage, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and dried mint.
- Tabbouleh—A fresh and zesty salad made with finely chopped parsley, bulgur wheat, diced tomatoes, onions, and lemon juice.
- Tahini—A creamy condiment made from ground sesame seeds, often used in dips and sauces.
Cheeses and Yogurts
Delicious Nabulsi cheese
- Akkawi—A white, salty cheese that comes from the city of Acre.
- Halloumi—A firm cheese that doesn't melt easily, making it perfect for frying or grilling.
- Jameed—A very hard, dried yogurt made from sheep or goat's milk. It's often used to make the sauce for Mansaf.
- Labaneh—A thick, creamy, and tangy yogurt cheese, often served with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of za'atar.
- Nabulsi—A salty cheese from Nablus, often eaten fresh or fried, and used in pastries.
Breads and Bread Dishes
Bread is a very important part of Palestinian meals, used to scoop up dips and sauces, or as a base for many dishes.
Types of Bread
- Ka'ak—A large, ring-shaped bread covered with sesame seeds, popular throughout the Middle East.
- Khubz—This is the general Arabic word for bread. Popular types include "pocket" pita bread and tandoor bread.
- Pita—A round, flatbread made from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean and Middle East.
- Markook—A very thin, unleavened flatbread, often cooked on a special dome-shaped griddle called a saj.
- Taboon—A thick, chewy flatbread traditionally baked on hot stones inside a taboon oven.
Dishes Made with Bread
- Fatayer—Delicious meat pies that can also be stuffed with spinach, cheese (like feta or Akkawi), or za'atar.
- Manakish—Taboon bread topped with a mix of za'atar (a spice blend) and olive oil.
- Sambusak—Fried dough balls filled with meat, pine nuts, and onions.
- Sfiha—A flatbread topped with seasoned ground beef and red peppers.
Flavorful Condiments
These special spice mixes and pastes add unique flavors to Palestinian dishes:
- Bahārāt—This Arabic word simply means "spices." It's a blend of different spices used to flavor many dishes.
- Duqqa—A mix of herbs, nuts (often hazelnuts), and spices, used as a condiment.
- Sumac—A reddish-purple powder made from dried berries. It adds a tart, lemony taste to salads and meats.
- Za'atar—A popular spice mixture that includes dried thyme, toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, and sometimes salt. It's used on bread, in dips, and with many other foods.
Refreshing Beverages
- Arabic coffee—A strong, flavorful coffee made from Coffea arabica beans.
- Arak—An anise-flavored alcoholic drink, often mixed with water.
- Kharroub—A sweet and refreshing juice made from carob pods.
- Lemonade—A classic sweet lemon-flavored drink.
- Qamar Eddine—A sweet apricot juice or nectar, often enjoyed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
- Saḥlab—A warm, milky drink thickened with starch, often topped with coconut and cinnamon.
- Tamar Al-Hindi—A cold, sweet-and-sour drink made from tamarind, sugar, and water, also popular during Ramadan.
- Turkish coffee—A strong coffee prepared by boiling very finely ground coffee beans without filtering.
Delicious Sweets
- Awameh—Small, deep-fried dough balls, similar to doughnut holes. They are soaked in sweet sugar syrup or honey and sometimes sprinkled with sesame seeds.
- Baklava—A very sweet pastry made from many thin layers of filo dough, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.
- Harīsa—A traditional sweet cake made from semolina, often soaked in rose water syrup.
- Kanafeh—A famous Palestinian dessert, especially from Nablus. It's a warm cheese pastry soaked in sweet sugar-based syrup, often topped with crushed pistachios.
- Ma'amoul—Shortbread pastries filled with dates, pistachios, or walnuts, often made for holidays.
- Muhallebi—A creamy milk pudding, usually made with rice, sugar, rice flour, and milk.
- Qaṭayef—Sweet dumplings filled with cream or nuts, often enjoyed during Ramadan.
Images for kids
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A typical Palestinian breakfast with pita, olives, tomatoes, fried egg, and labaneh
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Maqluba
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Musakhan
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Sumaghiyyeh
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Mujaddara
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Baba ghanoush
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Tahini with lemon and garlic
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Galayet bandora
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Markook
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Pita in Nablus
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A Palestinian man from Ramallah using an aleb falafel while frying falafel
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Palestinian arak
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Kanafeh
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Baklawa from Nablus
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Awameh
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List of Palestinian dishes Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.