akkawi
A semi-hard white cheese that is softer and less salty than hallumi cheese, it is eaten as is and it is used in sweet-making, especially in K’nafeh and Halawet el-Jebn. You can find it in Middle Eastern shops and you need to soak it in several changes of cold water before using in sweets.
ALEPPO PEPPER (fleifleh)
Cultivated in Turkey and Syria, Aleppo pepper (named after the city in Syria) is similar to the Turkish pul biber, which comes in different varieties, including isot or Urfa biber, and Marash biber, both named after the places in which the peppers are grown. All are fairly mild types of pepper; Urfa biber is darker because of the way it is processed: dried in the sun during the day and wrapped at night to let it sweat and restore some of its moisture. When dried, all these varieties of pepper are deseeded and crushed into small flakes, or they are ground fresh and left to dry in the sun to become a thick paste (see here), a little like tomato paste. Both flakes and paste are used to flavour bread and savoury dishes.
ALLSPICE (b’har helû)
Called b’har helû (‘sweet spice’) in Arabic, and also known as Jamaica pepper, allspice is the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, a tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America. Now cultivated in many warm parts of the world, it is an essential spice in Lebanese, Syrian and Turkish cooking because of its subtle flavour that hints of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
ALMONDS (loz)
Eaten fresh when in season, and sold as ‘green almonds’. You can eat the nut whole, shell and all or, when it matures to what I like to call the second stage, you crack open the green shell to extract the tender nut inside, which you need to peel before eating. Green almonds are pickled in Turkey and used in stews in Iran. In dried form, the shelled nuts are left plain or either roasted and salted, or soaked to rehydrate them and make them taste fresh again. In Middle Eastern cooking, almonds are also toasted or sautéed in butter and used in dishes or as a garnish. Blanched almonds can also be ground and soaked to make almond milk or ground with sugar to make marzipan to use in various sweets.
ANGELICA (golpar)
Angelica, which is a member of the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae, commonly known as the carrot or parsley family, was once cultivated for its roots, which were regarded as an antidote to the plague. Over the years, the leaves, stem and seeds also came into use, although in the West it is now mainly known for the stem, which is crystallised and used to decorate sweets. In Iran, by contrast, the seeds are the part that is used. Viewed as a digestive, they are ground for use in various dishes, cooked with pulses to relieve flatulence. In northern Iran, where the plant grows easily, golpar is also used in soups and pickles.
ANISE (yansûn)
The seeds from a flowering plant in the Apiaceae family, native to the eastern Mediterranean and south-west Asia. Tasting of liquorice and fennel, anise is used in both seed and ground form to flavour bread and puddings.
BARBERRIES (zereshk)
The berries of the Berberis vulgaris shrub, these were once used in English cooking and they remain an essential flavouring as well as garnish in many Iranian dishes, adding a brilliant note of red and an intriguing sour flavour. You can buy them dried in Iranian shops and they will keep for a long time if properly stored in sealed containers away from the light. Barberries are also juiced, or cooked to make barberry ‘leather’ (see fruit leather).
BAY LEAVES (waraq ghar)
Added to stuffings, soups and stews to impart an elusive aromatic flavour. Bay oil is also used in the famous olive oil soap made in Aleppo and in the south of Lebanon.
BREAD (khobz)
Bread is an essential part of meals throughout the Levant. Indeed, it is unthinkable not to have bread laid on the table alongside the meal, whether at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Levantine breads are flat, some layered and others spongy. Pita is the main bread of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, while pide, a soft, spongy oval loaf (see here), is the staple of Turkey and nan-e lavash or nan-e taftun, a large rectangular flatbread cooked against the wall of a tandur or over a hot metal plate, is what is chiefly used in Iran. Then there are the regional breads as well as those that are specific to meals. In Lebanon, marqûq is the mountain bread par excellence. I like to call it handkerchief bread because it is paper-thin and unfolds like one. The making of marqûq requires a special technique which was, and still is, passed from mother to daughter. The method is similar to that used by a pizzaiolo (pizza maker) in that the dough is passed from one hand to the other and with each movement it stretches until the circle of dough has become very thin and wide. Shraak is a Palestinian bread that is similar to marqûq and used to make mussakhan. Tabuneh is a speciality of the north: larger and thinner than pita, as well as longer lasting and with a slightly different flavour, it is leavened with the ‘yeast of Christ’ (khamiret al-Massih), which is nothing more than a day-old piece of dough, kept from the previous batch. (The reason it is called the yeast of Christ is because the initial piece of dough that is made every year is traditionally hung on a tree for the spirit of Christ to pass over it.) Once the loaves are baked and cooled, they are sprinkled with a little water, then left to dry and packed in plastic bags to send to the shops. In the south of Lebanon, mishtah, a textured bread, flavoured with different spices, is the bread that everyone likes to eat. Long and oval in shape, it is often made like Roman focaccia – cut up and sold in separate pieces. It is also made in individual round loaves In Syria, tannur bread is cooked in a pit oven or tannur, believed to have been the earliest type of oven and from which the Indian ‘tandoor’ derives. It is the favoured option in rural communities. For further detail on bread from the different countries of the Levant, see the Introduction.
Nan-e sangak, is my favourite Iranian bread. It is made with a mixture of white and wholewheat flour and baked over pebbles lining the floor of wood-fired ovens, which leave deep indentations on the bottom of the loaf. The loaves are rounded at one end and square at the other, and when they are not sold straight out of the oven, they are hung against a wall on something like a coat rack to keep them from steaming against each other.
Pita in the Middle East is very different from the pita you buy in the supermarket, which is quite thick and often oval in shape whereas traditional pita is always round. It normally comes in two sizes, medium (around 15cm/6in) and large (around 30cm/12in). I recommend the medium in the recipes. You can also make your own by following the recipe on here.
BURGHUL
Made from wheat that has been parboiled, dried then finely or coarsely ground. A staple ingredient in Lebanon, Turkey and Syria, although not Iran, it is used in stuffings and salads as well as in main dishes, whether vegetarian or meat-based. In Lebanon and Syria, people favour brown burghul, whereas in Turkey the pale variety is preferred. Until not so long ago, mountain people made their own from newly harvested wheat. The women spent hours picking the wheat clean of stones and wild grasses. Then they sorted and washed the grain before parboiling it, after which the wheat was drained, spread on cotton sheets and left to dry in the sun. The wheat was left out for several days, with the women turning it over regularly, until it was completely dry, at which stage the men took it to special stone mills to have it ground. The ground wheat was then sifted by the women to produce the different grades – from fine to coarse – before being packed in canvas bags, labelled according to the grade and stored for up to one year. This ‘artisanal’ way of preparing burghul has mostly vanished. It is now industrially processed. After the wheat has been parboiled, it is kiln-dried, then passed through two different-grade mills to achieve fine and coarse grains. Burghul has a long shelf life if stored properly, and it is worthwhile buying a good-quality one, if you can, to have at hand in your pantry.
CARAWAY (karaweyah)
Also known as Persian cumin, probably because it resembles cumin, the seeds of Carum carvi taste a little like anise. They are used mostly in desserts like meghli, where it is the main flavouring, and certain spice mixtures.
CARDAMOM (hal)
Native to India, Nepal and Bhutan, cardamom is the second most expensive spice in the world. Part of the ginger family, it is obtained from several plants of the similar genera Elettaria and Amomum. In Lebanon cardamom is mostly used in Turkish coffee, whereas in Iran it has wider culinary application, featuring in both sweet and savoury dishes.
CINNAMON (qerfeh)
Obtained from two different types of cinnamon tree, both from the laurel or Lauraceae family. The thin sheets of the inner part of the bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum are dried and rolled in thin quills to produce ‘real’ cinnamon. These are sold in the West, usually cut to the same short length, whereas in Lebanon they are left uncut and can be found measuring as much as 30cm (12in) in length. The thick, dark bark of Cinnamomum cassia is known as cassia and is the variety chiefly used in the Levant because of its stronger flavour. It is a required addition to most soups, stocks and stews in Lebanon and Syria as well as in Turkey. Ground cinnamon is also commonly used in both savoury and sweet dishes. Cinnamon sticks of the standard supermarket length (5cm/2in) are intended in this book.
CITRUS PEEL (qeshrat al-laymûn)
Featuring mostly in Iranian cooking, orange peel is used dried when oranges are not in season and fresh when they are; the peel is sliced into very thin strips and used to garnish rice dishes. In Lebanon, both orange and lemon peel are added to stews, such as the pea and carrot stew on here, to give an intriguing citrusy flavour. Citrus peel is also used in soups and in some sweets.
CLARIFIED BUTTER (samneh)
Known as samneh or samna in Arabic, clarified butter (or ghee) is, as the term indicates, butter that has been stripped of its milk solids, making it a purer fat and one that lasts longer and can be cooked at a higher temperature without burning. Despite all these qualities, few people use samneh now, favouring non-clarified butter or olive oil as a healthier fat. You can easily make it yourself, however, by heating butter in a saucepan until it melts and starts foaming. Skim the foam from the top and let the milk solids settle at the bottom of the pan, then carefully pour the clarified butter into a clean jar with a lid and store in a cool place or in the refrigerator to use when you need it. Kept covered in the fridge, it will last for several months.
CLOTTED CREAM (kaymak and qashtah)
Known as kaymak in Turkey or qashtah in the Arab world, the Levantine versions having a grainier texture. In some parts of Turkey clotted cream is made using the milk of water buffaloes, whereas the best qashtah in Lebanon and Syria is made with sheep’s milk. The milk is poured into a very wide pan with one edge placed over a very low flame. As the milk simmers it forms a skin that is pushed away from the edge by the bubbling milk. The skin is skimmed off and put to drain to produce the very thick cream that does not quite melt during baking the way normal cream does. It is served for breakfast or as a pudding drizzled with honey; it is also used in various desserts and/or served with them. Because the cream doesn’t melt during cooking, it makes an ideal filling in stuffed pancakes. It is difficult to get hold of here in the West, however, so you will have to make your own – see here.
CLOVES (qrûnfûl)
The dried flower buds of a tree in the Myrtaceae family. Cloves are very aromatic and used in both sweet and savoury preparations, either whole or ground. They are also incorporated in the various Levantine spice mixtures. Because of their strong aroma, cloves should be used in moderation and not exceeding the quantity specified in a particular recipe.
CORIANDER (kûzbûrah)
Coriander (seeds and ground) may not be such an essential spice as cinnamon and allspice, but it is still an important component of the Levantine spice cupboard and appears in various spice mixtures. Dried coriander is often used together with fresh coriander in various stews. Sometimes the seeds are toasted before use but more often they are not. They come in two sizes, the larger seeds from a variety known as Coriandrum sativum vulgare and the smaller ones from C. s. microcarpum. The larger seeds are the ones most commonly used as a spice, while the smaller seeds are valued for their essential oil. Coriander was cultivated in antiquity for the manufacture of perfume and for culinary purposes, used then, as now, both as a spice (the seeds) and a flavouring (the fresh leaves). In the late seventeenth century, it was one of the first spices cultivated by early settlers in North America, where the fresh herb is known as cilantro.
CORNFLOUR (nashah)
Used as a thickener in milk puddings, rahat lokum (Turkish delight) and yoghurt sauces, cornflour is the white powdered starch of the maize grain. I like to use it in milk puddings but not to thicken yoghurt as it can make the sauce too thick and rather coarse. Instead, I use egg yolks to stabilise the yoghurt, even if there is a risk that it may curdle.
‘Burned’ green cracked wheat (frikeh, firik) and cracked wheat (jrish)
Frikeh is made from the same wheat that is used for burghul except that it is picked green and burned in the fields before being dried and cracked coarsely (see here). Frikeh is actually delicious eaten still tender, with the lovely smoky flavour at its most pronounced, and I can imagine making a crunchy salad with it freshly picked and just burned, but it is near impossible getting it at that stage unless you happen to be on hand just before the farmers dry the hulled grain, then crack and store it for the year. In the south of Lebanon, they leave the grain whole and, if I am not mistaken, they don’t pick the wheat as green. Turkish firik seems to be a little less smoky, and they don’t normally burn it in Egypt – there they use frika (as they pronounce it) to stuff pigeons, one of their special delicacies. Jrish is simply cracked wheat and it is used to give texture to mishtah, the regional bread from southern Lebanon (see here).
CUMIN (kammûn)
The dried seeds of Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley family, cumin looks very similar to caraway seeds but the flavour is different. It is an essential spice in Levantine cooking, used either as whole seeds or ground in soups and stews and as a last-minute seasoning, notably in fûl medammes.
DAIRY PRODUCTS (ajban wa alban)
Very important in the Levantine diet, dairy products can be made from the milk of cows, sheep, goats or buffalo, and many home cooks still make their own yoghurt at home. Once the yoghurt is set, some of it is strained to make labneh, which is strained further before being shaped into balls, which are then dried and preserved in olive oil. Turkey has a greater variety of cheese than Lebanon, Syria or Iran, where people favour fresh cheeses, especially in spring and summer when both goats and sheep have plenty to graze on and as a result produce a richer milk and plenty of it. A typical Syrian/Lebanese cheese is one called majduleh. It is basically a halloumi that has been stretched until the cheese separates into filaments that are then gathered into tresses. You eat the cheese by undoing the tresses and separating the strips of cheese, which are then piled in a tangle on a plate and served for breakfast or as part of a mezze spread. It tends to be a little salty, but a brief soaking in fresh water will soon fix that. As for milk and cream, they are used to make a range of delectable sweets that are often flavoured with fragrant waters.
DATE PASTE
Used in sweets and breads, it is made of stoned mashed-up dates and shaped into a cake. You buy it from Middle Eastern shops and simply knead it with a little butter to use according to the recipe instructions.
DRIED ROSEBUDS (ward jouri m’yabbass)
Used in Iranian cooking more than in any other type of Levantine cuisine, dried rose petals are added to various spice mixtures (as they are, too, in Tunisia and southern Lebanon) or used as a garnish. They have a heady aroma that imparts an intriguing and rather mysterious flavour to rice and/or meat dishes, as well as stews, salads and savoury pastries.
DRIED YOGHURT (jamid, kashk, kishk and tarhana)
Each Levantine country has its own way of drying yoghurt to preserve it. Jamid is the Jordanian version where the yoghurt is shaped into balls and dried (see here) before being rehydrated in water and used to cook such dishes as mansaf. Kashk (see here) is the Iranian answer to jamid, but made with buttermilk, while kishk is the Lebanese one. As for tarhana, it is the Turkish version and the most diverse, available plain or mixed with other ingredients – such as tomato or different vegetables, depending on the region or family – and ranging from coarsely ground to blocks shaped like irregular rocks with holes in them.
FILO PASTRY (reqaqat and yufka)
Known as yufka in Turkish and reqaqat (‘thinned’ or ‘rolled out’) in Arabic, filo pastry is more or less the same throughout the Levant, but it is rolled out thinner when used to make baklava, for instance, and a little thicker for börek (see here). And sometimes it is lightly seared on a saj or domed hotplate. I have seen reqaqat made with batter in the souks of Damascus, with the resulting sheets made into savoury triangles called sambusak (a bit like samosas) – different from the Lebanese version of the dish, which are made with regular dough and shaped into half moons.
FRUIT LEATHER (qamar el-din and malban)
Our lollipop when we were children was a torn sheet of apricot leather known in Arabic as qamar el-din (meaning moon of the religion). Qamar el-din is also used to make drinks or a sweet juice to soak dried fruit for the khoshaf. Malban (which I describe on here) is a fruit leather made with grapes whereas in Iran, they use pomegranate juice to make a sour leather rolled like quills and used to flavour fish dishes among others. The sight of these bright red quills standing in bowls in Iranian markets is quite stunning.
HERBS (al-a’shab)
Both fresh and dried herbs are important in Levantine cooking. Fresh herbs such as parsley, mint, coriander and purslane are often used as an ingredient in a dish rather than as a garnish, as are tarragon, dill and basil. Dried mint is used to flavour tomato or yoghurt sauces, while dried thyme is mixed with sumac and sesame seeds to make za’tar. It is also used fresh in salads and to make a filling for fatayer (see here)
KELLAGE
A wafer-like dry pastry used to make the sweet of the same name (see here). In Lebanon, it is brushed with milk before it is used, whereas in Turkey, where it is known as gullaç, it is first layered and milk is then poured over the layers to produce a kind of soggy pie. It is one of the great specialities of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fast.
mahlab
A spice made from the kernel of a black cherry (Prunus mahaleb) native to Asia Minor. You can buy the kernels whole or ground to use in bread and cookies. The flavour is very pronounced, nutty with a hint of bitterness, and a little mahlab goes a long way.
MASTIC (miskeh)
A dried resin obtained from the bark of the Pistacia lentiscus (the same genus as pistachios), an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean basin. Mastic is harvested in July and August. Producers go to the fields very early in the morning and make incisions in the trees for the resin to seep out – a process called kentima. The transparent resin is then collected and rinsed in barrels, after which it is spread out and left to dry before being sorted by hand. There are two kinds of mastic: the clear, tiny crystals which are called dahtilidopetres (flintstones) and the larger, spotted soft ones known as kantiles (blisters). The latter being a coarser grade is normally used for chewing – the resin being a natural chewing gum (‘mastic’ derives from the ancient Greek for ‘to chew’) – while the finer grade is traditionally used in cooking. These days, however, it seems to be more difficult to purchase the ‘flintstones’, most mastic now available being the ‘blisters’ type.
meqteh
Known in Los Angeles as Armenian cucumbers, no doubt because they are found in Armenian stores, meqteh are thinner and longer than regular cucumbers, with a paler skin that is ridged and furry; they are also drier and crunchier. In the Lebanon, they are very sought after when they come into season and used in salads. They are also used for pickling (see here).
MINCED LAMB
Minced lamb is seen as a cheap option in the west whereas in the Levant it is used to produce elegant dishes such as kibbeh or cherry kebabs. No self-respecting home-cook would buy the meat ready-minced. Instead he/she would ask for a specific cut, usually from the leg, to be trimmed before being minced. You can use a food processor to mince meat but it is preferable to use a proper meat mincer, using the fine attachment for kibbeh or kafta. They are not so expensive and are now much lighter than the old-fashioned all-metal ones.
moghrabbiyeh
Meaning ‘Moroccan’ or ‘from the Maghreb’ in Arabic, moghrabbiyeh describes a large-grain type of couscous that is basically pasta made with flour and water and no eggs. It is known as m’hamssa in Morocco. In Lebanon, the term also applies to a whole dish in which these small pellets of pasta are either poached and steamed or simply boiled like pasta before being sautéed with cinnamon and allspice and mixed with chickpeas and baby onions together with the sauce in which the lamb and/or chicken that are served with it have been cooked. In the northern city of Tripoli, not far from the Syrian border, moghrabbiyeh refers to a snack sold on the street, in which the cooked pasta is wrapped in pita bread (see bread and here).
na’nâ DÂGH
A typical Iranian garnish made by frying dried mint in a little oil or clarified butter and pouring the mixture over soups to add a musky flavour that reminds diners of summer days.
NIGELLA SEEDS (habbet el-barakeh)
Often wrongly referred to as black cumin, this spice is obtained from Nigella sativa (Nigella deriving from the Latin niger, ‘black’), also known as black caraway, among other names. They are used mostly in baking, to both garnish and give bread and savoury pastries a pungent, nutty taste.
NOODLES (erişte, reshteh and sh’ayriyeh)
Noodles are not that common in the Levant, confined to specific dishes. In Lebanon and Syria, sh’ayriyeh (vermicelli) are toasted and cooked with rice to serve with certain stews, while in Iran reshteh (a kind of eggless linguine) are added to ash-e reshteh (a typical soup served at tea time and sold in bazaar cafés – see here). Erişte (also known as kesme) is Turkey’s answer to reshteh, although the Turkish version has a small percentage of egg and a little olive oil added to the dough. Both Turks and Syrians add noodles to lentil dishes (see haraq osba’u).
OLIVE OIL (zeyt zaytûn)
Olive oil is as essential to the Levant as bread is, although more prevalent in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine than in Iran, even though olives are grown in the northern province of Gilan. Many Lebanese buy their yearly supply directly from trusted producers who are often relatives or friends. My mother bought our yearly supply from her uncle, who hand-picked the green olives and carefully selected them to produce three different grades of extra-virgin oil: khadir (green), the best grade, extracted from totally unblemished olives; bab awal (first door), the second best, pressed from slightly blemished olives; and bab thani (second door), extracted from the remainder of the crop. The olives that fall off the trees are collected and pressed to produce oil for soap. I always use extra-virgin olive oil, to cook with and to finish dishes or season them, but it makes sense to have at least two different types in your kitchen cupboard: a regular one for cooking – the heat takes away most of the flavour – and as good as you can afford for drizzling over dips, soups or grilled vegetables and for seasoning salads. The quality of the oil you use in these dishes will make a huge difference to the final taste. Like my mother, I buy my oil directly from a friend in Sicily, Mary Taylor Simeti, whose book Sicilian Food is my culinary bible for the island. Mary’s husband Tonino goes to the olive press to make sure that no one tampers with his olives during pressing.
ORANGE BLOSSOM WATER (ma zaher)
A fragrant water distilled from macerated blossom of the Seville orange (bou-sfayr). The taste is slightly bitter and, as a result, it is used only sparingly in desserts. It is also used as a delicate, aromatic substitute for real coffee, called ‘white coffee’ (qahwah baydah). To make this yourself, add a teaspoon of orange blossom water to a small coffee-cupful of boiling water.
pekmez (or dibs)
Pekmez is the Turkish word for grape molasses. When the molasses is made with carob, it is known as keçiboynuzu or harnup pekmezi. Pekmez is used as a sweetener or mixed with tahini to eat for breakfast. In Arabic the molasses is known as dibs and it can be made with grapes (dibs ’enab), carob (dibs kharrub) or dates (dibs tamer). The latter is used, at least in Lebanon and Syria, to make a refreshing drink called jellab, while in the Arabian Gulf it is drizzled over fritters called l’geimat.
PEPPER FLAKES
See Aleppo pepper.
PEPPER PASTE (rûbb el-fleifleh)
Found both in northern Syria and in Turkey, the paste comes in different degrees of heat, depending on the region: mild, medium and hot in Syria, and mild and hot in Turkey. It makes a wonderful addition to soups, stews and some salads, imparting a slight kick and a lovely reddish hue. The paste is made by first trimming, deseeding and mincing fresh peppers, then spreading the resulting mash in the sun (see here). Every day, the mashed peppers are stirred until most of the moisture has evaporated and all that is left is a thick red paste that looks like tomato paste but obviously tastes very different. To have a go at making it yourself, see here.
PINE NUTS (snûbar)
Nuts feature large in both savoury and sweet Levantine dishes, and none are more important than pine nuts, the edible seeds of about 20 different species of pine (family Pinaceae, genus Pinus). The two most common types available to buy are those produced in Europe from the Stone Pine (Pinus pinea), which are long and rather slim, and those produced in Asia from the Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis), which are short and rather fat. I prefer the European variety, grown from anywhere in the Mediterranean, whether it is Lebanon, Spain or Italy. They are nicer-looking, in my view, and taste nuttier than the Asian ones. They are also more expensive and this is why most restaurants use the latter. Unshelled, they have a long shelf life, but this reduces considerably once they have been shelled. For this reason, I keep mine, alongside other nuts, in the freezer and take them out about half an hour before I need to use them.
PISTACHIOS (festûq halabi)
The pistachio is one of two types of nut mentioned in the Bible (the other is almonds), and Pliny the Elder writes about them in his Natural History, mentioning how they were once unique to Syria but introduced into Italy by the Roman consul to Syia in AD 35. The pistachio tree (Pistacia vera, in the Anacardiaceae family, to which cashews and sumac also belong) is in fact originally from Greater Iran (both Iran and Iraq), but is now grown in parts of Asia, North Africa and America (in particular California), as well as southern Europe. In the Levant, the nut is used in both savoury and sweet preparations and has a particular place in the making of baklava, when the favoured type is that picked early when the nut is still very green. I tend to prefer the Syrian, south-eastern Turkish, Sicilian and Iranian pistachios over those grown in California.
PITA BREAD
See bread.
POMEGRANATE SYRUP OR MOLASSES (dibs al-rûmman)
The flavour of Syria and Iran, pomegranate syrup or molasses (see also pekmez) is used in all kinds of dishes, from salad dressings to dips, soups and stews. It is also used to a lesser extent in Lebanon and Turkey. The syrup is made by reducing the juice of sour pomegranates (abu leffan) until it thickens and turns dark. It is then left to cool and bottled to use throughout the year until the next pomegranate season. If properly stored in a cool place, the syrup will last longer: I have kept mine for over two years without it losing any flavour. The taste of the syrup varies quite noticeably depending on the type of pomegranates used and whether it is adulterated or not. Mymouné is a very good artisanal Lebanese variety; if buying a more commercial brand, I tend to go for Iranian ones.
PULSES
Dried pulses are an important element in the Levantine diet. Chickpeas and fava (or broad), cannellini and butter beans are also eaten fresh when in season, whereas lentils are only used dried. Green lentils are normally mushier than brown, with the exception of those from the Le Puy region in France. For the brown variety, I like to use Spanish Pardina lentils or Italian ones from Umbria. Both keep their shape during cooking and work well with any recipe calling for lentils. I have learned from Nevin Halıcı, author of Nevin Halıcı’s Turkish Cookbook and my guru on all things Turkish, to soak lentils before cooking, which cuts cooking time and also helps keep the shape.
qarisheh
See shanklish.
RICE (rezz)
There is a noticeable difference between the various kinds of rice used in the countries of the Levant and how they are cooked. In Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, for instance, short grain is favoured, cooked in double the amount of water so that the liquid is completely absorbed by the time the rice is done. In Iran, long-grain rice is preferred except in puddings or soups, in which case short grain is used. It is generally parboiled first and then steamed (see here1), but in northern Iran, which could be considered as part of the Levant proper, rice is also boiled in enough water so that it is fully absorbed by the time the rice is cooked. This method is called kateh, the rice being left for long enough on the heat to develop a crust all over, which is not done in Syria or Lebanon. I like to use bomba from Spain for short grain, and for long grain I try to buy dom-e sia, the best Iranian rice, grown in Gilan Province. The grain is longer than basmati and has a wonderful fragrance.
ROSE WATER (ma el-ward)
A fragrant water distilled from the Damascus rose (Rosa damascena, or ward jouri in Arabic) and used in many sweets, including milk puddings and ice cream. It is combined with orange blossom water to flavour the Lebanese sugar syrup used in a range of sweets, including baklava. If you can’t buy a homemade variety, as I do, it is very important to use a good brand. I recommend Mymouné, as well as several Iranian brands. Rose water and dried rosebuds are highly prized in Iran, with the water sometimes sprinkled over rice at the end of cooking to give it a heady scent.
SAFFRON (za’faran)
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, obtained from the stigmas of the crocus flower (Crocus sativus), which are picked by hand. As each flower has only three stigmas, a large number of flowers have to be picked to produce a few grams of saffron. Saffron is used extensively in Iran but less so in Lebanon, Syria or Turkey, and its quality varies, with the costliest spice grown in Kashmir. I normally alternate between saffron that is grown in La Mancha, Spain, and saffron produced in Iran. As long as the stigmas are not mixed with anything else, any variety will be fine, however. Beware of fake saffron that is sold cheaply in souks; it is made from safflower and all it will do is give you a yellow colour but no flavour. Because saffron can be bitter, you need to be careful not to overdo the quantity you add to a dish. Iranians always soak the stigmas in water or rose water before using it. They also crush it first, which makes it easier to measure. I prefer to use the stigmas whole as I love seeing them dotted over rice or scattered inside milk puddings. And the interesting thing is that the flavour is more intense in the bite that has the stigma in it, at least in the case of muhallabiyeh, as the saffron continues to bleed into the pudding.
SALEP (sahlab)
Still a mysterious ingredient for many, salep is ‘flour’ made from the dried tubers of Orchis mascula or O. militaris, which are ground and used to thicken milk to produce either a warming drink in winter (see here) or ice cream in summer (see here and here). The drink was very popular in France and England in the seventeenth century.
SEMOLINA (smid)
Ground from durum wheat, semolina, in both fine and regular grades, is used in sweets to create a pastry that is crumblier and has more texture than that of regular flour. Semolina is also boiled with milk to make a custard-like filling for pastries.
SESAME SEEDS (semsûm)
Considered to be the oldest oilseed crop known to humankind, sesame (Sesamum indicum) was first domesticated over 5,000 years ago. In some places, it is known as a survivor crop because it is very drought tolerant and can grow where most crops fail. With the highest oil content of any seed, it is widely used throughout the world. In the Levant, the raw or toasted seeds are added to both savoury and sweet dishes. The roasted seeds are also used to make tahini. You can buy them ready-toasted or you can dry-toast them yourself in a pan over a medium heat. You need to stir them all the time, to ensure they do not burn, taking the pan off the heat just before they reach the desired colour while continuing to stir because they will keep browning from the heat of the pan. The taste is more pronounced when the seeds are toasted.
SEVEN-SPICE MIXTURE (sabe’ b’harat)
See spice mixtures.
shanklish
A very interesting fermented cheese that is a speciality of Akkar, in northern Lebanon, and various regions in Syria. The curds (qarisheh – also the term for curd cheese) are kneaded with chilli pepper and salt, then rolled into balls roughly the size of a tennis ball or a little larger and left to dry for a day or two. The balls of cheese are then stored in earthenware jars that have already been used to ferment the previous batch and left until they develop a coat of mould, which is then rinsed off before the cheeses are rolled in dried thyme (see herbs) and stored to serve either on their own or in a salad, such as the one on here. To make your own, see here.
SOAPWORT (shirsh el-halaweh)
The dried roots of either Saponaria officinalis or Gypsophila struthium and known as shirsh el-halaweh in Arabic. The roots are boiled until the water is reduced by three-quarters, at which point the mixture is whisked into a stiff white foam – quite an extraordinary transformation, due to the saponin (soap) content of the root. The foam is mixed with sugar syrup and whisked to make natef, a soft meringue-like sweet dip served with karabij halab ma natef. Soon after the publication of my book on Lebanese cuisine, Helen Saberi, Esteban Pombo-Villar, Alan Davidson and myself embarked on an investigation to establish whether shirsh el-halaweh was soapwort or bois de Panama (a South American bark that can be used as a substitute). The results of our investigation were first published in a series of articles in the journal Petits Propos Culinaires, then reprinted in The Wilder Shores of Gastronomy (2002). And we came to the conclusion that shirsh el-halaweh was indeed soapwort although you can use bois de panama (which is a bark and not a root) to make natef.
SPICE MIXTURES (b’harat)
Each country has its own spice mixture. In Lebanon and Syria, the mixture (which can differ slightly depending on who makes it) is made up of seven different spices – black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger and coriander – hence the name sabe’ b’harat or ‘seven-spice mixture’, while in Turkey they have baharat karisimi, which includes dried mint and spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin and black pepper. In Iran, the mixture is called advieh (‘medicines’ in Arabic) and it is composed along the lines of Indian masala, varying according to the dish it is used in or the region or family, although it is never hot and contains no chillies, ginger or garlic. There is also a mix from southern Lebanon called daqqat ka’k, mainly used in baking, and another called kammuniyeh, which is made up of dried herbs, spices and dried rosebuds and used primarily in raw kibbeh dishes.
SUMAC
A lemony seasoning that is made with the dried berries of the Rhus coriaria (Tanner’s or elm-leafed sumac, not to be confused with other poisonous plants of the same family, Anacardiaceae, to which pistachios also belong). The purplish-brown berries are harvested and left on the branch to dry in the sun, after which they are ground to produce a coarse-textured powder, ranging in colour from deep maroon to a brighter red, which is used to season salads, stuffings, fried eggs and grilled fish or meat.
TAHINI
A paste made from roasted and hulled sesame seeds and used in both savoury and sweet preparations. It is mixed with natef to make halva, and with lemon juice, garlic and water to make tarator, a lemony sauce served with fish, falafel or shawarma (see here and here). The sauce can be made thicker and mixed with chopped herbs to become a dip. And tahini is, of course, used with chickpeas to make hommus or with mashed grilled aubergines for baba ghannuge as well as with other vegetables to make similar dips.
TAIL FAT (liyeh)
Fat-tailed sheep are an ancient breed characterised by their enormous tails in which a very pure soft fat is stored that is highly prized in the Levant. It was once melted and used in cooking in lieu of clarified butter or vegetable oil, although people are more health conscious nowadays and use the fat from the tail chiefly to make qawarma or to eat with raw liver or grill with kebabs. They also mince the fat and mix it with the meat for kafta or kibbeh (see minced lamb); in the latter instance, the fat is also chopped and seasoned with spices to use as a stuffing for grilled kibbeh balls.
TOMATO PASTE (rûbb el-banadûrah)
There are two ways of making tomato paste. One is to dry tomato purée in the sun like the Sicilians do, stirring it regularly until it is very thick and very dark, while the other way is to cook the tomatoes (after first peeling and deseeding them) until they reduce to a slightly thinner paste, which is what my mother and grandmother did (see here) and which is what most Levantines do. Traditionally the paste was used only when there were no fresh tomatoes, but now it is used together with fresh tomatoes to give a sauce a more intense flavour.
TURMERIC (kurkum or ’eqdeh safrah)
A ground spice or fresh root that is used both to flavour and colour dishes, turmeric is obtained from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa (from the ginger family) and is not often used in Lebanese cooking, except in sfuf, a yellow rather dry type of sponge cake that is a favourite snack of Lebanese children (see here).
VERJUICE (’assir hosrum)
The sour juice of unripe grapes (hosrum) used in the place of lemon juice in salad dressings and cooked dishes. The fresh juice is boiled with a little salt so that it keeps throughout the year.
za’tar
Za’tar (‘thyme’ in Arabic) is a mixture of powdered dried thyme, sumac and toasted or raw sesame seeds, made up of two-thirds thyme to one-third sumac, with raw or toasted sesame seeds to taste, although the seeds rarely exceed one-quarter of the quantity of thyme and sumac mixture. The blend is salted and sautéed in a pan over a low heat to warm it up and make it last longer. Za’tar is mixed with olive oil and spread on flatbread (see bread) to make the quintessential Lebanese breakfast, manaqish. It is also used to flavour labneh (see dairy products and here). Syrian za’tar has added spices, seeds and nuts.