Iraqi cuisine

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Iraqi cuisine is a

culinary arts.[3]

The Iraqi kitchen reached its zenith in the Islamic Golden Age when Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 AD).

The cuisine varies across the country. The cooking of Northern Iraq is known for adding pomegranate to the dolma juice prominently to give it a unique taste. In Southern Iraq, fish is used extensively, while the middle region, including Baghdad and the surrounding cities, is known for its variety of rice dishes and sweets.

Contemporary Iraq reflects the same natural division as ancient Mesopotamia,[5][6][7][8] which consisted of Assyria in the arid northern uplands and Babylonia in the alluvial plain.[8] Upper Mesopotamia grows wheat and crops requiring winter chill such as apples and stone fruits.[8] Lower Mesopotamia grows rice and barley, citrus fruits, and is responsible for Iraq's position as one of the world's largest producer of dates.

Pork consumption is forbidden to Muslims in Iraq, in accordance with Sharia, the Islamic law.

dried fruits

History

See also: History of Mesopotamia and History of Iraq

Archaeologists have found evidence from excavations at Jarmo, in northeastern Iraq, that pistachio nuts were a common food as early as 6750 BC.[9] Among the ancient texts discovered in Mesopotamia is a Sumerian-Akkadian bilingual dictionary,[10] recorded in cuneiform script on 24 stone tablets about 1900 BC.[10] It lists terms in the two ancient Iraqi languages for over 800 different items of food and drink.[10] Included are 20 different kinds of cheese, over 100 varieties of soup and 300 types of bread, each with different ingredients, filling, shape or size.[10]

The world's oldest recipes are found in

cassia, cumin, coriander, mint, and dill.[12] Stew has remained a mainstay in the cuisine.[12] Extant medieval Iraqi recipes and modern Iraqi cuisine attest to this.[12]

Ingredients

Kleicha is sometimes considered the national cookie of Iraq and is served during religious holidays.

Some characteristic ingredients of Iraqi cuisine include:

Other Iraqi culinary essentials include olive oil, sesame oil, tamarind, vermicelli, tahini, honey, date syrup, yogurt and rose water.

Lamb is the favorite meat, but chicken, beef, goat and fish are also eaten. Most dishes are served with rice—usually timman anbar, a yellowish, very aromatic, long-grain rice grown in the Middle Euphrates region.[13]

Bulghur wheat is used in many dishes, having been a staple in the country since the days of the ancient Assyrians.[3] Flatbread is a staple that is served with a variety of dips, cheeses, olives, and jams, at every meal.

Common dishes

Mêzzä

Meals begin with appetizers and salads, known as

mezza. Mezza is a selection of appetizers or small dishes often served with a beverage, like anise-flavored liqueurs such as arak, ouzo, rakı, sambuca, pastis, or various wines, similar to the tapas of Spain, or finger food
.

Mezza may include:

Samoon, type of Iraqi bread.
  • Iraqi sumac salad, a typical Iraqi salad with the addition of sumac berries.[14]
  • Baytinijan maqli, a dish often served cold, consisting of fried aubergine (eggplant) with tahini, lettuce, parsley and tomatoes, garnished with sumac and served on pita bread or sliced bread, often grilled or toasted. Variations include bell peppers, or a garlic-lemon vinaigrette
    .
  • Fattoush, a salad made from several garden vegetables and toasted or fried pieces of pita bread.
  • Tabbouleh, a salad dish, often used as part of a mezze. Its primary ingredients are finely chopped parsley, bulgur, mint, tomato, scallion, and other herbs with lemon juice, olive oil and various seasonings, generally including black pepper and sometimes cinnamon and allspice.
  • Turshi
    , pickled vegetables in the cuisine of many Balkan and Middle East countries. It is a traditional appetizer, mezze for rakı, ouzo, tsipouro and rakia.

Dips

Soups and stews

Various stews served over rice form a major part of Iraqi cuisine.

A prepared masgouf
Iraqi kebab, usually served with khubz or samoon
  • flatbreads
    common to Iraq and much of the Middle East.
  • Pomegranate soup, called shorbat rumman in Iraq. It is made from pomegranate juice and seeds, yellow split peas, ground beef, mint leaves, spices, and other ingredients.[20]
  • Ashura commemorations in southern Iraq. The name qeema is an ancient Akkadian word meaning "finely chopped".[21]
Quzi
  • Quzi, stuffed roasted lamb.[16][19]
  • Hikakeh is a thin crust of slightly browned rice at the bottom of the cooking pot.
A plate of Parda blaw
  • Tashrib, a soup made with either lamb or chicken with or without tomatoes eaten with Iraqi nan; the bread is broken into pieces and the soup is poured over in a big bowl.
Iraqi dolma
Tepsi baytinijan
  • Tepsi baytinijan, an Iraqi casserole. The main ingredient of the dish is aubergine (eggplant), which is sliced and fried before placing in a baking dish, accompanied with chunks of lamb/beef/veal and/or meatballs, plus tomatoes, onions and garlic.
     
Potato slices are placed on top of the mixture, and the dish is baked. Like many other Iraqi dishes it is usually served with rice, along with salad and pickles.

Dumplings and meatballs

  • Dolma (sarma), a family of stuffed vegetable dishes. The grape-leaf dolma is common. Courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), tomato and pepper are commonly used as fillings. The stuffing may or may not include meat.[22]
  • mezze and more commonly eaten with samoon with a salad and usually Amba (condiment)
    as dressing
  • Kofta, a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes in Middle Eastern, Indian, and Balkan cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat—usually beef or lamb—mixed with spices or onions.
     
Vegetarian varieties include lauki kofta,[23] shahi aloo kofta,[24] and malai kofta.[25]
 
  • burghul, chopped meat, and spices. There are many varieties and variations of kubba. One of the best-known varieties is a torpedo-shaped burghul shell stuffed with chopped meat and fried. Other varieties are baked, poached, or even served raw. They may be shaped into balls, patties, or flat.[20] [1][2]
  • Samosa, a small fried or baked pasty, which may be either half-moon shaped or triangular.

Processed meat

  • Pastırma
    , a highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef in the cuisines of the former Ottoman countries.
  • Sujuk, a dry, spicy sausage eaten from the Balkans to the Middle East and Central Asia.

Rice dishes

Long-grain rice is a staple in Iraqi cuisine.[16][19] Iraqi rice cooking is a multistep process intended to produce just-tender, fluffy grains.[13] A prominent aspect of Iraqi rice cooking is the hikakeh, a crisp bottom crust.[13] Before serving, the hikakeh is broken into pieces so that everyone is provided with some along with the fluffy rice.[13]

  • Dolma, vine leaves stuffed with a mixture of ground lamb or beef with rice cooked with many fillings in the same pot, with pomegranate juice prominently added by North Iraqis to give it a unique taste.
     
The Assyrians of Iraq may either call it dolma or yaprekh which is the Syriac term for stuffed grape leaves.
 
Iraqis usually serve dolma without yoghurt. Often chicken or beef ribs are added to the cooking pot, and sometimes served with the dolma instead of masta or khalwah. Iraqi dolma is usually cooked and served in a tomato-based sauce.
Dolma is very popular in Iraq. In Mosul they include courgettes (zucchini), tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, and grape leaves. They are occasionally steamed.

In

Iraqi Arabic, rice is called temmen, which is an assimilation of English "ten men" (a brand of Indian basmati rice).[29] According to the myth, the word originated after World War I when Iraqi farmers declined to provide the British with rice to feed their soldiers in Basra. Thereafter, the British imported "Ten Men" instead.[30] As such, when Iraqi porters used to hear British soldiers requesting them to carry the pouches of "Ten Men", they thought it meant rice in English. The word temmen has since entered the Iraqi vocabulary, and today, Iraqis still use that word for rice.[31]

Sandwiches and wraps

  • Shawarma, a Middle-Eastern Arabic-style sandwich-like wrap[16] usually composed of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a mixture of meats. Shawarma is a popular dish and fast-food staple across the Middle East and North Africa.

Dairy

  • Baladi cheese, a soft, white cheese originating from the Middle East, with a mild yet rich flavor.
  • Geimar, a creamy dairy product, similar to clotted cream, made in the Balkans, Turkey, Iran and Central Asia. It is made from water buffalo's milk in the East, or cow's milk in the West.
  • sheep's milk
    .
  • Jibneh Arabieh, a simple cheese found all over the Middle East, particularly popular in the Persian Gulf area, with an open texture and a mild taste similar to feta
    , but less salty.
  • Labneh, yogurt which has been strained in a cloth or paper bag or filter, traditionally made of muslin, to remove the whey, giving a consistency between that of yogurt and cheese, while preserving yogurt's distinctive sour taste.[20]

Breads and pastries

Lahm b'ajeen, garnished with parsley, tomato, red onion, and a wedge of lemon
Sfiha are much like dolma, ground lamb, lightly spiced, wrapped in brined grape leaves.

Condiments, sauces and spices

Sweets

The earliest known recipe for cake comes from ancient Mesopotamia. Believed to be primarily for consumption at the palace or temple, the cake was made from fat, white cheese, dates and raisins. Another recipe dating to the reign of

figs and apples.[32]

The traditional Iraqi

tannour. In modern times, other types of cookies (biskit) and cakes (ka'ak) are made at home, usually flavored with cardamom or rose water. Some variations include the disc-shaped khfefiyyat, half-moon shaped kleichat joz made with nuts, and date-filled kleichat tamur.[32]

"White baklava", osh el bulbul (bird's nests) and other traditional sweets in Iraq

Cookbooks dating to the Abbasid Caliphate between the 10th and 13th centuries include recipes for hundreds of desserts. The tradition continues into the modern day, but the rich, syrupy desserts like baklava are usually prepared for special occasions or religious celebrations, as most daily meals are usually followed by a simple course of seasonal fruit, especially dates, figs, cantaloupes, nectarines, apricots, pomegranates, peaches, mulberries, grapes or watermelons.[32]

Though not as recognizable as baklava, the fried pastry called lauzeenaj, flavored with mastic and rose water, was a specialty in imperial Baghdad.

Rosette-shaped

Caliphate of Cordoba
.

Baklava and zalabia are typical offerings during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations that follow Ramadan. Halqoum (commonly known as Turkish delight) are traditionally given as gifts during the holiday.[32]

Others include:

  • Halva, popular in the Balkans, Poland, Middle East, and other areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The primary ingredients in this confection are sesame butter or paste (tahini), and sugar, glucose or honey.
  • Kanafeh
    , a pastry made with layers of semolina, white cheese and a sugary syrup sprinkled with rose water.
  • lukum
    , made from ground fruits.
  • Mann al-sama, an Iranian nougat that originated in Isfahan.
  • Qatayef, an Arab dessert reserved for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, a sort of sweet crêpe filled with cheese or nuts. It was traditionally prepared by street vendors as well as households in the Levant and more recently has spread to Egypt.

Beverages

Iraqi tea served at the Shabandar Café, Baghdad

Alcoholic beverages

On February 20, 2023, a law was published banning the import, production and sale of all types of alcoholic beverages, punishable by fines of up to IQD 25 million. There is currently no further information available regarding the enforcement of the law, which is currently being litigated.

  • distilled alcoholic drink. Arak is usually not consumed straight, but is mixed in approximately ⅓︎ arak to ⅔︎ water, and ice is then added.[33][34]
  • Beer, a drink that originated in ancient Assyria and Babylon over 6,000 years ago.
  • Cusa Masqool, an alcoholic drink which is made from fermented goats milk. It is mostly only found in the Kurdistan region and dates back to antiquity.

Non-alcoholic beverages

  • Coffee, a drink that has a strong and bitter taste, a popular beverage in Iraq.
  • Sharbat
    , a chilled, sweet drink prepared from fruit juice or flower petals.
  • Laban, a cold beverage of yogurt mixed with cold water, sometimes with a pinch of salt or dried mint added.
  • Tea, also known as chai, is widely consumed throughout the day, especially in the mornings, after meals, and during social settings. It is prepared in a special way involving boiling tea in hot water, then placing it over a second tea pot with boiling water to let the tea infuse.
     

Related cuisines

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tasty Ancient Recipes from Mesopotamia – History et cetera". Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  2. ^ "Iraqi Cuisine". worldfood.guide. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  3. ^ a b c d http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/3592 Foods of Iraq: Enshrined With A Long History. Habeeb Salloum.
  4. ^ a b "Inspired by the oldest clay tablet 'cookbook' in the world (1700 BC) | Foodpairing / blog". Foodpairing. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  5. ^ "Tasty Ancient Recipes from Mesopotamia – History et cetera".
  6. ^ "The Ancient Mesopotamian Tablet as Cookbook | Roundtable". Lapham’s Quarterly. 11 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Iraqi Cuisine". worldfood.guide.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-280681-9
    .
  9. ^ "History and Agriculture of the Pistachio Nut". IRECO. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  10. ^
    Saudi Aramco World, March/April 1988. Saudi Aramco
    . Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  11. ^ a b Winchester, Ashley. "The world's oldest-known recipes decoded". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-313-37627-6
    .
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-0-470-39130-3
    .
  14. ^ "Iraqi Sumac Salad (Summaq salad)". International Cuisine. 14 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Fasolia Yabsa (Iraqi White Bean Stew)". 22 September 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d e ʻAlī Akbar Mahdī, (2003) p.40 -41
  17. ^ Jacob (2007) p.4
  18. ^ Fair, (2008) p.72
  19. ^ a b c d Taus-Bolstad, Stacy (2003) Iraq in Pictures, Twenty-First Century Books, p.55,
    ISBN 0-8225-0934-2
  20. ^ a b c Jacob (2007) p.2
  21. ISBN 978-1-4033-4793-0
    .
  22. ^ Fair, (2008), p.71
  23. ^ "Lauki Kofta Curry Recipe / Dudhi Kofta Curry / Bottle Gourd Kofta". 27 February 2019.
  24. ^ "Shahi Aloo kofta curry Recipe". 6 March 2020.
  25. ^ "Malai kofta recipe | How to make malai kofta curry | Paneer kofta". 27 August 2017.
  26. ISBN 978-0-313-37627-6
    .
  27. ISBN 978-1-84553-457-8
    .
  28. ^ "Chicken and rice (Tibeat)". 15 November 2011.
  29. ^ "How English words entered Arabic through the British empire in Iraq". The Independent. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  30. Albawaba
    . 12 January 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  31. ^ "The strange tales behind how some English words found their way into the Iraqi dialect of Arabic". The Conversation. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  32. ^ a b c d Roufs, Timothy G.; Roufs, Kathleen Smyth. Sweet Treats Around the World. pp. 179–183.
  33. ^ "IRAQ: Happy hour". January 30, 2008.
  34. ^ Zeed, Adnan Abu (October 12, 2018). "Arak distillery promotes ambitious new brand in defiance of alcohol ban". Al-Monitor.

Bibliography

External links

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