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Questions tagged [middle-eastern-cuisine]

Questions tagged the middle-eastern-cuisine tag should be about traditional ingredients, preparations or dishes from the Middle East (Western Asia and Northern Africa). Questions about Indian cuisine should use the indian-cuisine tag.

This tag should be used on questions about traditional Middle Eastern food.

The Middle East (aka Mid East) is a region that contains Western Asia and Northern Africa. Questions about typical ingredients (e.g. tahini), dishes (e.g. kibbeh) or preparations can use this tag.

Questions about ingredients that can be used in this cuisine, but are not distinctive about it, should not use this tag. According to Wikipedia, olive oil is a common used ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine. However, a question about how to make your own olive oil should not be tagged with this tag, because olive oil is also used in a lot non-Middle Eastern dishes and cuisines.

Questions about Indian dishes should not have this tag because India is not in the Middle East - use the tag .

58 questions
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How do I ensure that pita forms a nice big, even pocket when baking?

I have the opposite problem as Amir's question about thick, fluffy pitas. Whenever I make pita, it's nice and thick and fluffy, but the pocket is small or nonexistent. I would like to use my pita for sandwiches, so the pocket part is…
Laura
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What was this pickled vegetable which I was served at a middle eastern restaurant?

I was eating at an Iranian/Persian restaurant and they brought a bowl of pickles to the table. Among them was the usual wild cucumber, green tomato, pink turnip, etc. but there were also several strange ones I had never seen before. They were…
WackGet
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What is the difference between shawarma and gyros?

I see both of these terms used in restaurants that seem to specialize in meat on a vertical rotisserie served in a pita sandwich. I'm not clear on whether there is a difference between the two or if they are just colloquial names for the same thing.
Michael Natkin
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How can I make lemon and chilli liquid to have with hummus?

A few weeks ago I had hummus at the famous Abu-Hassan/Ali-Caravan place in Jaffa, Tel Aviv. When you order hummus there you also get a small bowl of lemony chilli liquid on the side. The liquid is hot and really bitter. The idea is to mix the…
James Fennell
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8 answers

How to get falafel to hold together when pan-frying?

I like to pan-fry my falafel (as some of the answers to this question suggest), but have had the cakes fall apart or degenerate into mush when trying to turn them over. For ingredients I use chickpeas, olive oil, spices, and tahini. Is there a…
Erik P.
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8 answers

How to get a smooth paste from ground chickpeas?

I make Hummus quite often, and use my food processor to chop the chickpeas. This yields a sort of coarse paste, which is a little better if I peel the chickpeas first. Adding liquid to the mixture doesn't seem to help much, but only leads to watered…
Carmi
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11
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9 answers

Troubleshooting a soggy baklava with torn sheets

I've attempted to make Baklava just once in my life and the results were pretty disasterous. Some issues I have questions about when making the Baklava: How to handle the Phyllos dough sheets? These sheets were so thin and delicate that I…
Jay
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10
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3 answers

Iranian Sweet Dish consisting of Lamb Paste

I am trying to identify a dish I had a while ago while traveling in Iran. It was in Isfahan, and none of the languages I speak seemed particularly common with the locals, so I only got patchy details in addition to the actual experience of the…
TheChymera
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How can I cook chicken in a similar way to how it was done in Biblical times?

I want to make a historically accurate biblical meal for a group. I'm using chicken, and serving it with flatbread and an Israeli salad (sans tomatoes and other new world vegetables) Does anyone have a recipe for a historical barbecue chicken or an…
Daniel Chui
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6 answers

Is there a way to make falafel without deep frying?

I see in this video how the falafel balls are fully submerged in oil. Are there other ways (e.g. baking) to prepare the falafel balls after the balls are formed? Note: I do not ask for recipes.
Bogdan Lataianu
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9
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4 answers

Some tahini tastes very salty, other tahini does not. Why?

I have bought several jars of tahini from different companies lately. All labels say, that they contain 100% hulled sesame seeds with no preservatives or artifical flavours added. Some of the jars contained very salty tahini. At first, I even…
Amelse Etomer
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8
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4 answers

My Baba Ghanoush is too watery

I tried cooking Baba Ghanoush for the first time and though tasty I didn't quite get the expected results. It was watery instead of creamy like the ones I had had. I used equal parts of eggplant and tahini and a bit of lemon juice and garlic. Now I…
user143
8
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3 answers

What effect does orange juice have when used in dough?

I was following a recipe to make some Middle Eastern inspired Olive bread, and the recipe called for a cup of orange juice in the dough. I was intrigued by this as I had not seen it before. What effect would the orange juice have when use in the…
Purag
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What is the name of this Israeli street food?

When I was in Israel a few years back I tried this really great street food. I had gotten the recipe, but now have lost it and don't remember what it was called. It is a cross between a pancake and a bread. The one I had had za'atar, thin sliced…
anton2g
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How is the lamb meat made in lamb gyros?

I've been to several Middle Eastern inspired restaurants around where I live and in most of these restaurants, the customers are able to see into the kitchen as they prep our food. In the middle of the kitchen I normally see something like this: I…
Jay
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