Which countries are part of the Middle East varies depending on who you ask. From a food perspective, the flavours of Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine (the Levant), Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, The UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar (the countries of the Arabian Gulf), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt (North Africa) all have a lot in common. The influences crosses borders to neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Xinjjiang in China, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Sudan, Somalia, Zanzibar and Greece too; as well as the Middle Eastern/Arabic influence on Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines.
Turkish Salmon Kebaps Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Turkish cooking class inspired by Somer Sivrioglu! I love almost any sort of kebabs (or kebaps as the Turks call them) and especially when the meat or seafood has been soaked in the tangy yoghurt marinade so typical of Turkey. This marinade is most often […]
Persian Fish with Barberry Sauce Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! This tangy barberry sauce is usually served with chicken in a traditional Persian dish called zereshk polo ba morgh, but I discovered that it works just as well with seafood. I like to make this Persian fish recipe using large […]
Cucumber, Tomato & Feta Salad Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Greek cooking class Inspired by Janni Kyritsis! I love the salty tang of Feta-style cheese, especially combined with cooling cucumber. Traditional Greek Feta is made from sheep milk, sometimes with a little goat milk added; it has PDO status, meaning only cheese produced […]
Beetroot Leaf Boorani Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! Fresh crisp beetroot leaves make a great addition to a salad or a Persian herb platter (sabzi khordan), but they tend not to be valued in Australia. They’re generally chopped off the beets and thrown out, so they’re usually not in great […]
Sharbat Sekanjabin Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! Sharbat is Persian cordial, a syrup flavoured with fruits and/or flowers, usually with a sour touch, that’s then diluted with water and served over ice. The word is related to sherbet, sorbet, shrub (in the drinks sense) and syrup, via the Arabic šariba […]
Pomegranate Juice Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! I’ve enjoyed ob’eh anar – freshly squeezed pomegranate juice – from street stalls all over Tehran, especially in summer when some are open all night to refresh shift workers and people on their way home from an evening out. Pomegranates are native to […]
Paloudeh Talebi (Rockmelon Slushie) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! Paloudeh talebi are rockmelon slushies sold by street vendors and made in homes throughout summer in Iran; paloudeh is a variation of the word faloodeh, Persia’s famous rose water, lime and noodle granita. These Persian rockmelon slushies can be simply fresh […]
Doogh (Persian Yoghurt Drink) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! Yoghurt is popular throughout the Middle Eastern region, dolloped onto rice, stirred through vegetables for a tangy dip, and often blended into refreshing drinks. In Iran, it’s used to make doogh (also written dugh), a slightly salty, minty, fizzy drink that’s […]
Kashke Bademjan (Persian Eggplant Dip) Like this Kashke Bademjan recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! Bademjan is Farsi for eggplant, kashk is fermented whey, and kashke bademjan (roasted eggplant dip) is one of my favourite Persian dishes. My friend Parya-joon made a huge bowl of it for my last birthday party which was […]
Persian Omelet Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Persian cooking class! What Persians call omelet is more like what I would call scrambled egg with tomato. It’s usually not a pretty dish, but it is a tasty one that appears on almost every breakfast menu in Iran. Typically the egg is finely scrambled so […]