اختي العزيزة هذه مقالة عن المطبخ العربي بصورة عامة ومن مختلف الدول العربية وبنزلك بعده الاكل الامريكي تقدري تعملي مقارنة ما بينهم وتحذفي اللي متحتاجيه
Originally, the
Arabs of the
Arabian Peninsula relied heavily on a diet of
dates,
wheat,
barley,
rice and
meat, with little variety, with a heavy emphasis on
yogurt products, such as
labneh (
لبنة) (yoghurt without butterfat). As the indigenous
Semitic people of the peninsula wandered, so did their tastes and favored ingredients.
There is a strong emphasis on the following items in Arabian cuisine:
- Meat: lamb and chicken are the most used, beef and camel are also used to a lesser degree, other poultry is used in some regions, and, in coastal areas, fish. Pork is not commonly eaten--for Muslim Arabs, it is both a cultural taboo as well as being prohibited under Islamic law; many Christian Arabs also avoid pork as they have never acquired a taste for it.[1]
- Dairy products: dairy products are widely used, the most of which is yogurt and white cheese. However, butter and cream are also used extensively.
- Herbs and spices: mint and thyme (often in a mix called za'atar) are widely and almost universally used; spices are used much less than the Indian cuisine but the amount and types generally varies from region to region. Some of the included herbs and spices are sesame, saffron, turmeric, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and sumac. Spice mixtures include baharat.
- Beverages: hot beverages are used more than cold, coffee being on the top of the list, although tea is also served in many Arab countries.
- Grains: rice is the staple and is used for most dishes with wheat as the main source for bread as well as burghol and Semolina, which are also used extensively.
- Legumes: Lentils are widely used as well as fava beans and chick peas (garbanzo beans).
- Vegetables and fruits: this cuisine also favors vegetables such as cucumbers, aubergine (eggplant), zucchini, okra and onions, and fruits (primarily citrus), are often used as seasonings for entrees. Olives are a large part of the cuisine as well in addition to dates, figs and pomegranate.
- Nuts: pine nuts, almonds and pistachios are often included.
- Greens: Parsley and mint are popular as seasonings in many dishes, while spinach and Corchorus (called "molokhia" in Arabic) are used in cooked dishes.
- Dressings and sauces: The most popular dressings include various combinations of olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and/or garlic, and tahini (sesame paste). Labaneh, thinned yogurt, is often seasoned with mint and onion or garlic, and served as a sauce with various dishes.
Notably, many of the same spices used in Arabian cuisine are also those emphasized in
Indian cuisine. This is a result of heavy trading between the two regions, and of the current state of affairs in the wealthy oil states, in which many South Asian workers are living abroad in the Persian Gulf states.
Culture
Essential to any cooking in the Arabian Peninsula is the concept of hospitality. Meals are generally large family affairs, with much sharing and a great deal of warmth over the dinner table. Formal dinners and celebrations generally entail large quantities of lamb, and every occasion entails large quantities of Arabic coffee.
In an average Persian gulf state household, a visitor might expect a dinner consisting of a very large platter, shared commonly, with a vast mountain of rice, incorporating lamb or chicken, or both, as separate dishes, with various stewed vegetables, heavily spiced, sometimes with a
tomato sauce. Most likely, there would be several other items on the side, less hearty. Tea would certainly accompany the meal, as it is almost constantly consumed.
Coffee would be included as well.
There are many regional differences in Arab cuisine. For instance mujadara in Syria or Lebanon is different from mujadara in Jordan or Palestine. Some dishes such as
mensaf (the national dish of Jordan) are native to certain countries and rarely if ever make an appearance in other countries.
Unlike in most Western cuisines,
cinnamon is used in meat dishes as well as in sweets such as
Baklava. Other desserts include variations of
rice pudding and
fried dough. Ground
nut mixtures are common fillings for such treats.
Saffron is used in everything, from sweets, to rice, to beverages.
Fruit juices are quite popular in this often arid region.
Structure of meals
There are two basic structures for meals in the Arab world, a regular structure and a structure specific for the month of
Ramadan.
Breakfast
Cafés often offer Croissants for breakfast. Breakfast is often a quick meal consisting of bread and dairy products with tea and sometimes with jam. The most used is
labneh and
cream (kishta, made of cow milk; or qaimar, made of
domestic buffalo milk). Labneh is served with
olives, dried
mint and drizzled with
olive oil. Pastries such as manaqeesh, sfiha, fatayer and kahi are sometimes eaten for breakfast.
Flat bread with
olive oil and
za'tar is also popular.
Traditionally, however, breakfast used to be a much heavier meal especially for the working class such as lentil soup (shorbat ‘adas), or heavy sweets such as knafa. Foul, which is fava beans cooked with chick peas
garbanzo beans,
garlic,
lemon and
olive oil is a popular working class breakfast as well.
Lunch
Lunch is considered the main meal of the day, traditionally eaten after the noon prayer. It is the meal where the family groups together and, when entertaining, it is the meal of choice to invite guests.
Rarely do meals have different courses, however, salads and maza are served as side dishes to the main meal. It usually consists of a portion of meat, poultry or fish, a portion of rice, lintel, bread or burgle and a portion of cooked vegetables in addition to the fresh ones with the maza and salad. Usually the vegetables and meat are cooked together in sauce (often tomato, although others are also popular) to make maraq, which served on rice. Most households would add bread whether other grains were available or not.
Drinks are not necessarily served with the food; however, there is a very wide variety of drinks such as
shineena (or laban), Karakaden, Naque’e Al Zabib, Irq soos, Tamr Hindi as well as fruit juices. During the 20th century, Coca-cola and similar drinks have also become popular.
Dinner
Dinner was traditionally the lightest meal although in modern times and due to changing lifestyles dinner became more important.
Dinner may vary in its types and depending on whether guests are expected or not can it be from just some fruit (mainly
watermelon,
melon and
grapes) with bread and cheese to a full meal similar to that of lunch. Pastries are also eaten for dinner, or charcoal grilled food such as
kebab and
shawarma. Other simpler meals can be just dipping za’tar or duqqa or dibs with bread and olive oil. After the meal, usually on special occasions, dessert is served. The most common dessert of Arab Cuisine is rice pudding. It is made from rice cream, rose water, sugar, and salt.
Ramadan meals
In addition to the two meals mentioned hereafter, during Ramadan sweets are consumed much more than usual. Sweets and fresh fruits are served between these two meals. Although most sweets are made all year round such as knafeh, baklawa and basboosa, some are made especially for Ramadan such as Qataeif.
Futuur
Futuur (also called
iftar), or fast-breaking, is the meal taken at
dusk when the fast is over. The meal consists of three courses: first, an odd number of dates based on
Islamic tradition. Then soup would be served, the most popular is lentil soup, but a wide variety of soups such as chicken, freeka (a soup made from a form of whole wheat and chicken broth), potato, maash and others. The third course would be the main dish, usually eaten after an interval where Maghreb prayer is conducted.
The main dish is mostly similar to what is usual for lunch, except that cold drinks are also served.
Suhur
Is the meal eaten just before
dawn when fasting must begin.
Regional Arab cuisines
Levant
Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the
Levant region. Though now divided into Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine, the region was a more united entity historically, and shared most of the same culinary traditions. Although almost identical, there is some regional variation within the Levantine area.In general, Levantine foods have much in common with other eastern
Mediterranean foods, such as
Greek and
Turkish cuisines.
Some of the basic similarities are the extensive use of
olive oil,
zatar and
garlic, and common dishes include a wide array or
mezze of bread dips, stuffings and side dishes such as
hummus,
falafel,
ful,
tabouleh,
labaneh and
baba ghanoush.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sfiha2.jpg
Sfiha originated in
Syria and spread throughout the region
It also includes copious amounts of garlic and olive oil, often seasoned with lemon juice -- almost no meal goes by without including these ingredients. Most often foods are either grilled, baked or sautéed in olive oil; butter or cream is rarely used other than in a few desserts. Vegetables are often eaten raw or pickled as well as cooked. While the cuisine doesn't boast an entire repertoire of sauces, it focuses on herbs, spices and the freshness of ingredients.
Iraqi cuisine utilizes more spices than most Arab cuisines. Iraq's main food crops include wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, and dates. Vegetables include eggplant, okra, potatoes, and tomatoes. Pulses such as chickpeas and lentils are also quite common. Common meats in Iraqi cooking are lamb and beef; fish and poultry are also used. Soups and stews are often prepared and served with rice and vegetables.
Masgouf is a popular dish.
Biryani, although influenced by
Indian cuisine, is milder with a different mixture of spices and a wider variety of vegetables including potatoes, peas, carrots and onions among others.
Dolma is also one of the popular dishes. The Iraqi
cuisine is famous for its extremely tender
kebab as well as its
tikka. A wide variety of spices, pickles and
Amba are also extensively used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maqluba.jpg
Maqluba
In the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and
Jordan the population has a cooking style of their own involved in roasting various meats, baking flat breads and cooking thick yogurt-like pastes from goat milk.
Musakhan is a common main dish, famous in the Jerusalem and northern West Bank area. Its main component is
Taboon bread that is topped with pieces of cooked sweet onions, sumac, saffron and allspice. For large dinners it can be topped by one or two roasted chickens on a single large Taboon bread.
The primary cheese of the Palestinian mezze is Ackawi cheese, which is a semi-hard cheese with a mild, salty taste and sparsely filled with roasted sesame seeds.
Maqluba is another popular meal in central
Palestine.
Mujaddara, another food of the West Bank as well as in the Levant in general, consists of cooked green lentils with Bulgar sauteed with olive oil.
Mansaf is a traditional meal of both the West Bank and
Jordan having roots from the Bedouin population of Jordan and the Judea. It is mostly cooked on occasions such as Eid, a birth or a large dinner gathering. Mansaf is cooked as a lamb leg or large pieces of lamb on top a markook bread that has been topped with yellow rice usually. A type of thick dried cheesecloth yogurt from goat's milk that's called jameed is poured on top of the lamb and rice to give it its distinct flavor and taste. The dish is garnished with cooked pine nuts and almonds.