Archaeologists have found evidence from excavations atJarmo, in northeasternIraq, thatpistachio nuts were a common food as early as 6750 BC.[8] Among the ancient texts discovered inMesopotamia is aSumerian-Akkadianbilingual dictionary,[9] recorded incuneiform script on 24 stone tablets about 1900 BC.[9] It lists terms in the two ancient Iraqi languages for over 800 different items of food and drink.[9] Included are 20 different kinds ofcheese, over 100 varieties ofsoup and 300 types ofbread, each with different ingredients, filling, shape or size.[9]
Lamb is the favorite meat, butchicken,beef,goat andfish are also eaten. Most dishes are served with rice—usuallytimman anbar, a yellowish, very aromatic, long-grain rice grown in the Middle Euphrates region.[12]
Bulghur wheat is used in many dishes, having been a staple in the country since the days of theancient Assyrians.[3]Flatbread is a staple that is served with a variety ofdips, cheeses, olives, andjams, at every meal.
Meals begin with appetizers and salads, known asmezza.Mezza is a selection of appetizers or small dishes often served with a beverage, like anise-flavored liqueurs such asarak,ouzo,rakı,sambuca,pastis, or various wines, similar to thetapas of Spain, orfinger food. Mezza may include:
Iraqi sumac salad, a typical Iraqi salad with the addition of sumac berries.[13]
Baytinijan maqli, a dish often served cold, consisting of fried aubergine (eggplant) withtahini, 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-lemonvinaigrette.
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 amezze. 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 forrakı,ouzo,tsipouro andrakia.
Jajik, an appetizer, also used as a sauce forshish anddöner kebab.Jajik is made ofstrained yogurt (usuallysheep's milk orgoat's milk in Greece and Turkey) with cucumbers, garlic, salt, usually olive oil, pepper, dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsley, or mint added. The cucumbers are either puréed and strained, or seeded and finely diced. Olive oil, olives, and herbs are often used as garnishes.
Various stews served over rice form a major part of Iraqi cuisine.
Fasolia yabsa (Iraqi white bean stew), made up of tender lamb or veal, white kidney beans (also called cannellini beans), tomato sauce and served over rice.[14]
Fasoulia, a soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables.
Harissa, similar tokeşkek, a porridge made of stewed and boned chicken and coarsely ground soaked wheat.
Kebabs, a dish consisting of grilled or broiled meats on a skewer or stick.[15] The most commonkebabs include lamb and beef, although others use chicken or fish.
Lentil soup, may be vegetarian or include meat, and may use brown, red, yellow or black lentils, with or without the husk.
Maqluba, an upside-down rice and aubergine (eggplant) casserole, hence the name which means "upside-down". It is sometimes made with fried cauliflower instead of aubergine and usually includes meat—often braised lamb.[16]
Margat baytinijan, an aubergine-based dish of the Balkans and the Middle East. All versions are based primarily on sautéed aubergine (eggplant) and tomato, usually with minced meat.
Masgouf, a traditional Mesopotamian dish made with fish from theTigris.[15][18] It is an open-cut freshwater fish roasted for hours after being marinated with olive oil, salt,curcuma and tamarind while keeping the skin on. Traditional garnishes for themasgouf include lemon, chopped onions and tomatoes, as well as the clay-ovenflatbreads common to Iraq and much of the Middle East.
Pomegranate soup, calledshorbat rumman in Iraq. It is made from pomegranate juice and seeds, yellow split peas, ground beef, mint leaves, spices, and other ingredients.[19]
Qeema, a minced meat, tomato and chickpea stew, served with rice. Traditionally prepared at the annualAshura commemorations in southern Iraq and can also be served in funerals, weddings, etc. The nameqeema is an ancientAkkadian word meaning "finely chopped".[20]
Tashrib, a soup made with either lamb or chicken with or without tomatoes eaten with Iraqinan; the bread is broken into pieces and the soup is poured over in a big bowl.
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.
Dolma (sarma), a family of stuffed vegetable dishes. The grape-leafdolma is common. Courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), tomato and pepper are commonly used as fillings. The stuffing may or may not include meat.[21]
Falafel, a fried ball or patty made from spiced chickpeas or fava beans. Originally from Egypt,falafel is a form of common fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a kind ofmezze and more commonly eaten with samoon with asalad and usuallyAmba (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.
Kubba, a dish made of rice orburghul, chopped meat, and spices. There are many varieties and variations of kubba. One of the best-known varieties is atorpedo-shapedburghul 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.[19][1][2]
Samosa, a small fried or baked pasty, which may be either half-moon shaped or triangular.
Long-grainrice is a staple in Iraqi cuisine.[15][18] Iraqi rice cooking is a multistep process intended to produce just-tender, fluffy grains.[12] A prominent aspect of Iraqi rice cooking is thehikakeh, a crisp bottom crust.[12] Before serving, thehikakeh is broken into pieces so that everyone is provided with some along with the fluffy rice.[12]
Dolma, vine leaves stuffed with a mixture of ground lamb or beef with rice cooked with many fillings in the same pot, withpomegranate juice prominently added by North Iraqis to give it a unique taste.
TheAssyrians of Iraq may either call itdolma oryaprekh which is theSyriac term for stuffed grape leaves.
Iraqis usually servedolma without yoghurt. Often chicken or beef ribs are added to the cooking pot, and sometimes served with thedolma instead ofmasta orkhalwah. Iraqidolma is usually cooked and served in a tomato-based sauce.
Dolma is very popular inIraq. InMosul they include courgettes (zucchini), tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, and grape leaves. They are occasionally steamed.
Quzi, a rice-based dish served with very slow-cooked lamb and roasted nuts and raisins.
Tibeat, a Jewish-Iraqi dish made forShabbat, slow-cooked chicken stuffed with rice, tomatoes, dried apricots and raisins, with a strong cardamom flavor.[27]
InIraqi Arabic, rice is calledtemmen, which is anassimilation of English "ten men" (a brand of Indianbasmati rice).[28] According to the myth, the word originated afterWorld War I when Iraqi farmers declined to provide theBritish with rice to feed their soldiers inBasra. Thereafter, the British imported "Ten Men" instead.[29] 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 wordtemmen has since entered the Iraqi vocabulary, and today, Iraqis still use that word for rice.[30]
Shawarma, a Middle-Eastern Arabic-style sandwich-like wrap[15] 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.
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 fromwater buffalo's milk in the East, orcow's milk in the West.
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 tofeta, 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.[19]
Burek, a type of baked or fried filledpastry. It is made of a thin flaky dough known asphyllo dough (oryufka dough), and are filled with salty cheese (oftenfeta), minced meat, potatoes or other vegetables.
Ka'ak, refer to several different types of baked goods produced throughout the Arab world and the Near East.
Kadaif, a very fine vermicelli-like pastry used to make sweet pastries and desserts.
Kahy, layers of thin doughphyllo usually consumed warm for breakfast by adding creamykaymak and light sugar syrup. This pastry is mostly spread in the Southern region of Iraq.
Khubz Iraqi, an Arabic flatbread that is part of the local diet in many countries ofWestern Asia.
Manakish, apizza consisting of dough topped with thyme, cheese, or ground meat.
Markook, a type of flatbread common in the countries of the Levant. It is baked on a domed or convex metal griddle, known assaj. It is usually sizable, about 2 feet, thin, almost transparent.
Pita, a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour.
Sfiha, a pizza-like dish traditionally made with ground mutton rather than the more modern addition of lamb or beef inBrazil. They are open-faced meat pies with no top dough.
Sfiha are much likedolma, ground lamb, lightly spiced, wrapped in brined grape leaves.
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 ofHammurabi (1792 BCE–1750 BCE) includes similar basic ingredients with the addition of grape syrup,figs and apples.[31]
The traditional Iraqikleicha cookies are believed to have their roots in Mesopotamianqullupu—date filled pastries baked in a wood-fired oven calledtannour. In modern times, other types of cookies (biskit) and cakes (ka'ak) are made at home, usually flavored withcardamom or rose water. Some variations include the disc-shapedkhfefiyyat, half-moon shapedkleichat joz made with nuts, and date-filledkleichat tamur.[31]
"White baklava",osh el bulbul (bird's nests) and other traditional sweets in Iraq
Cookbooks dating to theAbbasid 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 likebaklava 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.[31]
Though not as recognizable asbaklava, the fried pastry calledlauzeenaj, flavored withmastic androse water, was a specialty in imperial Baghdad.
Baklava andzalabia are typical offerings during theEid al-Fitr celebrations that followRamadan.Halqoum (commonly known asTurkish delight) are traditionally given as gifts during the holiday.[31]
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.
Luzina, a candy similar to Turkishlukum, made from ground fruits.
Qatayef, an Arab dessert reserved for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, a sort of sweetcrêpe 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.
Zardah, aPersian dessert. It is also used on religious occasions, such asRamadan andEid. It is made of soaked rice with a sticky consistency like jelly, with sugar and yellow tea dye added to it, along with cinnamon, coconut and nuts to decorate the dish.
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.
Arak, a clear, colourless, unsweetenedanise-flavoureddistilledalcoholic drink.Arak is usually not consumed straight, but is mixed in approximately1⁄3︎arak to2⁄3︎ water, and ice is then added.[32][33]
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.
Arabic 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 ofyogurt mixed with cold water, sometimes with a pinch of salt or dried mint added.
Tea, also known aschai, 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.
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