Arabian Cuisine. Cuisine of Arabia

Arabian cuisine has its roots in the old nomadic cuisine of the Bedouins. The Bedouins journeyed throughout the dry and arid regions of the Middle East and they could use only transportable food which would not perish easily like rice or dried dates. Also, their stock like sheep or camels were not only pack-animals, they were also abulatory food. That's why Arabian cuisine is heavily relying on meat as the main ingerdient. The meaty diet was supplemented by dried fruits and vegetables such as dates and pulse and a variety of spices which the Arabs bought from Indian merchants.

The importance of pulse can still be seen in many famous Arabian dishes. For example the Egyptian national dish 'ful' consists mainly of fava beans, while 'falafel', a Syrian and Jordan speciality consists of chick peas, 'hummus' are mashed chick peas.

Fish and seafood do not play an important role in Arabian cuisine because they perish to easily in the dessert. Fish and seafood are only used in regions along rivers and seas like the Nile, the Mediterranean Sea or the Persian Gulf.

Fresh vegetable made their way onto the Arabian menu when the Nomads reached more fertile regions like the shores of the Nile or the Euphrat. There, the Arabs managed to cultivate vegetables (especially aubergines), rice and cereals.

Traditionally, bread is served with every Arabian meal. Because the Arabs eat with their fingers, the bread serves not only as filling side dish but also as cutlery. Bread is used to pick up food, to scoop up sauces and to clean the plate.

Wheat is not only for baking bread. It is also the main ingredient for two famous Arabian dishes: Couscous from the North African region and Bulgur, which is cooked in the Middle East. Both Couscous and Bulgur are similar in appearance, taste and usage and are both cooked in a rather complicated procedure.

Arabian deserts and sweets are usually very sweat and heavy and consist of ingredients like nuts, almonds, dreid fruits, and honey. A desert known in the whole Arabian world is Baklava, oroginally derived from Turkey.

Arabian eating habits

• Breakfast is usually negelected and often consists only of a little bread and fruits.
• Since noon and afternoon are very hot in Arabia, lunch usually consists of a light snack like Falafel in a Pita-bread
• Dinner is the main meal in Arabia and is usually eaten in the cool late evening hours. All attendees are sitting on cushions or small rugs on the floor around a low table or a large metal platter on which the various dishes are presented. Everything is eaten with the hand. Only the right hand is used for eating. The left is considered impure.

Arabian beverages

The Holy Quran forbids alcohol strictly so there are hardly any alcoholic beverages to be found in Arabia. Arabs drink water, coffee or tea (Chai) with their meals. Ayran (a slightly salted yoghurt-shake, served cold) is very popular, too.