Global food category
56 traditional foods, ingredients, and local specialties connected by one appetite.
Acılı Ezme
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56 foods match this view. Narrow them by country, type, rarity, or name.
Turkey
A fiery dip made from finely diced tomatoes, onions, parsley, and red pepper flakes, dressed with pomegranate molasses and olive oil. The vegetables are hand-chopped, never blended, giving it a chunky texture. A staple meze at kebab restaurants across Turkey.
Honduras
Refried red beans and melting cheese kept hot in a clay pot over embers, with chorizo stirred through and fried tortilla wedges to dig in with.
Piedmont, Italy
Piedmontese warm dip of garlic and anchovies in olive oil, served with raw and cooked vegetables for dipping. A communal winter ritual.
Trinidad and Tobago
Aubergine roasted whole over an open flame, peeled and mashed with garlic and onion fried in hot oil.
Turkey
Turkish broad-bean purée meze, distinct from Greek fava.
Egypt
بسارة
A Egyptian green fava bean dip with herbs, garlic, and spices, served with bread, a rural and daily classic
Malta
Ġulbiena beans mashed with garlic, parsley, olive oil and chilli into a rough, khaki-coloured dip.
Greece
Μπουγιουρντί
Baked feta and hot peppers; a classic shareable meze.
Ethiopia
ቡጥጫ
A cold Ethiopian dip of chickpea flour cooked into a thick base, then mashed with chopped onions, jalapeños, lemon juice and warm spices. Served scooped onto injera — a fasting-friendly cousin of hummus.
Turkey
A refreshing meze of strained yogurt mixed with grated cucumber, garlic, dill, and a drizzle of olive oil. Sometimes diluted with cold water to make a drinkable soup. Cacık is the Turkish cousin of tzatziki and accompanies grilled meats and rice dishes.
Chhattisgarh, India
चापड़ा चटनी
Red ants and their eggs are pounded with chilli, salt, and aromatics into a Chhattisgarhi chutney.
Sri Lanka
ලූනු මිරිස්
Dried chilli, red onion, salt and lime pounded on a grinding stone into a fierce coarse paste, eaten with milk rice and roti.
Sri Lanka
පොල් සම්බෝල
Freshly scraped coconut pounded with dried chilli, red onion, lime and maldive fish into a coarse red relish.
Bangladesh
শুঁটকি ভর্তা
Dried fish roasted, pounded with dried chilli, garlic, onion and mustard oil into a rough, intensely savoury paste eaten with plain rice.
Sudan
Salata aswad
Aubergine charred whole over flame, peeled and mashed with peanut butter, garlic, chilli and lemon.
Ethiopia
እልብት
An Ethiopian-style 'hummus' — a smooth paste of cooked legumes (often fava beans or chickpeas) blended with chopped onions, jalapeños and warm spices. Served cold during fasting periods. Also written hilbet.
Djibouti
Ground flatbread mashed with ripe banana or dates into a thick sweet paste, served as the traditional accompaniment to mukbasa.
Syria
فتة دجاج
Fried bread layered with rice, shredded chicken, garlic yoghurt, toasted pine nuts and browned butter.
Faroe Islands
Garnatálg
A dip of melted fermented intestinal fat from sheep; a traditional Faroese condiment; served with ræstur fiskur and other traditional dishes; a vital source of fat in the historical Faroese diet; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; an essential element of Faroese food culture.
Sri Lanka
කැට්ට සම්බෝල
A dry, extremely hot pounded mix of chilli flakes, maldive fish, onion and lime, used in tiny amounts on rice.
Aosta Valley, Italy
Aosta Valley cheese fondue of fontina, milk, egg yolks, and butter—no wine, unlike Swiss fondue. Served with crusty bread or polenta.
Nepal
गोलभेडाको अचार
Ripe tomatoes are ground with chilli, toasted sesame, herbs, and spices into a bright Nepali achar.
Turkey
Haydari is the thick strained-yoghurt-and-garlic meze stiffened with cheese and dill — set-firm where cacık runs thin and soupy.
Eritrea
Eritrean legume paste made from ground lentils and faba beans; cooked into a smooth, thick spread; seasoned with onions, garlic, and spices; a fasting-day staple when no meat or dairy is eaten; served with injera or kitcha.
United Arab Emirates
حمص
Chickpeas boiled soft and beaten with tahini, lemon and garlic into a smooth paste, swirled with olive oil — the shared Levantine staple claimed by every coast of the eastern Mediterranean, eaten with pita at any hour.
Luang Prabang, Laos
ແຈ່ວບອງ
Sweet-hot Luang Prabang paste of roasted chilli, garlic, galangal and shredded dried buffalo skin, cooked down in oil.
Iran
کشک بادمجان
Fried aubergine mashed with garlic, fried mint and whey-based kashk, served warm with crisped onion and walnut on top.
Louisville, United States
A Kentucky cucumber-and-cream-cheese spread, pale green and refreshing, served with crackers or tea sandwiches.
New Zealand
Kiwi dip
Reduced cream stirred with a packet of dried onion soup mix and left to thicken, served with potato crisps.
Maldives
މަސްކުރޮޅި
Mature coconut and tuna are pounded into a relish served as an accompaniment to Baipen.
Iran
ماست و خیار
Yogurt with diced cucumber, dried mint, walnut and sometimes raisins, eaten as a side with rice or as a dip with bread.
Puerto Rico
Mayonnaise, ketchup and crushed garlic stirred together and served with everything fried.
Syria
مدلوقة
Aubergine, pepper and tomato roasted, chopped and cooked with garlic and pomegranate molasses into a soft, sour relish.
Greece
Μελιτζανοσαλάτα
Greek smoked eggplant dip of charred eggplant, olive oil, lemon, and garlic, blended until smooth. A meze staple, smoky and savory, served with bread, a summer favorite.
Israel
מסבחה
A warm Israeli hummus dish of whole chickpeas in tahini sauce, served with lemon, garlic and olive oil, a rustic cousin of hummus.
Lebanon
متبل
Aubergine charred whole over a flame, peeled and mashed with tahini, lemon and garlic into a pale smoky purée.