Lebanon
Akkawi Cheese
عكاوي
A white brined cheese, smooth and squeaky, soaked to remove salt before eating and used in flatbreads and sweet pastries.
western-asia
Palestine
Explore 58 foods connected to Palestine, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
58 foods12 leading categories1 Essentials guides
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The local shortlist
Palestine Essentials
11 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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The full directory
Traditional foods from Palestine.
58 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Palestine
Ari'ih
أرنيه
Pumpkins stuffed with rice and minced meat, then baked — a Palestinian autumn dish using seasonal squash from village gardens.
Egypt
Bamia
بامية
A Egyptian okra stew with beef or lamb in tomato and garlic sauce, a daily and home classic
United Arab Emirates
Dolmades
Ντολμάδες
Greek stuffed grape leaves with rice, herbs, and olive oil, rolled into small parcels. A meze and Clean Monday staple, tangy and herby, served cold with lemon, a national dish.
Egypt
Falafel
פלאפל
Soaked raw chickpeas ground with herbs, cumin and coriander and deep-fried in balls, packed into pita with salad, tahini, pickles and hot sauce.
Palestine
Fatit 'Ajir
فتيت عجير
Roasted watermelon seeds crushed and mixed with unleavened bread and chopped vegetables, a rural Palestinian dish where the watermelon itself is a national symbol.
Lebanon
Fattoush
فتوش
Salad with crispy bread pieces, vegetables, and sumac dressing, fresh vegetables with crispy bread and tangy sumac dressing, well-balanced, a popular and refreshing Arabic salad in UAE, daily and beloved.
Jordan
Freekeh Soup
شوربة فريكة
Green wheat, smoked from being fire-roasted while young, simmered in chicken or lamb broth into a smoky, grainy soup.
Palestine
Fukharit 'Adas
فخارية عدس
Lentil stew flavoured with red peppers, dill, garlic, and cumin, slow-cooked in a clay pot — a rustic Palestinian country dish.
Gaza Strip, Palestine
Gazan Dagga
دقة غزاوية
A spicy, tangy tomato and dill salsa from Gaza, served cold as a condiment or dip with bread and olive oil.
Lebanon
Green Beans in Olive Oil
لوبية بزيت
Flat green beans stewed slowly with onion, garlic, tomato and a great deal of olive oil, served at room temperature.
Lebanon
Green Wheat
فريكة
Wheat harvested green, set alight so the chaff burns off, then dried and cracked, giving a smoky, chewy grain.
Lebanon
Grilled Meat-Stuffed Bread
عرايس
Flatbread split and packed with spiced minced lamb, then pressed on the grill until the bread crisps and the fat soaks into it.
Palestine
Hilbeh
حلبة
Semolina cake made with fenugreek seeds and olive oil, topped with nuts, nigella, or sesame, then soaked in sugar and rose water syrup.
United Arab Emirates
Hummus
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.
Karak, Jordan
Jameed
جميد
Sheep or goat yoghurt salted, strained and dried into hard white stones that keep for years and are reconstituted into sauce.
Palestine
Ka'k bi Tahineh
كعك بالطحينة
Tahini cookies made with semolina or flour, butter, sugar, and tahini, baked until golden — crumbly, nutty, and not overly sweet.
Palestine
Kafta b'Thine
كفتة بالطحينة
Minced lamb meatballs cooked in a tahini sauce with garlic, lemon, and potato, served over rice — a Palestinian comfort dish.
Nablus, Palestine
Knafeh
كنافة
Sweet cheese pastry with vermicelli-like kataifi dough, soaked in sugar syrup, often topped with pistachios, crispy shredded dough with melted cheese center and proper syrup soaking, a beloved Arab dessert.
United Arab Emirates
Ma'amoul
معمول
Date-filled semolina cookies pressed into wooden molds with decorative patterns, dusted with icing sugar, an Eid favorite, crumbly yet firm texture with distinct mold patterns and generous date filling.
Palestine
Maftoul
مفتول
Hand-rolled Palestinian couscous, larger than Moroccan couscous, steamed and served with chickpeas, chicken, and a rich broth cooked with cumin and olive oil.
Palestine
Maltout
الملتوت
Traditional Palestinian flatbread flavoured with olive oil and turmeric, baked in a taboon oven, especially popular during the olive harvest season.
Jordan
Mansaf
منسف
Lamb simmered in a sauce of reconstituted dried fermented yoghurt, poured over rice and thin shrak bread and scattered with almonds and pine nuts.
Jordan
Maqluba
مقلوبة
Rice layered with fried aubergine, cauliflower and lamb or chicken in a pot, cooked, then upended onto a tray so the layers show.
Palestine
Mfarrakeh
مفركة
Cubed potatoes fried in olive oil or ghee with scrambled eggs, cumin, and pepper, garnished with coriander — a simple Palestinian breakfast or light meal.
Israel
Mint Tea
תה נענע
A glass of black tea or hot water with a whole handful of fresh spearmint stems pushed into it, drunk after meals.
Lebanon
Molokhia
ملوخية
Jute mallow leaves cooked into a green stew with chicken or lamb, served over rice with vinegar, onion and toasted bread.
Lebanon
Mujaddara
مجدرة
Lentils and rice or bulgur cooked together and buried under deeply caramelised onions fried almost to black.
Palestine
Musakhan
مسخّن
Roasted chicken baked with sumac-caramelised onions over taboon bread soaked in olive oil, finished with fried pine nuts — Palestine's national dish from the Tulkarm and Jenin area.
Lebanon
Mutabbal
متبل
Aubergine charred whole over a flame, peeled and mashed with tahini, lemon and garlic into a pale smoky purée.
Nablus, Palestine
Nabulsi Cheese
جبنة نابلسية
Semi-firm brined white cheese from Nablus, flavoured with mahlab and mastic, often studded with nigella seeds — used in knafeh or fried.
Palestine
Palestinian Bissara
بسارة
Dip made from fava beans and corchorus (molokhia) leaves, blended with garlic, olive oil, and cumin into a thick, earthy spread for bread.
Hebron, Palestine
Qidreh
قدرة
Rice and lamb cooked with chickpeas, garlic, and cardamom in a clay pot in a communal stone oven — a Hebron specialty served at weddings and feasts.
Nablus, Palestine
Qizha
قزحة
Pitch-black paste made from crushed nigella seeds, sharp and bitter with slight sweetness, used in Palestinian sweets, pies, and breads.
Nablus, Palestine
Qizha Pie
فطيرة قزحة
A semolina cake made with qizha (nigella seed paste), topped with sugar syrup and nuts — a variation of basbousa unique to Nablus.
Gaza Strip, Palestine
Rummaniyeh
رمّانية
A Palestinian lentil and eggplant stew sharpened with pomegranate and tahini, especially associated with Gaza and served with bread.