Saudi Arabia

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Sago Halawa

Sago

Gulf sago halawa (saqoo) is a glossy pudding of soaked sago pearls cooked with sugar, cardamom, saffron, and sometimes milk or evaporated milk; it is distinct from South African milk sago pudding.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Saj Bread

خبز صاج

Thin flatbread cooked on hot metal saj griddle, light, golden, with pleasant aroma, used in fatteh, mansaf, and various pastries across Saudi, large thin almost transparent with golden color and light weight, a beloved daily staple.

🇸🇦Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Saleeg

سليق

Saleeg is Hijazi short-grain rice cooked in milk and meat broth, topped with roasted chicken and served with daggus sauce.

🇪🇬Egypt

Salep

Салеп

A warm, creamy winter drink made from the powdered tubers of wild orchids, mixed with hot milk, sugar, and topped with cinnamon. Salep has been consumed since Ottoman times and is sold by street vendors during the cold months. The same orchid root powder is a key ingredient in Turkish dondurma ice cream.

🇾🇪Yemen

Samak Mofa

Whole fish rubbed with chilli, cumin and garlic and slapped onto the inside wall of a clay tandoor oven to cook.

🇮🇶Iraq

Samoon

صمون

Iraqi samoon is a puffy, diamond-shaped bread baked in a hot oven and eaten with stews, kebab and breakfast spreads.

🇬🇵Guadeloupe

Samosa

समोसा

A crisp South Asian pastry is folded around spiced potato, peas, onion, or meat, then fried and served with chutney

🇱🇧Lebanon

Sayadiya

صيادية

White fish fried and laid on rice cooked in a stock darkened with deeply caramelised onion, topped with toasted pine nuts and a tahini sauce.

🇸🇦Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Segai Dates

تمر صقعي

Segai Dates are a Riyadh Province variety with a golden tip over a brown body, firm flesh, and balanced sweetness.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Shorbet Ads

شوربة عدس

An Egyptian lentil soup, thick and golden, seasoned with cumin and lemon and often finished with a swirl of oil.

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Shuraik

شريك

Shuraik is soft Saudi bread made with flour, yeast, sugar, milk, and crushed chickpeas, with a lightly sweet golden crumb.

🇪🇬Egypt

Sobia

سوبيا

A chilled Egyptian drink of coconut, rice, milk and sugar, blended smooth and served especially at Ramadan tables and juice stalls.

🇦🇪United Arab Emirates

Stuffed Dates

تمر محشي

Stuffed dates are Emirati sweets filled with nuts or cream cheese; the dates hold a generous filling and can remain moderately sweet.

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Sufri Dates

تمر سفري

Sufri Dates are a widely cultivated Saudi variety with golden-to-brown skin, sweet flavor, and a firm texture suited to commercial storage.

🇸🇦Qassim, Saudi Arabia

Sukkari Dates

تمر سكري

Sukkari Dates are a Qassim variety with golden-yellow skin and moderately sweet flesh, firm and crunchy at the khalal stage.

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Sumar Honey

عسل سمر

Sumar honey comes from bees foraging on Acacia tortilis blossoms in the Nejd desert; it ranges from pale to amber and crystallizes moderately.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Tabbouleh

تبولة

Parsley and bulgur salad with tomatoes, mint, lemon, dominant fresh parsley with fine bulgur and balanced lemon, a popular and refreshing Arabic salad in UAE, traditional and beloved, daily and healthy.

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Talh Honey

عسل طالح

Talh honey comes from bees visiting Acacia gerrardii blossoms; it is often darker than Sidr with a distinct acacia flavor.

🇦🇪United Arab Emirates

Tamarhindi

تمر هندي

Tamarind pulp, water and sugar strained into a sweet-tart drink served cold across the Gulf and Egypt, especially at festive tables.

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Tamees

تميس

Tamees (the Afghan-derived tandoor flatbread) is baked in dedicated tamees bakeries across Saudi Arabia and is ordered by name; it is not a variant of the carried Saudi breads.

🇦🇪United Arab Emirates

Thareed

ثريد

Meat and vegetable stew served over pieces of thin bread (rgaag or rakhal) that soak up the flavorful broth, a Ramadan favorite, bread properly soaked but not mushy with rich spiced tomato broth and tender meat.

🇪🇬Egypt

Umm Ali

أم علي

Egyptian-origin bread pudding made with puff pastry, milk, cream, and nuts, popular during Ramadan in UAE, warm comforting pudding with crispy pastry pieces and balanced nuts and raisins, a beloved dessert.

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Vimto

In Saudi Arabia, Vimto is a sweet fruit drink associated with Ramadan iftar and sold chilled or diluted for family gatherings.

🇯🇴Jordan

Zarb

زرب

Bedouin pit barbecue: marinated lamb and chicken with vegetables lowered on racks into a sand-covered underground oven and left for hours.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Za’atar

زعتر

A Levantine blend of dried thyme or oregano, sumac, toasted sesame and salt, used on flatbreads, with labneh and as a table seasoning.

🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Zubaidi desert truffles

فقع

Zubaidi desert truffles, wild fungi gathered after spring rains in the Arabian desert.