This Summer Enjoy a Scrumptious Barbecue, Arab Style
BY: Yara Jouzy/ Contributing Writer
Barbecue’s in the Arab world, are so common, particularly in the summer. It’s a way to bring together all the family and friends to socialize, to create a community, and most importantly, to share all the delicious food. It includes meats, vegetables, and more. In addition, Arabs pride themselves in spicing their food with exquisite flavors.
The smoky food of an Arab Barbecue can be sensed from miles away because of the strengths of its flavors; it’s a smell you just wouldn’t want to forget.
There are many incredible dishes you would want to make as sides to the barbecue; here are some of them:
Appetizers
For appetizers, most people make a salad known as tabouleh. Tabbouleh is made up of several ingredients, but the main one is the healthy chopped fresh parsley which gives the taste to the tabbouleh. Other ingredients include: soaked and squeezed bulghur or burghul, chopped tomatoes and scallions, lemon, salt, pepper and olive oil. It’s a sour tasting salad that is very popular in Lebanon; however, almost all Arabs and Arab americans include it at their barbecues and daily cuisines.
Another famous salad is the fattoush. It’s a mix of onions, pomegranate syrup, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, toasted Arab bread, and more. What makes this salad so good is the crunch of the toasted bread that is cut up into it. With every bite, you get to feel the crunch of bread that is drained in the saucy salad. These two salads in addition to the well-known hummus plate, are what make up the perfect appetizer menu.
Main Dish/Barbecue
The main dish usually consists of meats, mishwe; Arabs are known to be meat lovers, including: chicken, lamb, and beef. Kebab is one of the most traditional component of the Arab cuisine. It is popular in many countries, such as: Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt and more.
The one special ingredient that makes it so unique is the parsley which gives the meat its delightful taste. It’s believed that parsley completely changes the flavor of the meat.
If you think the kebabs are good, then you have to try the lamb chops; especially, the way Arabs make them. Lamb chops have a special spice called baharat, which is a mix of Middle Eastern spices that make it taste so much better than any ordinary lamb chop. It’s easily and quickly grilled. Also it’s small enough to nibble on and not messy to eat. What more do you want if you have juicy lamb chops?
Well, there is more to want! Additional recipes include chicken shish tawook, which is essentially chunks of the chicken breasts placed on a skewer. The Arab way to marinade shish tawook is with lemon, plain yogurt, salt, pepper, and garlic; the same way you may marinate chicken wings and chicken fillet.
A must with chicken is garlic paste, also known as toum. It’s too garlicky for some people, but for most, it’s highly desired to soften the dry grilled chicken.
Although it is very uncommon for an Arab to be a vegetarian, as a large part of their eating habits include meat, for them it’s appealing to grill for them: onions, eggplants, tomatoes, green pepper, mushrooms, and more.
The best part about grilling tomatoes is that once they are soft, they can be mashed into a salsa with a dash of salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. This is the Arab version of the Italian bruschetta that can also be eaten with freshly baked bread.
In America, Arabs would hardly make a barbecue and not serve it with hummus and baba-ghannoush.
They both complement well the consumption of meat.
As you can see, barbecues in the Arab world are known for their spices, meats, and vegetables. With so many mouth-watering flavors, you’re going to want to try them all this summer!
Rather than sulking about how hot it is, take advantage of it and try out a new recipe every weekend with your family and friends, both Arabs and non Arabs!