Perhaps our English summers may not reach the heights of one in the Middle East but this does not mean we cannot enjoy some of their finest treats often eaten during the summer. Arabic cuisine features a wide variety of incredible food so we have drawn up just a selection of desserts and drinks for you to not only start creating but also learn the Arabic language along the way.
Booza
Meaning ‘ice cream’ in Arabic, this delicious Lebanese dairy dessert can be distinguished by its stretchy texture and unique flavouring, where ‘sahlab’, a ground orchid root and ‘mastic’, a resin from mastic trees, are used to thicken it. If you are making it, cornstarch also serves as an effective thickener. This variety of ice cream is known to be particularly fragrant, creamy and dense. It is traditionally flavoured by qashta (or kashta), a combination of a clotted cream mixed with orange blossom and rose water, creating a candied cream flavour. It can also be served with artificial flavourings, fruit, nuts and chocolate. You can see the traditional method where the ingredients are pounded together with wooden mallets to mix them together below. Listen out for the key words ‘booza’, ‘qashta’ and ‘mastic’!
If you are based in London and you would like to try booza, Diwan Damas is a great place which serves this stretchy ice cream. See here.
Om Ali
Often described as Egyptian bread pudding, this sweet pudding is made up of pastry, pistachios, raisins, coconut flakes, and topped with a form of sweet milk or cream. Instead of being stodgy, the pudding is simple, light and fragrant. People tend to use rukak or puff pastry, croissants or even stale brioche bread. The name literally translates to “Ali’s Mother” and it is said that it was named after a Sultan of Egypt, Izz Al-Din Aybak whose wife was known as “Umm Ali” (another way of writing it). The sultan was meant to have once ordered her cook to make this dish and distributed it widely and therefore, it became known by her name. Watch the video below for instructions on how to make it and to learn the ingredients in Arabic to show off in class:
Falafel
Practically a staple in food markets, these rolled balls of chickpeas, garlic and spices are tasty, filling and versatile, whether you would like them in a wrap, salad or as a side. There are many variations on how falafel is prepared: in Syria, onions and coriander are added to the mixture, and in Palestine, it is chickpeas with tahini and pomegranate molasses. In Persian, it also has the name of balbal, meaning ‘the round thing’. There is even an International Falafel Day on 18th June! They are relatively easy to make yourself, where you have the option of air/deep-frying or baking them in the oven. You can choose to either soak dried chickpeas or you can purchase them in water. In the video below, they have the ingredients in both English and Arabic so see if you can recognise any patterns and link the letters together.
Hummus
You can’t have one without the other! A frequent friend of falafel is the flavoursome hummus dip – hummus, incidentally, comes from the Arabic word for chickpeas. Its full, lesser known name is actually hummus bi tahina, which means ‘chickpeas with tahini’. Combined with tahini, lemon juice and garlic, it can accompany food from crisps, vegetables to wraps with meat or vegetarian fillings. The food’s first appearance in the written record seems to be from a 13th-century cookbook from Cairo, though this version did not feature tahini or garlic but vinegar and pickled lemons. Add it to your summer barbecue by making some yourself – it’s surprisingly straightforward!
Maamoul
In short, these are lovely buttery date-filled cookies. Maamoul (also written as Maamool or Mamoul) means ‘filled’ in Arabic – the filling can also be figs, pistachios, almonds or walnuts. These are often prepared for Eid and other festivities and are often placed into decorative moulds before being baked such as those in the videos. Made with semolina, flour, ghee, the batter is flavoured with mahlab powder (a spice made from the seeds of a species of cherry, which gives the biscuits a marzipan, cherry and rosewater taste). Watch below to see how to make these cookies (presented in Arabic with excellent English subtitles to learn and follow along) as well as to see their significance for the diverse Arabic-speaking world by this insight into the famous Café Baba in Lebanon.
Limon Na’na
Whilst dessert is always important, sometimes what you may need is a refreshing drink – a mint lemonade in this case. Your lemonade with a twist, Limon Na’na (or limonana mint as it has been more recently advertised) is a combination of the Arabic words limon and nana which mean ‘lemon’ and ‘mint’, respectively. Mixed with lots of ice, the drink has a more ‘slushy’ consistency than a limeade.
Our Arabic courses at International House combine aspects across language and culture, touching on food and daily life, especially given how widespread the Arabic-speaking world is! For more information on Arabic, see here.