The Most EXOTIC Street food in the Middle East
Middle Eastern Cuisine is famous worldwide for its mouthwatering flavors, spices, and herbs. From luxury dining to street food, The Middle East stands to provide an enchanting variety of dishes that is beyond your wildest dreams. Like their incredibly diverse culture, its culinary traditions are highly rated, and will take you on a gastronomic journey.
Middle Eastern food is known for its natural spices, cooking techniques, and influences that make it unique among other cuisines. They use a lot of spices like Indian and Pakistani food do but the taste is amazing and class-apart.
The street food of the Middle East is something that everyone should try at-least once in their life time. Their herbs and vibrant spices combine to form deep and complex flavors and presented in a very traditional way.
Here is a list of the most exotic street foods in the Middle East that you should definitely try during your trips:
Manakeesh
Manakeesh is specialty food which looks similar to a pizza but offers different textures and flavors. It's a starter that people in the Middle East usually eat for breakfast. It is a dough-based recipe topped with cheese, vegetables, herbs, meat, and sauces.
Foul Medames
Foul Medames is also known as the famous Middle Eastern bean dip. Its a stew made by cooking vegetables, fava beans, oil, and cumin. People of the Middle East also serve it with the topping of lemon juice, parsley, chili pepper, and herbs.
Hummus
Hummus is not just any dish but a world-famous dip that is the origin of the Middle East. It is made by mashing chickpeas with olive oil, tahini paste, salt, and garlic. The locals garnish it with coriander leaves, paprika, and ground peppers. It is the signature dish there and should be your first choice to sample middle eastern food.
Al Machboos
A famous dish of UAE with an amazing and unique taste. It is a combination of rice and onions with meat, lemon slices, and a lot of spices. All of these are boiled and fried before cooking them together to form the perfect dish that will surely surprise you.
Knafeh
Knafeh is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert that is made with filo pastry or semolina dough. It is soaked in sugar-based syrup to enhance its flavor. It is topped with cheese, nuts, pistachios, and clotted cream. Lebanese serve it inside a bread like food called Kaak and have it for breakfast.
Shish Tawook
Served with Pita bread, Shish Tawook is a mixture of chicken and spices which is cooked in a tandoor oven. It is served differently in the streets usally with fries, dips, salad, pickles, and lemon.
Stuffed Camel Meat
In the Gulf Area, locals love camel meat and it is a major part of their food. Stuffed camel meat is an exotic dish that is served in wedding ceremonies. It is considered to be the pride of UAE as its name is also mentioned in the World Guinness book.
Shawarma
The most affordable, popular and easy to find local food in the Middle East is shawarma. It is a bread stuffed with different types of fillings including meat, vegetables, pickles, fries and many other ingredeints. In UAE, you will find this dish stuffed with turkey, beef, goat, and roasted lamb meat to enhance the flavors.
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried dish made with chickpeas that is formed into ball or patty shapes. It is supposed to be an evening snack and usually recommended to travelers by locals. You can try it with pita bread, vegetables, and dips to enhance the flavor.
Be ready to experience even more, as the Middle East is home of the world's best cuisines with many exotic flavors that will satisfy up your taste buds.
