Sarma, those little cigar-shaped rolls of grape leaves, rice, onions, spices, and (sometimes) meat that have begun to appear in health food stores and specialty food markets, have been a Middle Eastern treat for centuries. They are popular in Armenian and Turkish cuisines, but are found throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean countries, such as Greece, where they are often lumped in with another favorite – dolma, or vegetables stuffed with the same basic mixture.

Sarma can be served hot or cold – although usually the rice ones are served cold and the meat ones hot, with dollops of fresh madzoon (yogurt).

Lavash also known as lahvash or cracker bread is a soft, thin flatbread made with flour, water, and salt. It is the most widespread type of bread in Iran, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Toasted sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds are sometimes sprinkled on it before baking, though this is very uncommon in Armenia. While some wrap breads sold in the United States label them as lavash, actual lavash is significantly thinner than those products.

Traditionally the dough is rolled out flat and slapped against the hot walls of a tandoor oven, also called tandir in Azerbaijani, tonir in Armenian, tone in Georgian, tanur in Persian and tandır in Turkish. This is still the method used all throughout Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey and in the United States.

While flexible like a tortilla when fresh, lavash dries out quickly and becomes brittle and hard. The soft form tastes better and is easier to use when making wrap sandwiches; however, the dry form can be used for long-term storage and is used instead of leavened bread in Eucharist traditions by the Armenian Apostolic Church. Dry, left-over lavash is used in Iran to make quick meals after being rehydrated with water, butter and cheese. Lavash bread is also used with kebabs. In Turkey, a meat kebab rolled in lavash bread takes the name “dürüm”, possibly qualified by the kebab’s first name. For example, an Adana Kebab rolled in lavash bread takes the name of “Adana dürüm”, the most popular dürüm type in Turkey.

Popular as an appetizer in the Middle East and Greece, hummus is a creamy dip made from chickpeas, combined with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and other spices. Often served with pita, hummus has been a staple of the Mediterranean diet for thousands of years. Ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates made reference to hummus’ nutritional value in their writings and ancient Egyptian recipes for hummus have been discovered.

Fast Facts

1. Popular as a dip for Pita
2. High in fiber, iron, and vitamin C
3. Name is from the Arabic “hummus” for chickpeas
4. Sometimes spelled hamos, houmous, hommos, hommus, hummos, hummous or humus
5. Can add additional ingredients like Feta and Artichokes

In season you may get (and do ask for), Georgian lobiov pashtet (loh-bee-OV pahsh-TEHT, a pate made of red beans and walnuts, garlic and spices); s’khtoruk (s’kh-to-ROOK, pickled garlic stems–a treat not to be missed); spanakh (spah-NAHKH, spinach mixed with eggs or with s’khtor matzun (s’kh-TOR mah-TZOON), garlic mixed with yogurt); sunk (SOONK, mushrooms–pickled, spiced, fried, mixed into a pate);

The waiter will also bring (de rigeur) a large plate of kanachi (kah-nah-CHEE, Greens). These are very tasty herbs that include fresh tarragon, rosemary, oregano, thyme, dill, and others. It customary to have two or three types of tomato or yogurt based sauces on the table as well. You may never eat more powerful s’khtor (s’kh-TOR, garlic) than in Armenia.

There is an old Armenian saying: “Ever since pilaf burned his mouth, he blows even on his yogurt.”

The obvious allusion to an overly cautious man aside, the proverb underscores what a staple this rice dish is, not just for Armenians. It is found on tables throughout the entire Middle East.

There are, perhaps, hundreds of different sorts of pilafs on tables from Syria to Greece – and they vary by the culture, by the ingredients available, by the meat dish served with it, and by the individual taste and style of the cook. Basically, the main ingredient of these dishes is rice, bulgur wheat or couscous, steamed in some sort of stock and flavored with various spices and minced vegetable additions to the dish.

This is a basic rice recipe, popular in Turkey and parts of Syria. It goes equally well with lamb shish kebabs or with a wide variety of chicken dishes.

Baklava: Phyllo dough pastry layered with a mixture of cinnamon and nuts served with a simple syrup glaze.
Bourma: Similar to Baklava, but rolled phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and cinnamon.
Nut Rolls: Also known as “cigarette cookies”, these cookies made of cream cheese/butter dough, filled with ground walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.
Gatah: Similar to Choreg but in a round ring loaf…Great for breakfast.
Perog: Jam filled pastry. These are heavenly treats!

Bulgur is a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine, whether it’s served hot, in pilafs or cold in tabbouleh (or tabbouleh). By itself, 100 grams of bulgur is said to contain 8 grams of fiber, 12.5 grams of protein, and 8 grams of natural sugar and about 60 grams of carbohydrate. About 1.75 grams of that 100 gram sample of bulgur would also have only about 1.7 grams of fat, of which, only about 0.2 grams is saturated fat. In short, mixed with vegetables in various recipes, it becomes a pretty well-balance, low fat, and high fiber meal.

Prepared from wheat in a process that’s over a thousand years old (please see my blog on the topic), bulgur also keeps for months at a time with no refrigeration and is easily transportable – a must for cultures who are often traditionally nomadic. Yet, in any recipe, it is simply delicious, with a light, nutty flavor and a real “stick to your ribs” quality that belies the fact that it’s also an extremely healthy food to have as part of your diet.

Ayran or airan (from Turkish ayran is a drink made of yoghurt and water, popular in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Lebanon, Bulgaria and other parts of the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is similar to Armenian tahn, Indian lassi, and Iranian doogh, though doogh can be naturally-carbonated. In Cyprus, it is referred to as ayrani.

Ayran is a mixture of yoghurt, water, and salt. It is thought to have originated as a way of preserving yogurt by adding salt.

It can also be made with cucumber juice in place of some or all of the water, or flavored with garlic. It may be seasoned with black pepper, although this is uncommon in Bulgaria, where ayran is also often served without salt. Another recipe popular in some regions includes finely chopped mint leaves mixed into the ayran. In countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, extra salt is added to give the drink the flavour of salt water and is often consumed in large quantities at Turkish eateries.