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Qatar

Qatar, on the Persian Gulf, is a desert peninsula with Doha’s futuristic skyline as its capital, built on gas and oil wealth hosting the 2022 World Cup. Known for pearls, Al Jazeera, and luxury, its economy diversifies into finance and tourism, funding gleaming towers and souqs. Its Bedouin roots linger in falconry. Qatar’s ambition soars.

Qatar

Featured Dishes from Qatar

Adai

Adai

Dosa may refer to:

Aloo paratha

Aloo paratha

Aloo paratha is a paratha (flat bread dish) stuffed with potato filling native to the Indian subcontinent. It is traditionally eaten for breakfast. It is made using unleavened dough rolled with a mixture of mashed potato and spices (amchur, garam masala) which is cooked on a hot tawa with butter or ghee. Aloo paratha is usually served with butter, chutney, curd, or Indian pickles.

Balaleet

Balaleet

Balaleet is a traditional sweet and savoury dish popular in the Arabian Gulf countries and especially Kuwait. A popular breakfast choice, it traditionally consists of vermicelli sweetened with sugar, cardamom, rose water and saffron, and served with an overlying egg omelette. It is sometimes served with sautéed onions or potatoes. The dish is especially served during the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr as the first meal of the day.

Balela

Balela

Balila is a Levantine dish consisting of chickpeas that have been boiled along with lemon juice, garlic, and various spices. It is served as a hot mezze dish. The name is also used for a different Egyptian dish made of whole wheat berries, milk, nuts, and raisins.

Bibingka

Bibingka

Bibingka is a type of baked rice cake in Filipino cuisine that is cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda (mid-afternoon snack), especially during the Christmas season. It is also known as bingka in the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Bibingka can also be various other Filipino baked rice cakes, for example, those made with cassava flour (bibingkang cassava / bibingkang kamoteng kahoy), glutinous rice (bibingkang malagkit), or plain flour.

Champorado

Champorado

Champorado or tsampurado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge in Philippine cuisine. It is traditionally made by boiling sticky rice with tablea (traditional tablets of pure ground roasted cocoa beans). It can be served hot or cold, usually for breakfast or merienda, with a drizzle of milk (or coconut milk) and sugar to taste. It is usually eaten as is, but a common pairing is with salted dried fish (daing or tuyo).

Cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk . During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout. Over a thousand types of cheese exist, produced in various countries. Their styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk (including the animal's diet), whether they have been pasteurised, the butterfat content, the bacteria and mold, the processing, and how long they have been aged. Herbs, spices, or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents. Other added ingredients may include black pepper, garlic, chives or cranberries. A cheesemonger, or specialist seller of cheeses, may have expertise with selecting, purchasing, receiving, storing and ripening cheeses.

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially available. There are also various coffee substitutes. Typically served hot, coffee has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks. Coffee production begins when the seeds from coffee cherries are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The "beans" are roasted and then ground into fine particles. Coffee is brewed from the ground roasted beans, which are typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially available. There are also various coffee substitutes. Typically served hot, coffee has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks. Coffee production begins when the seeds from coffee cherries are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The "beans" are roasted and then ground into fine particles. Coffee is brewed from the ground roasted beans, which are typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Egg bhurji

Egg bhurji

Egg bhurji, also known as Anda Bhurji or Ande ka Khagina, is a scrambled eggs dish which is a popular street food and a breakfast, lunch or dinner recipe. Originating from the Indian subcontinent, it is sometimes compared with the Parsi dish akuri. The Parsi dish Akoori or Akuri is very similar to egg bhurji with a few differences. Just like bhurji, akuri is filled with many aromatics like ginger, onion and other spices. However, bhurji eggs are cooked until dry, whereas akoori eggs are cooked less while still runny. The difference lies in its preparation and addition of sautéed chopped onions, chilies and optional spices. Bhurji can be found at highway rest stops and street food stalls across India, sometimes served alongside slices of white bread.[failed verification] Heavy with tomatoes, chilies, onion, and fragrant spices, these scrambled eggs make for a substantial and satisfying meal, in a matter of minutes. Egg bhurji goes well with hot chapati, paratha, dinner rolls or buttered toast.

Fattet hummus

Fattet hummus

A dip made with bread that is soaked in broth, hummus, tahini and lemon juice

Ful medames

Ful medames

Ful medames , or simply fūl, is a stew of cooked fava beans served with olive oil, cumin, and optionally with chopped parsley, garlic, onion, lemon juice, chili pepper and other vegetables, herbs, and spices. Ful medames is traditionally made in and served out of a large metal jug. It is notably a staple food in Sudan and Egypt and is considered a national dish, especially in the northern cities of Cairo and Gizah.[citation needed] Fava beans can also sometimes be found in other cuisines in the Middle East, and Africa, though cooked differently. The name of this culinary dish is transcribed fūl medammis, ful medammes, foul mdammes, etc. Some modern dictionaries suggest that its Coptic name is ⲫⲉⲗ phel or fel, but this is a term derived from Arabic (after the Arabization of Egypt). [citation needed]

Idli

Idli

Idli or idly or iddali or iddena is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India, popular as a breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented de-husked black lentils and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolised by the body. Idli has several variations, including rava idli, which is made from semolina. Regional variants include sanna of Konkan.

Kebda

Kebda

Spiced and fried liver (beef, lamb, goat), serve with flatbread, tahini, rice

Khabees

Khabees

Khabees is a traditional sweet dish popular in Gulf Arab States, and common in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It is made of flour and oil and is commonly served as a traditional dish for breakfast, especially during Eid days. Khabees خَبِيصْ (or more uncommonly, khabeesa خبيصة) from The root خَبَصَ (“to mix”) is denominal. A recipe for Khabees was mentioned in a 10th century Arabic cookbook, Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ (the book of dishes) by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq.[citation needed]

Laban

Laban

The term Leben, variously laban, liben, lben // ⓘ in the Middle East and North Africa, refers to a food or beverage of fermented milk. Generally, there are two main products known as leben: The yogurt variant for the Levant region and the buttermilk variant for parts of Arabia and North Africa (Maghreb). Leben can be served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Leben as a drink is traditionally prepared by letting milk ferment for around 24 hours, then churning and removing the butter. The remaining buttermilk can keep for several days at room temperature. In modern times, it is produced industrially.[citation needed] Leben in parts of the Middle East is traditionally prepared by boiling milk, usually whole milk, then adding yogurt (or previously made, left over/store-bought leben), and then cooled overnight.[citation needed]

Longganisa

Longganisa

Fresh or smoked pork sausage, some common versions are sweet, garlicky (Vigan), sour and garlicky (Lucban)

Lugaw

Lugaw

Lugaw, also spelled lugao, is a Filipino glutinous rice dish or porridge. Lugaw may refer to various dishes, both savory and sweet. In Visayan regions, savory lugaw are collectively referred to as pospas. Lugaw is widely regarded as a comfort food in the Philippines. According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, lugaw is one of the earliest historically-documented dishes in the Philippines. The Vocabulario de la lengua tagala by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura, defines "logao" (Hispanized as "aroz guisado") as "rice mixed with [coconut] milk or water or of both (porridge)."

Manakish

Manakish

Manakish , or in singular form man'ousheh, or other spellings, is a popular Levantine food consisting of dough topped with za'atar, cheese, or ground meat. It can be sliced or folded, and it can be served either for breakfast or lunch. Traditionally, women would bake dough in a communal oven in the morning, to provide their family with their daily bread needs, and would prepare smaller portions of dough with different toppings for breakfast at this time.

Masala dosa

Masala dosa

Masala dosa is a dish of South India originating in the town of Udupi, Karnataka. While there is variation in the recipe from town to town, the basic recipe typically starts with a fermented batter of parboiled rice, poha, and various legumes (black gram, pigeon peas, chickpeas), and incorporates various spices for flavour, such as fenugreek and dry red chilli. Traditionally served with potato curry, chutneys, and sambar, it is a common breakfast item in South India, though it can also be found in many other parts of the country and overseas. One common variant is the paper masala dosa, which is made with a thinner batter, resulting in a crisper, almost paper-thin final product. The dosa is made by soaking rice and lentils overnight in water and then grinding them into a batter. The batter is fermented overnight. To make the dosa the batter is spread on a hot tava using a ladle or a bowl. It is pan-roasted until crispy and served with potato curry, chutneys or sambar.

Olives

Olives

The olive, botanical name Olea europaea, meaning 'European olive', is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin, with wild subspecies found further afield in Africa and western Asia. When in shrub form, it is known as Olea europaea 'Montra', dwarf olive, or little olive. The species is cultivated in all the countries of the Mediterranean, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and South Africa. It is the type species for its genus, Olea. The tree and its fruit give their name to the Oleaceae plant family, which also includes species such as lilac, jasmine, forsythia, and the true ash tree. The olive's fruit, also called an "olive", is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil; it is one of the core ingredients in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Thousands of cultivars of the olive tree are known. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption are generally referred to as "table olives". About 80% of all harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives.

Pandesal

Pandesal

Pandesal, also written as pan de sal , is a staple bread roll in the Philippines commonly eaten for breakfast. It is made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt. Pandesal is a popular yeast-raised bread in the Philippines. Individual loaves are shaped by rolling the dough into long logs (bastón, Spanish for "stick") which are rolled in fine bread crumbs. These are then portioned, allowed to rise, and baked.

Paratha

Paratha

Paratha is a flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent, with earliest reference mentioned in early medieval Sanskrit, India; prevalent throughout the modern-day countries of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago where wheat is the traditional staple. It is one of the most popular flatbreads in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta, which literally means layers of cooked dough. Alternative spellings and names include parantha, parauntha, prontha, parontay, paronthi (Punjabi), porota (in Bengali), paratha (in Odia, Urdu, Hindi), palata ( pronounced [pəlàtà]; in Myanmar), porotha (in Assamese), forota (in Chittagonian and Sylheti), faravatha (in Bhojpuri), farata (in Mauritius and the Maldives), prata (in Southeast Asia), paratha, buss-up shut, oil roti (in the Anglophone Caribbean) and roti canai in Malaysia and Indonesia. The word paratha is derived from Sanskrit (S. पर, or परा+स्थः, or स्थितः). Recipes for various stuffed wheat puran polis (which Achaya (2003) describes as parathas) are mentioned in Manasollasa, a 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by Someshvara III, a Western Chalukya king, who ruled from present-day Karnataka, India. References to paratha have also been mentioned by Nijjar (1968), in his book Panjāb under the Sultāns, 1000–1526 AD when he writes that parathas were common with the nobility and aristocracy in the Punjab.

Pongal

Pongal

Pongal is a South Indian and Sri Lankan dish of rice cooked in boiling milk. Its preparation is the main custom associated with the Pongal festival. It is also eaten as a breakfast food. A part of Tamil cuisine, varieties include venn (hot) pongal, sakkarai (sweet) pongal, kozhi (chicken) pongal, and sanyasi pongal. It has been described as "very dear to (the) Tamil people." Pongal is associated with the Pongal festival, whose name means "to boil over" or "overflow." The festival thanks the Sun deity for the sunlight that makes the rice harvest possible. Therefore, the tradition calls for offering the fresh harvest of rice cooked in boiling milk to the deity. While the pongal is cooking, onlookers sometimes shout with joy, "Pongalo pongal!" ('Let the pongal rise up!').

Shakshouka

Shakshouka

Shakshouka , also spelled shakshuka or chakchouka, is a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. Shakshouka is a popular dish throughout North Africa and the Middle East. Shakshuka is a word for "mixture" in Algerian Arabic and "mixed" in Tunisian Arabic. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as being of multiple origins, an onomatopoeic Maghribi Arabic word, related to the verb shakshaka meaning "to bubble, to sizzle, to be mixed up, to be beaten together," and the French word Chakchouka, which was borrowed into English in the nineteenth century. Chakchouka was borrowed into French from Algerian Arabic. Gil Marks, while noting some similarities with the Ottoman dish menemen, suggests that shakshouka evolved from şakşuka which spread to the Maghreb through the influence of the Ottoman Empire. Anthony Buccini noted similarities between a wider range of vegetable stews. He and Noam Sienna conclude that both shakshouka and menemen, among other dishes like piperade and ratatouille, are members of a wider family of vegetable stews of common ancestry appearing throughout the western Mediterranean.

Sweet pongal

Sweet pongal

Sweetened rice dish, made with rice, jaggery, dal, ghee, nuts, raisins

Taho

Taho

Tahô is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (sweetener and flavoring), and sago pearl (similar to tapioca pearls). This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and tahô peddlers can be found all over the country. The dish originates from Hokkien tāu-hū (豆腐), which was introduced to the Philippines via Hokkien immigrants.

Yogurt

Yogurt

Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cow's milk is most commonly used to make yogurt. Milk from water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels, and yaks is also used to produce yogurt. The milk used may be homogenized or not. It may be pasteurized or raw. Each type of milk produces substantially different results. Yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria. Other lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are sometimes added during or after culturing yogurt. Some countries require yogurt to contain a specific amount of colony-forming units (CFU) of bacteria; for example, in China the requirement for the number of lactobacillus bacteria is at least 1 million CFU per milliliter. Some countries also regulate which bacteria can be used: for example, in France, a product can only be labeled as "yaourt" or "yoghourt" if it has been fermented exclusively by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, a requirement that aligns with the international definition of yogurt in the Codex Alimentarius on fermented milk (CXS 243-2003.

Adhirasam

Adhirasam

Athrasa in Kannada , or Adhirasam (Tamil: அதிரசம்), kajjaya ariselu in Telugu, anarasa in Marathi, Airsa in Chhattisgarhi or Arisa pitha in Odia) is a type of Indian sweet made out of rice, jaggery, ghee and sometimes coconut and with spices like cardamom, sesame, pepper and ginger powder from Tamil cuisine, Karnataka cuisine, Telugu cuisine, Marathi cuisine and Odia cuisine. The doughnut-like fried dough has a long history of popularity in Kannada, Telugu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Tamil civilization. They are similar in shape to vada, but are not savoury and are eaten as a sweet. Athrasa is a popular as an offering to the relatives during Deepavali and Ganesha Chaturthi festivals, both at home and in temples in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Aish as-Saraya

Aish as-Saraya

Aish as-Saraya is an Arab dessert eaten regularly in the Levant and Egypt, consisting of syrup-soaked breadcrumbs topped with clotted cream and pistachios, and contains neither eggs nor butter. It is popular in the Arab world.

Asida

Asida

Asida iːdə]) is a common dish in the Arab world. It is a lump of dough, obtained by stirring wheat flour into boiling water, sometimes with added butter or honey. Similar in texture to fufu, it is eaten mainly in Middle East and African countries. It is considered one of the most popular desserts and traditional dishes in many Arab countries. Asida is particularly popular in Sudan, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Yemen, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the rest of the Middle East. Often served during religious holidays such as Mawlid and Eid, it is also served during other traditional ceremonies, for example accompanying the birth of child, such as the ‘aqīqah, the cutting of the hair of a newborn seven days after birth. A simple, yet rich dish, often eaten without other complementary dishes, it is traditionally served at breakfast and is also given to women in labor.

Baklava

Baklava

Baklava is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. There are several theories for the origin of the pre-Ottoman version of the dish. In modern times, it is a common dessert among cuisines of countries in West Asia, Southeast Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa. It is also enjoyed in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where, although not a traditional sweet, it has carved out a niche in urban centers. The word baklava is first attested in English in 1650, a borrowing from Ottoman Turkish: باقلاوه /bɑːklɑvɑː/. The name baklava is used in many languages with minor phonetic and spelling variations. The earliest known reference to baklava is in a poem by the 15th century mystic Kaygusuz Abdal.

Balaleet

Balaleet

Balaleet is a traditional sweet and savoury dish popular in the Arabian Gulf countries and especially Kuwait. A popular breakfast choice, it traditionally consists of vermicelli sweetened with sugar, cardamom, rose water and saffron, and served with an overlying egg omelette. It is sometimes served with sautéed onions or potatoes. The dish is especially served during the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr as the first meal of the day.

Basbousa

Basbousa

Basbousa is a sweet, syrup-soaked semolina dessert that is typically associated with cuisines of Egyptian cuisine, Similar but slightly different dishes are also popular in the wider region. The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan, then sweetened with sugar syrup and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squares. The Oxford Companion to Food (3rd edition) suggests that basbousa might have developed from a dish called ma'mounia, which was created around the 10th century. Ma'mounia was made by cooking rice in fat and syrup. This recipe was later adapted to use semolina, with the batter being cooked first and then soaked in syrup. Another take on its origin suggests that basbousa was first made during the 16th century in the Ottoman Empire, likely in what is modern-day Turkey, to celebrate the conquest of Armenia.

Bibingka

Bibingka

Bibingka is a type of baked rice cake in Filipino cuisine that is cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda (mid-afternoon snack), especially during the Christmas season. It is also known as bingka in the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Bibingka can also be various other Filipino baked rice cakes, for example, those made with cassava flour (bibingkang cassava / bibingkang kamoteng kahoy), glutinous rice (bibingkang malagkit), or plain flour.

Biko

Biko

Biko, also spelled bico, is a sweet rice cake from the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and sticky rice. It is usually topped with latik . It is a type of kalamay dish and is prepared similarly, except the rice grains are not ground into a paste. They are also sometimes packaged and sold as suman. It is also known as inkiwar in Ilocano Northern Luzon and sinukmani or sinukmaneng in the Southern Luzon area. In the Muslim regions of the Philippines, it is known as wadjit in Tausug; wadit in Maranao; and wagit in Maguindanao.

Binignit

Binignit

Binignit is a Visayan dessert soup from the central Philippines. The dish is traditionally made with glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk with various slices of sabá bananas, taro, ube, and sweet potato, among other ingredients. It is comparable to various dessert guinataán dishes found in other regions such as bilo-bilo. Among the Visayan people, the dish is traditionally served during Good Friday of Holy Week. Binignit is also called giná-tan in Bikolano, tabirák in Mindanao Cebuano, alpahor in Chavacano, wit-wit in Hiligaynon, ginettaán, tambo-tambong, and paradusdos in Ilokano, ginat-an (or ginat-ang lugaw) in Waray and Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, kamlo in western Iloilo, scramble in Tuguegarao City, linugaw in Bacolod, and eangkuga by Akeanons in Aklan.

Blancmange

Blancmange

Blancmange is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar, thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with almonds. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white, blancmanges are frequently given other colours. Blancmange originated at some time during the Middle Ages from the older Middle Eastern muhallebi, and usually consisted of milk or almond milk, rice, and sugar; it was considered to be an ideal food for the sick.[citation needed]

Camote cue

Camote cue

Camote cue or camotecue is a popular snack food in the Philippines made from camote . Slices of camote are coated with brown sugar and then fried, to cook the potatoes and to caramelize the sugar. It is one of the most common street foods in the Philippines, along with bananacue and turon.

Cassava cake

Cassava cake

Cassava cake is a traditional Filipino moist cake made from grated cassava, coconut milk, and condensed milk with a custard layer on top. It is a very popular dish in the Philippines, where it is commonly eaten for merienda. It is also served during gatherings and special occasions. Cassava was one of the crops imported from Latin America through the Manila galleons from at least the 16th century. Cassava cake is a type of bibingka , having its origins from adopting native recipes but using cassava instead of the traditional galapong (ground glutinous rice) batter. It is also known more rarely as cassava bibingka or bibingkang kamoteng kahoy, although the English name is more commonly used. In Quezon, cassava cake is more commonly known as budin.

Crepe

Crepe

A crêpe or crepe is a dish made from unleavened batter or dough that is cooked on a frying pan or a griddle. Crêpes are usually one of two varieties: sweet crêpes (crêpes sucrées) or savoury galettes (crêpes salées). They are often served with a wide variety of fillings such as cheese, fruit, vegetables, meats, and a variety of spreads. Crêpes can also be flambéed, such as in crêpes Suzette. The French term "crêpe" derives from crispa, the feminine version of the Latin word crispus, which means "curled, wrinkled, having curly hair."

Ensaymada

Ensaymada

The ensaïmada is a pastry product from Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, commonly found in southwestern Europe, Latin America and the Philippines. The ensaïmada de Mallorca is made with strong flour, water, sugar, eggs, mother dough and a kind of reduced pork lard which gives the pastry its name. The handmade character of the product makes it difficult to give an exact formula, so scales have been established defining the proportion of each ingredient, giving rise to an excellent quality traditional product. The pastry apparently has a Jewish origin, deriving from bulemas, using lard instead of olive oil as a means of escaping the suspicions of authorities during the Inquisition. The first written references to the Mallorcan ensaïmada date back to the 17th century. Though wheat flour was mainly used for making bread, there is evidence this typical pastry product was made during that period for festivals and celebrations.

Espasol

Espasol

Espasol is a chewy and soft, cylinder-shaped Filipino rice cake. It is made from glutinous rice flour cooked in coconut milk and sweetened coconut strips and, afterwards, dusted or coated with toasted rice flour. Originating from the province of Laguna, it is traditionally sold during the Christmas season. [citation needed] Nowadays, espasol can be found on major thoroughfares, street stores, and bus stops in and near Laguna. It can also be found in specialty stores and pasalubong centers in and near Laguna.

Falooda

Falooda

A falooda is a Mughlai cold dessert made with vermicelli. It has origins in the Persian dish faloodeh, variants of which are found across West, Central, South and Southeast Asia. Traditionally it is made by mixing rose syrup, vermicelli, and sweet basil seeds with milk, often served with ice cream. The vermicelli used for preparing falooda is made from wheat, arrowroot, cornstarch, or sago. The origin of falooda goes back to Iran , where a similar dessert, faloodeh, is still popular. The dessert came to late Medieval India with the many Central Asian dynasties that invaded and settled in South Asia in the 16th to 18th century. The present form of falooda was developed in the Mughal Empire and spread with its conquests. The Persianate rulers who succeeded from the Mughals patronized the dessert with their own adaptations, specifically in Hyderabad Deccan and the Carnatic areas of present-day India. This beverage is now a part of Pakistani cuisine, Afghan cuisine, Burmese cuisine, Indian cuisine, Bangladeshi cuisine and Sri Lankan cuisine and is served on weddings and other occasions. In Sri Lanka, Falooda (ෆලුඩා / ஃபலூடா) is often consumed as a popular dairy refreshment.

Gajar ka halwa

Gajar ka halwa

Gajar ka halwa, also known as Gajorer halwa, Gajarno halwo, Gajrela, Gajar pak, and carrot pudding, is a sweet Indian dessert made by placing grated carrots in a pot containing a specific amount of water, milk, sugar, and cardamom and then cooking with ghee while stirring regularly. It is often served with a garnish of almonds and pistachios. The nuts and other items used are first sautéed in ghee, a type of clarified butter from the Indian subcontinent. It is generally served hot during the winter. The dessert is traditionally eaten during all of the festivals in the Indian subcontinent, mainly on the occasion of Diwali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, and Eid. It is served hot during the winter.

Gers ogaily

Gers ogaily

Sponge cake made with cardamom, saffron, vanilla, rose water, serve with tea

Halva

Halva

Halva is a type of confectionery that is widely spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia, and South Asia. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made from flour, butter, liquid oil, saffron, rosewater, milk, turmeric powder, and sweetened with sugar. The word halva entered the English language between 1840 and 1850 from Romanian, which came from Ottoman Turkish: حلوى, romanized: helva, itself ultimately derived from Arabic: حلوى, romanized: ḥalwā, a sweet confection. The root in Arabic: ح ل و, romanized: ḥ-l-w, means "sweet". The original name for the confection was Persian: روغن خورديگ, romanized: rōɣn khordīg, meaning "oil food".

Hininy

Hininy

Hininy is a traditional food in Saudi Arabia, especially in Najd. It is a mixture of date paste, wheat flour, milk, ghee, sugar and cardamom, and is common during Ramadan

Jaggery

Jaggery

Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. Jaggery comes from Portuguese terms jágara, jagra, borrowed from Malayalam ശർക്കര , which is borrowed from Sanskrit शर्करा (śarkarā). It is a doublet of sugar.

Jalebi

Jalebi

Jalebi [a] is a popular sweet snack in the Indian subcontinent, West Asia and some parts of Africa. It goes by many names, including jilapi, zelepi, jilebi, jilipi, zulbia, zoolbia, jerry, mushabak, z'labia, or zalabia. The south Asian variety is made by deep-frying maida flour batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. Jalebi is eaten with curd or rabri (in North India) along with optional other flavors such as kewra (scented water).

Kalamay

Kalamay

Kalamay is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. It can also be flavored with margarine, peanut butter, or vanilla. Kalamay can be eaten alone, but is usually used as a sweetener for a number of Filipino desserts and beverages. It is related to the Chamorro dessert called kalamai. Kalamay is made by extracting coconut milk from grated coconuts twice. Glutinous rice is added to the first batch of coconut milk and the mixture is ground into a paste. Brown sugar is added to the second batch of coconut milk and boiled for several hours to make latík. The mixture of ground glutinous rice and coconut milk is then poured into the latík and stirred until the consistency becomes very thick. It can be served hot or at room temperature especially when eaten with other dishes. Viscous kalamay are often served cooled to make it less runny and easier to eat.

Kanafeh

Kanafeh

Knafeh is a traditional Arab dessert made with kadayif (spun pastry dough) layered with cheese and soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar. Knafeh is a popular throughout the Arab world, especially in the Levant, and is often served on special occasions and holidays. The most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine, Knafeh Nabulseyeh, originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus. The English language borrows the word "knafeh" from Levantine and Egyptian Arabic, and widely transliterates it as kanafeh, kenafeh, knafeh, kunafah, kunafeh, konafa, knéfé, kunafa, and similar variations.

Khanfaroosh

Khanfaroosh

Small fried rice and wheat flour cakes with cardamom, saffron, serve with coffee, tea

Kheer

Kheer

Kheer, also known as payasam or payesh, is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, it may contain cracked wheat, vermicelli , sago or tapioca (sabudana). In Southern India, it is known as payasam and it is made in various ways. The most popular versions are the ones made with rice and vermicelli (semiya).

Kulfi

Kulfi

Kulfi is a frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent. It is often described as "traditional Indian ice cream". Kulfi originated in 16th-century Delhi during the Mughal era. It is part of the national cuisines of India and Pakistan.[citation needed] It is also popular in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East.[better source needed]

Laddu

Laddu

Laddu or laddoo is a spherical sweet from the Indian subcontinent made of various ingredients and sugar syrup or jaggery. It has been described as "perhaps the most universal and ancient of Indian sweets." Laddus are often served during celebrations and religious festivals, especially those associated with the Hindu deity Ganesha.

Latik

Latik

Latík refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine. In the Visayan region it refers to a syrupy caramelized coconut cream (coconut caramel) used as a dessert sauce. In the northern Philippines, it refers to solid byproducts of coconut oil production (coconut curds), used as garnishing for a variety of desserts. Latík in its original sense in the Visayan languages literally means 'syrup' (equivalent to arnibal in Hiligaynon). It can refer to any type of thick sweetened liquids including jam. In the most common usage, however, latik means a syrupy condiment derived from reducing coconut milk and sugar.

Lekach

Lekach

Lekach is a honey-sweetened cake made by Jews, especially for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Known in Hebrew as ugat dvash , the word lekach ( לעקעך‎) is Yiddish. Lekach is one of the symbolically significant foods traditionally eaten by Ashkenazi Jews at Rosh Hashanah in hopes of ensuring a sweet New Year. It is also customary to ask for and receive Lekach on Erev Yom Kippur. Various sorts of cakes sweetened with honey have been known since ancient times, in Egypt, Rome, and the Middle East. Arabs brought these traditions to Sicily and Moorish Spain. In the 11th century, a type of strongly spiced thick cake made from breadcrumbs and honey, resembling panforte, became popular in Italy. Italian Jews brought some of these styles to Western and Central Europe. The earliest known record in a Jewish source of a cake called lekach, from the Middle High German lecke, 'to lick', was in the Medieval ages in Sefer ha-Rokeach by Eleazar ben Judah of Worms, Germany. Many Ashkenazi versions by the 13th century were influenced by or based on Lebkuchen or Honigkuchen (honey cake) recipes found in Germany. Such heavily spiced cakes, analogous to the English gingerbread, became popular all over medieval Europe in communities of all religions, especially during important feasts and holidays. Lekach has changed drastically over the centuries, such that its current forms bear little resemblance to its ancestors. There are now many variations, ranging from dark and heavy to lighter more delicate versions, though in general it is never frosted. Lekach was brought to the Land of Israel by Ashkenazi immigrants.

Lokma

Lokma

Lokma is a dessert made of leavened and deep fried dough balls, soaked in syrup or honey, sometimes coated with cinnamon or other ingredients. The dish was described as early as the 13th century by al-Baghdadi as luqmat al-qādi , "judge's morsels". The Arabic word luqma (لُقْمَةٌ) (plural luqmāt), means morsel, mouthful, or bite. The dish was known as luqmat al-qādi (لُقْمَةُ ٱلْقَاضِيِ) or "judge's morsels" in 13th-century Arabic cookery books, and the word luqma or loqma by itself has come to refer to it. The Turkish name for the dish, lokma, is derived from the Arabic, as is the Greek name loukoumádes (λουκουμάδες). The recipe for Luqmat al-Qadi, yeast-leavened dough boiled in oil and doused in honey or sugar syrup with rosewater, dates back to at least the early medieval period and the 13th-century Abbasid Caliphate, where it is mentioned in several of the existent cookery books of the time. It is also mentioned in the One Thousand and One Nights, in the story The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad. The explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta in the 14th century encountered the dish he knew as Luqaymat al-Qadi at a dinner in Multan, during his travels in medieval India, where his hosts called it al-Hashimi.

Maja blanca

Maja blanca

Maja blanca is a Filipino dessert with a gelatin-like consistency made primarily from coconut milk. Also known as coconut pudding, it is usually served during fiestas and during the holidays, especially Christmas. Maja blanca has the consistency of thick gelatine and a delicate flavor, and is creamy white in color.[citation needed]

Malban

Malban

Turkish delight, or lokum is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often flavored with rosewater, mastic gum, bergamot orange, or lemon. Other common flavors include cinnamon and mint. The confection is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar, copra, or powdered cream of tartar to prevent clinging. The origin of modern lokum is not precisely known, though the confection is known to have been produced in the Ottoman Empire since the late 18th century.

Maruya

Maruya

Pinaypay (literally "fanned" in Tagalog and Cebuano), also known as maruya, is a type of banana fritter from the Philippines. It is usually made from saba bananas. The most common variant is prepared by cutting bananas into thin slices on the sides and forming it into a fan-like shape (hence its name), and coating it in batter and deep frying them. They are then sprinkled with sugar. Though not traditional, they may also be served with slices of jackfruit preserved in syrup or ice cream. Pinaypay are commonly sold as street food and food sellers at outdoor though they are also popular as home-made merienda snacks among Filipinos. A variant of pinaypay may also use dessert bananas, which are usually just mashed before mixing them with batter. They can also be made from sweet potatoes. Among Muslim Filipinos, this version is known as jampok, and traditionally use mashed Latundan bananas.

Meghli

Meghli

Meghli, moghli, meghleh, , or karawiyah, is a Levantine dessert based on a floured rice pudding and spiced with anise, caraway, and cinnamon. The dish is often garnished with dried coconut flakes and various nuts including almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, and pistachios. Meghli is commonly served to celebrate the birth of a child. It is also a popular Christmas dessert in Lebanon as a celebration of the birth of Jesus. The name 'meghli' means “boiled” in Arabic, referring to the long time (up to an hour) it must be continuously stirred while boiling. The dish was traditionally served to celebrate the birth of a male heir, but has now become a dessert to celebrate any newborn. The caraway is thought to assist the new mother in lactating

Muhallebi

Muhallebi

Muhallebi is a milk pudding commonly made with rice, sugar, milk and either rice flour, starch or semolina, popular as a dessert in the Middle East. While the dessert is called muhallebi in Turkey and Iraq, in the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine) and Egypt, it is called mahalabiyeh or mahalabia. Legend has it that muhallebi (Arabic: مهلبية) was introduced into Arab cuisine in the late seventh century by a Persian (Iranian) cook from what was then the Sasanian Empire (224–651), who served it to an Arab general by the name of Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra. He liked it so much, he named it after himself. The earliest recipes, dating to the 10th century, featured three versions: milk thickened with ground rice, milk with rice grains and chicken, and an egg custard without rice. Early recipes for muhallabiyya include a work attributed to Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq of Baghdad and two 13th-century Arab cookbooks, one by al-Baghdadi and another from Al Andalus that have a spiced pudding variation made with mutton instead of chicken. In the Middle Ages, muhallebi and its European counterpart blancmange were made with shredded chicken. There are records from the Ottoman Empire for two versions of muhallebi: a version with shredded chicken (tavuk göğsü) served during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror, and a later recipe dating to 1530 for a meatless version flavored with rose water.

Mushabak

Mushabak

Zalabiyeh is a fritter or doughnut found in several cuisines across the Arab world, West Asia and some parts of Europe influenced by the former. The fritter version is made from a semi-thin batter of wheat flour which is poured into hot oil and deep-fried. The earliest known recipe for the dish comes from a 10th-century Arabic cookbook and was originally made by pouring the batter through a coconut shell. The earliest known recipes for zalabiya comes from the 10th century Arabic cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh. In the old Al-Baghdadi book of recipes of the Arabs; the dough was poured through a coconut shell. This style of fritter is similar to the Indian jelabi and a 16th-century recipe from German cuisine for strauben made using a funnel.

Om ali

Om ali

Om Ali, Omali, Umm Ali, or Oumm Ali , meaning "Mother of Ali", is a traditional Egyptian dessert, and is a national dessert of Egypt. There are numerous variations with different composition. The dish, which is traced back to as far as Medieval Egypt, is named after the wife of the Sultan of Egypt. It is commonly eaten during Ramadan as part of the iftar or sunset feast. There multiple versions of the origin of the dish. The most often cited version is that it originated as a celebration of the death of Shajar al-Durr, who had been married to Egypt's final Sultan from the Ayyubid dynasty, As-Salih, and subsequently to the first of Egypt's Mamluk Sultans, Izz al-Din Aybak. Shajar al-Durr plotted the murder of Aybak, after which she became ruler of Egypt. Ultimately, she was herself killed in retribution, whereafter Aybak's first wife, who was known as Om Ali, asked to have a dessert prepared in celebration. The dessert was popularised throughout the country, and was named after Om Ali. Another version is that Om Ali celebrated the death of her husband, Aybak, and asked the cooks to come up with the most delicious dessert. The cooks used what was at hand: bread, milk and sugar.

Qatayef

Qatayef

Qatayef or qata'if is an Arabic dessert. It is a type of sweet dumpling filled with cream or nuts, or a folded pancake, similar to a Scottish crumpet. The Arabic word qaṭaːyif (Arabic: قطايف) is derived from the Arabic root q-ṭ-f, meaning to pick up or to pluck. Qatayef is believed to be of Fatimid origin. Some believe that qatayef are the creation of the Fatimid Dynasty, however, their history dates back to the Abbasid Caliphate, 750–1258 CE. Qatayef was mentioned in a tenth century Arabic cookbook dating back to the Abbasid Caliphate by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq called Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ (Arabic: كتاب الطبيخ, The Book of Dishes). The book was later translated by Nawal Nasrallah under the name Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens. The traditional stuffing of Qatayef, as evident in a number of Medieval Arabic cookbooks, is crushed almond and sugar. In these recipes, once the pancake was stuffed, it would sometimes be fried in walnut oil or baked in the oven. Qatayef was traditionally prepared by street vendors as well as households in Egypt and the Levant. It is usually filled with akkawi cheese, crushed walnuts, as well as crushed pistachios. Diverse fillings, such as Nutella, are also used.

Qurabiya

Qurabiya

Qurabiya also ghraybe, ghorayeba, ghoriba, ghribia, ghraïba, gurabija, ghriyyaba,, kurabiye, or kourabiedes (Greek: κουραμπιέδες) and numerous other spellings and pronunciations, is a shortbread-type biscuit, usually made with ground almonds. Versions are found in most Arab, Balkan and Ottoman cuisines, with various different forms and recipes. They are similar to polvorones from Andalusia. In the Maghreb and Egypt, they are often served with Libyan tea, Arabic coffee or Maghrebi mint tea. A recipe for a shortbread cookie similar to ghorayebah but without almonds, called in Arabic khushkanānaj gharīb (exotic cookie), is given in the earliest known Arab cookbook, the 10th-century Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ. Kurabiye appears in the Ottoman cuisine in the 15th century.

Ras malai

Ras malai

Ras malai, also known as rasamalei, or roshmalai, is a dessert that originated in the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent. The dessert is called roshmalai in Bengali, ras malai in Hindi, and rasa malei in Odia. It is popular in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The original term for ras malai is "rosh malai which derived from the Classical Bengali word "rosho malai" with the same meaning.

Sab alqafsha

Sab alqafsha

Fried dough with syrup, saffron and cardamom

Sans rival

Sans rival

Sans rival is a Filipino dessert cake made of layers of buttercream, meringue and chopped cashews. Its name means "unrivaled" in French. The cake may be decorated, left plain or garnished with pistachios. The cake's origins are disputed. One source claims the recipe has its roots in the French dacquoise, while Lucy Torres-Gomez, writing in The Philippine Star, claims that the cake is descended from the tarta imperial rusa, the Spanish adaptation of a Russian cake that was popular with the Russian Imperial Family.

Suman

Suman

Suman, or budbud, is an elongated rice cake originating in the Philippines. It is made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, often wrapped in banana leaves, coconut leaves, or buli or buri palm leaves for steaming. It is usually eaten sprinkled with sugar or laden with latik. A widespread variant of suman uses cassava instead of glutinous rice. There are numerous varieties of suman, with almost every town or locality having its speciality. Some are described below:

Taho

Taho

Tahô is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (sweetener and flavoring), and sago pearl (similar to tapioca pearls). This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and tahô peddlers can be found all over the country. The dish originates from Hokkien tāu-hū (豆腐), which was introduced to the Philippines via Hokkien immigrants.

Tulumba

Tulumba

Tulumba or Bamiyeh is a deep-fried dessert found in Egypt, Turkey and the regional cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. It is a fried batter soaked in syrup, similar to jalebis or churros. It is made from unleavened choux pastry dough (usually about 3 cm long) piped with a pastry bag using an open star or similar tip. It is first deep-fried to golden colour and then sugar-sweet syrup is poured over it when still hot. It is eaten cold. Tulumba literally means 'pump' in Turkish, deriving from the Italian tromba. The dessert is called pomba in Cypriot Greek and bombacık in Cypriot Turkish. In Armenian cuisine it may be called either pomp or tulumba (Armenian: թուլումբա). Tulumba features in Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek (Greek: τουλούμπα), Azeri (Azerbaijani: Ballıbadı) and Turkish cuisines. The sweet is also found in Persian cuisine as bamiyeh (Persian: باميه), after the vegetable of the same Persian name (okra), due to its shape. In Hejazi it is called ṭurumba (Arabic: طُرُمْبَة) directly from Italian: tromba, but in Egyptian and some Arab cuisines it is called balaḥ ash-Shām (Arabic: بلح الشام), literally "Syrian dates" or "Damascene dates," though the name may have come from "şambali", another Turkish dessert (the "Şam" in "şambali" corresponding to "Shām" in "balaḥ ash-Shām" and both referring to Damascus). In Iraqi cuisine it is known as datli (Arabic: داطلي), directly coming from Turkish word tatlı. It is made from a yogurt[citation needed] and starch based dough, which is fried before being dipped in syrup. It is a special sweet often enjoyed at Iftar in Ramadan. It is also commonly sold alongside jalebi, which is prepared in a similar way, but arranged in a web-like arrangement of strips of dough.

Turon

Turon

Turon or sagimis in dialectal Tagalog, is a Philippine snack made of thinly sliced bananas (preferably saba or Cardaba bananas), rolled in a spring roll wrapper, fried till the wrapper is crisp and coated with caramelized brown sugar. Turon can also include other fillings. Most common is jackfruit (langka), but there are also recipes with sweet potato (kamote), mango (mangga), cheddar cheese and coconut (niyog). Turon, though etymologically Spanish in origin, bears no similarities to the Spanish candy turrón (an almond nougat confection).

Ube halaya

Ube halaya

Ube halaya or halayang ube is a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam (Dioscorea alata, locally known as ube). Ube halaya is the main base in ube/purple yam flavored-pastries and ube ice cream. It can also be incorporated in other desserts such as halo-halo. It is also commonly anglicized as ube jam, or called by its original native name, nilupak na ube. The Philippines shows the highest phenotypic diversity of ube (Dioscorea alata), making it one of the likely centers of origin of ube domestication. Remains of ube have been recovered from the Ille Cave archaeological site of Palawan (c. 11,000 BP).

Yema cake

Yema cake

Yema cake is a Filipino chiffon cake with a custard filling known as yema. It is generally prepared identically to mamón , with the only difference being that it incorporates yema either as frosting, as filling, or as part of the cake batter. Yema is a custard-like combination of milk and egg yolks. It is also typically garnished with grated cheese.

Arabic coffee

Arabic coffee

Arabic coffee, also called Qahwa , is a version of the brewed coffee of Coffea arabica beans. Most Arab countries throughout the Middle East have developed distinct methods for brewing and preparing coffee. Cardamom is an often-added spice, but it can alternatively be served plain or with sugar. There are several different styles to brewing the coffee depending on the preference of the drinker. Some methods keep the coffee light whereas others can make it dark. Arabic coffee is bitter, and typically no sugar is added. It is usually served in a small cup that is adorned with a decorative pattern, known as a finjān. Culturally, Arabic coffee is served during family gatherings or when receiving guests. Arabic coffee originated in South Arabia, beginning in the port city of Mokha in Yemen and eventually travelling to Mecca in Hejaz, Egypt, the Levant, and then, in the mid-16th century, to Turkey and from there to Europe where coffee eventually became popular as well. Arabic coffee is an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Arab states confirmed by UNESCO. Every year on March 3, Yemenis celebrate the "Yemeni Coffee Day," a national festival to encourage coffee cultivation.

Arabica coffee

Arabica coffee

Coffea arabica , also known as the Arabica coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is the dominant cultivar, representing about 60% of global production. Coffee produced from the more acidic, more bitter, and more highly caffeinated robusta bean (C. canephora) makes up most of the remaining coffee production. The natural populations of Coffea arabica are restricted to the forests of South Ethiopia and Yemen.

Avocado smoothie

Avocado smoothie

The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was prized for its large and unusually oily fruit. The tree likely originated in the highlands bridging south-central Mexico and Guatemala. Avocado trees have a native growth range from Mexico to Costa Rica. Its fruit, sometimes also referred to as an alligator pear or avocado pear, is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed. Sequencing of its genome showed that the evolution of avocados was shaped by polyploidy events and that commercial varieties have a hybrid origin. Avocado trees are partly self-pollinating, and are often propagated through grafting to maintain consistent fruit output. Avocados are presently cultivated in the tropical and Mediterranean climates of many countries. Mexico is the world's leading producer of avocados as of 2020, supplying nearly 30% of the global harvest in that year. The fruit of domestic varieties have smooth, buttery, golden-green flesh when ripe. Depending on the cultivar, avocados have green, brown, purplish, or black skin, and may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. For commercial purposes the fruits are picked while unripe and ripened after harvesting. The nutrient density and extremely high fat content of avocado flesh are useful to a variety of cuisines and are often eaten to enrich vegetarian diets.

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially available. There are also various coffee substitutes. Typically served hot, coffee has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks. Coffee production begins when the seeds from coffee cherries are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The "beans" are roasted and then ground into fine particles. Coffee is brewed from the ground roasted beans, which are typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Doogh

Doogh

Ayran[a] is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage that is consumed across Central Asia, and the Balkans, in Turkey and Iran. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. Herbs such as mint may be optionally added. Some varieties are carbonated. Ayran (cf. airag in Mongolian: 'mare milk', uyran (уйран) in Chuvash: 'buttermilk') is mentioned in Mahmud al-Kashgari's 11th century Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, although he did not give any information how ayran was made. The word is derived from the Old Turkic root adır- ("to separate"), cf. Turkish ayır- ("to separate").

Fruit juice

Fruit juice

Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as clam juice. Juice is commonly consumed as a beverage or used as an ingredient or flavoring in foods or other beverages, such as smoothies. Juice emerged as a popular beverage choice after the development of pasteurization methods enabled its preservation without using fermentation . The largest fruit juice consumers are New Zealand (nearly a cup, or 8 ounces, each day) and Colombia (more than three quarters of a cup each day). Fruit juice consumption on average increases with a country's income level.

Indian filter coffee

Indian filter coffee

Indian filter coffee is a coffee drink made by mixing hot milk and sugar with the infusion obtained by percolation brewing of finely ground coffee powder with chicory in a traditional Indian filter. It has been described as "hot, strong, sweet and topped with bubbly froth" and is known as filter kaapi in India. Until the 17th century, coffee was grown only in Arabia and exported in roasted or baked form. Taking raw coffee beans out of the country was prohibited to protect the Arabian coffee monopoly. According to a legend, Indian Sufi Baba Budan discovered coffee on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He smuggled seven raw coffee beans back to India and planted them in the hills of Chikmagalur in present-day Karnataka.The favorable conditions enabled the coffee plants to thrive in the hills, which were later named Baba Budangiri . The British Indian government became very interested in the coffee, and established large plantations in Coorg (present-day Kodagu). Budan's original coffee plants are purported to be the ancestors of most of the world's coffee trees today. Traditionally, Indian filter coffee is made with Plantation A washed arabica or Peaberry coffee beans. The beans are dark roasted, ground, and blended with chicory, with the coffee constituting 80-90% and the chicory 10-20% of the mixture. The chicory's slight bitterness contributes to the flavor of Indian filter coffee.

Jallab

Jallab

Jallab or Jellab is a type of fruit syrup popular in the Middle East made from carob, dates, grape molasses, and rose water. Jallab is very popular in Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. It is made mainly of grape molasses, grenadine syrup, and rose water, then smoked with Arabic incense. It is usually sold with crushed ice and floating pine nuts and raisins.

Karak

Karak

Masala chai is a popular beverage originating from South Asia. It is made by brewing black tea (usually crush, tear, curl) in milk and water, and then by sweetening with sugar. Adding aromatic herbs and spices creates masala chai. The term chai originated from the Chinese word for tea, cha (see Etymology of tea) via the Hindi chai (चाय). In English, this spiced tea is commonly referred to as chai tea, or simply chai. Originating in India, the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and teahouses, with many using the term chai latte or chai tea latte for their version to indicate that it is made with steamed milk, much like that used to make a latte but mixed with a spiced tea concentrate instead of espresso.

Karkade

Karkade

Hibiscus tea is a herbal tea made as an infusion from crimson or deep magenta-colored calyces of the roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) flower. It is consumed both hot and cold and has a tart, cranberry-like flavor. The roselle hibiscus used to make the tea likely originated in Africa. In Africa, hibiscus tea is commonly sold in markets and the dried flowers can be found throughout West and East Africa. Variations on the drink are popular in West Africa and parts of Central Africa. In Senegal, bissap is known as the "national drink of Senegal". Hibiscus tea is often flavored with mint or ginger in West Africa. In Ghana it is known as "sobolo", and "zobo" in Nigeria.

Laban

Laban

The term Leben, variously laban, liben, lben // ⓘ in the Middle East and North Africa, refers to a food or beverage of fermented milk. Generally, there are two main products known as leben: The yogurt variant for the Levant region and the buttermilk variant for parts of Arabia and North Africa (Maghreb). Leben can be served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Leben as a drink is traditionally prepared by letting milk ferment for around 24 hours, then churning and removing the butter. The remaining buttermilk can keep for several days at room temperature. In modern times, it is produced industrially.[citation needed] Leben in parts of the Middle East is traditionally prepared by boiling milk, usually whole milk, then adding yogurt (or previously made, left over/store-bought leben), and then cooled overnight.[citation needed]

Lemonade

Lemonade

Lemon and mint beverage

Qahwa helw

Qahwa helw

Orange flavored coffee with cinnamon, saffron, sugar

Qamar al din

Qamar al din

Qamar al-Din[fn 1] is an apricot fruit leather, which is popularly made into apricot juice or a nectar beverage from Arab cuisine famously consumed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It originates from Syria and was first produced in the Ghouta, where the variety of apricots most suitable for qamar al-din was first grown. Qamar al-din is enjoyed across the Middle East and North Africa as well as in Somalia, though Syrian qamar al-din is still believed to be the best because the variety of apricots most suitable for making qamar al-din grows only in Syria and southwestern Turkey. Several theories have been proposed for the origin of qamar al-din's name. One theory holds that it was named for its inventor, a Syrian man named Qamar al-Din. He was said to have been so handsome that he resembled the moon (qamar, Arabic: قمر), hence his name. Another theory holds that apricot season coincided with the sighting of the new moon marking the beginning of Ramadan in the year when qamar al-din was invented. A similar theory, widespread in Egypt, traces the name's origin to a Caliph who was known to celebrate with qamar al-din upon seeing the crescent moon during Ramadan.

Red tea

Red tea

With mint, saffron

Rice milk

Rice milk

Rice milk is a plant milk made from rice. Commercial rice milk is typically manufactured using brown rice and brown rice syrup, and may be sweetened using sugar or sugar substitutes, and flavored by common ingredients, such as vanilla. It is commonly fortified with protein and micronutrients, such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron, or vitamin D. The exact origin of rice milk is uncertain. In 1914, Maria M. Gilbert gave a recipe for rice milk in her book Meatless Cookery, which was the earliest known use of the term. In 1921, the first rice milk factory was built by the Vita Rice Products Co., launching Vita Rice Milk the same year in San Francisco, California. In 1990, Rice Dream was launched by Imagine Foods of Palo Alto, California in Tetra Pak cartons, becoming the first widely popular rice milk. Rice milk is 89% water, 9% carbohydrates, 1% fat, and contains negligible protein (table). A 100 ml reference amount provides 47 calories, and – if purposely fortified during manufacturing – 26% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin B12 (table). It also supplies calcium (12% DV; fortified) and manganese (13% DV; fortified) in moderate amounts, but otherwise is low in micronutrients.

Salep

Salep

Salep, also spelled sahlep or sahlab,[note 1] is a flour made from the tubers of the orchid genus Orchis . These tubers contain a nutritious, starchy polysaccharide called glucomannan. Salep flour is consumed in beverages and desserts, especially in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, notably in the Levant where it is a traditional winter beverage. An increase in consumption is causing local extinctions of orchids in parts of Turkey and Iran. The word salep ultimately comes from Arabic saḥlab (سَحْلَب), through French and Turkish salep in the mid 18th century. The Arabic word is perhaps shortened from ḵuṣā aṯ-ṯaʕlab (Arabic: خُصَى الثَعْلَب, lit. 'fox's testicles'). The Ancient Romans used ground orchid bulbs to make drinks, which they called by a number of names, especially satyrion and priapiscus. As the names indicate, they likewise considered it to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Of salep, Paracelsus wrote: "behold the Satyrion root, is it not formed like the male privy parts? No one can deny this. Accordingly, magic discovered it and revealed that it can restore a man's virility and passion".

Sharbat

Sharbat

Sharbat may refer to:

Soft drinks

Soft drinks

A soft drink is any water-based flavored drink, usually but not necessarily carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used can be natural or artificial. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute (in the case of diet sodas), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives and other ingredients. Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink in many countries and localities if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Types of soft drinks include lemon-lime drinks, orange soda, cola, grape soda, cream soda, ginger ale and root beer.

Tamr hindi

Tamr hindi

Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. The tamarind tree produces brown, pod-like fruits that contain a sweet, tangy pulp, which is used in cuisines around the world. The pulp is also used in traditional medicine and as a metal polish. The tree's wood can be used for woodworking and tamarind seed oil can be extracted from the seeds. Tamarind's tender young leaves are used in South Indian and Filipino cuisine. Because tamarind has multiple uses, it is cultivated around the world in tropical and subtropical zones.

Tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo. It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century. During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who started to plant tea on a large scale in British India.

Vimto

Vimto

Vimto is a British mixed fruit soft drink containing the juice of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants, flavoured with herbs and spices. Originating in Manchester, northern England, it was first manufactured as a health tonic in cordial form then decades later as a carbonated drink, and the recipe was invented in 1908 by John Noel Nichols of Blackburn. Produced domestically by Nichols plc, it is available in cans and bottles in carbonated, still, cordial , and energy forms and it has also been made into a sweet, ice lolly and other items. Vimto is traditionally most popular in the north of England and is also sold globally under license, and enjoys high popularity in the Persian Gulf countries and in The Gambia and Senegal. Vimto was created in 1908 in Manchester by John Noel Nichols (1883–1966), a wholesaler of herbs, spices and medicines. He saw the market opening for soft drinks due to the temperance movement and the passage of the Licensing Act 1904. It was originally sold under the name Vim Tonic, which Nichols shortened to 'Vimto' in 1912. Vimto was originally registered as a health tonic or medicine, which was then re-registered in 1913 as a cordial.

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