The Essence of Palestinian Cuisine

Palestinian food is char­ac­terised by its sour yet sweet taste. It derives its sourness from the use of yo­gurt and its byproducts, lemon, pome­granate, un­ripe grapes,    to­ma­toes and tama­rind. The sweetness comes mainly from dried fruits such as  rai­sins, dates, apricots, figs, and mo­lasses, which are also sweet and sour in taste.

Palestinians also mix bitter and sour tastes. The most deli­cate taste of bitterness is ex­pe­ri­enced with virgin olive oil in dressings and sauces. Olive oil blends well with sour juices and contributes a great deal to the ba­sic Palestinian taste.

Tahina, a paste derived from ground sesame seeds, is also a typical Palestinian flavour. It is al­ways present on the Palestinian ta­ble in the form of dips, spreads, salads or sauces, and even in sweets. The degree of seed roasting de­ter­mines the taste of the tahina; this is a source of taste variation in different regions.

Yogurt is always present on the table as well, ei­ther fresh on its own, in salads and drinks or of­ten as a hot sauce. It is also used for the preparation of basic foods such as kishik, which is burgul soaked in fer­mented yo­gurt and then dried. Jmeed, too, the main in­gre­dient for Munsaf sauce is made from dried butter­milk.

The spices most used in Palestinian cooking are cumin, car­da­mom, cinna­mon, nutmeg, all­spice, black pepper and summac. Herbs are usually con­sumed fresh. In the past they were picked when fami­lies went on pic­nics (Shatha), or from the      gar­den. Thyme, co­ri­an­der, pars­ley, rose­mary and mint are the most popu­lar herbs. They are used in stuffings, salad dressings and in sauces.

Dressings are made of any sour liq­uid, usually lemon juice mixed with ol­ive oil, with a com­bi­nation of gar­lic, finely chopped spring on­ion, fresh herbs and summac. There are five basic sauces in Pal­es­tinian cooking: yogurt, tahina, to­mato, veg­eta­ble and brown sauce. A whole variation of each is achieved by using different aux­il­iary materials such as herbs and spices.

Article by Chef Sufian

http://www.chefsufian.co.uk/