Although the food in Syria is great, we would have to say that what the Syrians really master is the art of Hospitality. Many times we found ourselves leaving homes with bags of goodies or just looking at a feast served in front of our eyes, (declining food will greatly offend the host) so you have to eat and try everything!
The main thing we found eaten in Syria are the "Mezzes", which is an array of small starters. "Hummus" (garbanzo beans paste with tahini) and "Baba ghanoug" (grilled eggplants pureed with chopped onions and tomatoes) are served with a coat of olive oil, parsley and paprika in small plates and used as dips for the typical Arab flat bread "Khoobz Arabi".
We very much enjoyed salads like "Tabbouleh" (parsley, chopped tomatoes, sesame seeds, lemon and garlic) and "Fattoush" (cucumber, tomato and parsley with lemon and stripes of fried flat bread).
Main courses consist of charcoal barbecued meats like chicken or lamb kebabs, and one of the main ones was "Kafta", made of minced lamb meat, onion and spices. The more Bedouin "Roz A Djaj" consists of rice cooked on chicken stock with aromatic spices and pieces of roasted chicken with toasted almonds and pine nuts. "Marias" are basically giant sandwiches of flat bread filled with a layer of raw minced lamb meat with onion, parsley and tomato cooked over charcoal.
Very often we ate on the go alternating between "Felafels "(balls or triangles of ground chickpeas, coriander, onion, garlic and heaps of cumin), "Felafel sandwiches" (felafels stuffed in a flat bread with hummus and veggies) or "Shwarmas" (strips of chicken sliced from a vertical turning spit and served in a rolled flat bread with vegetables and tahini).. They also have sandwich shops where you can point at the ingredients and have your own custom made sandwich. Although they use a lot of cucumbers and tomatoes, we felt a lack of diversity in vegetables and fruits and realized that we had been spoiled in Turkey.
Coastal cities as well as Christian quarters are quite westernized and we were able to eat pizza, lasagna and ice cream although we tried to stick to local food.
Palmyra is known for its dates, which come in different colors, qualities and consistencies and we have to say that they were delicious, great for accompanying "another cup of tea"at the end of the day. Although they have good pastries and use tons of syrup, we have to say that one of our favorite desserts was a mix of banana and avocado, blended with a bit of milk enough to give it a pudding consistency and topped with honey ... simply delicious!
Syrians drink incredible amounts of tea and in some areas Argentinean "Mate" as well, but we very much enjoyed the fresh fruit juice stands were you can choose your own shakes.
Gaby
The main thing we found eaten in Syria are the "Mezzes", which is an array of small starters. "Hummus" (garbanzo beans paste with tahini) and "Baba ghanoug" (grilled eggplants pureed with chopped onions and tomatoes) are served with a coat of olive oil, parsley and paprika in small plates and used as dips for the typical Arab flat bread "Khoobz Arabi".
We very much enjoyed salads like "Tabbouleh" (parsley, chopped tomatoes, sesame seeds, lemon and garlic) and "Fattoush" (cucumber, tomato and parsley with lemon and stripes of fried flat bread).
Main courses consist of charcoal barbecued meats like chicken or lamb kebabs, and one of the main ones was "Kafta", made of minced lamb meat, onion and spices. The more Bedouin "Roz A Djaj" consists of rice cooked on chicken stock with aromatic spices and pieces of roasted chicken with toasted almonds and pine nuts. "Marias" are basically giant sandwiches of flat bread filled with a layer of raw minced lamb meat with onion, parsley and tomato cooked over charcoal.
Very often we ate on the go alternating between "Felafels "(balls or triangles of ground chickpeas, coriander, onion, garlic and heaps of cumin), "Felafel sandwiches" (felafels stuffed in a flat bread with hummus and veggies) or "Shwarmas" (strips of chicken sliced from a vertical turning spit and served in a rolled flat bread with vegetables and tahini).. They also have sandwich shops where you can point at the ingredients and have your own custom made sandwich. Although they use a lot of cucumbers and tomatoes, we felt a lack of diversity in vegetables and fruits and realized that we had been spoiled in Turkey.
Coastal cities as well as Christian quarters are quite westernized and we were able to eat pizza, lasagna and ice cream although we tried to stick to local food.
Palmyra is known for its dates, which come in different colors, qualities and consistencies and we have to say that they were delicious, great for accompanying "another cup of tea"at the end of the day. Although they have good pastries and use tons of syrup, we have to say that one of our favorite desserts was a mix of banana and avocado, blended with a bit of milk enough to give it a pudding consistency and topped with honey ... simply delicious!
Syrians drink incredible amounts of tea and in some areas Argentinean "Mate" as well, but we very much enjoyed the fresh fruit juice stands were you can choose your own shakes.
Gaby
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