Israeli Cuisine As "Sabra" As It Gets

Come join us on a culinary tour over Israeli Cuisine. Caution: we highly recommend you take the Hummus out of the fridge and warm some pitas, this might be too much to handle empty handed.

1. Shakshuka (שקשוקה)

Via graphics8.nytimes.com

Probably the most popular egg dish in Israel is shakshuka, one of those onomatopoeic Hebrew and North African words, meaning "all mixed up." It consists of scrambled eggs with sauteed spring onions, fresh herbs, and dollops of cream cheese melted into the eggs as they are cooking.

2. Hummus (חומוס)

Via onceuponachef.com

The Middle Eastern and Arabic food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Hummus is a common part of everyday meals in Israel. It is seen as almost equally popular amongst Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. As a result of its popularity, Israelis elevated hummus to become a "national food symbol".

3. Falafel ( פלאפל)

Via blogger.com

Made out of deep-fried balls or patties made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both, falafel plays an iconic role in Israeli cuisine and is widely considered to be the national dish of the country. While falafel is not a specifically Jewish dish, it was eaten by Mizrahi Jews in their countries of origin. Later, it was adopted by early Jewish immigrants to Israel.

4. Shawarma ( שווארמה)

Via laweekly.com

Shawarma is cooked with stacked, spice-marinated meats– lamb, turkey, chicken, beef, or a mix of meats– on a vertical spit. Thin slices of meat are shaved from the surface and served, either on their own or tucked inside a warm flatbread, topped with tahini, hummus or garlic sauce.

5. Israeli Salad (סלט ישראלי)

Via theshiksa.com

The chopped salad made out of finely diced tomato and cucumber is distinguished by the tiny diced tomatoes and cucumbers," it is described as the "most well-known national dish of Israel." Israeli salad is served as an independent side dish, as an accompaniment to main dishes, or stuffed in a pita with falafel or shawarma.

6. Malawach (מלווח)

Via spicesmk.com

Malawach or malawah is a fried bread that is a staple of theYemenite Jews. It is traditionally served with a crushed or grated tomato dip, hard boiled eggs andskhug, or for a sweet taste, it is often served with honey. Through immigration of Yemenite Jews to Israel, it has become a favorite comfort food for Israelis of all backgrounds and national origins.

7. Sabich (סביח)

Via blogger.com

Consisting of fried eggplant, hard boiled eggs, hummus, tahini, Israeli salad, potato, parsley and amba all stuffed inside a pita bread, Sabich has gained increasing popularity over the last few years. The name Sabich is believed to stand for salat, beizah, hazilim (salad, eggs, eggplant)--the sandwich's main ingredients. Local consumption is said to have stemmed from a tradition among Mizrahi Jews, who ate it on Shabbat morning.

8. Ptitim (פתיתים)

Via wordpress.com

Know outside of Israel as Israeli couscous or Jerusalem couscous, it is basically toasted pasta shaped like rice of little balls. Colloquially they are known as “Ben-Gurion’s rice”, ptitim was invented when David Ben-Gurion, asked Eugen Proper, one of the founders of the Osem food company, to quickly devise a wheat-based substitute to rice.