Arab food is good as is. A lot of us like to keep it simple. A simple shish kebab, a fool and tahini sandwich, or a manouche — they’re all delicious and simple.
Life isn’t simple, though, and that is why these classics that we love and adore have somehow mutated and transformed into completely new dishes — dishes you wouldn’t believe. Let us take a look at these Arabized creations across the region and beyond:
Shakshuka Pizza
Known as a North African dish with probable origins in Tunisia, shakshuka is basically soft-cooked eggs poached in a chunky tomato and bell pepper sauce. Now, with America known for having out-of-the-box foodie creations, including fried pickles, they decided to add their touch to this famous Arab dish. Meet the shakshuka pizza.
For a limited time only, LA’s Danny Boy’s Pizza was churning out an all-new breakfast pizza made with braised eggs, spicy roasted garlic tomato sauce, crumbled feta, pecorino, roasted red peppers, banana peppers, and chili oil.
Warak Enab Ice Cream
There is this interesting debate among foodies of whether cold or warm warak enab (stuffed vein leaves) taste best. If you are team cold, we have a question for you. Would you eat it if it were an ice cream? As in warak enab ice cream? In Saudi Arabia’s Dammam, there is a place that makes all kinds of ice cream flavors, flavors you would never guess could be possible.
Meet Everesto Ice, the shop that does it all, from raisins-flavored ice cream to kiri cheese-flavored ice cream to chips Oman with milk-flavored ice cream. But the weirdest one for us is the warak enab ice cream. Tell us, would you try it?
Falafel Nachos
Are you ready for another weird fusion creation? This time, it is not going to be holy matrimony between Tunisia and America; instead, we are going to bring together the flavors of the Arab world and Mexico: we are talking about falafel nachos. At NYC’s Hen House, a Lebanese eatery with one of the craziest menus in the city, you’ll find this very dish.
The restaurant is calling this dish falachos, and it is basically made up of super crispy deep-fried pita chips served with turnips, tahini, and tomato on top.
Scotch Falafel
Okay, this one is going to be a little interesting. You know how in the UK they eat Scotch eggs, which are basically boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried? Well, in London, they decided to take that traditional dish and turn it over its head.
Meet the scotch falafel, which is basically a falafel with an egg inside, not just any egg, but a juicy, runny one. To try it out, you can hit up London’s Wowshee Pita Pocket Bar at Soho to bite into this creation.
These are just a few of the crazy Arabized dishes you can try. Would you give them a shot?