Arab Finger Foods: Perfect Party Bites with a Twist
Whenever we watch a film or show where the main cast is at a party or gathering, the foodies among us will scan the room for what we love most: finger food. Now if you are going to hold your own party or gathering soon and want to impress your guests, we came up with Arab finger food made with a twist.
Cream-Stuffed Sambosa
Whether it’s India’s samosas or the Arab world’s sambosa, there is an innate love for the fried triangular dough stuffed with delicious flavor-infused filling. Usually, you’ll find it stuffed with cheese or minced beef, but we want to introduce you to a unique take on this fried appetizer. Meet the cream-stuffed sambosa.
For this kind of sambosa, you first spread the cream onto the sambosa paper and then wrap it into a triangular shape. Then, you’ll fry it and dunk it into a sugar-cinnamon-orange water-heated mixture. You can see how it is made by watching Abir El Saghir’s recipe.
Mini Smoked Shawarma
It is rare to find anyone who doesn’t love shawarma; the sliced marinated meat sandwich smothered in either tahini or garlic sauce and wrapped in Lebanese bread is the ultimate go-to for many. Now, there is a way to serve it at parties by making a mini-smoked version.
To make it, in a pan, cook slices of chicken with diced onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then, a bit later, add tomatoes and mix them in.
Now for the party trick to create that smoky flavor, add a saucer filled with oil in the middle of the pan with a piece of coal on top and cook it up.
For the fun part, add the chicken mixture to a tiny piece of Lebanese bread, roll it up, and you’re done. You can check out the full recipe by watching chef Bjs’ mum making the recipe.
Shish Barak
Known as Lebanon’s very own rendition of a dumpling, shish barak is the meat-filled tortellini cooked in yogurt soup. If you know what we are talking about, you must be thinking how on Earth can it be served at a party knowing how the dumplings are going to be swimming in a yogurt sauce?
Well, we have two simple solutions, either serve it in several individual small ramekins or make the shish barak without the yogurt and place a toothpick on each dumpling for guests to pick up with ease. For a simple recipe to try out, check out Healthylicious By Sara‘s recipe.
Meghli
With all the savory mini foods we already mentioned, a party can’t be complete without dessert. For a fun twist, we are introducing you to a unique rice pudding called meghli. It is the Lebanese version of the sweet dessert made with anise, cinnamon, and caraway. It is then garnished with shredded coconuts and nuts.
This dessert is usually made to celebrate the birth of a baby but we thought it would make a fun addition to your next gathering or party. You can check out the full recipe by heading to Mamas Joy‘s Instagram page.
Date Snickers
You can’t have just one dessert at a party or gathering, so we’re including a unique take on sweet dates. Knowing that we’re showcasing finger food recipes with a twist, we’d like to introduce you to the ultimate sugary dessert: date snickers.
This dessert isn’t just for anyone; you’ll need to have a very strong sweet tooth. These sweet treats are made by deseeding the dates, filling them with peanut butter, and then coating them in dark chocolate.
For the final touch, sprinkle crunchy chopped nuts on top. To make this recipe you can watch Ahmad Alzahabi‘s video.
With all these finger food options for your next gathering or party, we have a feeling you will become the talk of the town and the go-to party thrower.
