by Pamela Kay

Created on: April 22, 2009   Last Updated: May 09, 2009

While the Bedouin way of life has become less nomadic that it once was, their simple life style, food and cooking methods have changed little in centuries. However, simple doesn't equate with primitive or lack of culture, as this introduction to Bedouin cooking will show. The foods are aromatic, delicious and rich in the flavors of the Middle East.

The Bedouin diet consists mainly of flat bread, palm dates, olives, rice or couscous, lentils, eggs, chickpeas, spices, vegetables such as dried okra, beans and tomatoes, mutton, goat and camel meat as well as the yogurt, milk and cheese from the goats, sheep and camels. This diet is supplemented with wild desert game, berries and herbs.

Other foods that are commonly traded for or bought are olive oil, tea and coffee, sugar, sesame seeds, tehineh known as sesame seed paste, and fresh and dried fruits such as figs, grapes, apricots, lemons and oranges. They also trade for spices and seasonings.

As the Bedouin way of life, is that of a nomad who must move from one area to another to find grazing for the animals and to plant crops, the means of cooking are quite different from those of modern cities. Open fires, zaarps (a small underground oven or fire pit built of stone), hot stones and small braziers are used to prepare the daily meals.

*How The Bedouin Cook Goat/Sheep

The whole goat or sheep is cooked in an underground stone oven. A big fire is built in the oven and when the fire has become hot coals, the meat is added. The top is then covered by stones and then a layer of mud. It takes about two-four hours to cook and the meat is so tender it slides from the bone and is served on a bed of rice.

Other ways to cook the goat or sheep is to roast it over an open fire on a spit or cut it into sections and boil it with herbs and vegetables. This also is served over rice. Sometimes it is wrapped in grape leaves with herbs and boiled or baked.

*Bread

Bread in some form plays a large part in the Bedouin diet as it is used in place of utensils. Flat bread is made of ground whole-wheat flour called bulghur, mixed with milk or water and fried on a hot stone or on the bottom of a pan turned upside down over hot coals. It is baked fresh for each meal and is very thin and much like a tortilla. Moraras is another type of flat bread made with whole-wheat flour, water, fat and sugar or honey.

*Zahatar

Zahatar is the most common herb, closely resembling marjoram, used by the Bedouin cook. It is also the name given to a mixture of spices they use, which includes the zahatar, dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, toasted sesame seeds, sumac and salt

*Mansaf

Mansaf is the traditional Bedouin dish served at weddings and feasts. Lamb is stewed over an open fire in a dried yogurt sauce called jameed, which is then served on a bed of flat bread and rice and sprinkled with pine nuts and sometimes almonds.

*Hummus

Hummus is a delicious dip made of sesame seed paste, mashed chickpeas, garlic and cilantro. It is served in a communal dish and scooped out with pieces of flat bread.

The Bedouins are known for their fine cooking and finer hospitality to invited guests and journeying strangers alike. As their way of life dies, so do the traditions of an old and healthy way of life.

Learn more about this author, Pamela Kay.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.