Syrian food: 25 Aleppo and Lebanese dishes, kibbeh to kawaj
Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine: 25 dishes, from Kibbeh nayyeh to Kousa mahshi, 15 ingredients and spices, 4 dates in the holiday calendar, and the community’s story in Israel. Every dish that has a page here is linked, with every ingredient in grams.
IllustrationThe dishes of Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine
By when they are eaten: Shabbat, holidays, everyday and the street.
Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine, for holidays
6 dishes
- Kibbeh nayyeh: Raw lamb and bulgur; appears on the Foody site under Syrian food
- Aleppo-style lamb with sour cherries: About 3 hours according to HaShulchan; stuffed onion on the side
- Meat sambusak: Syrian meat pastry
- Ma'amoul: Cookies filled with dates or nuts
- Layali Beirut: Layered semolina pudding
- Sfouf: Semolina and turmeric cake, for religious occasions
Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine, everyday
13 dishes
- Fried kibbeh: One of the dishes in Sigi Mantel's Syrian cookbook
- Kousa mahshi: Courgettes stuffed with rice and meat
- Mujaddara: Lentils with bulgur or rice, fried onion and cumin
- Kawaj: A Syrian meatball stew, about an hour according to HaShulchan
- Muhammara: Roasted red pepper and walnut spread with pomegranate molasses
- Baba ghanoush: Mashed roasted aubergine, sometimes with tahini
- Hummus: A basic mezze dish; Lebanese cuisine also has hummus bil-lahmeh (hummus with meat)
- Tabbouleh: Bulgur, parsley, mint, tomato and lemon
- Fattoush: Vegetable salad with fried pita
- Labneh: Strained yogurt
- Sayadieh: Fish and rice; a Lebanese coastal dish
- Ijjeh (herb omelet): Herb omelette. Our page: herb ijjeh; check the transliteration and the source before publishing
- Makdous: Pickled stuffed baby aubergines
Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine, street food
6 dishes
- Manakish: Thin dough with za'atar
- Sfiha: Dough topped with spiced minced meat
- Shawarma: A Syrian dish
- Knafeh: Cheese and kataifi in syrup
- Booza: Syrian mastic ice cream
- Halawet el-jibn: Semolina and cheese dessert in orange-blossom syrup, associated with Tripoli in Lebanon
This cuisine’s dishes in our kitchen
Each has a page with a photo, what is in it and every ingredient in grams.
The holiday calendar of Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine
What goes on the table on each date.
| Date | Dishes | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rosh Hashanah (symbolic foods) | Leek (karti), Beet, Dates, Pomegranate, Pumpkin | A widespread Sephardi custom |
| Shavuot | Syrian dairy dishes | Related Google searches: 'Syrian foods for Shavuot', 'Syrian dairy food' |
| Ramadan | Qamar al-Din (apricot drink) | |
| Celebrations | Layali Beirut, Sfouf |
Spice and ingredient glossary
The name in Hebrew, in the local language and in English, and what it is for.
| English | Local name | Hebrew | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eggplant | باذنجان | Eggplant | The heart of Syrian cuisine |
| Zucchini | كوسا | Zucchini | |
| Garlic | ثوم | Garlic | |
| Lamb | خروف | Lamb | |
| Tahini | طحينة | Tahini | |
| Vine leaves | ورق عنب | Vine leaves | |
| Pickled turnip | لفت مخلل | Pickled turnip | |
| Sumac | سماق | Sumac | |
| Za'atar | زعتر | Za'atar | |
| Seven spice | سبع بهارات | Seven spice | Levantine baharat |
| Pomegranate molasses | دبس الرمان | Pomegranate molasses | |
| Aleppo pepper | فلفل حلبي | Aleppo pepper | |
| Aleppo pistachio | فستق حلبي | Aleppo pistachio | |
| Mastic | مستكة | Mastic | In booza |
| Halloumi and akkawi | جبنة حلومي | Halloumi and akkawi | Lebanese |
Techniques and vessels
How it is cooked, and in what.
Kibbeh shaping
Meat filling inside a bulgur shell
Frying
Kibbeh, mujaddara, falafel, pita for fattoush
Charcoal grilling
Kebab and shishlik
Baking
Sfiha, manakish, ka'ak
Layering and syrup
Layali Beirut, baklava, knafeh
Stuffing
Mahshi in a pot
Pickling
Makdous, turnips
Mezze service
Small dishes before the main course, a detail
Regions and variants
The same dish, another city, another taste.
| Region | What is special |
|---|---|
| Aleppo (Halab) | Aleppo pepper, pistachio, sour cherries, many kinds of kibbeh |
| Damascus | Sigi Mantel's cookbook 'Tevorachna Yadayikh' ('May Your Hands Be Blessed') |
| Beirut | Layali Beirut |
| Mount Lebanon | Goat meat |
| The Lebanese coast | Lamb and fish |
| Tripoli, the Bekaa, Nabatieh, Zgharta | Halawet el-jibn, vineyards, sfiha, toum with mint |
Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine in Israel
How they came
About 10,000 Syrian Jews in the Mandate period
Where they settled
Holon (a large community), south Tel Aviv (HaTikva, Neve Sha'anan, Shapira), Kiryat Tivon (Alroy), Nachlaot in Jerusalem (Ades Synagogue, from around 1900)
Markets and places
Sigi Mantel's Syrian cookbook 'Tevorachna Yadayikh': 100 pages; a collection of recipes of Damascus Jewry. A Syrian-food blog from a mother's home (recipes of the late Ada Habuba, Aleppo): Recipes in Hebrew.
Syrian (Aleppo and Damascus Jewish) and Lebanese cuisine in numbers
Syrian Jews in Israel
Jews of Syria as a whole
Kawaj (Syrian meatball stew)
Neighbouring cuisines
The same pots, other spices.
Iraqi (Iraqi-Jewish) cuisine
19 dishes, a spice glossary, a holiday calendar and the story in Israel.
To the pageMoroccan (Moroccan-Jewish) cuisine
22 dishes, a spice glossary, a holiday calendar and the story in Israel.
To the pageYemenite cuisine
21 dishes, a spice glossary, a holiday calendar and the story in Israel.
To the pageKurdish (Kurdish-Jewish) cuisine
21 dishes, a spice glossary, a holiday calendar and the story in Israel.
To the pagePersian (Iranian-Jewish) cuisine
21 dishes, a spice glossary, a holiday calendar and the story in Israel.
To the pageTunisian and Tripolitan (Libyan-Jewish) cuisine
28 dishes, a spice glossary, a holiday calendar and the story in Israel.
To the pageFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Syrian and Lebanese food?
Both belong to Levantine cuisine and share kibbeh, tabbouleh and mezze. The Syrian food known in Israel is mainly the cooking of the Jews of Aleppo and Damascus (lamb stews, kibbeh, Aleppo pepper), while Lebanese is close to Galilean Arab cooking, with an emphasis on salads, pastries and olive oil.
What is kibbeh nayyeh?
Raw lamb pounded by hand with bulgur, a celebration dish in Syrian cuisine.
What is muhammara?
A spread of roasted red pepper, walnuts and pomegranate molasses.
What is Aleppo pepper?
Hot-sweet pepper flakes from Aleppo in Syria, used to season mezze and meat.
What is the difference between Lebanese tabbouleh and fattoush?
Tabbouleh is an herb salad with bulgur; fattoush is a vegetable salad with fried pita.
What is mujaddara?
Lentils with bulgur or rice, fried onion and cumin.
What is makdous?
Pickled stuffed baby aubergines.
What do Syrian Jews eat at Rosh Hashanah?
The Sephardi simanim table: leek (karti), beet, dates, pomegranate and pumpkin, alongside lamb stews.
Which Syrian foods suit Shavuot?
Dairy foods: pies and cheese sambusak, mujaddara with yogurt (laban), sweets such as ma'amoul.
What is Qamar al-Din?
A concentrated, sweet apricot drink, a Syrian and Lebanese Ramadan beverage.
A meal from this cuisine, for a team or an event
How many people, when and what they like. We come back with a proposal.