Bajariyeh
Lamb cooked in ghee and piled over torn clay-oven bread. The wedding tray of Deir ez-Zor, named after the Baggara tribe that cooked it for its guests.
- Where to eat it
- At home and wedding tables in Deir ez-Zor; in restaurants only to order. Eaten from a shared tray.
- Price
- Variable — it is made to order, so agree the price first
- When it is eaten
- Weddings, feasts and large gatherings
It is not cooked without a wedding, a wake or a crowd of guests. Lamb goes into a large pot with onion, salt, bay leaf, red pepper, cloves and cinnamon; ghee carries the flavour. Torn clay-oven or saj bread is then spread across wide trays and the meat is piled on top.
Where the name comes from
People in Deir ez-Zor trace the name to the Baggara tribe, known for cooking this for their guests. The dish also goes by ruus. Spring onion and radish are set beside the tray as garnish.
It is not mansaf
From a distance it resembles the mansaf of Hawran, but the two come from different places. Mansaf uses jameed, dried fermented yoghurt; bajariyeh does not. Mansaf usually sits on rice, bajariyeh on bread. The taste comes from ghee, not from soured milk.
Where to eat it
This is a house and wedding dish rather than a restaurant one. Some places in Deir ez-Zor will make it to order, but the ordinary way to see the tray is to be invited. If you find yourself at one, eat from the part in front of you rather than reaching into the middle — the tray is shared.
Tips
- Shared tray — eat from in front of you, not from the middle
- Do not expect mansaf; the base is bread, not rice
- The spring onion and radish are not decoration, they cut the fat
- Do not count on finding it ready; it usually needs ordering ahead
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- Two kinds of record live here: the dish itself, and the place that serves it. Both are chosen and written by hand; ranking is not for sale and there are no sponsored entries. If a price range is not known for certain, it says so. Venues that serve alcohol are not listed on this site at all.
- Facts checked
- September 2026
- Last updated
- September 15, 2026