Food
What to eat, where to find it, what it costs.
235 Food
Syrian Jewish Cuisine
Same ingredients under different rules: when kashrut parts meat from milk, the fat changes. Tamarind is the Aleppo signature, and the sour-sweet line stayed.
Not applicable — this is a cuisine, not an address · Aleppo
Syrian Jams and Preserves
The jams Aleppo is known for are not made from fruit: pumpkin, aubergine, walnut and bitter orange. Quince is the larder classic, put up in late autumn.
Variable — by the jar or by weight, ask in the market · Aleppo
Raheb salad
Charred aubergine chopped rather than mashed, with tomato, onion, parsley and pomegranate molasses. No tahini — that is what sets it apart from mutabbal.
Variable — ask the price of a mezze plate when you sit down · Damascus
Aleppo Eggplant Kebab
Thick aubergine slices and flat patties of minced lamb alternate on one skewer and cook each other over coals. Aleppo’s vegetable-and-meat grill plate.
Variable — ask how many skewers make a portion and what a skewer costs · Aleppo
Syrian Pickles: Mhallal
On a Syrian table the pickle plate is not a choice but a fixture. It is put up in salt brine rather than vinegar, and the jars are filled in September.
Variable — by the kilo in the market; in a restaurant it comes with the meal, so ask when you order · Damascus
Syrian Moussaka
It shares a name with the Greek dish and nothing else: no bechamel, no mince. Fried aubergine, chickpeas and pomegranate molasses, cooked down and served cold.
Variable — ask the price of the mezze plate when you order · Damascus
Mfarakeh
Potato cubes fried in clarified butter with eggs broken over them, scattering through the pan as they set. The inland breakfast pan, eaten with bread.
Variable — ask the price of a pan when you order · Damascus
Makmour al-Kousa: The Other Half of Stuffed Courgette
The flesh scooped out of the courgette cooks with rice, mince and onion, finished with pomegranate molasses and pine nuts fried in ghee. A feast-day pot.
Variable — a home dish, not sold by the plate in the markets · Damascus
Maqluba
Fried aubergine at the bottom of the pot, meat and rice above it, and the whole pot flipped over onto a tray. The name says it: maqluba means upside down.
Variable — ask the price of the day's dish when you order · Damascus
Fried cauliflower (zahra maqliya)
Cauliflower broken into florets, deep-fried and served under tahini sauce. In Damascus it turns up on the mezze table and inside a falafel-shop sandwich.
Fried cauliflower with lemon and tarator · Variable — the sandwich costs far less than a restaurant plate; ask when you order · Damascus
Kebab Hindi: Syrian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
The name says Indian kebab, the dish is Syrian: lamb meatballs in tomato sauce with carrot and potato, over yellow rice. Aleppo adds clove and cinnamon.
Variable — a home dish; if a restaurant has it, ask the price of a plate when you order · Aleppo
Qabawat
Lamb intestine stuffed with rice and mince, sewn shut, boiled and then fried in clarified butter. An Aleppo feast dish that changes name at every border.
Variable — ask the portion price when you order · Aleppo
