Take a dip of West Asia

Something had to give when I moved to Abu Dhabi six years ago. For the Punjabi that I am, that something was naan and dal makhani. Instead, the shawarma became my staple diet. It was a choice of convenience and also ignorance, because when we hear of “Middle-Eastern food”, we are promptly reminded of the wrap that gifts calories quicker than Maggi makes noodles. But all good things — especially the fattening variety — must come to an end. If you’re lucky, something more comforting will take its place.

If you spend a little more time in the region — longer than a whistle-stop tour of the Dubai Shopping Festival — you will find that the one thing that binds the countries in the region is the love for meze (appetisers). This love begins with the humble hummus, although nothing can beat the ease with which the dip — the basic form made with chickpea, tahini (sesame paste), olive oil and garlic — can be put together. Served with tabbouleh (a salad of cracked wheat with parsley, tomato and onion), it will be the healthiest bit on your meal chart. You can tip the scales in favour of high calories by replacing the salad with deep-fried falafels.

Crunch factor: Falafels are a fixture on meze platters

The fun part is that these dips are light and you can have the greens too, without feeling forced to eat healthy. Spinach hummus with feta cheese is a good example. And if you can have beetroot in your juice, you may as well add it to hummus. The transition from conventional meze to the experimental has also made avocado hummus a reality. It has also resulted in a range of fruit-based dips called frummus. This dessert hummus has been seen in mango-basil, strawberry, blueberry, pineapple and cranberry avatars.

There is no law that forbids you from pairing hummus with animal protein. Pages can be devoted to describing how well it tastes with barbecued meat. But it also goes well with the white, firm halloumi from Cyprus (though it’s a tussle between the island’s Greek and Turkish inhabitants over the origin of the goat- or sheep-milk cheese that made it famous even outside the region). The halloumi, exported to West Asia, European Union countries and China in huge quantities, tastes even better when grilled.

A dip made with strained yogurt, the labneh is a soft cheese that fits the role of a dip beautifully. It is said to have been a staple diet in the Levant — a belt that includes modern-day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Cyprus. It comes in flavours such as dill, garlic and red chillies, but the one with za’atar (a condiment made with herbs — thyme, oregano, marjoram, for example — and toasted sesame seeds) deserves a mention.

In its West Asian avatar, good ol’ baingan ka bharta is known as baba ganoush (also ghanouj). The eggplant is first smoked and puréed, with barrels of olive oil, and then mixed with parsley, lime juice, tahini, black pepper and garlic. A slightly spicier version, with ample red chillies, is known as moutabal , which can be had with manakeesh , a Levantine flat bread that is topped with different kinds of cheese, za’atar or even chunks of meat. This bread makes the thinnest pizza look chunky.

If you like spicy, the red-hot muhammara is hard to beat. It’s a dip from, hold your breath, Aleppo — the beleaguered Syrian city that has become the most contemporary symbol of the ravages of war. Made with red pepper, walnuts, olive oil (yet again) and pomegranate, this is good to go on your toast as a spread. It is also a tasty accompaniment if you find your falafels bland.

If you are headed to the region anytime soon — the desert town of Dubai, surprisingly, is always one of the top destinations for Indian summer holidays — find the tiniest hole-in-the-wall and ‘dip’ in. It’s the real stuff. They haven’t given way to the trendy ‘fusion’ business yet. And take it from me, skip the shawarma!

Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava is a freelance writer based in Delhi

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