Manakish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manakish[1] (Arabic: مناقيش; sometimes called معجنات, ma-ujna'at, "pastry") is a baked Middle Eastern dough topped with cheese or thyme or ground meat. Similar to a pizza, it can be sliced or folded, and it can either be served for breakfast or lunch.
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[edit] Classical Toppings
- Thyme (Arabic: زعتر, za'atar). The most popular one has thyme topping, which is served for breakfast with vegetables and/or red tea. The thyme itself is a vegetarian nutrient obtained from ground thyme leaves, and this powder with tiny edible sesame seeds is mixed with olive oil to finalize the paste to put on the dough.
- Cheese (Arabic: جبنة, jubna). Another type has Halloum cheese toppings instead, but it is a bit more expensive than the thyme manakish. However, it is tastier and can be served in the same manner as the thyme manakish.
- Minced Beef (Arabic: لحم بعجين, laham ba'ajiyn, "meat in dough"). Other manakish are served for lunch because of their heavy contents. This popular manakish has beef topping. The minced beef is mixed with tiny pieces of diced tomato and vegetable oil, and this manakish is optionally served with ground pepper or, especially in Lebanon, pickles and lemon juice.
- Chilli (Arabic: فليفلة or حر).
[edit] Fancy Toppings
- Pizza. This is not a regular manakish, however the pizza manakish is among the top-selling lunch. It is available in small size with diameters less than three inches, and there is also the medium size. The pizza topping basically consists of mozzarella cheese, chopped olive, and tomato paste.
- Mix/Cocktail. This is a manakish with each half covered with a different topping. This could either be cheese and thyme or cheese and minced beef.
- Labneh. This manakish is peculiar because in most cases the Labneh is spread after the dough is baked in the oven to prevent drying.
- Cheese and Ham.
- Cheese and Turkey.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Also spelled as "Manaeesh" or "Manakeesh".
