Authentic Middle Eastern Recipes from Thuraya’s Kitchen

Middle Eastern flavors are a beautiful balance of warm spices, fresh herbs, and bold, earthy ingredients that create a unique depth in each dish. You’ll taste spices like sumac, za’atar, and cinnamon, paired with fresh ingredients like mint, parsley, and pomegranate. Jameed, freekeh, olive oil, samneh baladi (ghee) and lemon play a big part in the flavor profile. Middle Eastern cuisine emphasizes family-style, communal meals where food is enjoyed together, often in generous portions that encourage sharing and connection.

Absolutely! Middle Eastern cuisine is naturally rich in vegan and vegetarian dishes. ‘Mezze’ refers to a spread of small dishes served as appetizers, often shared before the main meal. It often includes flavorful plant-based dishes like hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, falafel, and stuffed grape leaves, all made with fresh vegetables, legumes, and vibrant herbs. These mezze dishes bring a variety of tastes and textures to the table, making it easy for vegans and vegetarians to enjoy a full and satisfying experience. Mezze isn’t just food – it’s an essential part of the meal that encourages sharing, conversation, and a sense of togetherness.

No. The recipes come from all over the Middle East. Before borders were drawn in the early 1900’s, the food was common in the Levant region. While it is true that some of the recipes originated in modern day Syria, others in Lebanon, while others in Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, or even Egypt, the food essentials are common, and the food we ate growing up in Jordan is a wide selection of dishes from the region.
This book is not about food history, it is a personal diary between my mother and I and the food we ate in her kitchen while growing up in Amman, Jordan. Thuraya is the way we cook these Middle Eastern delightful dishes at home, the way we like it.

Most of the ingredients featured in Thuraya can be found in your local supermarket —think olive oil, lemons, yogurt, garlic, tomatoes, common spices (all-spice, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, etc.), and a variety of fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro and mint. Staples like rice, lentils, and chickpeas are also widely available.
For authentic Levantine flavors, you might need to visit a specialty Middle Eastern store or an online retailer. Thuraya features a section in the book titled ‘key ingredients’ that outlines items to include in your pantry. Ingredients like sumac, za’atar, pomegranate molasses, tahini, dried limes, fava beans, jameed, freekeh, bulghur and orange blossom water are key to recreating the magic of Middle Eastern dishes. Once stocked, these items last a while and are incredibly versatile, so it’s worth the trip!