Mesopotamian cooking with deep Persian, Ottoman, Bedouin and Levantine layers. Long-grain rice (timman) sits beside slow-cooked lamb (quzi), grilled river fish (masgouf), and stuffed vegetables (dolma). Baharat, dried lime, sumac and fresh herbs season; tahini, dates and pomegranate finish. The kebab and the dolma are universal; the date and the river fish are unmistakably Iraqi.
Lamb shoulder is browned hard; onion is softened; garlic, baharat and tomato paste join. Stock, tamarind, dried lime and tinned tomato deglaze. The lamb is braised for 75 minutes. Small whole okra goes in the last 25 minutes (long enough to soften, short enough not to disintegrate). Taqliya, crushed garlic and coriander sizzled in oil, is drizzled over at the end.
A filling of short-grain rice, lamb mince, onion, parsley, dill, mint, tomato puree, allspice, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, olive oil. Vine leaves blanch; vegetables hollow out (cores reserved as the pot base layer). Each leaf and shell stuffs; arranged tightly in a wide pot lined with sliced tomato and reserved vegetable cores. Tamarind-pomegranate-lemon liquid poured halfway up. Cooked covered 1 hour 15 minutes on lowest heat.
A buttery cardamom-scented dough enriched with milk and a touch of yeast (gives a tender bite without rising). Date paste sweetens with cardamom, cloves and a pinch of cinnamon. Each cookie wraps a teaspoon of filling, then gets pressed into a patterned mould or scored on top. Bakes pale gold; the surface stays soft, the inside spice-heavy.
Whole large fish butterflies open (a long cut down the back, leaving the belly attached). Marinated with olive oil, tamarind paste, lemon, garlic, salt, turmeric. Set skin-side down on a baking tray; grilled / roasted at very high heat 25-30 minutes until the flesh is opaque and the skin charred. Topped with sliced tomato, onion and parsley in the last 8 minutes.
A bone-in lamb shoulder rubs with baharat, dried lime, garlic and yogurt; sits overnight; roasts long and slow until the meat falls from the bone. Saffron rice cooks separately with onion, raisins and toasted nuts. Everything assembles on a wide platter, rice mounded under the lamb, sauce spooned over, almonds and pine nuts scattered.
Onion is softened in oil; tomato paste is fried until darker and aromatic; rice is toasted briefly; hot stock is poured in with baharat and cinnamon. Sliced potatoes are layered at the bottom of the pot for the crust; rice is piled over; the lot steams covered until tender. The crust pops out at the end as a single golden cake.
