A guide for Middle Eastern Food in Indianapolis

Middle Eastern cuisine is very diverse and changes from country to country. Some of the countries best known for their cuisines in Indianapolis are Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Israel. Indianapolis offers a wide variety of Middle Eastern cafes, hookah bars, restaurant and eateries. Today getting Middle Eastern food in Indianapolis is just a phone call away; you don’t have to wait for one of your Middle Eastern friends to invite for dinner.

 The Middle Eastern food in Indianapolis offers a classic combination of traditional home made food and modern food. Since Islam is the prominent religion in Middle East you can get only halal food in authentic Middle Eastern restaurants. Most of the restaurants will not serve wine or any other alcoholic beverage and pork since they are strictly non halal.

Each typical meal starts with appetizers and starters then proceeds to main course which mostly consists of lamb or chicken dishes and ends with desserts. Since Islam forbids eating pork meats like lamb, chicken and beef are used.Grilling, frying, grinding, and stewing are the most common ways of preparing meats.They are usually cooked with vegetables and lentils and served with rice. Some of the famous dishes are Shawarma, Kofta, Persian Tas kebab,Shish tawook and many lamb recipes.

Bread accompanies most of the meals whether dinner or lunch. Some of the restaurants will pack bread with lunch or dinner delivery in Indianapolis since it’s the standard custom. The pita bread is the most common bread other breads such as matzoh is also popular. Middle Eastern food in Indianapolis uses a variety of yogurt and cheese. Most of the sweets like QatayefFeteer and Halawat el Jibn use goat cheese for stuffing. Halawat el Jibn literally means sweetness of cheese. Turkish delight is a very popular sweet dish in US.

Vegetables and cereals are important part of daily diet. Green and black olives are present in many dishes, and olive oil is most frequently used in food preparation.Eggplant is the most widely used vegetable; some of the famous dishes like Baba Ghanauj are prepared using eggplant. It is a thick paste of eggplant with a tangy flavour. A Ful Madames is prepared by cooking fava beans it is considered as the national dish of Egypt. Tahini and hummus are popular dips in US.