The cuisine of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

with

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

influence. One of the most popular Libyan dishes is ''

bazin Bazin may refer to Places *Bazin, Zanjan, a village in Iran *Gazan Bazin, Hormozgan, a village in Iran *Kingdom of Bazin, a medieval Beja polity *Bazin, Hungarian name of Pezinok, in Slovakia Other *Bazin (surname) Bazin is a French surname of Ger ...

'', an

unleavened bread Unleavened bread is any of a wide variety of breads which are prepared without using rising agents such as yeast. Unleavened breads are generally flat breads; however, not all flat breads are unleavened. Unleavened breads, such as the tortilla ...

prepared with

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

, water and salt. ''Bazin'' is prepared by boiling

barley flour Barley flour is a flour prepared from dried and ground barley. Barley flour is used to prepare barley bread and other breads, such as flat bread and yeast breads. There are two general types of barley flour: coarse and fine. Barley groats are mil ...

in water and then beating it to create a dough using a ''magraf'', which is a unique stick designed for this purpose.

Pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

consumption is forbidden, in accordance with

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

, the religious laws of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

."Libya."Foodspring.com
Accessed June 2011. In

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, Libya's capital, the cuisine is particularly influenced by

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...

Pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

is common, and many

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

dishes are available. Southern Libyan cuisine is more traditionally

with

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

influence. Common fruits and vegetables include

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

dates Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating *Play date, an ...

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

s and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

Common foods and dishes

Bazin Bazin may refer to Places *Bazin, Zanjan, a village in Iran *Gazan Bazin, Hormozgan, a village in Iran *Kingdom of Bazin, a medieval Beja polity *Bazin, Hungarian name of Pezinok, in Slovakia Other *Bazin (surname) Bazin is a French surname of Ger ...

'' is a common Libyan food made with

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

and a little plain flour, which is boiled in salted water to make a hard dough, and then formed into a rounded, smooth dome placed in the middle of the dish. The sauce around the dough is made by frying chopped onions with lamb meat, turmeric, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, fenugreek, sweet paprika, and tomato paste.

Potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es can also be added. Finally,

boiled egg Boiled eggs are eggs, typically from a chicken, cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may leave the yolk, ...

s are arranged around the dome. The dish is then served with

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

and fresh or pickled chili peppers, known as ''amsyar''. ''Batata mubattana'' (filled potato) is another popular dish that consists of fried potato pieces filled with spiced minced meat and covered with egg and breadcrumbs. Additional common foods and dishes include: * ''

Asida Asida ( ar, عصيدة, ‘aṣīdah) is a dish with origins from the Maghreb. It is a lump of dough, obtained by stirring wheat flour into boiling water, sometimes with added butter or honey. Similar in texture to fufu, it is eaten in mainly ...

'' is a dish made of a cooked wheat flour lump of dough, sometimes with added butter, honey or ''rub''. * Bazin * Rishta. *

Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

s, including

flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads ran ...

s * ''Bureek'', turnovers *

Couscous Couscous ( '; ber, ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, translit=Seksu) – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a Maghrebi dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, ...

, a North African dish of

semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Etymo ...

* ''

Filfel chuma Pilpelchuma ( he, פלפלצ'ומה), also spelled pilpelshuma (lit: "pepper garlic"), is a chili-garlic paste similar to a hot sauce originating from the Libyan Jews and commonly used in Israeli cuisine. Overview Pilpelchuma traditionally has ...

'' or ''maseer'', spicy pickled peppers, Lemon t and hot peppers and crushed garlic. * ''Ghreyba'', butter

cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...

s"Libyan Food."Libyana.org
. Accessed June 2011. * ''

Harissa Harissa ( ar, هريسة ''harīsa'', from Maghrebi Arabic) is a hot chili pepper paste, native to the Maghreb. The main ingredients are roasted red peppers, Baklouti peppers (), spices and herbs such as garlic paste, caraway seeds, coriander ...

'' is hot chili sauce commonly eaten in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Main ingredients include

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

s, such as

bird's eye chili Bird's eye chili or Thai chili (Thai: ''prik ki nu'', พริกขี้หนู, literally "mouse dung chili" owing to its shape) is a chili pepper, a variety from the species ''Capsicum annuum'' native to Mexico. Cultivated across Southea ...

and

serrano pepper The serrano pepper (''Capsicum annuum'') is a type of chili pepper that originated in the mountainous regions of the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo. The name of the pepper is a reference to the mountains ('' sierras'') of these regions ...

s, and spices such as garlic paste,

coriander Coriander (;

, red chili powder,

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

and

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

. * ''Hassaa'', type of

gravy Gravy is a sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a simple mix of salt an ...

* ''Magrood'', date-filled cookies * ''Mhalbiya'', type of

rice pudding Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla and raisins. Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such ...

Mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

, meat of an adult sheep * ''Rub'' is a thick dark brown, very sweet syrup extracted from dates or

carob The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscap ...

that is widely used in Libya, usually with ''asida''. * ''

Shakshouka Shakshouka ( ar, شكشوكة : šakšūkah, also spelled ''shakshuka'' or ''chakchouka'') is a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper ...

'' is prepared using aged mutton or lamb

jerky Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...

as the meat base of the meal, and is considered a traditional breakfast dish. * ''

Shorba Chorba or shorba (from dialectal Arabic ; from , 'to drink') is a broad class of stews or rich soups found in national cuisines across the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It is often prepared w ...

'', lamb and vegetable soup with mint and tomato paste * ''Imbakbaka'' or ''Mbakbaka'', a type of stew with pasta and meat; originating from Italy's

minestrone Minestrone (; ) is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice, sometimes both. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, leaf vegetables, stock, parmesan cheese and tomatoes ...

* ''

Usban Usban (or osban) ( ar, عصبان, ) is a traditional kind of sausage in some North African countries Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, stuffed with a mixture of rice, herbs, lamb, chopped liver and heart. This dish is usually served alongside the main ...

'', a traditional Libyan food made of Guts stuffed with Organs and herbs. * Kifta, * Boourdeem, Meat cooked underground using primitive methods

Desserts and beverages

* ''

Makroudh Makroudh ( ar, مقروض, Latn, ar, maqrūḍ, mt, maqrut), also spelled Makrout, is a cookie from the cuisine of the Maghreb. It is filled with dates and nuts or almond paste, that has a diamond shape – the name derives from this characte ...

'' * ''

Ghoriba Qurabiya (also ghraybe, ghorayeba, ghoriba ( ar, غريبة), ghribia, ghraïba, or ghriyyaba and numerous other spellings and pronunciations) is a shortbread-type biscuit, usually made with ground almonds. Versions are found in most Arab and Ot ...

'' * ''Maakroud'' * ''Drua'' - (Libyan s''alep'' made from

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

) * ''Mafruka'' * '' Kunafa'' * '' Zumeeta'' *

Libyan tea Libyan tea is a strong beverage, prepared with traditional set of stainless utensils and served in a small glass cups. It is similar to Moroccan tea in prepared by boiling loose tea leaves but differ in presentation. Libyan tea is usually served in ...

, the Libyan tea is a thick beverage served in a small glass, often accompanied by

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s. Regular American/British

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

is available in Libya, and is known as "

Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee brand in Switzerland on 1 April 1938. History Nestl� ...

" (a misnomer).

Soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

s and

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

are also consumed. The

Maghrebi mint tea Maghrebi mint tea (Maghrebi Arabic: , ''atay''; ar, الشاي بالنعناع, aš-šhāy bin-na'nā'; ), also known as Moroccan mint tea and Algerian mint tea, is a North African green tea prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar. It is tr ...

is also a popular drink. All

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

ic drinks have been banned in Libya since 1969, in accordance with

, the religious laws of

. However, illegally imported alcohol is available on the black market, alongside a homemade spirit called Bokha. Bokha is often consumed with soft drinks as mixers.

References

{{cuisines Arab cuisine North African cuisine Mediterranean cuisine Maghrebi cuisine

Common foods and dishes

Desserts and beverages

See also

References