Friday, February 22, 2013

Israeli (and Middle Eastern) Foods!

Hey guys, how ya been?

This is not going to be a how to draw lesson. In this post I want to share with you some of the best (and best known) Israeli and Middle Eastern foods, together with Examples I drew especially for you!

These are all great and tasty foods that I recommend you try for yourself, if you want to spice up your culinary experience. Also, if you ever come to Israel, these are a must...

As a side note, I am a vegan, which is great, because most (but not all) of these foods are vegan.

A word or two about the Israeli cuisine:

It is a subject of debate whether there actually is such a thing as Israeli cuisine or not, because of the fact that Israel is such a young country (that officially exists only since 1948).
But even with all the debating going on, it is impossible to say that Israel doesn't have its own way of doing things in the kitchen, and its own inventions that are related to food!

Here are the 5 foods of my selection.

Falafel

The Middle Eastern super food. Tasty, simple and healthy!
It is a fried patty, made mostly out of Chickpeas, Fava beans and Parsley.
The falafel is usually served inside "Pita" bread, with salad, hummus, tahini, fries and pickles.

draw falafel

Jachnun

Jachnun (pronounced Jachnoon) is a pastry which originated in the Yemenite Jewish communities, and is a vastly popular food in Israel.
It is made of slowly, low heat cooked dough, which is rolled. It is mostly served with mashed tomatoes, as well as eggs.

draw jachnun

Hummus

A well known Middle Eastern food.
Hummus is made by mixing blended chickpeas, tahini, garlic, squeezed lemon and water. Also, usually paprika, tahini on top, parsley and olive oil are added to the hummus. It is served with pita bread, and is eaten not by spreading it, but rather by breaking pieces of the pita and "wiping" it with it.
This is what I recommend you the most, since its extremely accessible, very healthy and tasty (I could probably live of it for days!). We actually make it quite a lot on our own in my family.

draw hummus

Bourekas

Bourekas (also known as Börek) is a pastry made of thin "leafy" dough, called phyllo. It is typically filled with white salty hard cheese, or with mashed potatoes, but can sometimes be filled with pizza sauce, mushrooms or meat.
It's origins are probably in Turkey, while it was under the Ottoman empire's control. This might also explain how it became popular in Greece and Cyprus.
In the drawing, the triangle shaped bourekas is filled with cheese, and the square one with potatoes. Looks yummy, doesn't it??

draw bourekas


Last but not least - BAMBA

One of the most recognized and popular snacks in Israel!
The Bamba started being mass produced in 1964 by "Osem" company. It is made of puffed corn, coated with peanut butter. It is really similar to Cheez Doodles, with peanut butter instead of cheese!
It contains a lot of vitamins, minerals and no preservatives, cholesterol or food coloring (pretty healthy for a snack...).

Here is a typical Bamba package, with some bambas besides it.

draw bamba


Thats it for the foods I want to share with you, I had a blast drawing these, since I don't usually draw food.

I will probably make a second part about foods, that relates to holidays, in the future [=

Anyway, thats all for this time, hope you enjoyed and learned new things.

Till next time,
- Liron




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