Iraq Food

Iraq food? What is it like? What do the people of Iraq eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

What about snacks? I have the answer.

After living here in various parts of Iraq for about four years now and working closely with several Iraqi citizens, I can tell you a bit about the food they cook, eat, and enjoy.

In America, the evening meal or dinner is usually our biggest meal of the day. For the people here, the biggest meal of Iraq food is lunch, which is normally eaten around 2 in the afternoon.

Most families use this time to consume their main food staples--stew and rice. Stew is cooked in Iraq food almost everyday. The stews are varied. They can be made of many different meats, like lamb, goat, shrimp, fish, chicken, and beef. No pork, though. The Islamic religion does not permit Iraqis to eat pork.

If they do eat pork accidentally, like some did at an on-base barbecue we were having one day, they start wailing loudly asking Allah to forgive them for their sin, over and over again.It was quite an experience for us Americans.

We did not know this rule and the Iraqis were right there with us, watching us cook up our pork on the grill. I don't know what they thought it was, but it was obvious that never before had they even seen pork since they did not have a clue...After having consumed several bites, one Iraqi asked what kind of meat it was. We thought he was joking around. They got quite upset and began begging Allah for forgiveness. The wailing got pretty intense, while we chowed down on our pork.

Getting back to the stews that Iraqis serve each day...These stews contain a ton of vegetables. Vegetables are the mainstay of all of their meals. Many meals are vegetarian except for the meat broth they use to cook the vegetables in. Lentils and grains are also very popular in their dishes.

Chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, onions, spinach, eggplant, olives, bulgar, rich, wheat, walnuts, almonds, honey, cheese, and yogurt are eaten often.

Meat and/or vegetable pies are also cooked for Iraq food. Flat breads are served with all meals.

Olive oil, along with coriander, cinnamon, and cumin are frequently used.

Dessert foods are made with jelly, watermelon rind jam, dates, figs, raisins, and pomegranates.

It is not uncommon for dinner to start as late as 10 pm, even with young children in the family.

Iraqis like to eat dip-type foods with bread for snacks. Hummis and tomato mixtures make good dips for them to snack on. Salty sheep and goat milk cheeses are also eaten with breads.

Breakfast is never cold cereal in Iraq food. Dates are the most important breakfast food here for the native people. The beverage of choice is instant coffee which is always called Nescafe here. If you do not want instant, expect a thick, bitter, black coffee that is awful to Americans. Do not ask for cream or milk or you will be totally humiliated by the people serving you.

Tea is also a breakfast drink. Expect tea to be served hot and sweet but again, never ask for cream or milk for your tea. Fresh fruit juice is a good beverage for children and for adults who do not care for the very strong coffee or tea.

Breakfast food also includes sheep milk cheese and goat milk cheese, eggs, flat-bread with butter, jam, honey, and yogurt with olive oil mixed in. Date molasses, sesame paste, and Gaymer which is a cream made from buffalo milk are also used for breakfast foods.

Iraqi people love to share their food.

They will take a plate of their food to a neighbor's house and get a plate of their neighbor's food back. This is because it is considered rude to send a plate home empty.

The Iraqi men that I worked with on the base in Baqubah were always bringing in extra food to share their lunch with us. They made between $5 and $8 a day and yet would frequently bring food for us to eat with them. One day they brought a goat, already skinned and ready to barbecue. It was fabulous.

I enjoy growing my own tomatoes and cucumbers back in Texas. These guys would bring home-grown tomatoes and cucumbers in and they were fantastic--bigger and better tasting than any I had ever grown in Texas. Truly amazing.

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