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The dishes you are likely to meet at weddings in Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Morocco and the Levant, what they mean, and how to plan a menu that honours them.
Middle Eastern wedding food is built around generosity: large shared platters of rice and slow-cooked meat, bread, dips and salads, then sweets, coffee and tea. The centrepiece changes by country. Jordanian weddings often serve mansaf, Turkish village weddings have keşkek, Moroccan celebrations feature pastilla, and Iranian ceremonies set out a spread of sweets, nuts and pastries. What ties them together is abundance and hospitality, so guests should never run short. Customs differ between countries, regions and families, so treat this as a starting point.
Signature wedding dishes across the Middle East and North Africa: Jordan, Mansaf, Lamb or goat cooked in a yogurt sauce, served over bread and rice; Turkey, Keşkek, Wheat and meat cooked for hours in large cauldrons, then pounded; Morocco, Pastilla, Layered warka pastry with a spiced poultry or seafood filling; Iran, Sofreh aghd spread, Pastries, sugared nuts, fruit, eggs and sugar cones on the ceremony cloth; Levant and Gulf, Arabic coffee with dates, Small cups poured for guests as a sign of welcome.
Knafeh: spun pastry layered with cheese and soaked in syrup, served on special occasions and holidays, with the Nablus version the best known. Baklava: layered pastry with nuts and syrup, and one of the pastries on the Iranian ceremony spread. Sugared almonds: noghl in Iran and similar sugared nuts elsewhere, often given as favours. Maamoul: date or nut-filled cookies best known from Eid al-Fitr and Easter, and a familiar sight on celebration tables.
Plan for abundance. A generous table is part of the hospitality, and a half-empty platter reads badly. Talk to your caterer about portions for sharing, not plated counts.
There isn't one for the whole region. Mansaf is strongly tied to Jordanian weddings, keşkek to Turkish village weddings and pastilla to Moroccan celebrations. Ask both families which dish matters most to them.
It depends on the family, religion and country. Many Muslim families do not serve alcohol, while some Christian and secular families do. Ask rather than assume, and always offer good non-alcoholic drinks.
On large shared platters of bread and rice topped with meat and yogurt sauce. UNESCO describes it traditionally being eaten with the right hand, but put out cutlery for guests who prefer it.
Baklava, noghl (sugared almonds), rice and almond cookies and nuts often sit on the sofreh aghd, and more sweets and tea follow at the celebration.
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