Food of Iraq
Iraqi cooking is built on rice, lamb, fish from the rivers, dates and flatbread, with spices such as cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon and dried lime. Stews called marqa are served over rice, kebabs are grilled over charcoal, and breakfast is often cream, dates and tea. Hospitality is central, with sweet tea and dates for every guest.
- Main dishes (7)
- Breakfast (3)
- Street food (3)
- Soups (2)
- Salads (2)
- Breads (2)
- Desserts and sweets (4)
- Drinks (4)
- Fruits and produce (5)
Staples
- rice
- lamb
- fish
- dates
- wheat
- chickpeas
- eggplant
Signature flavors
- cardamom
- turmeric
- cinnamon
- dried lime
- baharat
- saffron
- rose water
Main dishes
Split river carp grilled upright by an open fire.
Key ingredients: carp, tamarind, salt, olive oilFull guide →
Stuffed vegetables and grape leaves, a festive family dish.
Key ingredients: rice, ground meat, grape leaves, tomato, onionFull guide →Bread soaked in lamb and chickpea stew.
Key ingredients: bread, lamb, chickpeas, tomato
Roast lamb over rice with nuts and raisins.
Key ingredients: lamb, rice, almonds, raisins, spices
Rice or bulgur dumplings filled with spiced meat.
Key ingredients: rice, ground meat, onion, raisinsFull guide →
Okra and tomato stew with lamb.
Key ingredients: okra, tomato, lamb
Layered eggplant, potato and meat baked in tomato sauce.
Key ingredients: eggplant, potato, lamb, tomatoBreakfast
Flaky pastry with buffalo cream and date syrup.
Key ingredients: kahi pastry, geymar, date syrupFava beans with rice and ghee.
Key ingredients: fava beans, ghee, dill
Diamond-shaped bread with fried eggs.
Key ingredients: bread, eggsStreet food
Fritters in bread with mango pickle sauce.
Key ingredients: chickpeas, pickled mango sauce
Fried pastry triangles with cheese or meat.
Key ingredients: dough, cheese
Meat in samoon with pickles.
Key ingredients: meat, pickles, breadFull guide →Soups
Smooth lentil soup with lemon.
Key ingredients: red lentils, lemon, cuminDumplings in sour soup with beets or lemon.
Key ingredients: rice dough, ground meat, beet, lemonSalads
Chopped salad with tomato, cucumber, onion and sumac.
Key ingredients: tomato, cucumber, onion, sumac
Herb and bulgur salad.
Key ingredients: parsley, bulgur, tomatoFull guide →Breads
Diamond bread baked in a clay oven.
Key ingredients: flour, yeast
Round bread baked on oven walls.
Key ingredients: flour, yeastDesserts and sweets
Date-filled spiced cookies.
Key ingredients: flour, dates, cardamomFull guide →
Layered nut pastry in syrup.
Key ingredients: phyllo, walnuts, syrupFull guide →
Fried batter swirls soaked in syrup.
Key ingredients: flour, yogurt, syrupNougat studded with pistachios.
Key ingredients: sugar, pistachios, egg whiteDrinks
Strong cardamom tea in small glasses.
Key ingredients: black tea, cardamom, sugar
Cold tamarind drink.
Key ingredients: tamarind, sugarSalted yogurt drink.
Key ingredients: yogurt, salt
Thin coffee with cardamom.
Key ingredients: coffee, cardamomFruits and produce
Large, sweet dates from the south.
Key ingredients: snacking, syrup, pastriesFull guide →
Tart and sweet seeds.
Key ingredients: juice, stews
Fresh and dried.
Key ingredients: freshFull guide →
Oranges and lemons from the north.
Key ingredients: juice
Tigris-grown summer melons.
Key ingredients: chilledFull guide →Dish guides from Iraq
More cuisines of Western Asia
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Georgia
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Oman
- Palestine
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria
- Türkiye
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen
Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.
- Masgouf: Hill93, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Speca te mbushura me mish: Violetamyftari, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Iraqi Qoozi : aziz1005, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Kibbeh3: Bazel, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Hong Kong Okra Aug 25 2012: Earth100, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tepsi-Baytinijan: Peteravivangel, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Iraqi Samoon 2: Muhib mansour, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Samosas, snack food at Wikipedia's 16th Birthday celebration in Chittagong (01): Moheen Reeyad, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Shawarma 2: Vis M, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- EgFoodLentilSoup: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- A large mixed salad: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tabouleh 1: Miansari66, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Az Tandoor e-citizen: Moonsun1981, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Kleicha (كليجة): Faisal1904, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Baklava(1): Sakaman, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Jalebi Colors: Sankeerth, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Longjing tea steeping in gaiwan: Difference engine, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tamarindus indica pods: B.navez, CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
- A dallah a traditional Arabic coffee pot with cups and coffee beans: Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Dates005: Nepenthes, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Pomegranate Juice (2019): Augustus Binu : flickr, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Ficus carica L, 1771: Trew, C.J, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- OrangeBloss wb: Ellen Levy Finch (Elf), CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Taiwan 2009 Tainan City Organic Farm Watermelon FRD 7962: Fred Hsu (Wikipedia:User:Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
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