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With another full day in Baghdad ahead of me, I set out to try the national dish of Iraq, masgouf! It’s an amazing carp dish that’s extremely popular throughout the country. I can’t wait to show it to you!

Joining me were my friends Jafar and Ali from Bil Weekend, as well as my travel buddy Tasos from A Greek Solo. First, we’d be seeing how they make masgouf. They roast the carp on vertical stakes around a giant fire pit!

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But first, you choose a live fish, and then they kill and butcher it. After that, they roast it around the fire and then continue cooking it on the embers. I picked a fish and watched them make incisions in it. While they roasted it, I headed into the kitchen to see them making bread in the tanoor oven.

In another part of the kitchen, they were cutting up and grinding some fresh beef and lamb. They serve the fish on colorful woven platters lined with aluminum foil. Then, they add pickles, olives, onions, the bread, and then the fish on top.

Finally, we headed into the restaurant to eat. You take a bit of the khubz tannour and grab a bit of the fish. Then, you can add some amba (mango pickle), tomato, basil, and onion to make a nice sandwich. The fish was so buttery and smoky, and the bread has a nice, crisp texture! You just have to be careful of the bones!

I was surprised that the national dish of Iraq is fish, because the country only has one port, but I’d forgotten that they also have the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which are teeming with fish!

The timman il-ahmar was a red rice with tomato paste, and the baytinijan was nice and tomato-rich. I also loved the jajik, which is a yogurt dish with cucumbers. I thought it was fantastic but Tasos thought it needed more herbs and vinegar. I was enjoying mixing everything. Next was some smoked leben (a smoked yogurt drink) to cleanse my palate! This one was unique and quite watery. Then, we ended with some dates, shisha, and chai! The chai was hot but smooth. I loved the cardamom!

From there, we drove to Al Khassaki, the biggest sweets shop in Iraq! They have everything from baklava to konafa (the local spelling of knafeh), and lots of unique items as well. They have roughly a dozen varieties of baqlawa (baklava) in different shapes, as well as borma, cakes, and jalebi with crushed pistachios on top. The jalebi was crispy and decadent, and I loved the pistachios!

Next was a triangle-shaped baklava, which contained pure pistachios and was very soft. They also had lots of cookies and tarts, including a delicious orange jam cookie and an amazing caramel pistachio cookie.

Then, I had some coarse konafa with cream. I loved the crispy layers on top, the pistachios, and the soft, creamy cheese inside. It was very sweet and decadent! The qaymariat was the best, though! It was crunchy, crispy, full of layers, and creamy!

They make lots of traditional desserts as well as some with their own unique twist. Finally, I tried their baqlawa with honey. The layers were fastastic!

Where have you been?

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#Iraq #Foodie #StreetFood #Travel

About Me:

My name is David Hoffmann. Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,300 destinations in 94 countries to experience and document unique cultures on my YouTube channel, travel blog, and social media.
 
I highlight culture and historical sites, but my passion is food! I love to experience and showcase the different flavors each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining.

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