page_title: Iraqi cuisine
section_title: Dips
hierarchical_section_title: Iraqi cuisine / Iraqi cuisine / Dips
caption_attribution_description: A dish of hummus with pine nuts at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel.
context_page_description: Iraqi cuisine or Mesopotamian cuisine has its origins from Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, ancient Persians, Mesopotamian Arabs, and the other ethnic groups of the region. Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals – the first cookbooks in the world. Ancient Iraq, or Mesopotamia, was home to a sophisticated and highly advanced civilization, in all fields of knowledge, including the culinary arts. However, it was in the Islamic Golden Age when Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate that the Iraqi kitchen reached its zenith. Today, the cuisine of Iraq reflects this rich inheritance as well as strong influences from the culinary traditions of neighbouring Iran, Turkey, and the Syria region area.
  Meals begin with appetizers and salads – known as Mezza. Some dishes include Kebab, Gauss, Bamieh, Quzi, Falafel, Kubbah/Kibbeh, Masgûf, and Maqluba. Stuffed vegetable dishes such as Dolma and Mahshi are also popular.
  Contemporary Iraq reflects the same natural division as ancient Mesopotamia, which consisted of Assyria in the arid northern uplands and Babylonia in the southern alluvial plain.
context_section_description: Baba ghanoush, a dish of baked aubergine mashed and mixed with various seasonings.
  Hummus, a dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
  Muhammara, a hot pepper dip originally from Aleppo, Syria.
  Tzatziki, an appetizer of Ottoman cuisine origin, also used as a sauce for souvlaki and gyros. Tzatziki is made of strained yogurt (usually sheep's-milk or goat's-milk in Greece and Turkey) with cucumbers, garlic, salt, usually olive oil, pepper, dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsley, or mint added. The cucumbers are either pureed and strained, or seeded and finely diced. Olive oil, olives, and herbs are often used as garnishes.
caption: Hummus, with olive oil and pine nuts
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