Delightfully smokey aubergine dip Serves 4 Preparation time: 40 mins Smokey aubergines with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. Ingredients 4 large aubergines Juice of 1 lemon 1 garlic cloves 3 tomatoes, diced 1 green pepper, diced 4 spring onions, thinly sliced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses (optional but highly recommended!) Handful of parsley, chopped Olive oil Method Prick the aubergines all over with a fork (

The classic creamy chickpea dip. Serves 4 Preparation time: Start overnight, 45-60 minutes cooking time + 20 minutes prep time A classic! Creamy chickpea dip with tahini, garlic and fresh lemon juice. Delicious, easy to make, and very adaptable to your personal taste. Can be easily used as a base to add your own flavours! Ingredients 200g dried chickpeas 1 teaspoon baking soda/bicarbonate of soda 90ml lemon juice (approximately two lemons) 100ml tahini 1 clove garlic crushed

Meatballs in sour cherry sauce Serves 5-6 Preparation and cooking 1 hour Kebab karaz is traditionally made with special sour cherries that grow around Aleppo called Washneh that are harvested during cherry season in June. They’re known as Saint Lucie’s cherries in English. They can be difficult to find outside of Syria fresh or frozen morello cherries can be substituted. It is also possible to use dried sour cherries that have been soaked in water. Ingredients 500g minced lam

Fried meat and bulgur croquettes Makes about 30 Preparation time: 1 hour Cooking time: 15mins Kibbeh meqliyeh is a delicious little Middle eastern croquette made from a bulgur and meat shell filled with minced meat and nuts. Aleppo is famed for its kibbeh, with dozens of varieties of fillings, shapes and sauces and there is always a plate of it on our iftar table during Ramadan. A somewhat labour-intensive dish, my mother would dedicate a day for making different kinds of kib

Syrian brioche bread Makes approx. 3 braids or 10 date rings Preparation time: 30 mins Resting time: 2 hours Cooking time: 15 mins There are many things that I love about Ramadan and maarouk is definitely one of them. Maarouk is a sweet and fragrant brioche-like bread that is only made during Ramadan in Aleppo and a staple during evening meals. It is also great for a snack with cheese and jam later on in the night. Maa’rouk comes in many shapes and fillings. Below I’ve made s

Syrian chicken, bread and yogurt dish Serves 6 Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes The word fatteh comes from a verb meaning to shred or tear apart, referring to the torn pieces of pita that form the base of all fatteh dishes. There are many different varieties of fatteh made with layers of different ingredients such as chickpeas, stuffed aubergines, artichokes, stewed meat or tahini and garlic yogurt. My family usually makes chicken fatteh at the beginning