Arabic Bread (Khubz Arabi, pita) Flat, round bread, which can be easily split to make a sandwich, or broken apart and used as a utensil for scooping food
Arayess Deep-fried lamb sandwich
Ataif (gatayef, kataif) Small pancakes stuffed with nuts or cheese and doused with syrup
Baba Ghanoush Char-grilled eggplant, tahina, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic purée - served as a dip
Baharat (bjar) Arabic mixed spices
Bamia Baby okra and lamb in tomato stew
Baklawa (baklava) Dessert of layered pastry filled with nuts and steeped in honey-lemon syrup - usually cut into triangular or diamond shapes
Basboosa Semolina tart soaked with syrup
Bukhari Rice Lamb and rice stir-fried with onion, lemon, carrot and tomato paste
Burghul (bulghur wheat, bulgar) Parboiled and dried wheat kernels processed into grain, used in tabbouleh and mixed with lamb in kibbeh
Cardamom Aromatic spice, member of the ginger family, used to flavour Arabic coffee, yoghurt and stews
Coriander (cilantro) Lacy, green-leaf relative of the parsley family with an extremely pungent flavour akin to a combination of lemon, sage and caraway.
Ejje Arabic omelette
Falafel Small deep-fried patties made of highly-spiced ground chick-peas
Fatayer Pastry pockets filled with spinach, meat or cheese
Fattoush Salad of toasted croutons, cucumbers, tomatoes and mint
Foul (ful) Slow-cooked mash of brown beans and red lentils, dressed with lemon, olive oil and cumin
Gahwa (kahwa) Coffee
Haleeb Milk
Halwa (halva) Sesame paste sweet, usually made in a slab and studded with fruit and nuts
Hamour Red Sea fish of the grouper family
Hommus Purée of chickpeas, tahina, lemon and garlic - served as a dip with Arabic bread
Jarish Crushed wheat and yoghurt casserole
Jebne White cheese
Kabsa Classic Arabian dish of meat mixed with rice
Kebab Skewered chunks of meat or fish cooked over charcoal
Kamareddine Apricot nectar used to break fast during Ramadan
Mutabak Sweet or savoury pastry turnovers usually stuffed with cheese, banana or meat
Najil Saddle-back grouper
Rocca Aromatic salad green with a peppery mustard flavour, used in salads or mixed with hot yoghurt
Sambusek Triangular pies filled with meat, cheese or spinach
Sayyadiya Delicately-spiced fish dish served on a bed of rice
Seleek Lamb and rice dish where the rice is cooked in milk rather than the juice of the meat
Shai (chai) Tea
Shaour Red Sea fish from the emperor family
Shawerma A cone of pressed lamb, chicken or beef roasted on a vertical spit where the meat is shaved off from the outside as the spit keeps turning. Saudi Arabia's most popular sandwich is Arabic bread filled with shawerma meat, salad, hot sauce and tahina
Sheesha (hubbly bubbly) Pipe for smoking tobacco leaves or dried fruit through a water filter
Shish Taouk Skewered chicken pieces cooked over charcoal
Shourba Soup
Snober Pine nuts
Sukkar Sugar
Sumac Ground powder from the cashew family, used as a seasoning
Tabbouleh Salad of burghul, tomato, mint and parsley
Taklia Spice consisting of ground coriander and garlic