MUST EAT FOOD IN ISRAEL TOURIST’S GUIDE 2024

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TRADITIONAL DISHES IN ISRAEL

SHAWARMA

Israeli shawarma is usually made from veal, lamb or chicken. Greasy pieces of meat are piled high on a vertical spit and grilled over hours and cut vertically into thin slices to be served into pita bread with vegetables, hummus or marinated vegetables, hot peppers, onions, French fries, salads and pickles. Shawarma comes from çevirme, meaning “rotating” in Turkish. This is a must try food which you can actually try in one of the popular Israeli food chains – Hashamen located in many Israeli cities .

FALAFEL

Falafel is a Israel’s national dish. It is a fried balls or patties of spiced, mashed chickpeas or fava beans. Falafel is a common Middle-Eastern street food that have become identified with Israeli cuisine over time.

Falafel is most often served in a pita, with pickles, tahini, hummus, cut vegetable salad and often, harif, a hot sauce, the type used depending on the origin of the falafel maker. This is a food to try when visiting Israel to make sure you have tasted this piece of culture.

HUMMUS

Hummus is a dish associated with Israel all over the world. This is a very nutritious essentially made of chickpeas combined with tahini, garlic, lemon and possibly other Middle-Eastern spices creating a variation of taste palettes.

Hummus traditionally is served with large slices of raw, sweet onion as if it was a piece of pitta.
Try it!

TABBOULEH

Tabbouleh is a popular salad in Israel traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Some Israeli variations of the salad use pomegranate seeds instead of tomatoes.

KHAMUTZIM

Khamutzim are pickled vegetables made by soaking in water and salt (and sometimes olive oil) in a pot and withdrawing them from air. Ingredients can include cucumber, cabbage, eggplant, carrot, turnip, radish, onion, caper, lemon, olives, cauliflower, tomatoes, chili pepper, bell pepper, garlic and beans.

HALVA

Halva is a sweet, made from tehina and sugar, and is popular in Israel. There are numerous varieties of halva but its main ingredient is semolina, sweetened with either honey or sugar. The consistency is gelatinous and semi-transparent. The sesame Halva, on the other hand, is dry and slightly crunchy.

TAHINI

Tahini or tahina is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. To make tahini sauce, consumed both at breakfast and at meals, you need this olive oil, salt and lemon juice.

SHAKSHOUKA

Shakshouka is a breakfast staple in Israel popularized by North-African Jews in Israel. Essentially it is made of poached eggs served in a pan of steaming hot, rich tomato, chili, and garlic sauce. In Israel this dish has a very unique and rich flavor usually served in the same frying pan in which it is cooked with salad, tahini, and a piece of bread for ultimate dipping purposes.

JERUSALEM MIXED GRILL

Jerusalem mixed grill, or me’urav Yerushalmi, consists of mixed grill of chicken giblets and lamb with onion, garlic and spices. It is one of Jerusalem’s most popular and profitable street foods. Although the origin of the dish is in Jerusalem, it is today common in all of the cities and towns in Israel.

SABIKH

Sabih is a traditional sandwich at kiosks throughout the country, but especially in Ramat Gan, where it was first introduced. Sabiḥ is a pita filled with fried eggplant, hardboiled egg, salad, tehina and pickles.

So make sure you try as many traditional dishes as you can during your trip and experience the Jewish culture to its fullest.