of present-day Baghdad, contains 24 recipes for stew cooked with meat and vegetables, enhanced and seasoned with leeks, onion, garlic, and spices and herbs like cassia, cumin, coriander, mint, and dill. Stew has remained a mainstay in the cuisine. Extant medieval Iraqi recipes and modern Iraqi cuisine attest to this. Iraqi cuisine/Mesopotamian cuisine Ingredients Some characteristic ingredients of Iraqi cuisine include: Vegetables such as eggplant, tomato, turnips, beans, shallots, okra, onion, lentils, cress, potato, cabbage, courgette (zucchini), spinach, lettuce, leeks, artichokes, garlic, peppers and chilli peppers. Cereals including rice, bulghur wheat and barley. Pulses and legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, green beans, green grams, and cannellini beans. Fruits including olives, dates, raisins, apricots, plums, figs, grapes, melons, pomegranates, apples, cherries, quinces, and citrus fruits—oranges, lemons and limes. Cheeses such as baladi, feta and halloumi. Herbs and spices including cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek, cumin, oregano, mint, tarragon, thyme, saffron, dried lime, cassia, dill, turmeric, baharat, advieh, sumac and za'atar. Nuts and seeds such as sesame, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and pine nuts. Other Iraqi culinary essentials include olive oil, sesame oil, tamarind, vermicelli, tahini, honey, date syrup, yogurt and rose water. Lamb is the favorite meat, but chicken, beef, goat and fish are also eaten. Most dishes are served with rice—usually timman anbar, a yellowish, very aromatic, long-grain rice grown in the Middle Euphrates region. Bulghur wheat is used in many dishes, having been a staple in the country since the days of the ancient Assyrians. Flatbread is a staple that is served with a variety of dips, cheeses, olives, and jams, at every meal. Mêzzä Meals begin with appetizers and salads, known as mezza. Mezza is a selection of appetizers or small dishes often served with a beverage, like anise-flavored liqueurs such as arak, ouzo, rakı, sambuca, pastis, or various wines, similar to the tapas of Spain, or finger food. Mezza may include: Iraqi sumac salad, is a typical raqi salad with the addition of sumac berries. Baytinijan maqli, a dish often served cold, consisting of fried aubergine (eggplant) with tahini, lettuce, parsley and tomatoes, garnished with sumac and served on pita bread or sliced bread, often grilled or toasted. Variations include bell peppers, or a garlic-lemon vinaigrette. Fattoush, a salad made from several garden vegetables and toasted or fried pieces of pita bread. Tabbouleh, a salad dish, often used as part of a mezze. Its primary ingredients are finely