The diet of the people of Saudi Arabia, a nation of twelve million, is shaped largely by geography, climate, religion, and a long, fascinating history. Bordered by Jordan, Iraq, and tiny Kuwait in the north, and Oman and the two Yemens in the south, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia is part of the Arabian Peninsula, which cradles one of the oldest civilizations on earth. As early as 2360 B.C., Arabia was a prosperous commercial center, where jewelry merchants traded with nearby Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Little has changed since then, including the food. For thousands of years, the cooking of this mainly arid land was simple by necessity. Bedouins roasted sheep over sputtering fires made from scraps of wood and camel dung. Camels also supplied transportation, hides, and milk. Sheep and goats provided milk and yogurt, and dates, figs, and other fruits were gleaned from the occasional wadi.
As time passed, spice traders of the Ottoman Empire enlivened the earthy fare of the peninsula by introducing a fragrant store of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, caraway, rosemary, and mint. Rosewater, introduced by twelfth-century Crusaders, found its way into desserts and pastries.
Sheep, goats, and poultry are the meat staples of the Saudi diet. Due to prohibitions in the Koran, pork plays no role in the Saudi diet. Lamb is the symbol of hospitality throughout the Middle East, and Bedouins, like their forebears, will roast an entire lamb or sheep for a gala feast. Pigeons (squab)--sometimes raised in coops right in an Arab home--are roasted for guests.
A Saudi dinner is not complete without rice, usually basmati imported from nearby Pakistan. Besides heady cardamom, rice is complemented by cinnamon and turmeric (which imparts a lovely golden hue) and is sometimes studded with raisins. Another major grain is bulgur, or cracked wheat, which is combined with parsley, mint, cucumbers, and lemon juice in the popular tabouli salad.
Vegetables abound; some native, others imported. Eggplant, tomatoes, chick-peas, lentils, baglah (a leafy plant similar to cress), onions, and okra appear on the well-dressed Saudi table. Fava beans, called fool, hark back to the days of the pharaohs. Combined with herbs and minced onions and tucked into khubz--flat Middle Eastern bread that Westerners call pita--fool is
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