With the expert guidance and photography of top Chef Anas Shahin, a Palestinian native working in the five-star food and beverage industry in Dubai, following is a collection of some of the most-loved Palestinian dishes.

May the children of Palestine know the joys and aromas of these dishes, in peace and pride, as is their human right.

Fish Sayyadieh – a well-loved Middle Eastern dish, part of Palestinian cooking culture – catch of the day is cooked with rice in fish stock, and herbs and spices, with caramelized onions.

Dolma is an integral part of Palestinian culinary culture, though originating from the Ottoman empire centuries ago – tasty minced lamb is wrapped tight in cabbage, zucchini, and vine leaves, and cooked in its own juices until melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

Lamb Mensaf – the quintessential Middle Eastern dish, part of Palestinian culinary culture, though widely considered a traditional Jordanian dish – Lamb Mansaf is cooked with “Jameed” and served with Saj bread and rice: Jameed is a fermented dried yogurt (jameed stone) that is soaked in water in order to dilute the salty taste and simmer with the lamb stock.

Kufta bil Tahina (Lamb Kufta with Tahina Sauce) are meatballs of ground beef and lamb mixed with fresh parsley, onions, garlic and Middle Eastern spices; then cooked in the oven with potato and onion, and garnished with crispy onions, parsley, and green chili. The tahina sauce is made from ground toasted sesame seeds.

Stuffed bell peppers are a well-loved dish from Levant culture, popular in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and Turkey. The bell peppers are filled with fragrant rice and meat, or rice and vegetables.

Chicken Molukiya is a well-loved Middle Eastern dish, part of Palestinian culinary culture – here pictured in Egyptian Style with green jute leaves and finished with roasted garlic.

Traditional Chicken Maqlouba: a Jordanian / Palestinian dish cooked upside down with eggplant, cauliflower, potatoes and tomatoes, topped with roast almonds and chopped parsley with Arabian spices.

Dolma with Kousa – flavorsome minced lamb and rice is filled in Arabian zucchini and cooked with stuffed vine leaves.

Lamb Ouzi – a centrepiece of Middle Eastern cooking, part of Palestinian culinary culture – whole or large cunks of lamb are baked in an oven over time, and served with Oriental rice.

Roasted Cauliflower with Sumac – a vegetarian dish of Palestinian culinary culture, roasted cauliflower marinated with sumac spice topped with pomegranate seeds and pomegranate molasses.

Batata Jabalieh – aka Potatoes Harra, Lebanese-style roasted potatoes marinated with Arabian red chili and olive oil.

Photo Credit: header photo cropped from www.palestineremembered.com/ Arab women cooking on clay stoves, using charcoal for fuel, Nazareth area, northern Palestine, 1905