Toum, Molokhia and Eggplant Fatteh: Middle Eastern dishes perfected with garlic

Toum, Molokhia and Eggplant Fatteh: Middle Eastern dishes perfected with garlic

Do you know what the common ingredient in , the and is? Garlic – an ingredient that emerged 10,000 years ago. Used in almost every kitchen across the world, garlic holds the power to transform a dish due to its pungent and earthy taste, which sweetens up when cooked. Some speculate that humankind began using garlic just after the last Ice Age. Nevertheless, evidence found in ancient caves and tombs in the Middle East and all over the world, strongly suggest that our ancestors used garlic ever since their hunting and gathering days – be it as seasoning, currency or medicine. The bulbous plant was first rooted to be domesticated during the Neolithic Age, when humankind evolved from hunter gatherers to sedentary farmers. During this period of evolution, they built permanent houses and began forming communities, which further evolved into cities. This evolution paved the way to ancient civilisations of Greece, Egypt, Rome, Indian, China and Mesopotamia – all of whose cuisines are heavily influenced by garlic. Egyptian rulers often fed garlic to their workers, because they believed it was the ultimate source of strength needed, during the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza around 2560BC. Several inscriptions found