The part I love the most about exploring any cuisine is trying recipes that I would have never tried or would have never associated with that particular cuisine had it not been for this whole blogging adventure.

Today’s recipe is a great example of that.

Some call it Saudi Pizza, others called aysh abu laham (which literally means meat bread,you see, aysh is bread in the Saudi dialect and laham means meat). A recipe popular in the Hijaz area of Saudi Arabia, particularly in Mecca. This recipe was our Arabic flavor assignment for the month of June.

When Salma (this month’s  host ) revealed the recipe, I honestly had my doubts. Pizza and the traditional Saudi cuisine seemed like an odd mix (I expected a rice based main meal or a date based dessert or a cardamom scented drink) But it turns out that there is so much more to the Saudi cuisine than that just like there is so much more than pizza and pasta in the Italian cuisine

Saudi pizza (meat, tahini and chives galette)

Arayes are grilled pita bread sandwiches filled with minced meat, tomatoes,onions, parsley and a melody of spices.They are popular street food items throughout the Middle East going by different names in different countries.

Arayes are really easy to prepare, you can cook them on the grill, in the oven, or in the toaster. The result is always the perfect combination of crunchy toasted bread on the outside and spicy juicy meat on the inside. Served with some Greek yogurt, pickles and olives on the side, they make a great lunch that is ready in under 30 minutes