Manakish
Manakish made with za'atar with vegetables on the side | |
| Alternative names | Manaqish, manaeesh, manakeesh (singular) manooshe, man'ousheh, mankousheh (plural) |
|---|---|
| Type | Flatbread |
| Course | Breakfast or lunch |
| Place of origin | Levant |
| Region or state | Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine |
| Associated cuisine | Levantine |
| Main ingredients | Dough, za'atar, cheese or ground meat |
Manakish (Levantine Arabic: مناقيش, romanized: manāʾīš; singular man'ousheh – منقوشة, manʾūše) is a popular Levantine pastry, consisting of dough topped with za'atar (مناقيش بزعتر, manāʾīš bi-zaʿtar), cheese (مناقيش بجبنة, manāʾīš bi-jibne), or ground meat. It can be sliced or folded, and it can be served either for breakfast or lunch.
Traditionally, women would bake dough in a communal oven in the morning to meet their family's daily bread needs, and would prepare smaller portions of dough with different toppings for breakfast at this time. Saj and taboon are also common traditional cooking instruments for manakish.
Manakish are popular across the Levant, and can also be found in neighboring regions, and centers of Levantine emigration.
In 2023, manakish was inscribed to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists as an emblematic culinary practice in Lebanon.