The Art of Arabic Cooking
Fall/Winter Arabic Cooking Series
Welcome to our Winter/Spring 2024 Arabic Cooking series, featuring classic Arabic recipes taught by experienced, local cooks. If you have any questions, please email us at info@alifinstitute.org.
Cooking is one of the best ways to get to know a culture! Join us for a fun-filled and educational afternoon learning to cook and enjoy popular Arabic dishes with our talented guest chefs. Want to support this program? You can also SPONSOR a session with a tax-deductible donation of $250!
- All classes are on Saturdays, from 2 PM – 4:30 PM.
- Ages 13 years old and up!
- No experience is required and all levels are welcome.
- Spaces are limited, so first come, first served for registration.
- You can register by yourself or share your station with a partner.
- Up to 48 hours prior to the session: Refunds and credits are available up to 48 hours prior to your reserved session. For refunds, an administrative fee of $5 will be applied.
- No credit or refund is available after 48 hours before a reserved class.
POSTPONED
Saturday, October 26, 2024
2 pm – 4:30 pm
$55 / $60 non-members
$75/pair, $80/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, October 25 at 12 PM
Vegetarian menu, includes salad.
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chef: Ghada Nabhan
Kibbeh, a popular dish in the Levant based on spiced lean ground meat and bulgur wheat, is considered to be a national dish of Syria and Lebanon. In Levantine cuisine, kibbeh is made by pounding bulgur wheat together with meat into a fine paste and forming it into ovoid shapes, with toasted pine nuts and spices. It may also be layered and cooked on a tray, deep-fried, grilled, or served raw. This delicious vegetarian version using pumpkin as the filling is popular in Lebanon, where it is often used during Lent, but it is sure to become a favorite in your home!
Saturday, November 9, 2024
2 pm – 4:30 pm
$60 / $65 non-members
$80/pair, $85/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, November 8 at 12 PM
Chicken will be halal.
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chef: Rania Renno, Hungrily Homemade
Saturday, December 21, 2024
2 pm – 4:30 pm
$55 / $60 non-members
$75/pair, $80/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, December 20 at 12 PM
Vegetarian menu, includes salad.
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chefs: Kinda Hanano & Mouna Abdelhamid
“Hashweh” (حشوة) means stuffing in Arabic, hence the name of this dish that is used to fill chicken, lamb, pigeon and almost any other poultry or meat that can be stuffed. The combination of warm spices, fluffy rice and tender meat with the crispy, fried nuts is so delicious, it has become a meal in its own right.
We have reimagined this traditional Arabic dish with a little bit of local Southern flair, stuffing a pumpkin instead of meat to make a uniquely delicious Arab American dish you’ll want to make over and over!
Saturday, September 21, 2024
2 pm – 4:30 pm
$55 / $60 non-members
$75/pair, $80/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, September 23 at 12 PM
Lamb will be halal.
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chef: Zahra Abu Mahmoud (Zahra’s Kitchen)
Mansaf (منسف) is a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur. It is a popular dish eaten throughout the Levant. It is considered the national dish of Jordan, and can also be found in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The name of the dish comes from the term “large tray” or “large dish”.
Saturday, August 24, 2024
2 pm – 4:30 pm
$55 / $60 non-members
$75/pair, $80/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, August 23 at 12 PM
Meat will be halal.
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chef: Hadia Ibrahim (Yumma’s Bread)
Kufta is a seasoned ground beef consisting of tomato, parsley, onion and warm spices that give it a moist texture. Baked kufta with potatoes “kafta bi-siniyeh” can be made flattened in a baking pan or made into oblong, football-shaped pieces along with potatoes and tahini sauce (sesame seed paste). The ingredients are layered into a baking dish and baked until the flavors meld and become deliciously tender.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
2 pm – 4:30 pm
$55 / $60 non-members
$75/pair, $80/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, June 14 at 12 PM
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chef: Ibtihal Mazlout
Shakshuka is a nourishing originally Tunisian meal made by the combination of simmering tomatoes and / or red pepper sauce, onions, garlic, spices and gently poached eggs. An easy one-pan dish, the name Shakshuka comes from the Tunisian word for “shaken up.” It is also popular in northern Africa and in the northern Levant Arab countries.
Saturday, March 23, 2024
2 pm – 4:30 pm
$45 / $50 non-members
$65/pair, $70/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, March 22 at 10 AM
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chef: Widad Saad
“Be it Easter or Eid, holidays in the Levantine region of the Middle East are incomplete without a shortbread cookie called maamoul. Stuffed with date paste or chopped walnuts or pistachios, and dusted with powdered sugar, these buttery cookies are the perfect reward after a month of fasting during Ramadan or Lent.
The dough is made with wheat flour or semolina (or a combination of the two), then pressed into special molds, traditionally carved in wood. And the fillings are fragrant with rosewater or orange blossom.”
— NPR
Saturday, February 10, 2024
5:30 pm – 8 pm
$55 / $60 non-members
$75/pair, $80/pair, non-members
Registration deadline:
Friday, February 9 at 10 AM
To become a member, please click HERE.
(You need to be signed into the website as a member to get the member price.)
Guest chef: Rania Renno of Hungrily Homemade