20 top Middle Eastern foods -- which is the best?

Fresh, wholesome, healthy, rich, aromatic -- it's no wonder that the past decade has seen Middle Eastern cuisine's global profile skyrocketing.

While everyone has their favorite dish, we hit up Lebanese-American food blogger Bethany Kehdy of dirtykitchensecrets.com for her take.

Her favorite dishes are simple and rustic, such as the m'jadarrah, lentil stew, also known as poor man's stew, consisting of slow-cooked lentils with a sprinkling of burghul and caramelized onions and served with a side of zesty cabbage salad.

Or kkshik -- a porridge made from burghul fermented with yogurt and dried in the sun on rooftops over seven days during the fall before being ground into fine powder.

"It's soul-soothing, wholesome food in a jiffy, although an acquired taste, I'll admit," says the power blogger.

So what is your favorite Mideast dish?

Along with Kehdy's takes, we rounded up 20 of our favorite Middle Eastern dishes to get you started.

1. Hummus

Which came first, hummus or pita?

The big daddy chickpea spread can be slathered on anything from a burger or baked potato to the traditional hot pita bread.

Veteran preference: more garlic, more better.

Where to try it: Abu Shukri, Via Dolorosa near Damascus Gate, Jerusalem, Israel. Tel: +972 2 627 1538

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