For newcomers to Dominican cuisine, it may be a surprise to find Kipe, Arroz con fideo, Niño envuelto, and Tipili. They're all recognizably Middle Eastern dishes. Learn about Middle-Eastern-Dominican cuisine, and how it came to be an important part of our gastronomy.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Apr 16, 2012
The Middle Eastern and North African influence on our cuisine came from two distinct sources: The first came with the Spanish conquistadors, fresh out of La Reconquista - the end of the 700-year Muslim occupation of Spain - the same year Columbus made that fateful voyage in 1492.
The second source came more recently.
"The first wave of Middle Eastern migration to Latin America lasted from the 1860s through 1914, when about 600,000 Arabic speakers from the Levant resettled in the Americas, spurred by socioeconomic and demographic factors that converged with the decline of the Ottoman Empire." [1]
The immigrants from the Middle East
At the time, most of the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe were under Turkish rule as part of the Ottoman Empire until its defeat in the First World War.
For this reason, Latin Americans of Middle Eastern origin are sometimes known by the generic label turco to this day, even though few or none actually came from Turkey proper.
Most of the immigrants to the Dominican Republic were Lebanese and Syrian.
As in other parts of Latin America where businessmen like Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim and former Argentine president Carlos Menem - both of Middle Eastern origin - are household names, the Middle Eastern community in the Dominican Republic has flourished, primarily in business with a considerable number in the arts and politics.
Although relatively small in numbers in terms of percentage of the population, their presence in Dominican society is highly visible. Prominent families in Dominican political, society, and business circles include Lama, Dauhajre, Khoury, Raful, Haché, Najri, Sued, Abinader, Nader, Brache, Zaglul, and many more.
The Dominican Republic has had two presidents descended from this group: Jacobo Majluta Azar and - current president - Luís Abinader.
Middle Eastern dishes in our cuisine
The Middle Eastern diaspora brought many dishes that went on to be adapted to and incorporated into our culinary heritage while still being recognizable as Middle Eastern food. It was very convenient that many of the ingredients used in their cuisine had been already present as part of our shared national gastronomy, brought here by the Spanish conquistadors [2].
The most visible is probably Kibbeh, known in the DR as Kipe or quipe. This tasty oval fried snack made with meat and bulgur wheat is a popular appetizer, and no Dominican buffet table is complete without it.
Less common outside families in the Middle-Eastern-Dominican communities are Kipe crudo (Naye), a raw kibbeh, and Kibbeh b'siniyah, a baked Kibbeh casserole.
A baked meat pie called Turco was a popular snack item in all bakeries, possibly named after María la turca's famous bakery in the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo.
Arroz con Fideos (Bil shareyah) - rice with fried noodles - and Niño Envuelto (Malfouf mahshi) - a rice and beef roll wrapped in cabbage - both with origins in the Middle East region - are also very popular in our local cuisine.
Tipili - Tipile or Tabuli for some- is the Dominican name for Tabbouleh, the Lebanese national salad. Families with Middle Eastern ancestors will make this dish closer to the parsley-and-mint-heavy original, while the version found most commonly would have much less parsley and rarely mint.
The same can be said about all the other dishes, where the taste and ingredients will be closer to the Middle Eastern ones in these households.
Is your family descended from the Middle Eastern diaspora in the Dominican Rep.? How do you keep this part of your culinary heritage alive? We'd love to hear it in the comments.
In collaboration with Tia Clara
References
- Americas Quarterly - The Surprisingly Deep Centuries-Old Ties Between the Middle East and Latin America
- Tolentino Dipp, Hugo, Itinerario Histórico de la Gastronomía Dominicana (Santo Domingo: Amigo del Hogar, 2014), p. 232.
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