Amani AbouAmmo

Vegetarian food didn’t start as a trend—it grew from land, climate, and necessity. In the fertile regions of the Middle East, people relied on grains and legumes that could last, especially during times of war and limited storage. This article explores how the Levant and Egypt transformed simple ingredients into dishes like koshari and mujaddara.

At Koshari, we use real mastic gum—not flavoring—in sahlab, rice pudding, and chocolate pudding, prepared the traditional way.

Our Sahlab story began at home with a boxed mix that didn’t feel right. After discovering it was filled with artificial flavors and even a lead warning, we created our own from scratch using pure ingredients like mastic resin, rose and orange blossom waters. The result was a creamy, aromatic, and healthy Lebanese classic — so good we added it to our Koshari menu, now also available in a vegan version.