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THE WORLD'S TOP DISHES: Let’s savour, celebrate, and share these famous foods — for in their essence, cultures are known and shared across vast oceans and continents. A taste of the world, where love for gourmet and flavours intertwine. We give you the top 30 of the world’s famous foods (not a complete list, for sure). Check if your favourite dish is on this one:
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PIZZA: The word pizza was first documented in AD 997 in Gaeta and successively in different parts of Central and Southern Italy. Pizza was mainly eaten in Italy and by emigrants from there.
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DONER KEBAB: Also spelled as döner kebab, this dish is of Turkish origin made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cooking element.
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HAMBURGER: A hamburger, or simply burger, is a sandwich consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The term hamburger originally derives from Hamburg. Another version of the creation of the hamburger is that of German cook Otto Kuase, who created a very popular sailors' sandwich made of a fillet of beef patty. The term burger can also be applied to the meat patty on its own.
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FALAFEL: Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas, or a combination of both. Falafel is usually made with fava beans in Egyptian cuisine, where it most likely originated, with chickpeas in Palestinian cuisine, or just chickpeas or a combination of both in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and the wider Middle East
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GYRO: This sandwich especially of lamb and beef, tomato, onion, and yogurt sauce on pita bread. The gyro comes from Greek gyros — meaning "turn," so called from the rotation of the meat on a spit.
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HUMMUS: Also spelled hommus or houmous, it’s a dip of Arab origin, spread, or sauvory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. The standard garnish in the Middle East includes olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, parsley, and paprika.
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CAVIAR: Caviar is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or spread. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea.
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PECKING DUCK: Peking duck is a dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterised by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook.
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DIM SUM: It belongs to a large range of small Cantonese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for snacks/brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuisines.
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SPAGHETTI: Spaghetti is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta. It is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. Like other pasta, spaghetti is made of milled wheat, water, and sometimes enriched with vitamins and minerals. Italian spaghetti is typically made from durum-wheat semolina.
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LASAGNA: It’s is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets. Either term can also refer to an Italian dish made of stacked layers of lasagna alternating with fillings such as ragù, béchamel sauce, vegetables, cheeses, and seasonings and spices.
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BIRYANI RICE: Also known as "Biryani Chawal”, this is a fragrant, mildly spiced rice dish is a popular Indian rice dish made with basmati rice & biryani essentials like spices, herbs, yogurt and onions. that goes well with any meat-based on rich vegetarian curry or dal.
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THALI: Thali refers to an Indian-style meal made up of a selection of various dishes which are served on a platter. Thali the meal refers to many different dishes (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian), served in small bowls called (Katori in Hindi) arranged on a Thali, or a platter.
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CHICKEN TANDOORI: Tandoori chicken is a South Asian dish of chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. The dish is now popular world-wide.
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PAELLA: Paella, a rice dish hailing from the Valencian Community, stands proudly as an emblem of the region. Within Spanish cuisine, it shines as one of the most renowned and cherished dishes.
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ESCARGOTS DE BOURGOGNE: Escargots de Bourgogne Suavages, or Wild Burgundy Snails, are a timeless French delicacy.
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GARLIC SOUP: Garlic soup is a type of soup using garlic as a main ingredient. Garlic soup is a versatile dish, and you can certainly add chicken or other meats to it to enhance its flavour and make it heartier. In Spanish cuisine, sopa de ajo ('soup of garlic') is a traditional garlic soup. The word soup derives from the Latin word 'suppa', which refers to bread soaked in broth.
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BURRITO: A burrito is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or steamed to soften it, make it more pliable, and allow it to adhere to itself.
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TACOS: A taco is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand.
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SUSHI: Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of ingredients, such as seafood—often raw—and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice", also referred to as shari, or sumeshi.
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SASHIMI: Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
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CHICKEN ADOBO: Chicken adobo, also known as “adobong manok”, is a quintessential Filipino braised chicken, marinated and stewed with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns. The word adobo actually came from the spanish word "adobar," meaning to marinate or pickle.
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PHO: Pho is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat. Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street-stalls, and restaurants country-wide.
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HAREES: Harees, jareesh, boko boko, or harisa is a dish of boiled, cracked, or coarsely-ground cracked wheat or bulgur, mixed with meat and seasoned. Its consistency varies between a porridge and a gruel.
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PAD THAI: Pad thai, phat thai, or phad thai, is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food in Thailand as part of the country's cuisine. It is typically made with rice noodles, shrimp, peanuts, a scrambled egg, and bean sprouts. The ingredients are fried in a wok.
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SHAKSHOUKA: Shakshouka is a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper.
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KOSHARY: Koshary, kushari or koshari (also kosheri) is Egypt's national dish and a widely popular street food. It is a traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, Egyptian fried rice, vermicelli and brown lentils, and topped with a zesty tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and garnished with chickpeas and crispy fried onions.
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COUSCOUS: Couscous – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a traditional North African dish of small steamed granules of rolled semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top.
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SHAWARMA: Shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern dish consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in an inverted cone, and roasted on a slowly turning vertical rotisserie or spit. Traditionally made with lamb or mutton, it may also be made with chicken, turkey, beef, or veal.
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