Discovering Kufa & Najaf 🇮🇶 | Iraq’s Famous Sweets, Kebab, Markets & Ancient Streets | Ep.2

IRAQ الْعِرَاق Season 5, Episode 2 صمون وزعتر Samoun w Zaatar . IRAQ Playlist    • Iraq - الْعِرَاق - Baghdad and the Surroun...   . Follow my steps: https://goo.gl/maps/3oQkVnu25pocZwRr6 . We leave Baghdad before sunrise and drive more than two hours south for a completely different Iraqi adventure. 🇮🇶 Season 5, Episode 2 takes us through Kufa and Najaf, discovering ancient streets, traditional bakeries, legendary sweets, pickles, kebab, home-style Iraqi food and the people who have kept these traditions alive for generations. Our morning begins in Kufa, in the old Al-Saraya neighborhood, walking through narrow streets until the smell of freshly baked kaak pulls us inside one of the area’s historic bakeries. We discover Kaak Abu Al-Dihin, a traditional Iraqi biscuit beautifully toasted around the edges while remaining tender inside, topped with sesame and just enough sweetness. We also taste colorful traditional sweets prepared for celebrations and holidays, the kind of flavors that instantly bring back childhood memories. From Kufa we continue into Najaf, where one sweet immediately takes center stage: Dehin Najafi. We visit Sayyed Ahmad Al-Yasiri, known for preparing one of Najaf’s signature desserts, and learn why Dehin is so closely connected to the city’s identity. Simple ingredients, generations of experience and a recipe that Najaf proudly claims as its own. Then comes another Najafi obsession: torshi. At Al-Haboubi, a family business operating since the early 1980s, we enter a world of pickled cucumbers, olives, cauliflower, peppers, garlic and vegetables, alongside mixtures flavored with natural vinegar, dates and spices. What makes the experience even more interesting is discovering that much of the produce is locally grown and prepared according to recipes the family has developed over decades. And obviously, Iraq means kebab! We meet grill masters who have spent decades perfecting their craft, using Iraqi lamb and beef, fresh chicken and different cuts of meat. Thick kebabs hit intense charcoal, developing a beautiful crust outside while staying wonderfully juicy inside. The preparation remains remarkably simple because when the meat is good, there is very little reason to hide it. Our journey continues through some of Najaf’s established restaurants, including businesses whose roots go back to the early 1980s. Fresh Iraqi lamb, white kebab, grilled meats, rice, chickpeas, tomato and slow-cooked dishes arrive one after another. At one point I taste a rice dish with a beautifully caramelized bottom that completely stops me. Crispy, buttery, intensely flavorful and almost dessert-like in texture — one of those unexpected bites that stays in your memory long after the meal is finished. But this journey is not only about eating. As we move through Najaf, we encounter places of enormous historical and spiritual importance and see another dimension of a city visited by millions of people. Food allows us to enter the streets and meet the people, but understanding Iraq also means understanding the history, faith and traditions surrounding these cities. Before leaving, there is still more Najaf to taste. We discover Najafi carrot halawa, traditional sweets and family businesses that started from almost nothing and grew through years of work. Again and again, the same story appears throughout Iraq: people proud of their city, proud of their recipes and eager to share them with anyone who walks through the door. This is exactly why driving more than two hours from Baghdad was worth every minute. Kufa and Najaf gave us traditional kaak, Dehin Najafi, incredible torshi, kebab, rice, meat, sweets and much more, but what I will remember most is the hospitality. Five seasons into this Iraqi journey, I continue discovering that every city has its own flavors, its own identity and its own people waiting to tell their story. Welcome to Kufa and Najaf. Welcome to another episode of Samoun w Zaatar, Season 5. 🇮🇶❤️