Iraq National Dish MASGOUF! Iraqi Feast in BAGHDAD!

BIL WEEKEND: https://www.instagram.com/bilweekend/ | https://bilweekend.com/ TASOS: https://www.instagram.com/agreeksolo VISIT MY TRAVEL BLOG: https://davidsbeenhere.com/ With another full day in Baghdad ahead of me, I set out to try the national dish of Iraq, masgouf! It’s an amazing carp dish that’s extremely popular throughout the country. I can’t wait to show it to you! Joining me were my friends Jafar and Ali from Bil Weekend, as well as my travel buddy Tasos from A Greek Solo. First, we’d be seeing how they make masgouf. They roast the carp on vertical stakes around a giant fire pit! SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: https://bit.ly/3JR71yN MY LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/davidsbeenhere But first, you choose a live fish, and then they kill and butcher it. After that, they roast it around the fire and then continue cooking it on the embers. I picked a fish and watched them make incisions in it. While they roasted it, I headed into the kitchen to see them making bread in the tanoor oven. In another part of the kitchen, they were cutting up and grinding some fresh beef and lamb. They serve the fish on colorful woven platters lined with aluminum foil. Then, they add pickles, olives, onions, the bread, and then the fish on top. Finally, we headed into the restaurant to eat. You take a bit of the khubz tannour and grab a bit of the fish. Then, you can add some amba (mango pickle), tomato, basil, and onion to make a nice sandwich. The fish was so buttery and smoky, and the bread has a nice, crisp texture! You just have to be careful of the bones! I was surprised that the national dish of Iraq is fish, because the country only has one port, but I’d forgotten that they also have the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which are teeming with fish! The timman il-ahmar was a red rice with tomato paste, and the baytinijan was nice and tomato-rich. I also loved the jajik, which is a yogurt dish with cucumbers. I thought it was fantastic but Tasos thought it needed more herbs and vinegar. I was enjoying mixing everything. Next was some smoked leben (a smoked yogurt drink) to cleanse my palate! This one was unique and quite watery. Then, we ended with some dates, shisha, and chai! The chai was hot but smooth. I loved the cardamom!