Mosul adds its own touch to meat-topped lahmacun

Meat-topped lahmacun is a favorite dish in Iraq but it holds an even more special place in Mosul's cuisine. The dish is consumed in several of the countries neighboring Iraq but in the city of Mosul, restaurants add a special touch to lahmacun.

Mosul (Iraq):Lahmacun, a delectable bread topped with meat, is not only bursting with flavor but it is also affordable to everyone in Iraq.

At restaurants in the Iraqi city of Mosul, workers skillfully handle the lahmacun dough, adding a layer of meat on top. Sometimes an egg is added to the meat-topped dough, which is baked in the oven.

The pizza-like dish is consumed in several of the countries neighboring Iraq but Mosul locals take pride in the way they prepare it.

"Mosul is known for making the best types of lahmacun," says Musaab Ahmad, owner of Mosul lahmacun restaurant in Mosul.

"Mosul has been making lahmacun for a long time, before it was made in Baghdad, in the south or in the north," he adds.

The word lahmacun comes from the Arabic words for "lahm" or meat and "ajin" or dough.

Different restaurants add their own mix of spices to the dish and in Mosul, the dough is made extra thin.

Mosul lahmacun does not include tomato or pepper in the minced meat mixture, It only includes onion and some spices.

"It (can be) eaten at all times. It can be breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, and dinner in the evening. The poor and rich eat it," says Dawood Salim, a lahmacun fan from Mosul.

A medium sized lahmacun costs 1,000 Iraqi dinars ($0.68) and a large one coasts 2,000 ($1.36).

There is also a double sized lahmacun, known as the super lahmacun, which costs 3,000 dinars ($2.04).

Finally, the even larger "ghost sized" lahmacun costs 5,000 dinars ($3.40).

The cost of adding an egg topping to lahmacun is 250 dinars ($0.16).

AP