Makdous

Makdous

Course	Hors d'oeuvre
Place of origin	Syria (region)
Region or state	Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine
Main ingredients	Eggplants, walnuts, red pepper, garlic, olive oil, salt
Media: Makdous

A Syrian meal, with makdous at the lower left of center. Continuing clockwise are a salad, hummus, haloumi and baba ganouj, with pita bread partially visible at the upper right corner.

Makdous (Arabic: المكدوس or sometimes المقدوس) is a dish of oil-cured aubergines. Part of Levantine cuisine (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine), they are miniature, tangy eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red pepper, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Sometimes chilli powder is added.^[1][2][3]

Makdous is usually prepared by Syrian households around fall to supply for winter, and is usually eaten during breakfast, supper or as a snack.^[4][5] It is also often served as an appetiser in restaurants.^[6] Syrians prepare makdous with a chili paste filling.^[7][8] After the eggplants are stuffed, they are preserved in olive oil.^[7][3] Before being stuffed, the eggplants are boiled until they are softened.^[9]

Etymology

The name makdūs (مكدوس) is the past participle (اسم مفعول) form of the Arabic root كدس (kadasa), meaning "to heap" or "to pile", in reference to ingredients being stacked and packed together in oil.^[10][11]

History

Pickled eggplants stuffed with various herbs and spices are mentioned in a 13th century Syrian cookbook called Kitab al-Wuslah ila l-habib.^[3][12]

During the Syrian civil war, the soaring cost of living turned makdous from a staple food in the Syrian pantry to a luxury.^[3][4][13] Enab Baladi reported the price of makdous reaching 500,000 Syrian Liras in 2025 in Damascus, the minimum wage being 750,000 at the time.^[14] It is typical for some Syrian families to stock up on tens of kilograms of makdous during fall to cover their needs during winter.^[14][7] The lack fo access to gas also contributed to the increased prices of makdous, as it takes approximately 4 hours of boiling to soften 20 kilograms of makdous^[9]

See also

• List of stuffed dishes
• Stuffed eggplant

References

1. Oil cured eggplants Makdous - Syrian Recipes Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
2. Zaatar (2020-06-21). "Lebanese Makdous (Cured Eggplants) by Zaatar and Zaytoun". Zaatar & Zaytoun. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
3. Levkowitz, Joshua (16 October 2023). "When a Little Syrian Eggplant Is More Than Just Food". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
4. Ula, enab10 (17 September 2024). "Latakia residents turn to cheaper alternatives to prepare Makdous". Enab Baladi. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
5. Makdous (Pickled stuffed eggplant in olive oil) - Syrian cooking
6. "Makdous: A Healthy Pickled Delight | Food Heritage Foundation". 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
7. "سوريون محرومون من المكدوس بسبب الغلاء" [Syrians are deprived of makdous due to high prices.]. The New Arab (in Arabic). 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
8. "استعضتُ عن الجوز بالفول السوداني... عن أحجية سوريّة في الهند اسمها المكدوس" ["I replaced the walnuts with peanuts"... about a Syrian riddle in India called "Makdous"]. Raseef22 (in Arabic). 10 September 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
9. "بسبب غلاء المواد الأولية.. عائلات سورية تتخلى عن "المكدوس"" [Due to the high cost of raw materials, Syrian families are abandoning "makdous" (pickled eggplant).]. Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 15 September 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
10. "تعريف و شرح و معنى مكدوس بالعربي". Almaany. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
11. Khayr al-Din al-Asadi (1981). موسوعة حلب المقارنة [Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo] (in Arabic). p. 2842. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
12. Perry, Charles (2020). Scents and flavors: a Syrian cookbook. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 9781479800834. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
13. "إنها شجرة الزيتون السورية" [It is the Syrian olive tree]. The New Arab (in Arabic). 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
14. "مؤونة "المكدوس" تتراجع في بيوت السوريين" [The consumption of "makdous" is declining in Syrian homes.]. Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 12 October 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2026.