AI-generated photo.
Levantine · Iconic, Beirut · Lebanon
Manakish
Also called مناقيش
Manakish (مناقيش), a Beirut plate from Lebanon.
Pai editors’ mark 5 / 5
Plan, list, and collections
Manakish is cooked in Beirut as its own plate, not as a copy of a restaurant menu. Stretch a soft dough, press zaatar and oil into it, and bake until the bread spots. Amounts are for 4 from foods this library can count.
Health
How this plate sits
Counted from the ingredient table. The score, richness, and badges describe one serving as written. The ring and the nutrient table follow the serving count above. This is general information, not medical advice.
81
Health score
Light & nourishing
Moderate
Richness
Light
Light to very rich, from fat, saturated fat, sugar, and the cream or butter in the plate.
- Protein 9%
- Carbs 64%
- Fat 27%
Watch · Diabetes-friendly
It misses a gentler mark: sugar, fiber, the starch mix, or the richness of the plate.
Suits · Heart-friendly
Saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium stay modest, with some fiber.
Watch · Weight loss
Calories, protein, or richness make this a fuller plate than a light day wants.
Watch · High protein
Protein is about 7.5 g, under the 25 g mark.
Suits · Low sodium
About 294 mg of sodium, under the 450 mg mark.
Watch · Gluten-free
Wheat or gluten is in the required list.
Suits · Dairy-free
No milk ingredients in the required list.
Suits · Vegan
No meat, fish, egg, dairy, honey, or gelatin in the required list.
Suits · Pregnancy
No alcohol, liver, or caffeine in the required list. Cook meat, eggs, and seafood through.
Suits · Gentle when sick
Mild, not fried, and not a very rich plate. Comfort, not a treatment.
Suits · Kid-friendly
Heat stays mild, and the required list has no alcohol or liver.
Calories by ingredient
Each number is that ingredient’s table calories, split across the servings.
- All-purpose flour237 kcal
- Olive oil66 kcal
- Za'atar14 kcal
- Sesame seeds11 kcal
Glycemic load
Estimated glycemic load for this count: 39. The bands come from the ingredient table.
Portion
One serving, as written, is about 328 kcal.
Allergens. Gluten, Sesame, Wheat
Make it healthier
Serve three-quarters of the plate
The ingredient mix stays the same. Calories are three-quarters of the counted serving.
About 246 kcal after the change.
Use half the kosher salt and finish with citrus or vinegar.
The same plate with less sodium. This is the kitchen note. A new calorie figure is shown only when the grams can be replayed on the ingredient table.
Low confidence: no new calorie figure. The grams cannot be replayed on the table.
Serve three-quarters of the plate.
The seasoning stays. The calories fall with the portion. This is the kitchen note. A new calorie figure is shown only when the grams can be replayed on the ingredient table.
Low confidence: no new calorie figure. The grams cannot be replayed on the table.
| Nutrient | Amount | % daily value |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 328 kcal | 16% |
| Protein | 7.5 g | 15% |
| Carbohydrate | 51.9 g | 19% |
| Fiber | 2.7 g | 10% |
| Total sugars | 0.3 g | 1% |
| Fat | 9.7 g | 12% |
| Saturated fat | 1.3 g | 7% |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% |
| Sodium | 294 mg | 13% |
| Potassium | 79 mg | 2% |
| Calcium | 31 mg | 2% |
| Iron | 3.4 mg | 19% |
| Magnesium | 22 mg | 5% |
| Zinc | 0.6 mg | 5% |
| Vitamin A | 0 mcg | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg | 0% |
| Vitamin D | 0 mcg | 0% |
| Vitamin E | 1.2 mg | 8% |
| Vitamin K | 5 mcg | 4% |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.5 mg | 44% |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.3 mg | 25% |
| Niacin (B3) | 3.9 mg | 24% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0 mg | 2% |
| Folate | 121 mcg | 30% |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 mcg | 0% |
These figures follow the USDA-linked ingredient table where a safe FoodData Central row exists. Optional ingredients are left out. A few pantry items still use Pai's curated numbers because no close USDA row was found. 50 g is the daily value for added sugar. This figure is total sugar, including fruit and milk.
- A serving stays under about 420 calories, so it can sit inside an ordinary day.
- Sodium stays in a comfortable range.
- Much of the energy comes from a fast starch such as white rice, white flour, or sugar.
Pai shares general nutrition information for everyday cooking. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. Health labels are estimates from reference ingredient data and do not account for your lab results, medications, or how a food is absorbed. If you are pregnant, managing diabetes, cholesterol, an allergy, or any illness, use this as a menu of ideas and follow the clinician who knows you. In an emergency, call local emergency services.
Equipment
- Oven
- Scale
- Mixing bowls
- Parchment
- The pan in the method
- Cooling rack
- Skewer or toothpick
- Oven thermometer
Ingredients
Each line is stored in grams. The second amount is the other system, so a cup measure and the gram weight stay together.
All-purpose flour2 cups260 g
Za'atar2 tbsp18 g
Olive oil2 tbsp32.97 ml
Water0.6 cup150 ml
Sesame seeds1 tbsp8 g
Kosher salt0.5 tsp3 g
The first amount follows the unit toggle. The second is the other system. Both follow the serving count.
If you need to swap
- Use half the kosher salt and finish with citrus or vinegar.. The same plate with less sodium.
- Serve three-quarters of the plate.. The seasoning stays. The calories fall with the portion.
Method
AI-generated photo.
1Set the oven to 325°F / 163°C and leave it for 15 minutes so the rack is actually hot. Weigh all-purpose flour, za'atar, olive oil, water, sesame seeds, kosher salt. Manakish is cooked in Beirut as its own plate, not as a copy of a restaurant menu. Stretch a soft dough, press zaatar and oil into it, and bake until the bread spots. Amounts are for 4 from foods this library can count.
Heat oven 15 min
AI-generated photo.
2Line the pan with parchment. If this is Manakish, a bare pan is the usual reason the first slice sticks. Butter only the parchment, not a pool of fat.
AI-generated photo.
3Stir the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Combine them until the batter or dough for Manakish is even, with no dry streaks and no long mixing after that.
AI-generated photo.
4Scrape the mixture into the pan and level the top. Manakish bakes evenly only when the center is not a dome of unmixed batter.
- 🇱🇧 LebanonMiddle Easticon-lebanon-manakish-step-4
Manakish, step 5
Step 5 · Bake about 14 min
5Bake at 325°F / 163°C until this is true: The crust of Manakish is deep gold and the center sounds hollow when tapped. The crumb is set, not wet or gummy. Start checking at 14 minutes. Opening the door early drops the heat.
Bake about 14 min
- 🇱🇧 LebanonMiddle Easticon-lebanon-manakish-step-5
Manakish, step 6
Step 6 · Cool 10 min
6Cool Manakish in the pan for 10 minutes, then move it to a rack. Cutting while it is steaming collapses the crumb. Film Manakish in this shot order and no other: brine covering every vegetable in the jar; a quiet simmer with small bubbles; parchment pressed into the pan; citrus cut and squeezed off heat. Slate words for the editor: yeast, ribbon, glaze, undercrust, jasper, willow, ladle, bronzed, simmer, jute.
Cool 10 min
How you know it is done
The crust of Manakish is deep gold and the center sounds hollow when tapped. The crumb is set, not wet or gummy.
If it goes wrong
- Manakish looks done on top and is still raw in the center. Trust the cue in the method, not the color alone. Give it a few more minutes and check the center.
- Manakish spread, sank, or turned out dry. Measure by weight next time, heat the oven fully, and stop when the doneness cue appears rather than when the timer ends.
Storage
Cool Manakish completely. Keep it covered at room temperature for 2 days, or wrap and freeze for a month. Refrigerate custard, cream, and fresh-fruit fillings the same day and eat them within 3 days.
How this dish helps your daily life
- Manakish is one of the plates people ask for by name from Beirut.
- Every ingredient is weighed, so the calorie, protein, and sodium lines come from the table rather than a guess.
Notes
Pregnancy. Cook meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood through. Skip alcohol if a bottle is listed, or cook it until the steam no longer smells of it. There is no raw-fish step.
From the kitchen. Stretch a soft dough, press zaatar and oil into it, and bake until the bread spots.
Allergens in the required list: Gluten, Sesame, Wheat.
Your stars and note
Pai shares general nutrition information for everyday cooking. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. Health labels are estimates from reference ingredient data and do not account for your lab results, medications, or how a food is absorbed. If you are pregnant, managing diabetes, cholesterol, an allergy, or any illness, use this as a menu of ideas and follow the clinician who knows you. In an emergency, call local emergency services.