Masgouf

Masgouf (Arabic: المسكوف), is a Mesopotamian dish consisting of seasoned, grilled carp; it is often considered the national dish of Iraq.^[1]

Masgouf

A prepared masgouf
Course	Main course
Place of origin	Iraq (Mesopotamia)
Region or state	Baghdad, Basra and Tigris River
Associated cuisine	Iraq
Created by	Iraqis
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Large freshwater carps and barbs from the Tigris-Euphrates Basin
Variations	Northern Iraqi variation, in a clay oven
Media: Masgouf

Geographical distribution

Outside of Iraq, masguf is found in Damascus due to a high number of Iraqis who lived there after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.^[2]

See also

• Iraqi cuisine
• Middle Eastern cuisine

Notes

Masguf arguably being the most famous dish of Iraq, it is also the one that is always the foremost served to foreign delegations visiting the country by the Iraqi statesmen. Two notable admirers of this dish are said to be the former President of France, Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the former chairman of the Russian Duma.^[3] Chirac apparently fell for masgûf during a visit to Iraq in a formal dinner given to his honor by Saddam Hussein.

Gallery

• 
  A carp on a stick
• 
  Carps grilled into masgouf
• 
  Multiple carps being grilled