“When Lentils Become Kebab”.. Gaza Women’s Creativity in a Time of War

‍

“A Dish of Steadfastness in the Face of Famine”.. How Gaza’s Women Make Life Out of Nothing

In Gaza, where war intersects with hunger, women learn every day how to turn the simplest things into life itself.

Maryam Basel, a mother of a small family, sits before a large plate of crumbled bread. With hands trembling from exhaustion, she pours over it a cup of hot water mixed with a dissolved chicken stock cube and a few spices.
“This is fake fatta,” she says.

With a faint smile, she adds: “Before the war, I used to prepare this fatta with chicken or meat every Friday, garnished with fried almonds, parsley, and lemon slices. Today, all that remains is bread, rice, and broth. Yet my children have not lost their joy.”

Maryam is not alone in mastering this difficult art. Women across Gaza are inventing from whatever they can find. Watermelon rinds turn into pickles that help fill empty stomachs when food runs out. Halawa containers are transformed into makeshift chocolate to hide children’s hunger and bring back a fleeting moment of happiness.

“In every recipe, we have written a story of resilience that days will remember,” Maryam says, her eyes shining with the fierce glow of patience.

In this besieged kitchen, lentils, fava beans, peas, and white beans have become the foundation of every meal.

‍
Lentil kebab and kofta are made from mashed lentils mixed with potatoes and onions, while bean omelets are prepared without eggs.

‍
Canned chickpeas are reshaped into falafel patties, and tahini is made by hand when it disappears from the markets.

Here, every meal is not merely food, but a message of defiance against the siege — a symbol of the human capacity to endure.

Umm Alaa Abu Jazar, from the city of Khan Younis, says: “This phase taught us how to make something out of nothing. How to remain steadfast as no one has before us.”

She smiles as her children taste falafel made from canned peas, as if it were a small victory meal amid the ashes.

In Gaza, modern cookware is no longer needed. What matters are the old pots that have endured with these women, above and below the fire, between tents and through the hardships of displacement.

Women here create, share their recipes on social media to teach others, and give birth to life out of emptiness. Every dish, every recipe, is a silent cry that says:
“We are here. We are steadfast. And hope has not died.”

‍