Israeli cuisine spicy or sweet-and-sour, with ingredients such as bell peppers, chili peppers, figs, onion, artichoke bottoms, Swiss chard, beet, dried fruits, tomato, vine leaves, potatoes, mallow, eggplants and zucchini squash, and stuffing such as meat and rice in Balkan style, bulgur in Middle Eastern fashion, or with ptitim, a type of Israeli pasta. The Ottoman Turks introduced stuffed vine leaves in the 16th century and vine leaves are commonly stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, although other fillings, such as lentils, have evolved among the various communities. Artichoke bottoms stuffed with meat are famous as one the grand dishes
Cabbage roll omitted or substituted with crushed walnuts on fasting holy days. Traditionally cabbage rolls are simmered long in a paprika based sauce with chunks of smoked bacon. In the Levant, namely Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, cabbage rolls are called محشي ملفوف Malfoof mahshi. Traditionally the cabbage rolls consist of meat and rice but have vegetarian variants oftentimes cooked as part of a Lenten menu. Local traditions vary between cooking the rolls in a tomato sauce or in a lemon brine. In Egyptian cuisine, cabbage rolls are called محشي كرمب, pronounced "maḥshī kromb" or "maḥshī koronb" (as Standard Arabic [m] often