The moment herbs and potatoes come together in the kitchen
When you grate potatoes, at first they give off a watery liquid that doesn't inspire confidence. Onions do the same. A whitish liquid collects in the bowl, and you worry a little that "this will fall apart when I fry it." Squeeze that liquid out hard in a cloth, then mix in chopped herbs, egg, turmeric, and cumin, and the air in the kitchen changes at once. Before any smell of flour, you get the green scent of scallions and parsley, the earthy yellow of turmeric, and the sweetness of potato browning in oil.
Arook (also Aruk or Aroog; written عروق in Arabic) is a pan-fried dish of potato and herbs eaten in Iraq. It is shaped into ovals, crisp outside, with a soft inside that keeps some texture of the grated potato. Tuck it into flatbread with pickles, lemon, and salad, and it works as dinner or a light lunch.
There is still not much information on arook in many languages. Even in English the spelling varies between Arook, Aruk, and Aroog, and you find versions with only vegetables, versions with chicken mixed in, versions where the potato is boiled and mashed, and versions where it is grated and squeezed. This article leans toward a method that par-boils the potato, grates it coarsely, and shapes the patties after squeezing the moisture from the onion. It is easier to handle than using only raw potato, and keeps more of the texture of a local home dish than mashed potato alone.
If Iraq's masgouf (in Japanese) is a big dish of river fish over charcoal, arook is a small dish that is complete in a kitchen frying pan. Even among Middle Eastern fried foods, unlike falafel (in Japanese), where chickpeas take the lead, the home flavor of arook is in the way potato, egg, and herbs bind into a soft whole.
In English it is written Arook, Aruk, or Aroog. In Iraqi home recipes, besides the vegetable arook, there are versions with chicken or ground meat. In this article, "Arook" is the main spelling, and Aruk is also used in the text.
What is arook? A potato and herb patty of Iraqi homes
Arook is a dish in which potato, onion, herbs, egg, and flour are combined and pan-fried. Wikipedia's Arook entry describes it as an Iraqi fritter made with meat, potato, herbs, spices, and so on. ASIF's Iraqi vegetable patties presents it as a home dish that gathers vegetables and herbs and cooks them thin, and My Jewish Learning's Iraqi-style recipe covers a variation that mixes in chicken, potato, and herbs.
In other words, arook is less "this is the one right way" than a dish in which household leftover vegetables or meat are bound together with herbs. But there are pillars that bring the taste closer when you make it at home.
| Pillar of arook | Local way of thinking | What to keep in a home kitchen |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | Raw or partly cooked, grated, keeping some grain | Squeeze out the moisture and don't mash it too much |
| Herbs | Plenty of parsley, cilantro, and scallions | Don't be afraid of herbs; use about 70 g in total |
| Spices | Turmeric, cumin, and black pepper build aroma and color | Don't lean on curry powder alone; separate the yellow from the earthy aroma |
| Oil | Many homes cook it in shallow oil on both sides, not deep-fried | Hold around 170°C and set the surface first |
| How to eat | With bread, pickles, salad, and lemon | Add acidity to cut the weight of the oil |
Compared with many everyday cuisines, Iraqi cooking seems to use a lot of herbs. What is interesting about arook is that parsley and cilantro are used not as garnish but as a backbone of flavor on a par with the potato. If you dislike cilantro, make it with 45 g parsley and 30 g scallions. The aroma becomes a little milder, but the direction holds.
Ingredients and substitutions (serves 4)
This amount makes 10 to 12 arook about 7 cm across. As a main dish it serves 4; as an appetizer or a sandwich filling it can be shared by 5 or 6. It uses egg and wheat, so if you have allergies, be sure to read the substitution notes.
If you mix raw ground meat in and pan-fry, the surface colors first and the inside tends to be unreliable. At home it is safer to cook the meat first and then mix it in. The steps in this article are for the vegetable version.
This recipe contains egg, wheat, and milk. For wheat, you can replace the 45 g all-purpose flour with 45 g rice flour and the 35 g breadcrumbs with 35 g rice-flour breadcrumbs. For milk, replace the yogurt sauce with 80 g tahini + 40 ml water + 2 tsp lemon juice. If you leave out the egg, mix 2 tbsp potato starch with 3 tbsp water and add it, but it breaks more easily, so make the patties 6 cm across.
Shopping notes
The potatoes, onion, eggs, and herbs for arook can all be found at a supermarket. What is worth looking for online or at a specialty shop is the spices that change the outline of the flavor. Cumin and turmeric are easy to keep on hand and can go into Turkish köfte and the basics of Middle Eastern cooking. Sumac is not essential, but it has a red tartness different from lemon and links fried food and pickles well.
How to make it: moisture control that keeps them from falling apart, and pan-frying
The most important thing in arook is not to bind the potato with flour but to reduce the moisture and then set the surface in oil. If the batter goes into the oil still watery, the oil temperature drops and the edges come loose before the surface sets. Treat squeezing hard in step 2 and resting in step 4 as one job.
Fixing patties that fall apart, are greasy, or are watery
The failures of arook show up first in moisture and oil temperature, before seasoning. Because it is a potato dish, adding salt makes the flavor stronger at once, but covering a watery batter with salt makes it feel heavy once cold. When a patty breaks, check how you squeezed and the oil temperature before adding more flour.
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Edges come loose in the oil | Too much moisture from the onion, or the batter wasn't rested | Squeeze again in a cloth, add 10 g breadcrumbs, and chill 10 minutes |
| Only the surface burns | Oil is above 180°C | Lower the heat and wait 30 seconds until the bubbles at the oil surface turn fine |
| Greasy | Oil is below 160°C, or too many at once | Fry 4 at a time; if the bubbles weaken, return to medium heat |
| Powdery inside | Too much flour, or the potato too firm | Next time boil the potato 2 minutes longer and cut the flour by 10 g |
| Weak aroma | Too few herbs, or less cumin | Add 10 g parsley and 10 g scallions, and sprinkle sumac to finish |
| Shapes crack | Too thick, or rough edges | Make them 1.2 cm thick and press the edges round by hand |
If you make the meat version, internal temperature needs managing too. It is safer to mix in meat that was cooked first than raw ground meat, and the frying time can be the same as for the vegetable version. If you use poached chicken, shredding it too fine makes the batter dry, so leave it at about 5 mm wide.
A menu closer to the local way
Arook becomes much more of a dish when set beside bread and something tart, rather than put one at a time on a plate. Wrap arook in flatbread and bite into pickles, tomato, cucumber, and yogurt sauce together, and the order of oil, potato, herbs, and acidity moves through a single mouthful.
| Accompaniment | Guide amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Flatbread | 4 pieces | Holds the arook and takes up the oil |
| Pickles | 120 g | Lightens fried food with acidity |
| Tomato and cucumber | 350 g in total | Adds freshness |
| Yogurt sauce | about 150 g | Pulls it together with garlic and acidity |
| Sumac | 1/2 tsp | Red tartness and a Middle Eastern aroma |
When you tuck it into bread, it is easier to eat if you don't spread the sauce first. Fold the flatbread in half, put 1 arook in the center, add 2 tbsp each of tomato and cucumber and 20 g pickles. Add 2 tsp yogurt sauce last and a pinch of sumac. If you spread the sauce first, the bread gets damp and the surface of the arook goes soft quickly.
| Order of filling | What goes in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 arook | The bread takes the heat and oil |
| 2 | 2 tbsp each tomato and cucumber | Moisture goes on top, so the bread doesn't get too damp |
| 3 | 20 g pickles | Spreads acidity through each bite |
| 4 | 2 tsp yogurt sauce | Added last to keep its aroma |
| 5 | A pinch of sumac | Brings up the red tartness at the end |
The same idea applies on a plate. Don't spread the sauce under the arook; set it beside and dip each bite, and the crisp part of the surface lasts longer. Sweet-and-sour pickled radish does a similar job to the pickles, but if it is too sweet, add 1 tsp lemon juice to bring the acidity forward.
To widen the menu toward the Middle East, Lebanese hummus with its toasty bean flavor, or köfte for meat, make good companions. To connect it within Iraqi cooking, it is natural to bake the arook small and serve it as a side to masgouf (in Japanese), the charcoal-grilled fish dish.
Storage and reheating
Arook can be made ahead. As a guide, 2 days in the refrigerator and 2 weeks in the freezer. To store, cool the fried arook on a rack and set them in a container lined with paper towels without overlapping. Sealing them while hot softens the surface with steam.
To reheat, 6 minutes at 200°C in a toaster oven, or in a frying pan with no oil over medium-low heat for 3 minutes per side. The microwave alone softens the outside, so warm for 40 seconds at 600 W and then bake 3 minutes in the toaster oven to bring them back. For frozen ones, thaw in the refrigerator for half a day and warm 8 minutes in a 200°C toaster oven.
To store the batter, shape the patties, set them on a tray, press plastic wrap against them, and refrigerate for up to half a day. If left until the next day, moisture comes out of the onion, so look at the surface before frying, and if liquid is seeping out, dust with 10 g breadcrumbs to tidy it.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. Can I make it with raw potato, without boiling?
Yes. Grating raw potato and squeezing out the moisture gives a lighter, crisper result. But moisture control is harder, and the surface tends to burn before the center cooks. For a first try, par-cooked potato breaks less easily and makes the steps easier to judge.
Q2. I don't like cilantro. Is it still arook without it?
You can make it without. Replace the 20 g cilantro with 20 g parsley and increase the scallions by 10 g. The green aroma typical of Iraqi cooking becomes a little milder, but the direction of potato, turmeric, and cumin remains.
Q3. Can I make it in the oven or an air fryer?
You can, but the surface will not be as firm as pan-frying. In the oven, spread 2 tbsp oil on a baking sheet and bake at 220°C for 12 minutes on one side, flip, and bake 8 minutes more. In an air fryer, 12 minutes at 200°C, flip, and 6 minutes more. In both cases, brushing about 2 tsp oil on the surface prevents drying out.
Q4. What do I put in for a meat version?
The easiest is to shred 120 g poached chicken and mix it in. If you use ground meat, cook 150 g ground beef or ground chicken in a frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes until the juices run clear, then add it to the batter. Mixed in raw, with the same frying time as the vegetable version, the center tends to be unreliable.
Q5. Can I put it in a lunch box?
Yes. If packing in the morning, rewarm the arook fried the day before in a toaster oven at 200°C for 5 minutes and cool completely before packing. Keep the yogurt sauce in a separate container, and separate the pickles and tomato so their moisture does not touch the arook directly, and the surface is less likely to go soft.
Sources
- Wikipedia. "Arook." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arook (accessed 2026-05-22)
- ASIF. "Aruk - Iraqi Vegetable Patties." https://asif.org/en/recipes/aruk-iraqi-vegetable-patties/ (accessed 2026-05-22)
- My Jewish Learning. "Iraqi Chicken, Potato and Herb Patties Recipe." https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/iraqi-chicken-potato-and-herb-patties-recipe/ (accessed 2026-05-22)
