With over 3 million followers on Instagram and nearly 7 million on TikTok, you’ve probably swiped at least a few times on the account of Ahmad Alzahabi, aka The Golden Balance. Or maybe you found his website while searching for a recipe for homemade shawarma that doesn’t require a skewer (because who doesn’t have a skewer at home?).
You’ll know you’re watching Al-Zahabi’s video when you hear the Muslim pre-meal blessing, “Let us have bismillah!”, just before taking a bite of one of Al-Zahabi’s dishes.
Al Zahabi’s recipes range from beef Wellington to butter chicken, but he’s also created an important platform to showcase Middle Eastern comfort food, and that means going beyond familiar staples like hummus.
Alzahabi, 27, who grew up in Flint, Michigan, the child of Syrian immigrants, beautifully recreates Middle Eastern dishes such as street-style kebab sandwiches and mansaf, a dish with Bedouin roots, for the masses.
Growing up in the United States, like many immigrant children, he struggled with a dual identity: “When I had a za’tar sandwich at school lunch, people made fun of me,” he says, “but at the same time, I’m American, and my favorite food was hamburgers.”
As many Middle Eastern ingredients become increasingly popular, Alzahabi provides details that are often missing from popular recipes featuring them, and expands the definition of Middle Eastern ingredients beyond favorites like harissa. In her mansaf video, she explains its staple ingredient, jameed.
“Jameed is an ancient method of drying yogurt, which allows it to be preserved for years in the desert,” he says.
Jamid is a salty, sour dried yogurt product designed to last for long periods in the desert. When rehydrated, it forms the base for mansaf, a lamb stew popular in Jordan, Palestine and other Arab countries. Jamid is hard to come by in the U.S., so he suggests we get a jamid soup starter and we get to work.
Though Alzahabi has no traditional culinary training, he grew up with the best teacher any culinary school could give him: his mother. “My mother would always invite me into the kitchen and tell me to do this or that. She didn’t mind if I made a mess,” he says.
Apart from a brief stint in a hotel kitchen in Dubai, Al Zahabi learned to cook, like most of us, by simply trying out recipes. He realized early on that a professional kitchen isn’t for everyone. “My experience in Dubai told me I didn’t like being in a kitchen for that long. I like cooking, but this wasn’t my thing,” he says.
He wants to find human connection through food and engage with the people he serves, something that’s hard to do from behind a line. Today, he does just that through YouTube, TikTok and other social media channels, albeit through a mobile phone screen. He connects and engages with millions of followers.
By the way, the name “Golden Balance” – Alzahabi means “golden” in Arabic, and “balance” represents his interest in fitness and healthy eating. Just like balance in a recipe, balance is important in everything in life. And thanks to his loyal fans, it looks like Alzahabi has found just the right balance. Here’s to Bismillah!
