Matbakh (Cuisine)

Matbakh (Cuisine) — connector documentation

• MCP endpoint: https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: POST https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/v1/tools/{tool_name}, described by the OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless, MCP specification 2025-06-18 or later
• Authentication: none required. An optional Authorization: Bearer <key> raises rate limits.
• Health: https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/health · Tool schemas: https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/tools.json
• Publisher: Unify Dynamics LLC · connectorbay.com/matbakh · agent@connectorbay.com

What Matbakh (Cuisine) is for

"Matbakh" is the Arabic word for kitchen. The question that comes up whenever Arab food comes up in conversation — what's actually in kibbeh, which region a dish is from, whether hummus is "really" Lebanese or Israeli or something bigger than either, what za'atar even is, what to eat to break the fast during Ramadan — answered from one hand-curated encyclopedia spanning five Arab culinary regions, not a scroll through nationalist food-blog arguments.

What it does

One dish's description, region, main ingredients, how it's typically served and common variations (dish_info); a keyword search across dish name, region, category, description and main ingredients (dish_search); every dish from a specific culinary region — Levantine (Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian cooking, grouped together rather than divided by disputed-territory politics), Egyptian, Gulf/Khaleeji, Maghrebi (Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian) or Iraqi (dishes_by_region); dishes filtered by mezze/appetizer, main, dessert, bread or beverage (dishes_by_category); a guide to key Arab-cuisine ingredients — za'atar, sumac, tahini, rosewater, preserved lemon, ras el hanout and 19 more — with flavor profile and common uses (ingredient_info); a transparent, neutrally-worded list of dishes with genuinely disputed or shared regional origins (disputed_origin_dishes); dishes traditionally eaten to break the fast at iftar during Ramadan, strictly about food rather than religious practice (ramadan_iftar_dishes); a beverage guide (beverage_info); and a glossary of Arab culinary terms not tied to one dish (cuisine_glossary).

How shared dishes are handled

Hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, kibbeh, kanafeh, baklava, shakshuka, kabsa and several others are dishes that multiple countries and communities claim, love and cook with real pride — and food historians themselves often disagree about precise origins that predate modern national borders. Matbakh (Cuisine) presents these dishes factually and inclusively: where an origin is genuinely disputed, it says so plainly rather than picking a side, and it makes no claim of exclusive national ownership over any dish. The disputed_origin_dishes tool exists specifically to surface this transparently rather than bury it.

What it is not

Not a recipe book — there are no step-by-step cooking instructions, quantities or timings here. Not a religious guide — ramadan_iftar_dishes covers food only; prayer times, the Hijri/Ramadan calendar and fasting rules live in the separate salah connector, and deep Arabic-coffee-ceremony culture lives in the separate qahwa connector (this connector's own coffee entry stays brief). It is also not a single official standard for where a dish "belongs" — the single region given for each dish reflects the most common association, not an exclusive rule, and many dishes are eaten, adapted and claimed well beyond the region listed here. This is 88 hand-picked dishes across five regions plus a 25-entry ingredient guide, chosen for how representative and well known they are — not an exhaustive inventory of Arab cuisine.

Tools

Lookup & Search

dish_info — One Arab dish's description, region, main ingredients, how it's typically served, and common variations. Use for "what is kibbeh", "tell me about kabsa". Args: name.

dish_search — Search Arab dishes by keyword across name, region, category, description and main ingredients. Use for "dishes with eggplant", "what has sumac in it". Args: query.

Browse

dishes_by_region — Dishes from a specific Arab culinary region: Levantine (Lebanese/Syrian/Jordanian/Palestinian), Egyptian, Gulf/Khaleeji, Maghrebi (Moroccan/Tunisian/Algerian), or Iraqi. Use for "what dishes come from the Levant", "show me Gulf food". Args: region.

dishes_by_category — Dishes filtered by category: mezze/appetizer, main, dessert, bread, or beverage. Use for "show me Arab desserts", "what breads do you know". Args: category.

Ingredients & Beverages

ingredient_info — A key Arab-cuisine ingredient's description, flavor profile, and common uses — za'atar, sumac, tahini, rosewater, and more. Use for "what is za'atar", "what does sumac taste like". Args: name.

beverage_info — An Arab beverage's description, main ingredients and how it's served — mint tea, tamarind drink, karak chai, jallab, and more. The Arabic coffee entry here is intentionally brief; the dedicated qahwa connector covers coffee-ceremony culture in depth. Use for "what's karak chai", "what is jallab". Args: name.

Ramadan & Origins

disputed_origin_dishes — A transparent list of dishes whose origin or "who invented it" is genuinely disputed or shared among Arab (and sometimes neighboring) cuisines — hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, kibbeh/kubba, kanafeh, baklava, shakshuka, kabsa/machboos, and more. Handled neutrally: this list states that food historians differ rather than picking a side, and makes no claim of exclusive national ownership over any dish. Use for "is hummus Lebanese or Israeli", "who really invented falafel".

ramadan_iftar_dishes — Dishes traditionally associated with breaking the day's fast at iftar during Ramadan — harira, shorbat adas, qatayef, jallab, luqaimat, chebakia and more. Strictly about food: descriptive, not prescriptive religious guidance. For prayer times, the Ramadan calendar and fasting rules, see the separate salah connector. Use for "what do people eat to break the fast", "Ramadan dessert ideas".

Reference

cuisine_glossary — Definitions of Arab culinary and food-culture terms not tied to a single dish (mezze, tarqa, taboon, warqa, dallah, jameed, black lime, ashta, ras el hanout, dibs, and more). Use for "what does mezze mean", "what's a dallah". Args: term.

Conventions

• Read-only. Every tool reads public data or computes; nothing is written anywhere and nothing about the user is stored.
• Result envelope. ok: true with data, or ok: false with a structured error (bad_input, not_found, upstream_error). degraded lists optional sources that were unreachable.
• Rate limits. Free tier 60 tool calls/minute and 300/day per user (keyed on the user identifier supplied by the host agent, else client IP); Pro keys raise this. Over-limit calls return HTTP 429 with Retry-After. initialize and tools/list are never counted.

Support

agent@connectorbay.com · connectorbay.com/matbakh/support

Matbakh (Cuisine) — Privacy Policy

Effective 24 September 2026. Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us"), Menlo Park, California.

What Matbakh (Cuisine) is. Matbakh (Cuisine) is a connector (an MCP server and REST API) that AI assistants and personal agents call on your behalf for a hand-curated Arab cuisine encyclopedia: dish lookups and search, dishes by region or category, an ingredient guide, a transparent disputed-origin list, Ramadan iftar dishes, a beverage guide, and a cuisine glossary. You interact with your assistant; the assistant sends us only the arguments needed for that one lookup.

What we receive. The arguments of each tool call — a dish name, a search keyword, a region, a category, an ingredient name, or a glossary term — the technical headers needed to serve the request (an IP address or a client identifier supplied by the assistant, and a Pro API key if you have one), and standard server logs.

Everything is answered from a bundled, hand-curated reference file and nothing is stored. No request is forwarded to any third party — there is no upstream call at all, live or otherwise — and no query is logged in request bodies, recorded, or used to train anything.

What we do not receive or store. We do not receive your conversation with the assistant or your name, and we do not build a profile from your queries: each request is answered independently and nothing carries over between requests. Rate-limit counters (a client identifier and timestamps) are held in memory for at most 24 hours. Hosting-provider access logs, which contain IP addresses and request paths but not request bodies, are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention.

Sub-processors. None — the entire dataset is bundled with the server and answered locally. Hosting: Vercel (United States regions).

Legal bases and your rights. Our processing is necessary to provide the service you request through your assistant. Because we store no personal data beyond short-lived logs, requests to access, correct or delete personal data are usually satisfied automatically; you can still contact agent@connectorbay.com and we will respond within 30 days. We do not sell or share personal information and do not use your data to train models.

Children. Matbakh (Cuisine) is a general-audience food and culture reference. It is not directed at children specifically, and it does not collect personal information from anyone.

Changes. We will post changes here with a new effective date.

Matbakh (Cuisine) — Terms of Service

Effective 24 September 2026. These terms govern use of the Matbakh (Cuisine) connector ("the Service") operated by Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us").

1. The Service. Matbakh (Cuisine) returns a hand-curated Arab cuisine encyclopedia — dish descriptions, regions, categories, ingredients, serving style and variations; dishes by region or category; an ingredient guide; a transparent list of dishes with disputed or shared regional origins; Ramadan iftar dishes; a beverage guide; and a cuisine glossary — from data hand-curated and verified at build time. It is accessed through an AI assistant or directly over MCP or HTTP.
2. Not a recipe book, not a religious guide, and not an official standard. Matbakh (Cuisine) is an independent reference tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by any government body, tourism board, religious authority or culinary institution. It gives no step-by-step cooking instructions, quantities or timings; ramadan_iftar_dishes describes food traditionally eaten at iftar and is not religious guidance on fasting or prayer. The single region attributed to each dish reflects common association, not an exclusive or official claim, and dishes claimed across multiple countries (hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, kibbeh and others) are presented factually and inclusively, with no claim of exclusive national ownership.
3. Acceptable use. Automated use within the published rate limits is welcome.
4. Availability. The Service is provided "as is" without warranty. We may change, limit or discontinue it at any time.
5. Data. Our Privacy Policy describes what we process. In short: your query is answered from a bundled reference file, and nothing is stored.
6. Pro keys. Optional Pro API keys are issued at our discretion, are personal to the holder and may be revoked for abuse.
7. Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Unify Dynamics LLC is not liable for any loss arising from use of or reliance on the Service. Our total liability is limited to US $100.
8. Governing law. California law; venue in San Mateo County, California.
9. Contact. Unify Dynamics LLC · agent@connectorbay.com · https://connectorbay.com/matbakh

Matbakh (Cuisine) support

Email agent@connectorbay.com. We answer within two business days.

• MCP endpoint: https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Live status: https://matbakh.connectorbay.com/health

When you report a problem, include the question you asked your agent, roughly when, and which agent you used (for example Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini). Never send us passwords, account numbers or ID numbers. Matbakh (Cuisine) never asks for them.