What is Toum?
You probably know it as garlic sauce. We call it toum. (Arabic for garlic. If you don’t feel it in your throat when you say it, you’ve not said it right.)
Toum is a Lebanese garlic sauce: thick, white, creamy and loud. Traditionally it’s garlic, oil, lemon juice and salt, whipped until it turns into something fluffy enough to spread and strong enough to clear a room. It’s not aioli. It’s not mayo. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
In Lebanon it sits next to anything off the charcoal. Here, it sits next to everything. Chicken, chips, bread, a spoon. We’re not judging.
What's in Our Toum?
Ours is made fresh daily from whole garlic cloves, lemon juice, oil and salt, plus a touch of secret house seasoning. Heavy on the garlic.
Here’s what you won’t find in it:
- No preservatives.
- No artificial flavours.
- No colourings. That white? That’s just what real garlic sauce looks like.
And that secret house seasoning? Nice try. Only two people in the world know the full recipe, and neither of them is telling. Not us, not your cousin who swears he’s cracked it, not whichever “copycat” recipe is doing the rounds online.
You can try to make it at home. Plenty have. We’ll be here when you come back.
Same Suppliers. Every Day. Everywhere.
When something works, you don’t mess with it. We’ve worked with the same suppliers for over 20 years. Same standards, same garlic sauce, same punch you remember from your first ever tub.
And it doesn’t sit around. Our toum is made fresh daily and delivered 6 to 7 days a week to El Jannah restaurants across Australia. So whether you’re in Granville or somewhere a long way from it, the garlic sauce in front of you tastes exactly how it should.
That’s a lot of garlic on the road. Wind the windows down.
Toum at El Jannah
Ask anyone what El Jannah is known for and you’ll get two answers: the charcoal chicken and the garlic sauce. Our famous toum has been sitting right next to our charcoal chicken as one of our hero items since day one. It’s a household name for a reason.
It’s the thing people order extra of “just in case”. The thing that gets fought over when there’s one tub left. The thing people judge a meal by. No toum? Not a proper El Jannah run.
Good news: it’s hard to order anything here without getting toum. Here’s where to find it:
- With the chicken. Every charcoal chicken meal, from the quarter to the Family Feast, comes with toum. As it should.
- In the roll. The charcoal chicken roll is built on it. Chicken, toum, pickles, wrapped in Lebanese bread. Simple. Undefeated.
- On the side. Order extra toum on its own from our side’s menu. We suggest you order more than one. Trust us.
- The chip dip. Chips plus toum. That’s it. That’s the tip. (What does your garlic sauce style says about you? That’s another blog.)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Toum?
Toum is a Lebanese garlic sauce. It’s thick, white and creamy, with a bold, punchy garlic flavour. It’s traditionally served with charcoal chicken, Lebanese bread and pickles.
Is Toum the same as Garlic Sauce?
Yes. Toum is the Arabic word for garlic, and it’s what Lebanese garlic sauce is called. At El Jannah, our garlic sauce is toum.
What's the difference between Toum and Aioli?
Toum is a Lebanese garlic sauce with a strong, sharp garlic flavour. Aioli is a Mediterranean sauce that’s usually closer to a garlic mayonnaise. They look similar, but they’re not the same thing.
What's in El Jannah's Toum?
Our toum is made fresh daily from whole garlic cloves, lemon juice, oil, salt and a touch of secret house seasoning. It has no preservatives, no artificial flavours and no colourings. Only two people in the world know the full recipe.
Is El Jannah's Toum Halal?
Yes. All ingredients used at El Jannah, including our toum, marinades and seasonings, are Halal suitable.
Can I order extra Toum?
Yes. Order toum on its own from our sides menu, in-store or online for pick-up or delivery. For allergen information, check our Allergens Chart.