Let's have some fun here! I enjoy cooking, I also enjoy eating. They are great hobbies! Lets see some recipes either real middle eastern recipes, or middle eastern recipes with an infinity spin! Unfortunately, I have very little in my middle eastern cook book, having a lot of asiatic and mexican recipes. BUT! I have a easy baklava recipe saved that I would love to try sometime, and will share here. Cmon...its desert! Its great! 1 pound chopped nuts 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough 1 cup butter, melted 1 cup white sugar 1 cup water 1/2 cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out. Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes. While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon or orange zest; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered. Share some real or imaginative recipes! Rename something to fit Bourak, or provided drink mix ideas!
Well, time for something more filling, then! 3 tablespoons of olive oil 1 onion 2 celery stalks 3 cloves of garlic 1 tablespoon of powdered cumin 1/2 tablespoon of powdered corriander seed 2 teaspoons of ras el hanout spice mix 280g red lentils 400g chopped tomatoes (usually conserved in brine) ~1,2 liter of bullion (or water) salt & pepper as per cook's preference 6 tablespoons of chopped fresh corriander (and then some more for decoration) Directions: Wash the lentils in fresh water untill the water is clean. Chop the onion, garlic and celery into fine pieces. Warm up the oil on the bottom of your pot, then add onion and celery. Fry them till they soften (bt don't let them turn brown!). Add garlic & the spices and fry for a minute or two. Add everything else save for fresh corriander. Boil for about half an hour - until the lentils soften well. Add fresh corriander and spice up to your liking. Decorate with fresh corriander once in bowls. Housekeeping note: takes freezing well. So if you've made a big kettle of it, no problem. This red lentil soup is originally Moroccan. Works fine for me, especially in autumn and winter - it is thick and filling. Being spicy it does warm one up. It is also, if you haven't used meat-based bullion, essentially vegan (not a concern for me, but sometimes I have guests who are vegetarian). Have fun!
@Errhile @theGricks Great idea on having a Haqqislamic themed recipe thread. Maybe Yu Jing can create their own thread with delicious Asian food from many nations. PanO has alot of multiple cultures to pick recipes from. Oceania, Southeast Asian & the Islands, Indian, European, & more. Arianda has 4 cultures to choose from with American food being quite varied. Nomads can use African, Hispanic, German, Russian & Slavic cuisine.
I make this a lot, taught to me by the ancient guardians of Bouraki cuisine...Tesco! Morrocan Meatballs Ingredients 2-3tbsp olive oil 2 red onions, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground 1tsp coriander seed, toasted and ground 1 x 400g can tomatoes 2tsp sugar 1 x 30g pack fresh coriander, finely chopped half a 30g pack fresh mint, finely chopped 1 egg, lightly whisked 500g (1lb) beef mince 50g (2oz) fresh breadcrumbs couscous, to serve plain yogurt, to serve pitta bread warmed, to serve Method First make the sauce. Heat a dash of oil in a pan and soften the onions, garlic and spices for a few minutes. Put half of the mixture in a bowl to cool for the meatballs. Add the tomatoes and sugar to the remaining onions in the pan, season and simmer for about 15mins until reduced. Add the herbs, egg, beef mince and the breadcrumbs to the cooled onions, then season and mix everything well with your hands. Shape into walnut-sized balls. Heat the rest of the oil and fry the meatballs until golden. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for a few minutes until they're cooked through. Serve with couscous, a spoonful of yogurt and some pitta bread that's been warmed through.
Oh my god, this went better than I thought. Saving those recipes as I love lentil soup, and a soup that freezes well is honestly hard to find. Thanks @Errhile !
Another variation on the meatballs theme: chorba beida bel kefta. @Errhile, you should like this one. It's mentioned in the Audran Trilogy ;) Meatballs: 750g of lamb mince 1 onion (finely cut) 1 red chili (finely cut) 1 tsp of ground cumin 1 tsp of coriander 2 ground cloves 1 egg Soup: sunflower oil 2 onions (coarsely cut) 300g of chickpeas (soaked overnight) 1 egg yolk harissa (optionally) 3 tsp of ground almonds salt pepper cinnamon fresh coriander Lemon juice Preparation: Form meatballs about the size of a walnut and fry them well, until they'll get nicely browned. Take them aside, and fry the onion on medium heat - just a bit, so it gets glassy. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, add some water, almonds and optionally some harissa, cook for a moment while stirring. Add chickpeas and more water (I think 2-3 l should be fine, but feel free to change it). Cook for around 30 min, seasoning to taste. Whisk the egg yolk, add into the soup, and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the meatballs and cook some more, until you're satisfied it's done (shouldn't take more than 10-20 minutes). Serve, sprinkle with a pinch of coriander and some lemon juice.
Well, rather than do a lot of typing, here are some fun recipes... https://www.177milkstreet.com/tv/tunisian-couscous and https://www.177milkstreet.com/tv/middle-east-classics the good thing about them is simplicity. And a nice tutorial on homemade Harissa. The rest of the show's episodes are pretty good too. Also, fluffy couscous good.
If you have never had Koshari here is a recipe for it. I can not recommend it enough. Its a true Human Sphere inspired Bourakian dish (lol). Step 1: Make sauce by mixing ingredients (see below) in a pot. Bring to a boil on low heat for 15 minutes. Continue on to the next steps while the sauce is cooking. Step 2: Rinse and boil the lentils in 3 cups of water, and ½ tsp of cumin for five minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Step 3: Cut the onion into rings, and sprinkle with flour. Deep fry the onions until dark brown. Place them on kitchen paper and set aside. Step 4: Boil the pasta and drain. Set aside. Step 5: In a large pot, add the oil, lentils, rinsed rice, and a pinch of salt, pepper, and cumin. Add 3 cups of boiled water to the pot. Allow it to boil for two minutes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. Step 6: Wash and drain the chickpeas then put in a frying pan for one minute on high heat. Add ½ tbsp of butter, a pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir for one minute, and set aside. Step 7: Serve the rice and lentils onto a large plate. Step 8: Rinse the pasta with hot water, and drain. Pour the pasta and chickpeas on top of the lentils and rice in the plate. Step 9: Garnish with the fried onions, and paprika powder. Step 10: Serve hot with a drizzle of sauce on top, and the rest of the sauce on the side. Ingredients: – 2 cups medium grain white rice – 1 cup green lentils – 1 cup small pasta (preferably ditalini) – 1 can of chickpeas – 2 white or brown onions, sliced into rings – ¼ cup oil – pinch of salt, pepper, and cumin – 3 cups water Sauce: – 2 white onions, finely diced – 1 green capsicum, diced – 6 cloves garlic, diced – 4 large tomatoes, diced – 2 ½ tbsp tomato paste – ½ cup vinegar – 1 cup water – 1 tbsp of oil – pinch of salt, pepper, paprika and cumin I wish I could replicate my old professor's skill with making Iraqi style coffee and tea. But I lack the tools for it. She made the best coffee and tea I have ever had.
I'm going to have to write these recipes down somewhere so I can try them out myself. Every recipe posted here sounds delicious.
To expand on the couscous discussion, here’s a staple in our family. Pieces of chicken, bone in (a whole chicken’s worth, but really you can use as much or as little as you want) 3 carrots, sliced in rounds (or a dozen baby carrots) 1 whole onion 2-3 potatoes, in chunks (or about 10 new potatoes) 1 smaller onion, chopped 2 Tablespoons tomato paste 1 can of chick peas, drained 1 or 2 sweet potatoes, sliced 2 zucchini, sliced Ras al hanout Harissa hot paprika, cayenne to taste Brown chicken in your favorite cooking oil (should take about 10-15 minutes). Add the carrots and cook for about 5 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients other than the chick peas and harissa. Add water to cover, and cook until tender (should take another 40 minutes). Add the chick peas in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Prepare couscous, but instead of hydrating the couscous with plain water, use liquid from the stew. And definitely fluff it up (it makes a wonderful difference). Serve with harissa on the side for those who need to manage the Spice. Serves 4-6.
