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Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Here's a recipe for Lima Bean Puree from the New Vegetarian Epicure that I made this weekend. Gets high marks from both myself and AbuS. It's kind of hummus-y in consistancy, and can be eaten like hummus - on chips, veggies, in salad, on a wrap or sandwich, or just warm straight from a bowl, mmm. AbuS says it's like some egyptian dish that he'll make for me now that he knows I like stuff like that (I'm not a huge fan of foul, so he must have thought I didn't like all pureed bean things), but I can't remember the name unsure.gif

1 lb dry lima beans
salt
1/3 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves, or 1 tsp dry
pinch of red pepper flakes
1-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
fresh ground black pepper to taste
garnishes - additional olive oil and chopped flat leaf parsley

Soak the lima beans over night with plenty of water. Drain them, rinse and put in a heavy bottomed pot with water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the beans for at least an hour, and perhaps longer, until they are perfectly tender.

Add more water, if necessary, to keep the beans just covered. Toward the end of the cooking time, add about a teaspoon or salt, or more to taste.

In a small skillet, combine 1 T of olive oil, about a third of the garlic, the chopped rosemary, and the pepper flakes. Warm the oil and herbs on medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.

Drain the cooked lima beans, reserving the liquid. Combine them in a food processor or blender with 1/2 cup of their cooking liquid and the warm oil with the herbs, and puree. Add the remaining minced garlic, the unheated olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to your taste, and process again until everything is thoroughly blended. Taste, and correct the seasoning with a touch more salt or lemon juice if you like. If the puree seems to thick, add a little more of the cooking liquid. It should be light, but hold a shape.

Allow the puree to cool. Spread it in a pretty, shallow bowl, drizzle some fruity olive oil on top, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-12-15 14:51:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Who said men are ever rational whistling.gif I think it's a knee jerk reaction to bad cholesterol and blood pressure tests, coupled with his mom having some bad diabetes related episodes as of late. So, we're baking more, and I'm cooking with less oil. In all fairness, the indian food I've been making in the last year has been swimming in oil, even when I cut down on what the recipes call for. It could have been worse though - I could be using ghee.

What's the name the alcohol/propellant goes under? I didn't notice anything in what I've purchased.



I made some great new recipes this weekend:

http://allrecipes.co...ken/Detail.aspx - made with just 1 T of butter instead of a 1/3 of a cup.

http://blog.fatfreev...-corn-soup.html - made with regular milk instead of soy, so vegetarian instead of vegan, num num num!

Pumpkin pie wontons - very very tasty, although I'm sure it would taste better fried whistling.gif But, the wrappers got semi crisp and pie crust-ish

http://egyptian-cuis...h-bechamel.html - i could not find a sugar pumpkin or any pumpkin at the grocery store, so I ended up using canned pumpkin. would probably be better made with fresh pumpkin. I'm trying to figure out how I can make this look pretty to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. I made it in just a pan lined with foil, which just doesn't look pretty. Maybe I'll make it in a pie pan.

Also made a very tasty vegetarian mediterranean bean salad from one of my madison area cookbooks. inshaAllah I'll type it out and post it when I get a chance.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-11-16 10:40:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Ooo, I picked up some quinoa and haven't quite figured out what to do with it yet. I'll have to try this out, especially with your note on using only cooking spray and not oil - AbuS has decided that he wants NO butter or oil used in cooking. Um yeah, there goes everything I know how to cook mad.gif Did manage to make some decent baked shrimp (cooked in veggie broth with chesapeke bay seasoning) and veggie lentil soup last night that had no butter or oil, but I'm sure they both would have been tastier with a little fat.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-11-09 16:38:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Mmm, squash. I picked up 2 new kinds of squash at the farmer's market yesterday. Haven't decided what to do with them yet. there's always the old fall back of roasting them with a little olive oil, or making soup, but we had an (awesome) butternut squash soup this last week, so I'm thinking AbuS will probably not want another squash based soup this weeked.

The two kinds are ambercup and carnival. I picked up a new vegetarian cookbook (the original "The Greens") a few weeks ago at a used book sale, and they have a ton of squash recipes, so I'll have to see if there's any for those. Otherwise it's off to consult chef google.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-11-06 11:47:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I've been trying to decide what to make to bring to the grand extended family thanksgiving this year. I'm considering:

Roasted Garlic Hummus - made with non canned chickpeas of course + parsley, served with corn chips and veggies as an appetizer

Pumpkin Pie Bechamel - I haven't made this yet and will have to test drive it before I bring it. It looks almost like a pumpkin omm ali. If it's too soupy, I don't think it will work though. We usually eat dessert a few hours after the meal, sitting around the living room watching football.

I'd looooove to bring a squash and lentil soup, but there are too many people and too stuffed a table to add a soup bowl for everyone unfortunately.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-11-05 16:10:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
It's winter squash season kicking.gif Post your recipes here! Last year, I bored AbuS by making the same butternut squash soup every week for 2 months. It was sooooooooo tasty, I just couldn't get enough. This year inshaAllah, I'm planning on a little more variety.

I think I may have posted a bamya recipe in the past. I made a new one recently. The only recommendation AbuS had was that it would be better made with lamb instead of beef.

  • 1.5 lbs lamb or beef, cut into bite sized chunks
  • 3 cups water
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 cardamom pods, cracked
  • 2 T oil
  • One onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced fine
  • 1 lb okra, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1 t cumin
  • 1 t coriander
  • A few leaves of fresh mint, chopped
  • 3 T tomato paste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Put the meat in with the water, cardamom and salt and pepper. Boil for 30 minutes to create beef broth. Remove and reserve beef from broth, and remove cardamom. Pitch that.

Heat oil in pan. Brown beef. Remove.

Add onions to oil. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cook another 5 minutes. Remove

Add okra to the oil. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, until browned.

Take pan with broth, throw in the beef, onions, garlic and okra. Add cumin, coriander, mint and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice or with bread (or if you’re my husband, both, the more carbs the better). Also optional, squeeze some lemon juice over the served bamya.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-10-05 14:43:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Good food made this weekend (cross posted from my blog):


Chocolate tapioca pudding with bananas - left out the whipped cream and chocolate cookies. I actually cut up a whole banana into a bowl, and then only put a few spoonfuls for the pudding on top, so it was more banana then pudding. Tasty and natural, unlike the package add milk and stir puddings from the grocery store. I actually think the bananas + pudding would be very tasty with plain ol vanilla tapioca pudding as well.

Corn and Shrimp Chowder without Bacon - menos bacon obviously, so I skipped step 2, and at step 3, heated some olive oil in the pan to cook the scallions and potatos. I suppose I could have used turkey bacon, but with my goal of getting processed food out of my live, I figured turkey processed to heck and back to look like faux bacon would not fit the bill. Quite tasty, although I picked the shrimp out of my serving. I'm not a huge fan of shrimp, but AbuS is, so I figured I'd save them all for him

Lemonade with Watermelon-Strawberry ice cubes. A modified Martha Stewart recipe. Originally suppose to be watermelon-strawberry popsicles, but since I didn't have any popsicle molds, I improvised and put the mix into ice cube trays. Then, throw 3 cubes in a glass, top with lemonade and wa'la





I know the food pictures aren't the greatest. One of these days, I'm going to get a nice wooden plate and bowl, and a clear glass to take food pics for the blog. But until then, enjoy my vintage Micky D's Disney glasses from my days as a McDonalds crew member.



UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-06-29 09:27:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I made 2 very tasty things from Martha Stewart's everyday food this weekend:

Light Italian Wedding Soup - I didn't have halal ground turkey, so I used lean ground beef. Also, no escarole at the grocery store, so I used spinach. Deliciuos, and AbuS approved.

Watermelon Strawberry Popsicle - can't find the recipe on the website, but here it is off the top of my head

2 lb seedless watermelon
1 pint strawberries, corred
3 T sugar
juice of one lime

Puree watermelon, and then drain through seeve. Disguard pulp.
Puree strawberries, then mix into watermelon
Add lime and sugar, stir
Pour into popsciple molds and freeze

I had a bit too much in the way of mix for my molds, so I mixed the extra with lemonade. Mmmm, watermelon strawberry lemonade, perfect for the humid weather we've been having.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-06-22 08:17:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Al Ahly Fan - Wa alaikum assalam, I get them at Mississippi Market. Haven't been to Eastside foods, so I do not know, unfortunately.

chemaatah - ooo, I had not seen that before! I'm definitely going to look for that on my next co-op trip.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-06-16 13:17:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Two tasty vegan lentil dishes:

Ethiopian Spicy Tomato Lentil Stew - this dish is REALLY tomato-y as made. I think next time I may cut down on the tomatos and increase the veggie broth.

French Lentil Soup w/ Tarragon and Thyme - this was a bit different, due to the french lentils. I normally cook with red lentils or the whole brown/green ones that get mushy. Apparently, french lentils maintain their shape and don't get mushy. Different, but very tasty.

For veggie bouillon, I use Rapnuzel, which I find at my local co-op. It's more expensive then bouillon from the groccery store, but increadibly tastey and one has no salt, which is great for my high blood pressure.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-06-15 14:29:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
This recipe got 2 good.gif from AbuS. I'm not a shrimp person, so I didn't have any, but he said it tastes like the stuff we get from the local chinese restaurant.

http://allrecipes.co...imp/Detail.aspx
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-06-12 15:27:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
QUOTE (chemaatah @ Jun 10 2009, 01:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (UmmSqueakster @ Jun 5 2009, 12:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I am having a fabulous time making somali recipes from this blog. I made bur macsharo last night, and AbuS looooved it. The cardomon gave it an odd flavor for me - I'm not a big fan - but AbuS loves cardamon, so it was right up his ally.

I'm not sure about the amount of oil used. I put in enough the first time to cover the pan, but that made the first piece really really oily. For the second, I used very little oil. AbuS liked the oily one better wacko.gif

I can't decide if I should make muufo baraawe or sabayah this weekend.


thank you for that link! somali food is so delicious. i want someone to open a halal somali restaurant in portland, stat. but until then i'll see how i do with some of those recipes.

i would go for the sabayah. it looks really, really good, esp. the zucchini cilantro one.


You're very welcome smile.gif We have a large somali population here, and it seems whenever I go to a halaqa at a somali dominated masjid, the sisters will bring heaps and heaps of food. I never thought I would like goat, but they make it very very tasty.

I didn't end up making any bread this weekend, but AbuS and I have it on the agenda for next weekend. I'm also looking at this new blog Tammy just posted - http://www.mysomalifood.com/ - and adding more to my to make list.



UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-06-10 13:41:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I am having a fabulous time making somali recipes from this blog. I made bur macsharo last night, and AbuS looooved it. The cardomon gave it an odd flavor for me - I'm not a big fan - but AbuS loves cardamon, so it was right up his ally.

I'm not sure about the amount of oil used. I put in enough the first time to cover the pan, but that made the first piece really really oily. For the second, I used very little oil. AbuS liked the oily one better wacko.gif

I can't decide if I should make muufo baraawe or sabayah this weekend.


Also new in my baking world, banana (or applesauce) bran muffins. Very very filling, very very tasty. I added the extra 1/4 cup sugar and the mini chocolate chip. They're a little too unsweet without the extra sugar and just about everything is better with chocolate chips.




½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons dark molasses
2 eggs (or egg substitute)
2 ripe mashed bananas (or 1 cup applesauce)
1 cup low far or non fat milk
3 cups wheat bran
1 1/3 cup whole wheat (or white) flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup raisins (or dried cranberries, dried cherries or mixture of all)
or 1 cup mini chocolate chips, or ½ mini chocolate chips and ½ dried fruit

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined

Spray 12 large cupcake tins with cooking spray and fill each ¾ full with the mixture. I actually get 18 muffins out of this recipe when I’ve made it.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes


UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-06-05 12:36:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Mmmm, I made a fantastic Bolognese Pie, based on a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. My modifications are in bold

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped (3 cups)
3 carrots, finely chopped (1 cup) I'd add at least 1.5-2 cups
6 cloves garlic , minced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork obviously no pork. I used a pound and a half of ground beef
1/4 cup tomato paste
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup dry white wine obviously no white wine. I used a cup of chicken broth
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree I would add an extra 14 oz can next time to get more sauce
1 cup milk
12 ounces spaghetti didn't end up serving it with pasta, so no need for the spaghetti
Finely grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
  1. Make sauce: In a Dutch oven (or 5-quart saucepan), heat oil over high heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic; cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add beef and pork; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  2. Add wine and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a simmer; cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 hour. Add milk; simmer until completely absorbed, about 15 minutes more. Season again with salt and pepper.
So at this point, the recipe calls for you to make pasta and serve half the sauce with the pasta. I just reserved all the sauce to make the Bolognese Pie with Biscuit Topping



2 teaspoons olive oil
pound medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch chunks more zucchini
I also added half of a butternut squash. I cut it into 1/2 inch pieces, roasted in the oven with salt, pepper and a little olive oil for 20 minutes. Next time, I'm definitely going to add a ton more. Soooooo tasty.
4 cups leftover Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce I used all 8 cups

1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled) I doubled this entire biscuit recipe
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, (about 2 ounces)

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the meat base: Heat oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; cook, stirring, until golden and just beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in leftover Bolognese Sauce until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Cover to keep warm. I didn't do this. I took a 9x13 pan, put the chopped zucchini and butternut squash in the bottom, and then put the sauce over the top
  2. Make the biscuit topping: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, thyme, and salt. Using a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers,work in butter until pea-size clumps form. Stir in milk and cheese until dough just comes together.
  3. Spoon dough over beef mixture in 8 small mounds, about 1 inch apart. Bake until meat mixture is bubbling and topping is golden brown (a toothpick inserted in center of a biscuit should come out clean), about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.
Very very tasty. Normally, AbuS just likes a thin tomato sauce with some onions and beef with noodles. He hasn't liked a lot of my spaghetti type attempts. But this one got a good review from him and is definitely in the to make again pile.

Edited by UmmSqueakster, 28 April 2009 - 08:09 AM.

UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-28 08:07:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Thanks for the feedback. TJ Maxx and Marshalls are some of my favorite stores. Always interesting bargins waiting to be found. I did see an orange Rachel Ray oval casserole pan there a few days ago that I'd snap up if I had more room. I have orange and green RR cookware, courtsey of my bargin hunting mother, who I'm sure got them at a deep discount at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. Guess I should be looking for an orange ceramic tagine then.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-23 09:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
So tagines. I saw a silicone one at Marshalls the other day. Waste of money? Should I just invest in a clay or ceramic one?
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-22 08:24:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
QUOTE (chili74 @ Apr 19 2009, 12:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I am also a HUGE fan of lentils. I made a very simple soup for years to take w/me to my office (red lentils cook really quick, need no soaking, just add them and broth after you saute onion, celery etc and some cumin/cinnamon/cayenne or whatever you like. You can add canned or fresh tomatoes/lemon/spinach/herbs. There are no mistakes with this recipe, it is just good. The Lively Up Yourself Lentil Soup from 101cookbooks dot com is also very good.)



I made this lentil recipe with red lentils this weekend. It doesn't look to pretty but was increadibly tasty kicking.gif

http://www.recipezaa...il-Curry-123775

I just ate it straight up, no rice.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-20 07:52:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I have a new Om Ali recipe that uses refrigerator rolls instead of puff pastries. Puff pastries can get expensive ($4.50 vs. $1.50 for the rolls). This comes with an Abu Squeakster seal of approval, 2 good.gif

1 can of refrigerator crescent rolls (Pillsbury actually makes a general cooking pastry in the rolls section as well that works)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raisins - I usually soak these in hot water for a few minutes to plump them up
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sugar
4 (or 6) cups 2% milk

1. Roll the crescent roll sheet out onto a pan, and cut into a bunch of little squares. You don't need to actually seperate the squares. Bake for ~12 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Varies depending on the roll brand you use.

2. While the rolls are baking, put the milk over a medium-low heat and stir occasionally. When milk gets warm, add sugar and continue to stir

3. When the rolls are done, get 9x13 greased pan, and break the sheet into little pieces across the pan. Add nuts, raisins and coconut. Mix.

4. When milk starts to simmer, remove from heat and pour int 9x13 pan. Mix a bit

5. Bake in 375 degree oven 20-30 minutes.


Now, in egypt om ali tends to have a little soupy sauce. To get this, use the 6 cups of milk. Abu Squeakster likes it at a more bread pudding like consistancy. To get this, use 4 cups of milk.

This is a (relatively) healthier version of what is made in egypt. There, they tend to use heavy cream. Tasty, but this goes quickly, so you don't want to get a whole week's worth of fat in one sitting.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-20 07:43:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
You can't miss with dried beans and lentils. They're generally cheap and when cooked make a ton of food. I bought about a pound of azuki beans a few weekends ago, cooked half of them and ended up with like 6 cups worth of cooked beans blink.gif Dried split peas and most beans are about a $1.50 a pound at my local grocery store and that gives you a lot of food. Ditto dried chickpeas. Cooked and canned chickpeas can get expensive, but if you cook them yourself, you get 4 or 5 times the amount for the same price.

Now, cooking dried beans can be time consuming - for many you have to soak them overnight, and then spend an hour or 2 cooking them. I've found that you can do this easily on the weekend and prepare ahead - saturday I'll soak, sunday I'll cook, then I fill freezer bags and freeze the beans flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Then they stack easily, and I can pull them out whenever I need them for a recipe.

I also stalk the weekly specials, plan my meals around them and stock up when there are good deals. When frozen veggies are on sale, I buy a ton of those and fill my freezer. Things like frozen brocoli and cauliflower are often a lot cheaper than the stuff in the produce section. Ditto for okra (of which AbuSqueakster is a huge fan). I'm always looking for canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste to be on sale, and when it is I fill my cupboards. Same for onions. I have large amounts of basic spices (cumin, tumeric, coriander, chili powder can all be purchased in bulk for cheaper at MENA grocery stores), and with onions and tomatos I can make a variety of indian dishes.

I just wish I could stock up on potatoes, but alas, they always seem to sprout before I use a whole 10lb bag mad.gif

I've found that by treating meat as a side dish rather than the main event, we've greatly cut down on our meat consumption and saved a ton of money. By cooking big pots of soup and large veggie based dishes, we fill up on the cheaper (and healthier) vegetarian dishes and eat a little meat.


For more variety, I love Everyday Food on PBS, and the Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine. You can usually find recipes there that don't require a lot of fancy ingredients. I've also recently started using epicurious. You can input an ingredient you have on hand, and from there, select if you want a beginners recipe, what type of cuisine, what type of meal, the main ingredient, etc etc etc.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-17 09:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Have I ever mentioned how much I love the website 101cookbooks.com? I made adzuki butternut squash soup this weekend and it is delicioussss. I used the rapunzel saltless boullion cubes, which are a new kitchen essential in my house. I usually cook with halal magi chicken cubes, but I'm trying to cut down on salt, and if we eat soup every day, magi cubes are not the way to go. I made lively up yourself lentil soup a few weeks go and that was a big hit too.

I can't decide which soup to make next from their site:

Miso Soup
Baby Lima Bean with Chipotle broth
vegetarian tortilla soup
thai spiced pumpkin soup
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-16 11:26:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Not moroccan, but tasty things I made this weekend (pictures from the websites, not mine. Mine didn't turn out so pretty, but was very very tasty:

Lively up Yourself Lentil Soup - I didn't have saffron, so I used curry powder both in the soup and in the yogurt. I used red swiss chard and spinach. Very very tasty. From now on, I'm going to try to do better about making a giant vegetarian dish each weekend, and serve that as the first course for dinner each night. We've been doing good about reducing our meat consumption, and I'd like to take it down a bit more. We used to eat 1.5 lbs of ground beef, 1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, .75 lb of liver (ok, that's the husband, not me, bleck) and 1lb of another kind of meat (chicken, fish or lamb) per week. I'd like to cut that in half at least.

With a bowl of this, I didn't feel like eating anything else last night, alhamdulilah.





Lemon Cornmeal cake with crushed blueberry sauce - I don't like blueberries, so I made a simple sauce out of strawberries and sugar for the top. It ended up tasting like an interesting varation on strawberry shortcake, if you made shortcake with cornflour and lemon. Very very tasty good.gif



UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-04-06 08:48:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
ooo, now I'm jazzed to try some louisiana cooking. I went to a conference in New Orleans in high school, and OMGosh, the food was to die for. My family actually went on an eating vacation there a few years back, but alas, I had a paper to write so I couldn't go mad.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-03-19 08:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Bamia Khuta - Sweet-and sour chicken and okra, from the jewish kitchen of the Varied Kitchens of India. I'm totally NOT an okra fan, so I never eat this myself, but the okra loving husband adores this dish.



  • 1 chicken, 3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, loose skin and fat discarded (yeah, most of the recipes in the book call for chicken like this. I tried it a few times, but I'm not a big fan of trying to chop up a whole chicken. So, I just use boneless, skinless chunks of meat).
  • 1 cup thin-sliced onions
  • 1 teaspoon crushed fresh gingerroot
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 pound okra (I use frozen, usually a whole pound, since the husband really really likes okra)
  • 1/4 cup corn or peanut oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped ripe tomato (I used canned)
  • 2 tablespoons tamarind paste, soaked in 1/2 cup water for 30 minutes
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh hot chili or 1 small whole chili (I don't keep chilis on hand, so I use aleppo pepper, not too hot for the husband's bland arab palate).
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1. Put the chicken, onions, gingerroot, garlic, salt, turmeric and 1 cup water together into a pan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat and simmer until the liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes. Stir from time to time.

2. In the meantime, trim the ends off the okra and cut a slit 1 inch long in each pod. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet and fry the okra over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside (Since I use chopped frozen okra, the first few times I made this recipe, I defrosted it and then fried it. However, the last time, I just defrosted and didn't fry, and it turned out just fine. A good way to save a little fat).

3. Add the tomato to the chicken pan and stir-fry the mixture (hamiss) to reduce the remaining sauce to a thick paste. All the liquid should be evaporated at this stage and the chicken should begin to brown. Add the other cup of water.

4. Rub the tamarind paste and soaking water together with your fingers and strain the liquid into the ciken through a metal sieve (I don't have a sieve, so I just take the tamarind out of the water with my fingers and squeeze. If little pieces are left, I don't worry myself with them). Bring the sauce to a boil and add the okra, chili and sugar. Cook over moderate to low heat for 10 minutes.

5. Add the mint. Adjust the sugar, should you wish a stronger sweet-sour flavor.

Serve warm. There will be plenty of sauce (I usually serve it with rice or warm whole wheat pita bread).



Phing -
Bean Threads with Beef, a recipe from the Tibetan Kitchen of Darjeeling, from my all time favorite cookbook, The Varied Kitchens of India.



  • 1/4 pound bean threads
  • 1 T corn of peanut oil
  • 1 T minced onions (I used a whole lot more, as I loooove onions - probably a half an onion worth)
  • 1/2 pound flank or sirloin steak, cut into thin 2-inch slices (didn’t have this on hand, so I used half a pound of ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper)
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped fine
  • 1 t minced fresh gingerroot
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 2 T soy sauce
  • 1/4 t salt(I omitted this, as I had already seasoned the beef with salt)
  • 1/8 t five-spice mix
1. Soak the bean threads (phing) in hot water for 15 minutes. The threads will swell slightly and become translucent. Drain, and cut into 3 inch pieces with scissors.

2. Heat the oil in a skillet and stir-fry the onion over moderate heat for 1 minute. Add the beef and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the garlic and gingerroot and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute (I cooked the beef for much longer, as the husband likes meat well done).

3. Add the broth, soy sauce, salt, five-spice mix and bean threads, and cook for 3 minutes.

Serve warm with the traditional accompaniment, rice (didn’t serve with rice, as the noodles were enough starchiness for the meal).


UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-03-05 14:43:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I made north indian style chicken curry last night and it was good.gif

http://recipes.recip...ndian_Style_333

The recipe is a bit hard to follow. I used black mustard seeds and ground cloves and cardamon. I also didn't brush off the excess yogurt - I liked to keep that flavor in the sauce.

Overall, definately in the "to make again" pile.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-26 14:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I've been trying to make a hearty vegetable dish or 2 each week. My thought is to try to make the veggies the main dish and the meat the side dish, so that we can reduce our meat consumption. This week, it's Curried Vegetables and Dahl, from Moosewood Cooks at Home. I love the Moosewood cookbooks, but my sister tells me the restaurant is a bit of a disapointment, especially with all the hype around the cookbooks.

Some changes I made to the recipe:

*I added aleppo pepper from Penzeys in place of the chopped chili. I just don't keep chilis on hand. The Aleppo Pepper adds just a little bit of spice, but not too much. The husband can't deal with typical indian spiciness, so I usually use this in my indian dishes.

*Frozen and cauliflower instead of fresh, worked out just fine

*I didn't have enough red lentils, and no yellow split peas on hand, so I used 1.5 c of split chana dahl and the rest of the red lentils (about .75 c). I cooked them seperately, since they have different cook times.

*I add a shake of black pepper to my bowl, to add a little more zip to it.

*I didn't serve it with any other grain, since the lentils gave it enough in that vein, I thought.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-23 11:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Ooo, those look great. I'll have to pick up a new jar of tahina from the ME grocery store next weekend. The one we have is kinda ew. It's fine for the husband's needs, but I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-23 08:38:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Further cooking fun this week:

Kebab Halla, stewed lamb - the husband says it tastes like something from egypt. He gives it two good.gif

Butter Braid - I made mine with apples and cream cheese. Next time, I'm going to use strawberries for one, and chocolate chips for the other. Mmmm, very good, and very easy to take for breakfast.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-20 08:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I made chicken shwarma last night. It was quite tasty, but it didn't seem like shwarma to me.

http
://www.recipezaar.com/Chicken-Shwarma-...a-Lahme-203219

Still, it's definately in the two good.gif up category and will be made again.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-17 11:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I took a detour from my 3 month tour of india to do an egyptian cooking week. Here's some of what I made, more recipes to come:

Potato and Green Bean Salad - Egyptian Style
According to the husband, he's never seen anything like this in egypt, but it gets two big good.gif from both of us. Very very tasty. We ate it all in 2 days, so I'll have to make more to last us the rest of the week

Egyptian Garlic Yogurt Cucumber Salad
I love this too. I warm pita bread up and use this as a dip.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-16 10:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Thankfully, the husband limits his organ consumption to liver. I can't bring myself to even look at the tongue, stomach and other body parts they have in the cooler at the local MENA grocery store. Can't imagine how I'd ever cook it. blink.gif My dad tells me about how they used to eat head cheese when he was growing up on the farm. Um yeah no wacko.gif

inshaAllah I'll post of of the husband's favorite liver recipes. I have 3 good ones from assorted places in India that he really likes. They can be made with beef, lamb or chicken livers.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-09 17:35:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Yeah, I don't like it at all myself (the texture is bleck), but I'll cook it for the husband cuz it makes him happy. Happy husbands are good to have around the house.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-09 15:27:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Made this liver recipe last night, and the husband seems to like it. I usually do variations on liver and onions using indian spices, so this is defiantly different from what I normally do.

QUOTE
Kebda Iskandrani (Alexandrian Liver) Recipe

Ingredients:

500gr. Beef liver cut into small parts 2cm x 0.5cm approximate.
1 small tomato
About 10-15 clove of fresh garlic
1 green hot pepper
salt 1 small tsp
pepper 1 small tsp
cumin (ground) 1 small tsp
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
50 grm of finely chopped parsley
Vegetable oil for frying 1\4 cup

Directions:

To make the FRYING mixture:
You can make it in a kitchen machine but I prefer the by-hand preparation. Garlic finely chopped + Tomato finely diced + Green hot pepper (finely sliced) Add salt + pepper + cumin + vinegar to get a paste

Heat the frying oil in a deep frying pan then add 1 Tsp of the garlic/tomato mix. Turn it in the oil for 30 sec then add 1/3 of the liver and move it in the pan with the mixture continuously for 2 mins then take it aside. Repeat for the same for the whole remaining then gather all fried liver in the same pan. Take away of the heat add lemon juice and parsley.
Serve warm with fresh pita bread. It is really smell and taste too lovely.



So that's what the person who originally posted the recipe wrote. I just threw everything into my food processor, and I fried everything all together.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-09 12:39:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
I also made these this weekend for breakfasts this week - fluffy carrot muffins with cream cheese frosting. I actually think they're a bit too fluffy, so next time I make them I'm going to use 1.5 c flour, probably half whole wheat. I tell myself, look 2 cups carrots, gotta be healthy whistling.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-01 18:42:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
best vegetarian dish ever.

Unsloppy joes

I use half as much pepper and a mild chili (aleppo pepper from penzys)

The first time I made it, the husband and I ate it all in one sitting, so now I always make a double recipe. Good to make on the weekend and heat up throughout the week.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-01 18:40:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Oh goodness, I made really really tasty badami murgh, chicken curry with 100 almonds last night. Here's the recipe off the top of my head:

Heat 3 T oil in pan
Puree 2 small onions, and saute 3 minutes
Add 2 t ground ginger, 2 t ground garlic, 1 t chili pepper (pick your spice level preference), 1 t turmeric, 1 t salt and saute ~7 minutes - add 1-2 T more oil or butter if the mixture gets too dry
Add 1.5 lb chicken cut into serving pieces, add to pan and saute until golden, 5 to 10 min
Add 1 cup water, cover and cook 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through
Puree 100 blanched almonds (3/4 cup)
Add to pan and cook 5 minutes
Add 1 cup yogurt (full fat, low fat doesn't cook at well)
Cook 5 minutes, until sauce is well blended.

Serve over rice and/or daal.

So tasty luv.gif

You could also make it with veggies instead of chicken. Adjust the cooking time in the middle so that your veggies don't get too mushy.

The recipe originally called for 1.5 c coconut milk, but I didn't have any on hand, and it's got a ton of fat. Full fat yogurt has plenty of fat too, but less then coconut milk.

I think I took a picture. If I did, I'll post later.

Edited by UmmSqueakster, 30 January 2009 - 01:28 PM.

UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-01-30 13:27:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Not sure about freezing these, but I made these two dishes yesterday and they're yum!

Greek Burgers - I made them into little 2-3 bite sized pieces instead of the whole big patty - I've found they cook easier in a pan when they're smaller. These are for the husband's lunch. I have a 2 sided container - one I put 4 or 5 little burgers, and the other gets carrots or other veggies. I find if I make enough for the week on Saturday/Sunday, they're fine in the fridge through Friday. I added a LOT more olives, because I loooooooove olives. Very tasty.

Homemade Italian Sauce - I'm not a big mushroom fan, but when the mushrooms were sauteing, the smell of heavenly. I doubled the recipe here, and am just keeping it in a big pot in the fridge. Then during the week, I'll throw it up on the stove and reheat for supper.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-01-25 09:49:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Ooo, the borek looks awesome! I'll put that on my list to make next weekend inshaAllah. And the lentil patties look healthier than my fried ones innocent.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-01-13 12:01:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Ah, here's they're more in the $40-$50 range. That could buy alotta books laughing.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-01-12 11:57:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Great, I'll be looking forward to them. If you take another class, could you ask your teachers for a good cookbook recommendation? They offer a few cooking classes here through the public school, but the husband said I could buy more cookbooks instead of taking the classes. Hmmm, telling a book horder they can buy more books, I wonder what I'll do whistling.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-01-12 11:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaSultan's Kitchen
Ooo, post lots of turkish recipes, and any turkish cookboos that they recommend! I'll have to put turkish cooking on my list. I'm cooking my way around the world, country by country. I'm currently doing India, and then next is either Vietnam or the Carribean.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-01-12 09:44:00