Dec 14, 2014

Man’oushe roll

By · 15 Comments

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Hi dear followers,

 

I know it has been a long time since my last post. I’ve been travelling a lot between USA, AbuDhabi,  Dubai and Lebanon to see my children.

Today I am back with this recipe of rolled Man’oushe, which melts in the mouth because the dough is so soft.

I hope you will like it as much as I enjoyed preparing for my loved ones.

Ingredients:

– 500 gs all purpose flour

– 1/2 cup corn oil, plus one tablespoon

-1 teaspoon salt

– 1 teaspoon sugar

– 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

– 1 teaspoon instant yeast

– 1 1/2 cup natural yoghurt

– 1 cup zaa’tar mixed with one cup  olive oil

– Optional : Some milk and sesame for the decoration on the top of the roll

Preparation:

– In a bowl mix the flour with all the dried ingredients

– Add the corn oil and rub all the flour with oil

-Mix with 1/2 cup of yoghurt at a time until the mixture become a soft and smooth dough ( the quantity of the yoghurt may vary depending on the flour type)

– When your dough is ready rub it with one tablespoon of corn oil and cover with cling film and let it rest for about 2 hours until it doubles in volume

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– Take a third of the dough and roll it using a rolling pin on a floured surface to a rectangle shape, pour the mixture of zaa’tar and oil and cover the dough leaving about one inch from each side and roll it into a cylinder

– Cut the rolled dough into a small pieces

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– Preheat the oven to 190 degree

– Place each roll in cup cake tray and let it rest for about half an hour.

– If you are using sesame to decorate the top of the roll brush each one with a bit of milk and sprinkle the sesame over it

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– Cook for 20 minutes, or until the top of the roll becomes golden color.

Et voila c’est tout…..Sahttein.

Filed Under: Arabic, Breakfast, Lebanese food, Lent, Side dish, Starters, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , ,
Mar 10, 2013

Lentil With Dough (Hara’a Ousba’ou)

By · 7 Comments

hor osba'a

“Hara’a Ousba’ou” is a funny name for a dish because in Arabic it means “Burning Finger”. Despite its strange name, it is still a delicious dish. While popular in its county of origin Syria, it is still a hidden gem of Lebanese Cuisine, taking side-stage to more known dishes like hummus and mjaddara.

The lentils are cooked with home made dough in this recipe, but you can save time by using fried pitta bread instead, it works equally well.

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 1 cup flour
  • a pinch of salt
  • about 1/3 cup water (more or less depending on the flour used)

Preparation of the dough:

  • Mix the flour with salt , add the water little by little until you have a smooth dough
  • Cover with cling film and let it rest for one hour

Ingredients for the lentils:

  • one cup green lentils
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 large onions, cut into wings
  • 1 bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
  • 5 garlic gloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

  • Wash the lentils, and place in pot with water, boil until tender, it will take about half an hour
  • Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, fry the onions until brown and put aside
  • Crush the garlic with a teaspoon of salt and mix with the chopped coriander
  • Heat the other tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic with coriander then put aside
  • Preheat the oven to 180 C
  • Roll the dough on a floured surface to about 1/2 cm thickness, and cut into small square, place them into a slightly greased tray and bake half the quantity in the oven until they turn golden, leave the remaining uncooked

hor osba'a 1

  • When the lentil is cooked add the lemon juice, the pomegranate molasses, half the fried onions and half the fried garlic, leaving the remaining to decorate the plate
  • Adjust the seasoning to your taste, then place the uncooked dough with the lentils and let it cook on a very low fire for about ten minutes
  • Place the lentils onto the serving plate, decorate with the remaining onions, garlic coriander and the cooked dough and serve

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT! BON APPETIT 🙂

Filed Under: Lent, Main dish, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Aug 17, 2012

Makmoura (Rice with Cabbage)

By · 9 Comments

This meal is very special to me. It reminds me of my childhood as my grandmother prepared it often, and I always enjoy eating it with a cabbage salad. Also, once when I was pregnant with my youngest boy (my fourth child:), I had a nap in the afternoon and when I woke up craving something with cumin. It is all about cumin. When I woke up, I cooked this Makmoura and on my plate I have to add a big tablespoon of cumin to satisfy my desire. Until now, I like this meal a lot. And I am so glad to share it with you, it is very simple to prepare.

Ingredients:

  • One medium cabbage
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 8 to 10 cloves of garlic
  • 2 cups rice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:

  • Remove the leaves of cabbage, wash and thinly slice, remove about half for the salad
  • Heat the olive oil, fry the onion until translucent, add the garlic then the cabbage, cover the pot and let it cook for about 5 minutes
  • Add the rice, cover with 4 cups of water, season with salt and cumin. When it starts boiling lower the fire, cover and let it simmer gently until the rice is well cooked
  • Serve with cabbage salad: put the cabbage in a bowl and mix with 1 clove garlic crushed, 1 teaspoon salt, juice of one lemon and extra virgin olive oil

ET VOILA…C’EST TOUT.. BON APPETIT 🙂

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Main dish, Salad, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Jul 19, 2012

Red Lentil Cakes

By · 13 Comments

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written something, but the summer feeling has taken over, and family get-togethers and trips are filling up my days leaving me very little time to write much. I hope you’re all enjoying these hot, lazy summer days 🙂

This is a recipe I adapted from a french magazine (Nous Deux) and although the original recipe was well-made, the spices had to be modified to suit my young grandchildren.  It’s a lovely, filling recipe and makes a great vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

  • 400 grams red lentil
  • 2 carrots, grated
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 150 grams flour
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 dash paprika
  • 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

  • Boil the lentils in a large casserole filled with water, for about 10 minutes
  • In the meantime, In a casserole heat one tablespoon of oil and fry the carrots, the onion ad garlic for 5 minutes
  • When the lentils are cooked, drain them and add the cumin, paprika and coriander, then season with alt and pepper and puree them with a hand mixer
  • Add the flour to the mixture, form a medium sized balls with your wet hand
  • In a saucepan heat the remaining oil and fry the balls of lentils about five minutes until golden brown, then place on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess of oil
  • Serve them with plain yogurt, it is so refreshing in this hot weather

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.. BON APPETIT.

Filed Under: Lent, Main dish, Side dish, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Jun 22, 2012

Homage To My Father… Kibbe With Spinach

By · 6 Comments

Yesterday in Lebanon everybody was celebrating Father’s Day. My dad left us ten years ago and I miss him a lot. I was very close to him and he was the only person who knew what I wanted without me saying anything. When I was young, he treated me like a little princess and I think he spoiled me a bit. I got nostalgic thinking of him, so I decided to make homage to this big man by cooking his favorite meal. His mother used to cook it for him and he’d encourage me to eat it by saying: “if you want to grow strong, you should have this kibbe. The spinach has a lot of iron and it will make you strong like your Papa”.

Ok, I want to stop being emotional and post the recipe that I took from my grandmother.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo fresh spinach
  • 1 cup fine bulgur
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 4 large onions, chopped into wings
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • an dash of chili pepper (optional)

Preparation:

  • Wash the spinach leaves and boil in hot water for 2 minutes, drain then wash with cold water and keep in the strainer until needed
  • To make the kibbe dough, wash the bulgur and discard the water then mix the bulgur with flour, salt, cinnamon, paprika and cumin to form a soft dough (add water if needed); mix it it with the grated onion
  • Take a small piece from the dough, shape it into a small ball then flatten it, place it on  slightly floured plate; repeat until all the dough is used
  • Boil the kibbe dough in hot water for about 15 minutes
  • Heat the olive oil and fry the wing chopped onions until golden brown
  • Add the boiled spinach and the kibbe dough to the frying pan, let it cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally
  • To serve place the kibbe with spinach on a plate and sprinkle some chili pepper if used

ET VOILA.. MAIS CE N’EST PAS TOUT!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE FATHERS IN THE WORLD 🙂

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jun 15, 2012

Lentil Soup With Pasta (Rachta bel Adas)

By · 15 Comments

The Arabic version of the name may sound weird at first, but this seemingly simple soup is actually delicious! In the old days, my mother used to make pasta at home because she liked to make dough at home, and since she didn’t have a machine to help, she would make it all by hand. Today I also prepared the pasta at home, but these days I use a pasta machine to roll and cut it. It can also be made with ready made pasta; either way this soup is delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of lentils
  • about 200 grams pasta
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup chopped coriander
  • 1 tablespoon dried coriander
  • 1 teaspoon salt+1 teaspoon for boiling the lentils
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon corn oil+ 1 teaspoon to fry the garlic

Preparation:

  • Boil the lentils in about 1 liter of water, when tender discard the water
  • In a pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the onions until transparent, add the lentils and cover with water
  • Add the pasta and let it boil until the pasta is cooked (if using fresh pasta it will take only 2 minutes to cook)
The fresh pasta
  • In a small saucepan fry the crushed garlic with dried and fresh coriander and a teaspoon of salt, until light golden
  • Put the garlic over the lentils soup, and let it simmer for two minutes
  • Finally add the cumin to the soup

ET VOILA ..C’EST TOUT . BON APPETIT 🙂

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Jun 1, 2012

Mdardra (Rice with Lentils)

By · 18 Comments

I like the sound of the word “Mdardra”, I think it is musical. I remember when I was a little girl, I made up a song for this dish. And every time my mother used to cook it I sang it for her, making up words to a known Lebanese tune. My mother thought it was cute at first and sang along with me, but after the millionth time, she threatened to never cook it again unless I stop! I think I was singing badly or something…

This is a very simple meal in that its made with two main ingredients: rice and lentils, the same ingredients used to make mjaddara. Like most old Lebanese dishes, it originated from the villages where food was scarce. Somehow it remained very popular and is now a common dish to be had in a Lebanese home.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of lentils
  • 1 cup of rice (long grain)
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt + a pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 onions sliced
  • 1 cup frying oil

Preparation:

  • Place the lentils in a pot, cover with about 5 cups of water and boil until it is half-cooked then discard the water
  • In another pot, heat the olive oil and fry the onion finely chopped until transparent
  • Add the half-cooked lentils to the onion with the rice, salt and cumin; cover with 2 cups of water and let it cook on a very low heat until the rice is cooked and the water absorbed
  • In a saucepan, heat the frying oil to fry the sliced onions until brown. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt for crispiness but be careful not to burn them
  • In a serving plate, place the rice with lentils and add the fried onions on top
  • Enjoy eating with plain yogurt or salad

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT!

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
May 14, 2012

Fried Zucchini and Eggplant with Egg Free Shakshouka

By · 6 Comments

Today I felt nostalgic for the good old days, when I was young and my grandmother used to make delicious food for me and my siblings. Maybe because it is Mother Day in many countries (we celebrate in Lebanon on the 21st of March with the beginning of spring). I remembered that I didn’t like the fried zucchini so grandmother dipped them in a batter before frying, which I found made it delicious.

Before posting, I did some research on Google to find  out about the meaning of Shakshouka, and I found that this is a very popular dish in a lot of Mediterranean countries. Many dishes of Lebanese Cuisine have a Turkish source. I assume that during the Ottoman occupation of these countries, some of their plates passed around. Most of these countries make the Shakshouka as a main dish with eggs on top, and that in Syria they call it Jaz Maz. But, in my family we have it as a side dish along with the fried zucchini, eggplants and other fried vegetables, sans egg. Whatever the source of this dish is, it will always be associated with nice memories from my childhood.

Ingredients for the Shakshouka:

  • 2 green peppers
  • 4 red tomatoes
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon dried coriander
  • a pinch of chili pepper (if you like it more spicy, you can put more chili)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Shakshouka

Preparation:

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for 2 minutes
  • Dice the green pepper and fry with the onion for 3 extra minutes
  • Peel the tomatoes and dice them very small and add over the green pepper and the onion, reduce the fire and cover the casserole and let it simmer
  • In the meantime mix the garlic with salt, dried coriander and the chili and add it over the tomatoes and green pepper, mix well all the ingredients and let it cook for about 5 minutes
  • Serve it as a side dish with fried zucchini and eggplants

Ingredients of the batter:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation of the batter:

  • Mix all the ingredients together
  • Cut all the vegetable you want to fry: zucchini, eggplant, dip in the batter and deep fry for about 5 minutes until golden
 
Fried zucchini
 

Fried eggplant

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT.

Filed Under: Lebanese food, Lent, Side dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
May 9, 2012

Man’oushe

By · 6 Comments

The most famous Lebanese breakfast is the Man’oushe and is considered the Lebanese version of pizza. It is made out of dough, traditionally topped with Zaatar mixed with olive oil or with cheese. Zaatar is made out fresh thyme, washed, dried and grounded, then mixed with sumac, sesame and salt. In Beirut, you can find a Man’oushe shop on every street corner. It is the perfect breakfast for anybody who doesn’t have time to prepare a decent meal during a busy day; they can grab a Man’oushe from any bakery nearby.

Ingredients:

  • 3cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup of Zaatar mixed with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice ( I used Gruyere)

Preparation:

  • To make the dough, mix the flour with salt, oil, dried yeast and water in a bowl until you have a soft dough; let it rest covered with a towel to rise for about 1 hour
  • Preheat the oven to 200C
  • Roll the dough into circles of about 1/4 inch thickness (the size of the circle is totally up to you) and top with Zaatar or cheese; bake for about 15 minutes and serve hot

Try it and tell me which one you prefer, the Zaatar or cheese? Personally I cannot decide which is tastier, they are both tasty 🙂

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT..BON APPETIT! 🙂

Filed Under: Breakfast, Lebanese food, Lent · Tagged: , , , , , ,
May 3, 2012

Vegetable Spring Rolls

By · 8 Comments

If you like Spring Rolls like me, and have been looking for an alternative way to having them other than deep fried without compromising the taste….then this is the post for you!

Ingredients:

  • 1 packet spring rolls wrapper ( about 450 grams)
  • 500 grams shredded cabbage
  • 400 grams bean sprout
  • 2 carrots shredded
  • 1 onion thinly sliced
  • 5 cloves crushed garlic
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • dash of sweet pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation:

  • Heat the oil and fry the onion with garlic until golden, add the carrots and leave it for about 10 minutes, then add the cabbage and bean sprouts, season with salt pepper and soy sauce
  • Drain these vegetables in a colander over a bowl and leave it until completely cold, keep the liquid because we will use it to make to sauce
  • Place one spring roll wrap and put in the center 1 tablespoon of the vegetable filling ten roll it
  • These spring rolls can be eaten raw with the sauce

For the sauce:

  • Take the liquid from the drained vegetables, add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon corn flour, mix it well then bring to boil
  • When it starts boiling add to the sauce one clove of garlic crushed, and 1 tablespoon crushed peanuts
  • And if you like you can have them deep fried as well, with the sauce you like

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT… BON APPETIT.

Filed Under: Lent, Side dish, Starters · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
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