An Arabic menu for entertaining

[onlymark]

Scale these up or down to suit.


Fattoush salad (4-5 portions)

Ingredients

½ cup pita bread, cut into 1inch pieces
2 tomatoes, thickly diced
1 cucumber, thickly diced
½ bunch parsley, leaves
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 green pepper, thickly diced
1 half head of romaine lettuce, torn into small pieces
2 small radish, thickly diced
1 bunch bakleh (use watercress as a replacement) leaves
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup olive oil at most
½ bunch fresh mint leaves
salt
black pepper
sumac

1. Cut up pita bread into small 1 inch pieces and fry them in corn oil for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
2. Place them on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil and leave to cool.
3. Dice the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, green onions and radish and toss into the bowl,
tear the romaine lettuce and remove the watercress, parsley and mint leaves from their
stem, then toss into a bowl. Combine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers, and
onions on top.
4. Toss gently.
5. Mix olive oil and juice of ½ lemon along with ¾ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon
of pepper and mix well.
6. Toss the fried pita bread pieces on top of the salad then follow with the dressing.
7. Finish the salad with a teaspoon of sumac sprinkled on top.
The thing about Fattoush is that you can add and take out vegetables from the recipe according to taste and the season.

[onlymark]

Hummus (4-5 portions)

Ingredients

250grams Chickpeas (pre soaked overnight)
150ml Tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons salted yoghurt
Juice of one squeezed lemon
Jug of water
Olive oil
Salt

1. Soak 250 grams of dried chickpeas in water overnight.
2. Cook the chickpeas that were soaked on medium heat for 1 ½ hour. (In case some foam rises to the top make sure to skim it).
3. Keep adding water to the pot. Once the chickpeas are soft and plump and easily squish-able. (You should be able to squash them with a spoon). Place them into a blender/food processor and puree them, while doing so add the Tahini olive oil, some mashed garlic (depending on preference), 2 tablespoons of yoghurt, the juice of 1 squeezed lemon. If you feel that the mixture is still viscous, add a bit of water to make it smoother.
4. Check that the amount of salt and lemon juice and garlic are to your liking and add to your preference.
Take the hummus out of the food processor and place it onto a plate and garnish it with oil, parsley and some paprika.

[onlymark]

Mouttabal (4-5 portions)

Ingredients

1 medium sized eggplant
½ cup Tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 ½ cup squeezed lemon
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoon salted yoghurt
salt


1. Roast the Eggplant on an oven top for about ½ hour, if you have an electric hub poke some holes in the eggplant and let it roast in the oven, (oven top is preferable as it gives it a smokier taste)
2. Allow eggplant to rest for 10-15 minutes, then run it under cold water from a sink and slowly peel using your hands.
3. Remove the stem and place the flesh into a plastic container. Run a knife through the flesh to separate it, add the juice of 1½ lemon, 2 mashed garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup of tahini and 2 tablespoons yoghurt.
4. Mash the mixture using a spoon or a mortar and mix well.
5. Check that the amount of salt and lemon juice and garlic are to your liking and add to your preference.
Spread on a plate and garnish with parsley and olive oil.

[onlymark]

Fattet Magdoos (12 portions)

Ingredients

4 pita bread, cut into 1inch pieces
2 medium sized eggplant
¾ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1tspn salt
½ tspn black pepper
5 tomatoes
4 tbspns tomato paste
parsley
pine nuts


1. Cut up pita bread into small 1 inch pieces and fry them in corn oil for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
2. peel the eggplant, wash it with water dry it, then sprinkle it with salt.
3. Mix yoghurt garlic salt.
4. Sauté onions and add tomato paste followed by 5 finely chopped tomatoes add water then let reduce.
5. Add fried eggplant cubes into the pan and for 10 minutes until the mixture is combined.
6. On a nice large plate start by layering the pita bread, follow by adding the tomato and eggplant mixture, and then top it off with the yoghurt.
7. Dress the fatteh with parsley and fried pine nuts on top.

[onlymark]

Ma’aloubeh (4-5 portions)

Ingredients

2 Onions
2 Tomatoes
2 medium sized eggplant
1 medium sized Cauliflower
1kg meat (veal) fillets or 1 full chicken cut into 6 pieces
2 cups Rice
2 tsp Turmeric powder
½ tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 lemon juice


1. Place lamb/veal chops into a pot soaked in water, if you are boiling meat add an onion chopped into quarters and 2 bay leaves, and leave to boil for 30 minutes. Take the chops out of the water and save the stock.
2. Peel and cut up the eggplant into thick horizontal slices marinate them in salt and leave it for 5 minutes until the water comes out of the eggplant.
3. Cut cauliflower into florets.
4. Wash the eggplant in water to get rid of the salt, and then pat dry the slices.
5. Fry the eggplant followed by the cauliflower in a pan using vegetable oil until almost golden, then place it on paper sheets to dry.
6. Soak 2 cups of rice in warm water 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons turmeric powder and leave for around 30 minutes.

Stacking -

7. In a large pot fry 2 sliced fresh tomatoes until browned and line on the bottom of the pan. Then stack the meat/chicken on top of the tomatoes, followed by the cauliflower on one side and the eggplant on the other (this is the traditional way. You can just add them equally if you want) followed by adding the soaked rice on top. 
8. Add salt, turmeric powder to the chicken stock then pour it on top of the meat, eggplants and cauliflower. Make sure the sauce covers the rice 1/2cm over.
9. Place it on high fire for 7 minutes. Then cover it and leave on low heat for 40-45 minutes.
10. Keep checking the pot to make sure the water is evaporating and the rice is cooking.
11. When the water has fully evaporated and the rice is fully cooked. Take the pot off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.
12. Place a large serving plate over the top of the pot, flip over and carefully remove the pot leaving a 'cake' of rice meat eggplant and cauliflower.
This meal is usually eaten along with yoghurt and basic salad.

[onlymark]

Basic Omm Ali

Add anything else you have at hand. Note, there are no raisins.

Ingredients - Om Ali

1 large sheet of puff pastry ( about 90g/3 oz) / (or 5 to 6 sheets of small filo pastry)
120g (4oz) flaked almonds and pistachios.
1 litre milk
300 ml double cream
90 gr (3oz) sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Butter


Preheat oven to 150C degrees.
Lightly butter the puff pastry (optional).
Place the one large sheet of puff pastry sheet on an oven tray and bake for 25 minutes or until crisp and brown. Remove from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 240C degrees.
Butter the baking dish.
Crumble the pastry into a baking dish, scatter 3/4 of the nuts in between layers.
In a saucepan on the top of the stove bring the milk, cream and sugar to the boil. Pour this over the pastry. Sprinkle with cinnamon, the rest of the flaked almonds, and ground pistachios.
Place dish in oven for 20 minutes or until the top is browned.
Serve hot.

[onlymark]

First course would be the salad, hummus and mouttabal with fresh warm Arabic bread.
Second is the fattet magdoos with the ma’aloubeh.
Third is the omm ali.

[tod2]

Oh great Mark! Thanks for this dinner/lunch with a difference. I am reading through the Omm Ali.
Looks basically like a sort of bread & butter pudding but it can't be because there is no egg ingredient.
That 240C is scorching! I would have to keep a beady eye on the dish.

[onlymark]

Omm Ali is basically an Arabic bread and butter pudding. 240 does seem a bit high but as all the markings on my cooker have worn off than I just stick it up quite hot anyway.

[Deleted]

I really must start making my own hummus instead of buying it.

I'm surprised that the Omm Ali doesn't call for more cinnamon.

As good as these recipes look, the first thing that popped into my mind was to renew my search for falafel flour, which I have not been able to find recently.

[onlymark]

We have plenty of falafel flour here if you want some.

Omm Ali is extremely adaptable. You can add coconut to it, apples stewed or otherwise and more cinnamon, different nuts, different pastry or dried bread, dried fruit, more or less cream/sugar, honey etc.

[tod2]

Isn't falafel flour also called gram flour (chickpea)?

Mark I want to ask you if a snack food called 'Chilli Bites' is popular where you are. Here every Indian shop selling food has them as well as every supermarket delicatessen. Sold alongside the Samoosas.

They are fiery hot because of the green chillies chopped into the batter.

Recipe:
Ingredients

500ml (2 cups) self-raising flour
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 green chillies, chopped
125ml fresh coriander (dhania), chopped
10ml (2 tsp) cumin (jeera)
salt to taste (+/- 2\ tsp)
oil for deep-frying
How to make it

Heat oil for frying
Combine the ingredients
Mix well into a batter
Drop teaspoonsful into hot oil
Fry until well puffed and golden
Drain from oil onto absorbent paper

[onlymark]

Nice recipe, I'll try that.
Not a big Indian population at all here. Only a handful of them in the couple of restaurants we have.

[bixaorellana]

Ohhh ~~ thanks for these recipes, Mark!

Is felafel flour the same thing as chickpea flour?

The high temperature for the Omm Ali makes sense in light of the amount of liquid in it.

[onlymark]

Sept 5, 2012 16:43:35 GMT bixaorellana said:

Is felafel flour the same thing as chickpea flour?

Yes...................................... and no.
The majority of countries with falafel use chick peas but Egypt uses fava beans. You can combine the two. Chick peas themselves can be used and soaked overnight if dry, fava beans need to be cooked. The flour of each can be used separately or together depending on what is liked.
In either case, adding green onion/spring onion/scallion, parsley, garlic and cumin, coriander to taste.

In Egypt I found a greater variation than in Jordan with each little hole in the wall doing their own thing and it took a lot of time an effort to go round a few hundred or more in every part of the country to research the one I liked best. Most add different salad/tahini/pickles/shattah (hot sauce)/garlic sauce to the sandwich depending on what is available and what their secret recipe is. As it is, in Amman, I've only visited about fifteen places and settled on the one that suits me best, is a good value for a sandwich and adds tahini, tomato and cucumber salad, a slice of pickled pepper, one or two french fries and/or eggplant fries.

[lugg]

Just made and eaten ( but with piri piri chicken ) the Mouttabal ... yummy. Thanks Mark.

[onlymark]

You're more than welcome.

[lagatta]

I have made most of these except for the Ma’aloubeh - though I've had all its components. And I'm more inclined to make Baba Ghanoush from eggplant/aubergine - it seems to be pretty much the same thing as Mouttabal, but no yoghurt.

I have a copy of Claudia Roden's Book of Middle Eastern Cuisine (cooking?) (cookery?) from the year it was written, 1969, I believe. The recipes are well-written and still very useable. She was living in London and had to tell her audience where to buy such oddities as olive oil.

[Deleted]

I finally located a source of falafel mix for only something like 1.70€ a box. (makes about 15-20)

Now I need to start working on some of these other dishes.

[onlymark]

I just log back on after making some falafel and what do I see.............

[Deleted]

Since I always like to tinker with recipes, I always wonder what I might do to make falafel different. For example, I have an urge to chop up a lot of garlic and coriander let's say parsley into the mix, maybe even some red pepper and see what happens. Have you ever made variations on the basic recipe?

[onlymark]

Yes, but I've not gone too far out of the basics. Especially when I don't weigh anything, I just decide what ingredients and mix it until it looks right. The different beans in different proportions, different onions, different spices in different proportions including adding chilli flakes or chillies themselves but never peppers and I use parsley rather than coriander anyway.

[tod2]

I've never made falafel but your twist on the recipe makes me think I would like to give it a try!
Can you tell me what is the powdery orange-colour spice that they give you with a street meal in Israel??
You are supposed to dip whatever you are eating into it.
Mark? Anyone?

[Don Cuevas]

I have never been a fan of felafel. Oh, not bad for an occasioal snack, but they are not something I crave.

[onlymark]

tod, I've never been there but I'll make an assumption and say it is sumac -

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac