Hearty Moroccan Hareera Soup

One of the 'misfortune' of working in hospital is one brings home plenty of 'umwanted' gifts..germs, and hospital acquired infections, sore throat, flu and the never ending common cold! I have lost counts how many Kleenex we bought (forget those sapqpy sad days!), or how many pots of soups and plain rice congee we made, to curb these so-called germs that blanket not just me, but my husband and the little darling too.

Then it was time for Ramadhan, but the germs don't fast do they..so we ended up with colds amidst the fasting and the fatigue too! One good thing that came about is there was more 'healthy' menu on the table: instead of cloyingly sweet pastries which usually fare on our ramadhan table, we opted more for soups and rustic bread to go with it.



Warm, hearty soup that takes away the cold. And brings the family together, over bowls of delicious goodness. Instead of the usual lentils, tomato, mushroom, chicken or oxtail soup, I opted for something new. Well, something new homemade. As although I have tried and loved hareera soups served surprisingly in an arabic restaurant locally, I never knew how to make them from scratch.

That was until I tried the recipe from Dima's kitchen. It was better than the shop bought so called gourmet version! This is one proper, homemade soup that could have easily been made in a grandmother's kitchen, garnished with love and some traditional arabic flatbreads to go with it.



I know this soup will be on our dinner table again and again, for I could not see that our common colds getting any better or less frequent, and I certainly could not fathom a tastier soup than this! Whilst you contemplate whether or not to make this soup too, check out Dima's wonderful daily iftar ideas at her site, which I wished I discovered sooner..!





Moroccan Hareera Soup
from Dima's Kitchen

For the recipe, please visit the link above.

East-meet-West Kofte curry: Cooking for friends

As we are getting used to the long, long day of fasting, there is also something poignantly nice about Ramadhan.

The iftars.

Planning the menu for family. Being greedy with dozens of delicacies laid nicely on the table, and waiting impatiently for the azan to mark the end of the fast as the sun sets. And best of all, cooking and entertaining for fellow friends who fast, and gather for meals like families.



That was what we did last weekend. Since my move here, I got to know few friends who instantly became close friends. Suhaina is one of them. Much that I love entertaining, I was also apprehensive as Suhaina is a great cook, having established a food blog herself full of beautiful homemade goodies and food with memories of her home. So the menu was planned intently and the table was set. I wanted something unique for her, a reminder of what we left behind in England as well as food that would bring all of us closer during the break of the fast.



One of the dishes that I prepared was this kofte curry. An east-meet-west dish, easily translated as Italian meatballs should I add more tomato ragu or a Mughal specialty should it be more spice infused. The dish was borne, really out of my indecisive nature. I wanted both the taste of mediterranean as well as Mughal in the curry, so I mixed them up and voila, a dish was served!



Since Cousy is a big fan of meatballs, the dish was a winner for her too. Days later Suhaina reminded me to put up the recipe here, and knowing how terrible I could be with blog updating, I thought it was a good push to put up this post asap..hoping that this delicious curry would be your iftari menu too;-)


Beef Kofte Curry

For the kofte:

500g minced beef (or lamb)
1 egg
1 big green onion-diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp beef masala powder
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp olive oil
4 tbsp canola oil-for shallow frying
For curry:

5 shallots-sliced finely
4 tomatoes-diced finely
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 cinnamon stick
cloves and cardamom-a handful
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp biryani powder
water as required
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sumac powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
a handful of coriander leaves

Method

1. Prepare the kofte (meatball).
2. Combine all the ingredients listed for meatballs in a bowl. Mix altogether and form balls the sized of gold balls.
3. Shallow fry until the kofte are golden brown. (I used Phillips airfryer for health reason as no oil was needed).
4. Keep the meatballs aside, drain the oil on kitchen towel.
5. Prepare the curry.
6. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan or dutch oven. Temper the cinnamon, cardamom cloves and shallots until golden brown and aromatic.
7. Add in the diced tomatoes, bay leaves, biryani masala powder, tomato puree, sumac, pepper and oregano. Slowly add some water until paste is formed and the oil splutter.
8. When the hot sauce is simmering, add the pan fried kofte balls and reduce the heat to medium. Season with salt.
9. As the sauce thickens, add the coriander leaves and turn off the hob after few minutes.
10. Serve piping hot with main dish of your choice. This dish is also perfect for pita sandwiches, with nan or flavoured rice.

Note: I have added on a link above on homemade biryani powder. Or alternatively you can also use any biryani powder readily available in Indian or Asian shops.

Sticky toffee Date Pudding..and Ramadhan Kareem..

This little treat has been sitting in my fridge, as well as the post draft way before Ramadhan came. I was all excited to start the holy month, and thought of something sweet and oh so relevantly date-y for the blog, yet never came round to actually taking the pics!




I believe that as Ramadhan is coming to a week end, most households would have abundance of date aplenty sitting by the pantry, our 'appetizer' to break the fast with. Full of energy, and so sweet and nutritious. I must confess. I have a love-hate relationship with dates. Growing up, I never fancy dates all that much, but somehow they grew on me. And without fail, year after year, I always try them out in desserts..this sticky toffee pudding has been a family favourite since.

For those who observe the fast, Ramadhan Kareem from me to you. I realise with the scorching heat of summer, this year's Ramadhan is full of challenges, and what better way to replenish the energy with cooling dessert, and healthy nutritional food?

This sticky toffee pudding is my go-to for quick and easy entertaining ideas.If you happen to buy an excess of dates this month, this recipe surely deserve a try.

*********************************************************

On a different note, I am ecstatic to receive an Award from my lovely logger friend, Amina of Amina's creations. Do check out her inaugural blog event round-up here.

Thank you dear!

Also a while back, I received a virtual bouquet from another lovely friend, Wan Maznah of Cooking Varieties.thank you dearie!

Ramadhan Kareem to all!

Sticky Toffee Date Pudding
from BBC Good Food

• 200g dried dates , stoned and chopped. Buy Medjool if you can
• 250ml black tea (not too strong)
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 85g unsalted butter , softened
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs , beaten

Toffee Sauce

• 100g light muscovado sugar
• 100g unsalted butter
• 142ml carton double cream

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Put the dates and tea in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes to soften the dates. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
2. Beat the butter and caster sugar together with electric beaters until pale and creamy, then beat in the egg, flour and mixed spice. Fold in the date mixture and pour into a buttered ovenproof dish or brownie tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is just firm to touch.
3. Meanwhile, make the sauce by putting the sugar, butter and cream in a pan over a low heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Cook until the sauce is a lovely toffee colour. Cut the pudding into squares and serve with the warm sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Baguette croutons with Ottoman spices..exotically Turkish!

I am back from a fantastic trip of a lifetime in Turkey and somehow the holidays which ended only few days back seemed like an eternity ago! The marvels of Constantinople history and the beautiful coastal view of Turkish Reviera from the little town of Belek, Antalya really rejuvenated me and brought a lot of fond memories and nostalgia from my trip there 9 years ago. So many things have changed, yet certain things remained the same. The old Grand Bazaar was still buzzing with passers-by from all walk of life, haggling the precious stones, brass and beautiful antic carpets in between sips of Suleimaniye apple tea. The rose oil, musks and aroma from Spice Bazaar enticed me in to taste and savour, from the dried figs and candied lemons to the exquisite Turkish delight and oh-so syrupy bakhlavas..enough to clog the arteries for lifetime!

Turkish food is certainly to die for, and I came back with a lot of recipe ideas that stemmed from a week long of indulgence-feta cheese, cumin roasted cherry tomatoes, kofte and salads, freshly baked baguette and trays of cardamom infused cookies and cakes..but the best of all was Lavash, the turkish fluffy, puffy bread. Glazed with butter with some sesame seed love, totally divine! I hope one of these days I could sneak some few hours in between my calls and family time to compile a little recipe booklet laden with scenic photographs to share with all of you:-).


On the last day in Istanbul, I bought some baguettes for a quick bite but alas, didn't have time to eat them as we were travelling. Inspired by the food that we had and armed with the exotic Ottoman spices that I bought from the bazaar, I thought it would only be fitting to use up the baguette into something useful.


Croutons.

Flavourful croutons, drizzled with olive oil and generously sprinkled with Ottoman spices. Yes, there is a mix called Ottoman spices, the aromatic mixed herbs full of saffron, red chilli flakes, thyme and marjoram. Exotic blend that I would love to use again and again as seasoning, roasted chicken next time, maybe? I was so glad I made those croutons, well stocked soup garnishing on rainy days or even a savoury snack on its own. At least I could recreate some nostalgic aroma of Istanbul in my little kitchen, albeit in the form of croutons.

Baguette croutons with Ottoman spices..exotically Turkish!

2 medium sized baguettes or 1 long baguette(preferably 1 day old)

3 cloves garlic-minced finely

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp Ottoman spice mix

1 tsp Kosher salt (or coarse sea salt)

For Ottoman spice mix (you can make this at home!)

1/2 tsp saffron strands

1 tbsp sumac ( you can get this at any Arabic/Middle eastern store)

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp chilli flakes

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp ground mint

1 t bsp ground fennel

1 tbsp dried marjoram

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp dried ginger

1 tbsp ground cumin

Combine all spice ingredients in a grinder and grind to fine powder. Store in airtight container as this recipe yields more than enough for this recipe. This can be stored up to 2 weeks, ideally.

Method for Croutons

1. Cut the baguette into 1 inch cubes.

2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the ottoman spice mix and remove from the heat.

3. Add the baguette cubes, and coat them well with the spices.

4. Spread the baguette cubes onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with Kosher salt.

5. Bake for 20 minutes at 180C, turning the tray once or twice or use 3-d hot air for even baking.

6. Remove from oven and once cooled, store the croutons in airtight container or glass jar.

Guest Post for Jabeen's Corner: Chicken Kabsa

I am all excited for my first guest post ever, and even more honoured to be featured in Jabeen's fabulous blog, Jabeen's Corner. I came across her blog through her Iftar events and have been hooked since as Jabeen puts a lot of effort in posting tasty recipes as well as bringing a lot of bloggers together through her event. We got talking and the idea of guest posts was brought up. Jabeen wanted to do something different, something unique for her guest posts series by including a 'mini interview' of the guest blogger too. Even though I know Jabeen loves agar-agar, I thought I would cook something  more exotic and special for her first guest post in her Bonjour series, hence the Chicken Kabsa.

As Jabeen is probably more of a specialist on Indian food than me, I thought I would cook something Middle Eastern instead, my signature dish that has found its way in our ancestral home for all the special occasions, birthdays and family gatherings. Jabeen has also requested me to do some little snippets about myself,  so to find that out and the Chicken Kabsa recipe, please visit her site here.

Hope you enjoy your visit to Jabeen's Corner and please try out my Chicken Kabsa recipe for that special occasion, or just because..:-)

Usbu al-Zainab

'Once upon a time, there was a girl named Zainab. She liked to bake goods, sweets and cakes for her family. One day, she decided to create something magical. Rolled cheese wrapped in crispy pastry, and soaked in rose watered honey syrup...and her family was enchanted with her magical delicacy. Years gone by, Zainab left a tradition now savoured by the world. A sweet tradition, magical moments created for families...'

This delicacy is later named in honour of this girl, Usbu al zainab which is easily translated as Zainab's fingers. It is certainly one of the unforgettable desserts, once you had it, you will want it more and remember it for life. So much so that when I saw this recipe posted in Shab's a while back, it brought back nostalgic moments of when I had a first morsel of it, a few years ago. Sultanahmet, Istanbul. Along the cobbled back streets, and boys running around with a tray of apple tea, serving the sweaty bargain hunters in the mindmaze of bazaars. There I had it, from a push cart vendor pushing a load of sweets, bakhlavas, tulumba and this usbu el zainab. It spoke a volume of sweetness if I chose this over my all-time favourite bakhlava. Somehow, this delicious sweet  never made it to my kitchen as I didn't even know what it was called then, hence was unable to search for the recipe. That is, until I saw it once again on Shab's cuisine.

I hurriedly made those crispy cheese filled rolls, and since that first time, we have had these on numerous occasions, and remains one of the family's favourite snacks. My recipe search months later revealed another version of Usbu Al Zainab or also known as Asabea Zainab. Those cookies are totally different though, despite sharing the same name. Given my penchant for these rolls, I'd rather stick to this version instead:-)

Here's a virtual serving of the sweet, for all the 'Zainabs' out there who toil away their fingers, preparing dishes for the family, day an dnight, come rain or shine. It is such an easy snack that Any One Can Cook, ditto I'm linking the recipe to Taste of Pearl City's weekly event.

Usbu Al Zainab

10-15 spring roll pastry sheets
10-15 cheese slices ( I use Dairylea)
2-3 tbsp flour
2 tsp water
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tbsp honey
1/2 cup water
2-3 cardamoms
a few strands of saffron
2 tbsp rose water (optional)
Oil for frying

Method

1. Ensure the pastry sheets are thawed prior to use. Prepare the flour gum by mixing the flour with water; this is use as a sealant.
2. Cut each square pastry sheet in half, and cut the cheese slices in half as well to fit onto the sheet with 1 cm margin. Place the cheese and fold the 3 sides of the sheet to envelope the cheese completely. Roll and seal the remaining edge with the flour gum.  The sheet can be 'ruffled' whilst rolling to  achieve the 'ruffled-skirt' effect as seen in the pic above. Make sure the cheese is fully enveloped, otherwise it burns during frying. Repeat steps until all the sheets are rolled with cheese slices.
3. Prepare the syrup. In a heavy bottomed pan, place the sugar, honey, water, rose water and cardamoms. Let it simmer until the syrup slightly thickens. Add in the saffron and remove from heat.
4. Deep fry the cheese rolls until they turn almost golden brown. Place the cheese rolls on a serving plate with gap between the rolls (they tend to stick together when cooled), pour over the honey syrup and serve.

Falafel

It rained again. so much for summer. We braved through the cloudy weather yesterday just to see the M&Ms world which is newly opened in Leicester Square. What a great day it was! It certainly satisfied the child in me since I am a loyal M&Ms lover, and my baby is way too young to remember it. I came back with some M&Ms character cookie cutter but after racking my brain through some sugar iced cookie ideas, I thought I shall settle for a savoury snack instead as it 'suits' the rainy, cloudy weather out there. Falafel it is, perfect with a cup of Turkish apple tea.

Recently I discovered a nicely featured blog, Taste of Pearl City which comes with a unique 'competition' called Any One Can Cook. The recipe has to be simple enough for beginners. I guess my falafel here would be a suitable entry, as I can't think of any snacks easier than this yet tastes so delicious and versatile. Versatile, yes, as it can be served on its own, with rice or bread, and even as a sanwich filler with warm pitta and salad for lunch. In fact I remembered having falafel panini in Starbucks quite a while ago. It tasted so good with some steamed spinach and hoummous in the filling.

Anyways, for our Sunday teatime snack, we had these little 'pingpong' balls with mayonnaise instead. I just wanted a different taste than hoummous, as some of you might know, is made of chickpeas too. We finished the falafels in no time! I have made falafels for several times now and I think based on my personal anecdotes, it tastes much better if made from dried chickpeas soaked overnight as it brings out the flavour rather than the canned ones. Obviously if you are rushed for time, the best alternative is to boil the canned chickpeas for 10 minutes before mashing them. 

Voila, recipe to follow.

 

Falafels

make around 15 balls

400g chickpeas (if using dried, soak overnight but  no need to cook them)

1 bulb garlic

1 inch ginger

1tbsp coriander

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or chilli powder for spicier taste)

3 tbsp plain flour

juice from half lemon

pinch of salt

Oil for frying

Method

Mix all the ingredients in food processor. In a bowl, using clean hands mix the dough briefly until all the ingredients are well mashed and blended. Make small balls sized like ping pong balls and leave aside for few minutes.

2. Heat the oil. Fry the falafel in medium heat until they are golden brown in colour. Drain the oil and serve with tahini, hoummous, mayonnaise or any dips that you fancy.

Note

This post has been linked to Taste of Pearl City for the weekly Any One Can Cook competition:-)