Arabic food

Omareza10

Anyone here enjoy arabic food? if so, what dishes do you like?

the beer revolu

I wouldn't be very familiar with Arabic food, although I do like hummus, falafel, North African type stews, cous cous, olives, tabouleh, pickled peppers etc. etc.

Do any of those count?

Omareza10

Yep, they count.... nd what you tink of dem?

the beer revolu

I love all the above foods and I'm sure people here would love to know more about Arabic food.

Minder

Sure - we eat cous cous with sauce made with lamb; falafel; baba ghanoush; shorba; kofta; a variety of kebabs in a variety of breads; lots of different pilafs; mechoui lamb; salads made with fennel and orange; figs; dates. My pantry items include pomergranate molasses, ras al hanout, orange and rose water, pistachio oil. Just yesterday we had some leftover keema wrapped in a feuille de brique pastry and baked. Served with a tomato, red onion and mint salad and a yoghurt sauce.

What arabic dishes do you like?

Dinkie

Ditto... love Keema with khobez bread.

Lived in Saudi as a child and remember buying falafels from street side huts. Its one of my favourite memories.

I think that arabic food is possibly similar to that of many other countries so I regularly eat it... lentils, lentil curries, koftas, cucumber salads....

I was never able to like arabic coffee however.

huskerdu

The grocery shop in the mosque in Clonskeagh is fab.
Loads of ingredients for all the dishes mentioned above and more. Lots of great curry pastes and stir fry sauces.

Very good value 10kg bags of basmati and thai jasmine rice.

If you are interested in trying new foods from arabic countries, it is worth a visit.

mimihops

I would love to get some recomendations of recipes involving the pomergranate molasses, do you have any nice recipes Minder?

Minder

Mimihops - we just use it in marinades. Cube some lamb for skewers, add a tbsp or two of pomergranate molasses, a squeeze of lemon, some salt and leave for a few hours (or overnight). Then grill.

the beer revolu

Ate in a Persian restaurant twice in Richmond at the weekend called Saffron

It was superb!
I'd eaten in Persian restaurants before but they were mostly of the kind of quality of your average Indian restaurant in England or Ireland and really left me cold.
This place was VERY different to them but no more expensive (2 courses for £9.95 day and night, except Saturday night)

We had a dish called ZERESHK POLOW:
"Steamed rice mixed with bright ruby-coloured barberries, loved for their mouth watering piquancy, saffron and slivered pistachios, served
with braised chicken."

The sauce that the chicken came with was one of the nicest things I've ever tasted and although I'm usually quite good at recreating dishes, I've no idea what was in this other than a very good rich stock as the base.

One of the best and cheapest meals I've had in a while.

OP if it's a restaurant you were thinking of and can recreate that kind of quality and value, then I think it could succeed.

Zuiderzee

This recipe is a great little side dish with lamb in particular, but its also good with poultry and white fish, and just adds a touch extra to a meal.

I love North African food, and this is a favorite of mine, based on dishes typical of Eastern Moroccan ports like Nadoor.
Its a great way to serve carrots, rather than just steamed or boiled.
It only takes 15-20 minutes so can be worked into most meal plans.

If you can't get Harissa paste, then Tabasco or piri-piri will do, but the harissa paste adds to its richness.
Fresh mint really sets off the dish, but a teaspoon of mint sauce is an alternative.
With the mint, cumin, chilli and sweetness, this really is a flavour of Maroc.
2 lbs Carrots; scraped, slice diagonally;
1/2 ts Harissa paste or hotsauce;
2 tbs light olive oil or butter;
3 Garlic cloves; thinly sliced;
1 Lemon; juice only;
2 tsp Cumin seeds; toasted and crushed;
1/2 tsp Salt;
1/2 tsp Sugar or honey;
2 tblsp Fresh mint leaves, finely chopped.
Method:

Put the carrots in a steamer basket set over boiling water.
Steam for about 5 minutes, until barely tender.
Reserve the cooking water and mix 5 tablespoons of it with the Harissa paste.

Dry roast the cumin and crush roughly in a shallow pan.
Remove the cumin, put oil or butter (I prefer butter) in the pan and heat up to a medium heat.
Add the garlic, diluted Harissa paste, lemon juice, salt and sugar/honey. Mix well.
Add the carrots, then partially cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes,
until the liquid is reduced.

Stir in the mint and serve at once.

catho_monster

aaahhh, brique...
The one and only time I have tasted it was in Tunisia when I was 12. I still drool at the memory...
I think you can buy it in Fallon & Byrne, Minder - do you have any tips how to cook it or with what etc?

fontanalis

Anyone got a tajine recipe?

Minder

catho_monster wrote: »

aaahhh, brique...
The one and only time I have tasted it was in Tunisia when I was 12. I still drool at the memory...
I think you can buy it in Fallon & Byrne, Minder - do you have any tips how to cook it or with what etc?

There's not much to it. I lay out the sheet of pastry, add the fillings and fold up. Then fry in hot oil until crisp and golden. Crab meat with a little softened onion, chopped parsley and seasoning, then a raw egg cracked into a little well made in the centre. Fry until the egg is cooked but still runny. Other fillings include veggies like courgette, aubergine and pepper - but dry, not wet like a ratatouille - makes the pastry soggy. Or bits of pheasant meat with dried fruit.

Zuiderzee

fontanalis wrote: »

Anyone got a tajine recipe?

The main tagine recipe I use is lamb.
The main spice is a moroccan mix called Ras al Hanout - I think it means head of the shop.
I'm fairly sure it can be found in Dublin, I surf so I tend to go to morocco about once a year and oick it up or get friends to do so.

The way I would do it is to take:
diced lamb,
chunky chopped veg - gourd pumpkin, squash and carrot normally.
Roughly chopped onion and garlic
Corriander
Then, a mix of 1 part oil, two parts water and a spoon of Ras al Hanout poured over the ingredients, slow cook for two hours

Perfect served with some crusty white bread.

Now, I have never done this but according to the internet you can make Ras El Hanout.

" Ras El Hanout has no set recipe, and the most complex versions may contain over 50 spices that are toasted before grinding. Though this version has a long ingredient list, it is very easy to make, as it uses ground spices that are easy to find in most supermarkets, and doesn't require toasting. Makes about 1/4 cup.

Ingredients:

[*]2 teaspoons ginger
[*]2 teaspoons coriander
[*]1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
[*]1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
[*]1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
[*]1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg
[*]1 teaspoon turmeric
[*]1 teaspoon allspice
[*]1 teaspoon cinnamon
[*]1 teaspoon hot Spanish paprika
[*]1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
[*]Generous pinch saffron threads

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the ground spices. Crush the saffron threads between clean, dry fingers, sprinkle over the spice mixture, and whisk again.
Transfer the Ras El Hanout to an airtight container, and store in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months. Enjoy!

Curry Addict

heres a really good tagine from a well reputed Tunisian resturant. Ive made it a few times and its delicious and simple.

Ingredients for 4 portions, it can easily be halfed for 2 people.

• 4 chicken breasts on the bone
• 570ml water
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
• 400ml chicken stock
• 2 tsp harissa paste (available in arabic stores)
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and eighted.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Arrange the chicken breasts in a roasting tin and add the water, cumin, ginger, paprika, tomato purée and seasoning to taste. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for approx 1.25 hours.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender to the point of a knife. Drain well.
3. Remove from the oven and lift the chicken out of the roasting tin. Add the coriander, chicken stock and harissa to the sauce in the pan and mix together. Bring to the boil then simmer gently. It should have a soupy consistancy but a beautiful subtle savory flavour. Add the potatoes.
4. Plate up in a wide bowl type plate. 1 chicken breast each and 4 pieces of potato swimming in the sauce.