Middle Eastern foods

Lamb tagine with dates & sweet potatoes recipe

The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to try Lamb tagine with dates & sweet potatoes recipe. Enjoy cooking tasty Arabic food and learn how to make Lamb tagine with dates & sweet potatoes. 

This is one of those wonderful dishes that improves with keeping

Easy
Serves 10
Preparation time 30 mins
Cook time 2 hrs

Ingredients
6 tbsp olive oil
4 onions , thinly sliced
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh root ginger
2kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 5cm chunks
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp each paprika and ground coriander
2 cinnamon sticks
850ml passata
700g sweet potatoes , cut into chunks
350g pitted dates

TO SERVE
100g blanched almonds , toasted
good handful coriander , roughly chopped

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large, deep pan. Add the onions, then gently fry until softened, about 5 mins. Stir in the ginger, add the meat in batches, then fry on all sides until lightly coloured. Return all the meat to the pan, stir in the spices and cinnamon sticks, then cook for 1 min.

2. Add the passata and 800ml water, then bring to the boil, stirring. Season well, then cover and simmer for 1½ hrs, until the lamb is tender.

3. Add the sweet potatoes, stir well, cover again, then cook for 20 mins or until the potatoes are just tender. Stir in the dates and heat through for 5 mins. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. To serve, spoon the tagine into a serving dish and scatter with the almonds and coriander.

Try

To freeze
Cool at the end of step 2, then pack into a rigid container. Freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then gently reheat (add a little more water if necessary), bring to the boil and continue with step 3.

Nutrition Per Serving
646 kcalories, protein 42g, carbohydrate 49g, fat 32 g, saturated fat 13g, fibre 0g, sugar 33g, salt 0.82 g

Saudi Kabsa Recipe

Kabsa, in Arabic it is called "كبسة" is a family of rice dishes that are served mostly in Saudi Arabia, and the other Arab states of the Arabian Gulf. Chicken kabsa recipe is one of the most popular dishes in Saudi Arabia. It is considered a staple. There are various methods to prepare Saudi kabsa. Let's try two wonderful methods:

Saudi Kabsa Recipe I

Ingredients:

• 1 2/12 - 3 pound chicken, cut into eight pieces
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 1 (12 ounce) can tomato puree
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• Grated rind of one orange
• 4 cloves
• 4 cardamom pods
• 3 sticks cinnamon
• Sale and pepper to taste
• 1 pound long grain rice
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preparation:

• Sautee onion in oil until it begins to brown. Add chicken pieces, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and garlic and stir for about five minutes over low heat. Stir in three cups hot water, grated carrot, orange rind, spices, salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, covered, about 20-25 minutes, until chicken is done.

• Remove chicken. Set aside to keep warm. Stir rice into the liquid in the pan, and cook, covered over low heat for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

• Put rice on a serving platter with chicken pieces arranged around the circumfrence. Toss raisins and almonds over all.

Serves: 6

Saudi Kabsa Recipe II


Ingredients:

• 1 roasting chicken, small one for 2 people and large one for 4 people
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 maggie chicken bouillon cube
• 1 diced onion
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 6 cardamoms
• 5 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 dried lemons
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• salt & pepper
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• pine nuts, and raisins, for flavor

Preparation:

• PLEASE note, when cooking with basmati rice you always have to soak in water first or it will not cook well, for at least 15 mins!
• In a stockpot add your onions and garlic on medium and let brown. Then add all of your *spices. Stir in tomato sauce on med heat until sauce thickens.
• Then add you chicken into the sauce. I let it sauté for a few minutes on med heat still. Rotate your chicken so it gets all the flavors. After this add your maggie and water. Add water so it covers your chicken this is usually between half and full that I do.
• Now let your chicken cook like this for about 35 minutes. The first few minutes let it cook on boil them turn the heat down to medium for the rest of time.
• Meanwhile get another pot the same size and put your basmati in it. I use about 4 teacups full (the Arabic tea cup) then add some vegetable oil or ghee. Not too much but not to less. Then just set your rice aside until after your chicken has cooked.
• Now after your chicken has cooked for 35 minutes you will turn your oven on broil. Put the chicken in a roasting pan. I add the dried lemons to it. You have to watch it because it only takes a minute on so on broil. It will get crispy and blacken a bit but this is how it is supposed to be.
• Do not throw your broth away that you cooked your chicken in because we will use this to cook the rice.
• Add the broth spices and all to your rice (just let it cover the rice and some extra) then just throw the rest away. Cook rice covered for 8 minutes then uncover stirring and cook for another 8 minutes. Make sure you left your sticks and all in the rice this makes it tasty.
• Now on a serving platter put your rice, then lay your chicken on top, add boiled eggs around the chicken and sprinkle nuts and raisins. You now have the best Saudi Kabsa there is.

Middle Eastern Chicken Shawarma Recipe

Chicken Shawarma is like the ultimate on the go meal. Thinly sliced meat, wrapped in a pita bread with veggies and sauce is a delicious quick meal. Learn how to make chicken shawarma, just like at your favorite Middle Eastern restaurants!

Ingredients - Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning
• Juice of 1 lemon, divided
• 1 large cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 to 8 ounces each)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
• 4 pitas

Preparation

• Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill to high.
• In a bowl, combine the coriander, cumin, cardamom, chili powder, paprika and grill seasoning. And the juice of half a lemon, the garlic and about 3 tablespoons EVOO and stir until it is paste-like. Slather the mixture all over the chicken until it is well-coated.
• Transfer to the grill and cook on each side for 6-7 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the grill and let the chicken rest before thinly slicing. Once the chicken is working, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Once you see the oil ripple, add the onions and peppers, and season with some salt and pepper.
• Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes until the veggies start to wilt. Once the onions are working make the sauce: In a bowl, combine the juice of the remaining half lemon, the tahini, yogurt, some salt and a small drizzle of EVOO. Mix to combine.
• Place the pitas on the grill to warm them and give them a light char, about 1 minute on each side. To assemble, place some of the sliced chicken on each pita, top with some of the pepper and onion mixture, and a good dollop of the yogurt-tahini sauce.

Kahk Recipe

Kahk is a dessert recipe served usually during Eid occasions. Kahk is found in the cuisines of the eastern Mediterranean under a variety of names, but in Egypt they call it Kahk.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup (s) samn balady
• 1 cup (s) milk
• 4 1/2 cup (s) flour, all purpose
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tea spoon (s) instant yeas
• 1 tea spoon (s) ground cinnamon
• 1 tea spoon (s) ground cloves
• 1 tea spoon (s) ground ginger
• sesame seeds

Preparation:

• Heat the samn balady (Gee) until almost boiling.
• Add the baking powder and the spices to the flour.
• Carefully add the flour to the hot samn balady (Gee) and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Keep stirring and stirring and stirring.
• When you get tired (honestly this is part of the recipe as given to me by my friend's mother in law, ... tired = your arms are ready to fall off) then you can stop stirring. Her recipe said not to use a wooden spoon but to knead the flour into the hot samna (Gee), but I do not do that part. I have not tried using a food processor.
• When the mixture cools down a little, but is still warm, (i.e you can knead it with your hands without causing permanent damage), add the instant yeast to the milk with a teaspoon of sugar, then stir gently into the dough.
• Knead it for a short while, cover and let it rest. (Officially you should shape the kahk now and let it rest later).
• After an hour or so you can start shaping the dough with your hands into little balls and then flatten them.
• You can add nuts, agwa (date spread), or other filling when you are making it into balls.
• Put them in a cookie tray and let them rest for a little.
• Then put them in a preheated oven (345 F), and watch them. Usually 15 minutes is enough.
• Take them out, wait until they cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar just before eating.

Kunafa Recipe - How to Make Kunafa

Recipe for kunafa dessert dish. Learn how to make Lebanese kunafa with kunafa pastry and kiri cheese.

Cooking Time: 20 mins
Preparation Time: 25 mins

Ingredients - Serves 6 persons

5 cups kataifi shredded pastry
4 tbsp BBQ ghee (melted)
8 Kiri squares
3 tbsp plain yoghurt
2 tbsp rose water
1 tbsp pine nuts(roasted and chopped)

Ingredients for sugar syrup

1 ½ cup sugar
2 cup water
1 tbsp orange flavored water

Preparation

Grease a shallow oven dish.

Separately place the shredded pastry in a large bowl and add the BBQ ghee and mix thoroughly. Then take half of this mixture and arrange in the greased dish.

Next mix the Kiri squares, sugar, rose water and yoghurt until you get a smooth mixture. Then pipe a layer of the Kiri mixture, sprinkle the chopped pine nuts and finish with the remaining shredded pastry mixture. Bake it in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 1800C or until it is golden.

In the meantime prepare the sugar syrup by boiling the sugar, water and orange flavoured water together for about ten minutes.

Pour the sugar syrup on top and the dish is ready to serve.

 

Kabsa

Kabsa is an Arabic favorite rice dish popular in many Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. Because Kabsa is really delicious, it became famous dish in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. This is a meat (lamb) version of the Kabsa recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 kg lamb, large cubes
• 4 cups basmati rice
• 1/2 kg carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 kg tomato, peeled and diced
• 1 kg finely chopped onion
• 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• 1 pinch ground coriander
• salt and black pepper
• butter or olive oil (for frying)
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Kabsa Spice Mix

• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 1/4 teaspoon ground green cardamoms
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground dried limes

Sauce

• 2 cups water
• 1 beef stock cube (Maggi)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 14 ounces chopped tomatoes
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

• Fry meat until browned on all sides. Add enough water to the pot so that it covers the meat by 1.5"-2", bring to a boil then cook gently over medium heat for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until tender. Reserve stock & set meat aside.
• Soak rice for 15 minutes. Drain, rise under running water then drain well.
• Add butter to a large stock pot or casserole, fry the onion, pepper, carrot & spices. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until tender.
• Add rice to vegetables in the pot, cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add meat stock until stock covers rice (approx 1.5" above rice). Cover pot. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until tender - add a little more stock or water if rice seems to become dry.

Sauce:

• Fry onion, garlic and tomato in the butter. Add tomato paste, celery, salt, cinnamon, water & stock cube. Cook on medium heat until slightly thickened and celery is tender.
• Serve in a large dish or on a platter. Place the rice first, top with meat & garnish with pine nuts. Serve the sauce in a jug with a spoon. Saudies enjoy kabsa with a hot sauce called "shattah".

Basbousa with Pistachio Recipe

The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to try Basbousa with Pistachio Recipe. Enjoy preparing traditional middle eastern desserts and learn how to make Basbousa with Pistachio. 

Preparation time :     10 minutes
Cooking time :     35 minutes

Serves: 10 persons

Ingredients

1 cup butter or 200 g, melted
1 tin NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk or 397 g
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups semolina or 320 g
1½ cups pistachio nuts or 210 g, finely chopped

For the syrup:
2 cups sugar or 400 g
1½ cups water or 375 ml
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon rose water

Preparation

In a bowl, combine butter, NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk and baking powder and stir well. Add semolina and mix until well-combined.

Sprinkle chopped pistachio evenly in a 28cm x 24cm baking tin. Pour semolina mixture over the pistachio and level it.

Bake in a 190°C preheated oven for 35 minutes or until top is golden.

Remove from oven and pour cooled syrup on top. Place in fridge to completely cool then cut into diamond shapes and serve.

To prepare the syrup:

Place sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and rosewater.

Cooking tips : To peel the pistachio, bring water to boil in a saucepan, add the pistachio and boil for only 10 seconds. Drain and then rub the pistachio in a kitchen cloth to remove the skin.

Chicken biryani recipe

The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to try Chicken biryani Recipe. Enjoy cooking tasty Arabic food and learn how to make Chicken biryani.

Biryani, biriani, or beriani (Nastaliq script: بریانی) is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) (بریان) which means "fried" or "roasted".

Biryani was brought to the Indian Subcontinent by Muslim travelers and merchants. Local variants of this dish are not only popular in South Asia but also in Arabia and within various South Asian communities in Western countries.

Equipment
Our Chicken biriyani recipe is a great simple meal for winter weeknights.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, quartered
1 medium brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2cm piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
1/3 cup balti curry paste
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups Gravox Real chicken stock
1 cup thick plain yoghurt
1 Lebanese cucumber, deseeded, grated
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Toasted flaked almonds and fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate. Cook onion, garlic and ginger for 2 to 3 minutes or until onion has softened. Add curry paste. Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add rice. Stir to coat.

2. Add cinnamon, stock and 1 cup cold water. Bring to the boil. Return chicken to pan. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken cooked through. Remove cinnamon. Discard.

3. Combine yoghurt, cucumber and cumin in a bowl. Sprinkle biriyani with almonds and coriander. Serve with yoghurt mixture.

Rice with Tomato Recipe

The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to try Rice with Tomato Recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern Cuisine and learn how to make Rice with Tomato. 

Preparation time :     15 minutes
Cooking time :     25 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6 persons)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or ghee
2 medium onions or 300 g, finely chopped
4 small tomatoes or 400 g, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 bay leaf
4 whole cardamom pods
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, dried
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 cubes MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon
3 cups basmati rice or 600 g
5 cups water or 1250 ml

Preparation

Heat oil in a pot and sauté onions for 6 minutes.

Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, bay leave, cardamom pods, coriander seeds, black pepper, garlic gloves, MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon cubes, and Basmati rice. Mix well and cook for 3 minutes.

Pour water and cover the pot. Cook rice for 20 minutes or until it is well done.

Serving tips : Serve the rice with any grilled fish, chicken or meat dish.

Nutritional Information

Preparation time :     15 minutes
Cooking time :     25 minutes
Fats :     6.10 g
Protein :     9.30 g
Carbohydrate :     92.00 g
Energy :     457.00 Kcal

Hummus Dip...Two Ways (Regular and Sundried Tomato) Recipe

The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to try Hummus Dip...Two Ways (Regular and Sundried Tomato) Recipe.  Enjoy Middle Eastern food and learn how to make Hummus Dip...Two Ways (Regular and Sundried Tomato). 

Yield: 6 , Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 14-oz cancanned chickpeas; drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp sesame seed paste (tahini)
2 tbsp lemon juice; freshly squeezed
0.25 tsp ground cumin
1 extra virgin olive oil / water; (for thinning dip)
1 Salt
1 tbsp sundried tomatoes

Preparation

Garnish:
paprika
olive oil
fresh flat leaf parsley,chopped
sundried tomatoes,chopped*
basil*

*(optional...only if you are doing the sundried tomato kind)

Directions:

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Reserve about 1 TBS of chickpeas for garnish.Add chickpeas to a food processor. Slice garlic(or use a garlic press) and add to chickpeas. I added 2 TBS of sesame seeds, but if you have tahini use that instead. Add the cumin and a pinch or two of kosher salt.

Process till fine.Add lemon juice and pulse a few times. Adjust seasoning. With the motor running add about 2-4 TBS oil. It is at this point, that you can divide the dip in half. If you want to make the sundried tomato kind, take out half of the mixture and set it aside. Otherwise, just leave it all in the food processor and proceed to the next step. With the other half that is still in the food processor, adjust the seasoning.If it still is not thin enough, add some water(about 1 TBS at a time)while the motor is running till you reach your desired consistency..... Remove from the food processor and place in a bowl. Place some reserved chickpeas on top, sprinkle with some paprika, and drizzle some olive oil. Top with some chopped parsley.

To make the sundried tomato hummus:

Use the other half of the hummus (that you reserved) and place it back in the food processor. Add about 1 TBS sundried tomatoes and process till fine. Add some water to thin it out....if you need to. Adjust seasoning. Place in another bowl and top with chopped sundried tomatoes and drizzle some olive oil. Place a sprig or two of basil as a garnish.