Walima February Challenge - Representing the Saudi Cuisine

Saudi Arabia, the third-largest country in Asia, constitutes about four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula. The other countries that share the peninsula—Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait—are all much smaller in area. A narrow plain runs along the Red Sea coast. The Hijaz Mountains (Al Hijaz) rise sharply from the sea. At least one-third of the total area is sandy desert. There are no lakes, and except for artesian wells (wells where water flows to the surface naturally) in the eastern oases, there are no rivers or streams where water flows.

HISTORY AND FOOD

The people of Saudi Arabia are descended from tribes of nomadic sheep and goat herders and maintain many of the traditions of their past. Traditional foods like dates, fatir (flat bread), arikah (bread from the southwestern part of the country), and hawayij (a spice blend) are still eaten by Saudis today, although most Saudis have settled in towns and cities and no longer follow the nomadic lifestyle. Saudi Arabia is also home to Mecca, the origin and spiritual center of Islam. The culture, as well as the laws of Saudi Arabia, is founded on Islamic principles, including the dietary restrictions against eating pork or drinking alcohol. In the 1930s, oil was discovered on the Arabian Peninsula. Income from oil has allowed Saudi Arabia to become modernized and to begin to develop stronger industries in other areas such as agriculture. Saudi Arabia now produces all of its own dairy products and most of its own vegetables. Many foreign workers are needed to maintain the new industries, and foreign foods as well as fast food chains are now available in Saudi Arabia. However, it is mostly the foreigners who eat those foods; most Saudis prefer traditional fare.

FOODS OF THE SAUDIS

The people of Saudi Arabia are very traditional and eat the same foods they have eaten for centuries. The average meal of the Bedouin nomads who remain in Saudi Arabia is much simpler than that of the urban Saudis who make up the majority of Saudi Arabia's population today. However, the basic ingredients are the same: fava beans, wheat, rice, yogurt, dates, and chicken are staple foods for all Saudis. Saudi Arabia has over 18 million date palms that produce 600 million pounds of dates each year.

Saudis rank as the highest consumers of broiler chickens in the world, eating an average of 88.2 pounds of chicken per person per year. Saudis are strict Muslims and, following Islamic law, do not eat pork or drink alcohol. Lamb is traditionally served to honored guests and at holiday feasts. According to Islamic law, animals must be butchered in a particular way and blessed before they can be eaten, so Saudi Arabia is the world's largest importer of live sheep.

Camel (or sheep or goat) milk has long been the staple of the Bedouin diet, and dairy products are still favorites with all Saudis. Yogurt is eaten alone, used in sauces, and made into a drink called a lassi. Flat breads— fatir, a flat bread cooked on a curved metal pan over a fire, and kimaje, similar to pita—are the other mainstay of the nomadic diet that are eaten by all Saudis. These breads are used at every meal, in place of a fork or spoon, to scoop up other foods.

The Walima February Walima Challenge is brought to us by Noor from http://www.themiddleeasterncook.blogspot.com/ so join us to cook an Authentic new meal

Al Harrisah

For the Saudi Arabia sweet we will be making the popular sweet harrisah. This sweet is perfect served with Arabic coffee or tea.

2 cups flour
3 cups dates, finely chopped
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon ground cardamom

1.In a 9-inch skillet on medium heat add oil. Add flour, stirring until lightly brown. Remove from heat, add dates and cardamom, blend together.

2. Place into a servings platter and serve. Alternatively you can make into small ball

AL MATAZEEZ

Before their was kabsa and other dishes in Saudi Arabia their was 'Al Matazeez'. Al Matazeez is a very old recipes that has meat, vegetables and homemade pasta in broth. This is very good served with fresh bread. Have fun and I can not wait to see how yours turns out. Enjoy your savory recipes from Saudi Arabia this month.

If your in an area where you can not find pumpkin some alternatives would be butternut squash or instead of 2 carrots add 5 carrots. Carrots and pumpkin have almost the same flavor when baked. Do not add can pumpkin. Also, you can use white flour instead of wheat but wheat is the traditional way.

500 grams lamb or beef meat pieces
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sunflower oil
2 onions, chopped finely
4 green chili's
2 tomatoes, finely diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
2 dried lemons, cracked
2 bouillon beef cubes
1 eggplant, peeled and cubed
2 small zucchinis, tops removed
1-1/2 cups pumpkin, cubed
1/2 cup green beans
2 carrots, sliced
water

dough:
2 cups wheat flour
1 teaspoon sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2-3/4 cup water

1.In a 4-quart pan add 1 tablespoon oil and onions, cook until tender. Add meat, salt, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and cumin. Cook until meat is browned on all sides. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Add chilis, dried lemons, and enough water to cover top by 4-5 inches. Bring to a full boil, add bouillon cubes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Adding more water if needed.

2.In a large bowl add flour, salt and 1 teaspoon oil. Add water small amounts at time enough to make a workable dough. Add 1 teaspoon oil into hands and cover outside of dough ball. Place in bowl, cover with towel and allow to sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.

3.Roll dough thinly and cut into small circles using a glass or into small squares using a pastry flute. Dough should be like pasta.

4.Add carrots and carefully start dropping dough pieces one at a time, making sure to them into meat mixture. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin and green beans. Cover and allow to simmer an additional 20 minutes, making sure vegetables are thoroughly cooked

Note: I added mushroom and green peppers as well, and instead of the homemade pasta, I made Burghul Pilaf. I am eating Lent food, and eat meat only on Sundays, the burghul served as a side dish and my dinner.

I recommend this meal... It's very similar to a Lebanese Dish called Mnazaleh or Masbahat Al Darwich, its a combination of vegetable and meat stew ratatouille

TIH-RUH-MEE-SOO - The Daring Bakers Challenge

Tiramisu - Heaven in your mouth..

Also known as "Tuscan Trifle," the dessert was initially created in Siena, in the northwestern Italian province of Tuscany. The occasion was a visit by Grand Duke Cosimo de'Medici III, in whose honor the concoction was dubbed zuppa del duca (the "duke's soup"). The erstwhile duke brought the dessert back with him to Florence. In the 19th Century, zuppa del duca became popular among the English intellectuals and artists who lived there Consequently, it is also known as zuppa Inglese. They took the dessert to England, where its popularity grew. Zuppa del duca eventually made its way to Treviso, just northwest of Venice, in the northeastern province of Veneto.

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

THE CHALLENGE:

We have chosen Baltimore pastry chef Carminantonio Iannaccone’s version of tiramisu for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, his recipe is different from most other tiramisu recipes as he makes a zabaglione, an egg custard which is flavored with Marsala wine (you may use coffee instead). Even more important is that his zabaglione is cooked so there is no risk from using raw eggs.

He also makes a vanilla flavored pastry cream which we haven't seen in other tiramisu recipes.

While both of us do eat eggs, we do have a preference for desserts where the smell and taste do not come through. We found that the coffee in the recipe masked the eggs in adequately.

Just in case you would prefer to make an eggless tiramisu, we are including recipes in the Alternate Bakers section to make eggless ladyfinger biscuits and an eggless and alcohol-free tiramisu.

Note: There are also some links to other alternative recipes at the end of this post. Deeba has also provided step-by-step pictures where possible.

The recipes for this challenge are presented in the following order:

A. Tiramisu (includes zabaglione & vanilla pastry cream)
B. Mascarpone Cheese
C. Ladyfinger/ Savoiardi Biscuits

TIRAMSU

(Recipe source: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from

Ingredients:
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the vanilla pastry cream:
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

For the whipped cream:
1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

To assemble the tiramisu:
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:
For the zabaglione:
Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the pastry cream:
Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream:
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

To assemble the tiramisu:
Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

Usually my Tiramisu Recipe is lighter than this version. I buy the Italian Lady Fingers, it was on my to do list to try the home made version... Thanks very much Deeba and Aprana for giving me the chance to do prepare everything from scratch. Thanks for choosing a delicious dessert recipe.. The flavours are divine...

For the coffee mix I added around 1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur to balance the coffee flavour.

P.S.: I lent my smaller springform pan to a friend, and end up using a square 9 x 9 springform pan. the cake came thinner than intended, only got two layers out of the lady fingers. A smaller pan will be better. Do try the cake its awesome in every bite... use an 8 inch pan or even a rectangular bread pan will do if you line the cake with plastic wrap to make it easy to lift the cake after.

Nia's Birthday Cake

As I shared in my previous posting, that we were celebrating seven birthdays in the family. We choose Valentine Day February 14^th, for the big celebration, as my sister in law lives with her family in Mississauga which is the next big city after Toronto, and they are part of the celebration party. Mississauga is almost four hours driving to North Bay.

It was a simple choice for the birthday cake, the Landry's love love love chocolate, I choose a double chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting, check the earlier posting for the recipe.

Now when it comes to a child birthday cake, you have to very careful with what you are using… my plan was doing an Ariel Cake and cover the cake with homemade fondant as well as the doll, also make fondant under the sea characters. To be honest, it will be a gorgeous cake, but do you really want a five years old girl to eat all that sugar even if its her birthday cake, who cares if the cakes is gorgeous or not… It’s covered with sugar. I know for surel that Lorraine will not be happy giving Nia all that sugar, and the cake will stay in North Bay for someone to eat, and will not go with them to Mississauga…

For sometime I wanted to try Farida’s Zebra Cake www.azcookbook.com/zebra-cake/ it looks great the recipe doesn’t include lot of sugar … I still wanted to go with under the water theme, and I wanted to use a nice icing which will stay perfect on the cake, light and not overly sweet… and my seven minutes icing is perfect for the job... it never failed me before. The candy store has a big variety of jelly candy, I found several under the sea characters , I grabbed couple of each and went back to assemble the cake.

By the way when we carried the two cakes we left Nia’s cake in the truck, I wanted to surprise her… and oh boy, she was surprised for sure, she yelled, cried from joy and hugged and kissed me then hugged me again... I leave the rest for the photos.

The big surprise on Miss Nia... She new there is a big cake for all of them but didn't expect a special one for her!!!!

P.S. my husband is after me now to bake him some Zebra CupCakes for his lunch box.

H2OPE FOR HAITI & A Double Chocolate Cake

It’s been snowing since last night; the ground is covered with snow… I was sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee and looking outside at the falling snow , I felt happy to see the white powder again, funny for someone who hates the winter cold snowy season, I felt happy to see the snow…

We didnt have a bad winter season this year. It was mild in comparison to earlier years... Especially in Northern Ontario where we will be covered with snow till mid of March…It didn’t snow all January, and this is the first snow in February.

In just the past two years alone, there have been major food and fuel crises, a global recession, and climatic disasters. There have also been other natural catastrophes, like the earthquake in Haiti which wrought so much pain and destruction. Last week Madeira landslide changed the map of the City, taking with it several victims, hundred of families lost their homes.

The devastating magnitude 7.0 quake that ripped through Haiti last month, reportedly killing thousands of people, the severe shaking which was so damaging, leaving thousands homeless without a safe shelter, the infrastructure is completely destroyed leaving the victims without food and water.

From Sunday, February 21 to Sunday-March 7th, 2010

BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine (BA-CFF) will be launching H2Ope for Haiti, an online raffle to raise funds for Concern Worldwide relief effort in Haiti.

They selected Concern Worldwide because of its long track record and quick response after the quake to provide clean drinking water and water purification tablets.

Concern Worldwide estimates that its initial response to the emergency will last at least six months. The money raised by this raffle will be paid directly into Concern Worldwide's account by Justgiving and will be used exclusively for the Haiti relief effort

Although the donation is small ; coming from a warm sincere heart will make a difference, and penny over penny will reach the target

Go to the Justgiving donation page and follow the instructions on how to win. You will find the list of great raffle prizes donated such as an I-Pod Shuffle, artwork, autographed cookbooks and so much more!!! You can also see the list of prizes on www.cooksister.com/2010/02h2ope-for-the-haiti-the-prizes.html for a complete list of prizes

One raffle ticket will give you the chance to win your choice of wonderful prizes donated by some fabulous bloggers. How's about an I-Pod Shuffle, an autographed copy of David Lebovitz's latest cookbook, Indian artwork or many more exciting prizes.

Also I got a $50.00 shopping spree from http://www.csnstores.com/, they have over 200 stores. you can shop online from Baby & kids, Home Decor, Home Improvement, Housewares , Outdoors, and many more PRIZE CODE: HFH35

Double Chocolate Cake

I've been using the Epicurious Double chocolate Layer Cake since some years now, and every time I make the cake, I try to add a new flavour. The original recipe of this cake make two 9 " round cake pans. Because I made this cake for a big birthday Party I doubled the recipe using two 12" cake pans, and four pounds of Callebaut Chocolate between the cake the ganache and the the chocolate flowers which were my first time trial. "the birthday party was on Feb 14th - what's better than chocolate on this special day"

For cake layers

• 3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
• 1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
• 3 cups sugar ( use 2 1/2)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

For ganache frosting

• 1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

for my cake I have to use 2 1/2 pounds of chocolate.


Note: I added 2 cups of toasted sliced Hazelnuts , this is optional
I use a strong brewed Melita Coffee, then add extra tbsp of Nescafe to the mix.


All I can say, this is the best ever chocolate cake you will ever eat PERIOD

Once again I remind you to check the justgiving and bid on one of the prizes.. there are plenty to choose from. and remember your money is going toward a great cause, God will bless every penny paid . Thank you so much every one for your support.

Mankousheh or Oregano Bread

The Humble Mankousheh

Out of the Oven

Ready for the Oven

Ash Wednesday, in the Western Christian Calendar, is the first day of Lent and occurs forty-six days (forty days not counting Sundays) before Easter.

For the first day of Lent I want to offer a simple recipe from the Lebanese Kitchen which is easy to prepare , tasty, full of nutritious ingredients, an energy booster. It's a breakfast staple, great for lunch , wonderful as a snack, and amazing any time of the day... This is my weakness.. The Humble Mankousheh.... which is bread dough stuffed either with Zaatar Mix and then it's called Mankousheh Zaatar (Oregano Bread) or stuffed with Cheese and its Mankousheh Jibneh or stuffed with meat and its called Lahem BiAjeen or Sfeeha.

In every corner of every neighbourhood in Beirut, you will find a Manakish Bakery; they open with the first light of the day, to prepare their dough, to be ready with the first customer entering their doors. During breakfast rush hour, all the bakeries are busy. On the weekend you have to have a ticket specially if some ladies, bring their own Zaatar mix to make their own Manakish at the bakery; you will ask for some dough and they give it to you rolled on a wooden board, one beside the other, as much as you want, when you finish stuffing your bread, they will bake it for you . Some ladies even bring Zaatar and cheese mix or meat mix for Lahem Bi Ajeen or Sfeeha. This is how much we love our Manakish burning hot out of the oven, served with fresh mint leaves, some black olives and slices of tomatoes.

You will have a nice treat , If you get to taste Mankousheh done on the Saj, which is a metal disk burns either on wood or Propane Gas. My mom has a Gas Saj she bought it to make our daily lavash bread during the war . Our treat at the end of a bread day; baking some nice hot Mankousheh on the Saj. On some weekends we used to invite our neighbors in the building for Manakish breakfast with Zaatar and Cheese accompanied with a cup of warm tea.

Because my mom is a farmer's daughter, she is used to prepare all the food specially the Mouneh from scratch (Mouneh is the larder that comprises foodstuff preserved in the ancient tradition for th winter season, and I am her daughter) which includes making the Zaatar Mix... which till now I find it the best mix I have ever tasted...her secret is adding some toasted nuts to the wild thyme/oregano , sumac , toasted unshelled sesame seeds, she also adds toasted chickpeas, and sometimes toasted pistachios or peanuts....and she ground them all in a big stone mortar and pestle...

I do get my share from her amazing Zaatar mix. She became friends with a spice mill place in our area, she takes some Zaatar to Sami the owner to package the Zaatar in a sealed bag from his Mill... this way if she is travelling or sending it with someone... she will not have any problem at the customs... Smart!

To prepare the best Mankousheh, you must have a good quality of Zaatar mix, good quality of Olive Oil, I like the Greek Olive Oil, because its very close to our oil, most of all a good dough, because if you don't have a good dough, all the above will not matter.

Dough:

when making my dough I use Sourdough Starter:
1 cup starter, with 2 cups of warm liquid (combination of water and 1/2 cup olive oil)
4 cups of unbleached flour, one teaspoon of dry yeast one tsp salt and tbsp of sugar....
the dough needs to rest and take its time to double... be patient and don't ever rush your dough

a cup or so of a sponge dough. Sometimes you need to add some more flour or more liquid , it all depends on the climate , the flour brand and your sponge.

When the dough rise and double, I take around a big ball and put in a freezer bag, to use it the next time I make another bread dough.

Zaatar Mix: Can be purchase from any Middle Eastern/Lebanese Store and you mix it with olive you to a spreadable Constancy to cover your dough... If the mix is too thick the Mankousheh will be dry and if the mix is too runny from the olive oil it will run out of the dough and burns before the bread is baked.

My weakness



A Treat from mom

Greek Olive Oil or Italian

Mom Zaatar Packaged in Sami Bittar's Spice Bags

Good in children lunch boxes

This is how I introduced the Manakish @ the Farmer's Market the first year..Now they all want the real Mankousheh.





Note: Mankousheh is a single Oregano Bread

Manakish is the plural of Mankousheh