Jim and are throwing a party today to show a bunch of our friends the pictures we took in Egypt. And so I am getting into the spirit of things by cooking a full Egyptian menu. I thought I would share some of the recipes here that I liked. Most of these recipes come from the EgyptDailyNews.com with some alterations from me.
Shawerma
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbl lemon juice
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon,
1/2 tsp allspice,
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry fine oregano
1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
2 cups yogurt
1 tomato
1 1/2 lbs of lamb, chicken or beef
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl and marinate the lamb (or beef) in it for 6 hours. Grease a saucepan with oil and heat. Add the marinated lamb (or beef) and cook until tender. Serve it with Pita bread and tahini sauce (see below), mint leaves, tomatoes and onions. (Alternatively, you may hook the pieces of meat on small wooden skewers and grill on charcoal until tender).
Tahini Sauce
3 tbl sesame tahini
1 minced clove of garlic
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbl lemon juice
3 tbl water, or more
1 tbl plain yogurt.
Place tahini, garlic, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix with a spoon Gradually add water until tahini becomes smooth. Add chopped parsley and mix well.
Kofta
2 lbs ground lamb, or shredded chicken
1 cup mashed potatoes or thick white sauce
1 Onion chopped
tblsp crushed bread crumbs (optional
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
Bread crumbs
sun flower oil
Place in a bowl working with your hands to form a consistent ball like the dough. Start shaping into small balls and press to form circles (hamburger size) that are ½ cm to 1 cm thick. Refridgerate for 15 minutes. Beat 2 eggs and add salt and pepper. Place Kofta in eggs until both sides are properly covered. Cover with bread crumbs and fry in sun flower oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side.
Taamiya “Falafel’
1 lb. fava beans, skinned and split
4 tsp. cumin, ground
1/2 cup dried chick peas
2 tsp. coriander, ground
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbs. salt
1/2 cup coriander, fresh and finely chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup green onions, finely chopped
2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbs. dill, fresh and chopped or 1/2 tsp. dry dill
1/2 cup sesame seeds, roasted
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
vegetable oil for deep frying
Soak fava beans and chick peas in water overnight, or at least for 15 hours. First grind chick peas until very fine, add beans, fresh parsley, fresh coriander, green onions, dill and garlic. Grind altogether in food processor until a very fine paste is obtained, adding 7 or 8 tablespoons of water. Keep the water when grinding to an absolute mininmun. More water makes gringing easier but makes the patties fall apart in frying. Add ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, pepper and mix well by hand. Refrigerate for an hour to make it firm. At this stage the paste can be frozen in small packets. Thaw when needed and add baking soda 1/2hour before frying.
With wet fingers shape into walnut size balls 1 1/2" in diameter (or use cylindrical steel spring mold*), flatten to form small patties, dip one side in sesame seeds and deep fry in hot oil. Turn over until well browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels. If you get too much water and your patties are falling apart you can use cheese cloth to strain the paste, or you can mix in some breadcrumbs to give it a little more body. If you make the patties and allow them to dry for a little bit before you actually fry them, that helps as well.
Serve hot with pocket bread. Side dishes of Tehina dip, green onions, tomatoes, radishes, pickles and chopped parsley are usually served with Falafel. Yields 55 patties
Egyptian Kusherie
1 cup lentils
1 quartered garlic clove
2 tablespoon cumin
6 ounces small elbow macaroni, or vermicelli broken into 1 inch pieces
2 cups dry rice
4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 tsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
salt and peper to taste
Boil lentils in water (about 4 cups) along with 1 clove garlic cut into quarters, and 1 tablespoon cumin until cooked (15-20 mintes), drain and set aside. Boil the pasta until done accoring to the package instructions. Cook the rice in the chicken stock add salt if the broth is unsalted. Add the butter and olive oil to a large skillet. Add the pasta and saute, then add the rice and lentils, and 1tsp cumin and saute until warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Kusherie Sauce
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 dash lime juice
2 minced garlic cloves
1 dash yellow mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
In 1 tablespoon oil heated over medium heat add 2 cloves minced garlic and a dash of salt, stir and fry about 2 minutes. Add a pinch of sugar and the tomato sauce and mix well. Add the vinegar, a small squirt yellow mustard and a dash of lime juice. You can adjust the amounts according to your personal taste but it should have kind of a slight puckery bite.
To serve, put the kusherie onto a plate and add a small amount of sauce to the top. A little goes a long way, and you can always add more according to taste
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Basboussa
Sugar Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon clarified butter
2 talbespoons lemon juice
Put ingredients for sugar syrup into a pot and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon clarified butter. Simmer for about 15 minutes and cool.
Basboussa cake
2 cups semolina flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup clarified butter
1 cup milk
1/2 talbespoon plain yogurt
1/2 cup slivered almonds, or 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
Mix the sugar, coconut and semolina flour. Put the milk and butter in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the semolina mixture to the milk and butter, plus remaining ingredients and mix well. Coat a 8x8 baking pan with butter. Pour into a baking tray 1/2 inch high and distribute evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes until golden-yellow. Remove from the oven and distribute slivered almonds or chopped hazelnuts over the top of the backed Basboussa. Press the nuts gently with your finger. Leave the Basboussa to cool for 1 hour. Soak with the cold sugar syrup. Bake at 200 degrees for 5 minutes until golden-yellow. Cut into pieces and serve warm or cold.
Baklawa
Syrup
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice (to stop syrup from crystallizing
3 tbsp rosewater
2 tsp butter
Pastry
3 cups finely chopped pistachio nuts
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 lb package phyllo pastry/strudel pastry
1 pound clarified butter, melted
Make the syrup well ahead of time as it must be cool by the time it is used. Combine sugar and water, bring to a boil, add lemon juice and continue boiling for 3 minutes. Add rosewater and butter and remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature. Carefully pick between the nuts for stray shell pieces. Combine chopped nuts, sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Brush a 40 x 28 cm (13 x 19 inch) baking pan with butter. Lay down two phyllo sheets and brush them with butter. Cover with a single sheet and brush it with butter. Continue until slightly more than half the package is used. Spread with the filling. Cover with a phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Continue as before until all phyllo is used. Brush the top sheet well with butter. Slice through the top layers with a sharp knife, forming diamond shapes - bite size or larger. Bake in a 450F oven for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 375C and bake for another 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden. (Carefully watch during last stage of baking as you to not wish do over-brown.) Remove from the oven. Slice through all layers, pour on the cool syrup and set aside. Serve at room temperature. Will keep at room temperature for 5-7 days. Freezes well.
‘Karkadeeh’ - Hibiscus Drink
1 cup hibiscus petals
2 cups sugar
Large pot of water
Place hibicus petals in cold water. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove pot and strain liquid through a very fine sieve or filter paper. Return petals to the pot, add fresh cold water to cover, and bring to a boil, again filtering the juice. Repeat until karkadeeh loses its reddish hue. Discard petals and sweeten while juice is still hot.
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