Bamia Mareg

Bamia Mareg
Iraqi Okra Stew

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove (or more) garlic, peeled and minced
Stew beef or lamb with or without bones (I usually use a little less than a
pound, but it depends on how many people you are cooking for.)
salt
pepper
noomi basra (optional)
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 bag frozen chopped okra, or chopped cleaned fresh okra (the BEST way
to make it is if your middle east store has frozen baby okra from Egypt in
their freezer section-- these are about 1 inch long and extremely delicious
and not fibrous like larger, older okras)
water


1. In olive oil in a saucepan, fry onion over medium heat until soft or
transparent. Add garlic and fry for a minute or two longer.
2. Add stew meat and brown. Add salt, pepper, and tomato paste, stirring
around so the paste breaks up and takes on a dark red hue (dont burn it!)
3. Add water and noomi basra; cover and boil gently over medium
fire for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Alternatively, the meat may be browned
and boiled by itself until very tender, cutting out this step.
4. Add okra, and boil gently until tender and the stew is thicker than
a soup but thinner than a pasty stew.

** serve over bastmati rice, with a nice salad like fattouch**

Date Cookies Recipe (Iraq)

Date Cookies Recipe (Iraq)

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped walnuts

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt; then set aside. Mix thoroughly the butter, sugar and eggs; then gradually add the dry ingredients until a soft dough is formed. Stir in the dates and walnuts, then place heaping teaspoons of the dough an inch apart on an ungreased cookie tray. Place in a preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies turn golden brown. Remove and allow to cool before serving.

Hilwat Tamr

Hilwat Tamr
(Date Nut Pie)

1/2 cup coarsley chopped blanched almonds
1/2 cup coarsley chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup half anf half
1 lb dates, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp orange blossom water
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Mix the almonds, walnuts and sugar; then set aside
In a heavy frying pan, melt the butter; then stir in the cream, cinnamon and orange blossom water. Saute over a low heat until the dates become soft, stirring once in a while to make sure the dates don't stick. Add a little more cream if necessary. Stir in the nut mixture; then saute for a further 3 minutes.
Spread evenly in a pie pan; then bake in a 300 degree farenheit oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and allow to cool. Cut into small pie shaped wedges.

Klaicha

Klaicha
3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
8oz unsalted butter (1 cup)
3 tsp orange flour water or rose water
1/4 cup water

250 g or 8 oz pitted dates
2 tbsp butter

1. Sift flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into pieces and rub flour with fingertips until distributed evenly.
2. Blend orange flour water or rose water with water and sprinkle onto flour mixture. Mix to a firm dough and knead lightly until smooth. Rest dough for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile chop dates. Place in a pan with the butter and heat gently until dates soften, stirring often. Remove from heat and keep aside.
4. Roll dough into balls the size of a large walnut (@ 1 tbsp )
5. Flatten a ball of dough in the palm of your hand and place a teaspoonfull of date filling in the center. Mould dough around filling and reshape into a ball.
6. Press ball into a carved mold similar to a tabi and place on an ungreased baking tray. Alternatively, place on a tray, flatten slightly and press tines of a fork obliquely around sides and accross top. giving pastry a slightly conical shape.
7. Bake in a preheated moderately slow oven ( 170 C or 325 F) for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.
8. Cool on tray -- pastries will become firm and crisp on cooling. Store in a sealed container when cool.

Alternative shaping--
Divide pastry into 3 equal portions and roll each portion into a rectangle 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and 10 cm (4 inches) wide. Put one-third of the date mixture, shaped in a long roll, along one edge of pastry and roll up to enclose filling. Press edges and ends to seal and place rolls, join side down, on ungreased baking sheet. Decorate top with pastry crimper or any other means to make a design. Bake as for Klaicha above, cool and slice at an angle to serve. Store in sealed container.

Tepsi Batenjan (eggplant potato stew)

Egplant Potato Marga (Tepsi)

1 large onion, minced
chopped garlic cloves (Im a garlic freak so I use a lot)
1 large eggplant/aubergine, sliced about 1/4 inch and then chopped into rectangles or squares
1-2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 small 8oz can of tomato paste
salt and pepper
1 noomi, OPTIONAL
water of course lol
I dont use meat in this recipe, but Ive heard some people do... I dont bother with it. Some people also add chopped green pepper, but I don't.

1. Prepare the eggplant by salting the squares and placing in a colander for about 1 hour to drain out the sour juices. Rinse in cold water and dry with paper towels. Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan and throw the eggplant in there and fry over medium to medium high heat until golden-brown (not burnt). lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Take your dutch oven or large pot and fry some onion in oil until tender. Add the chopped garlic and fry for a a minute or two more. Add the chopped potatoes, salt, pepper, and tomato paste and mix well and fry until the tomato paste turns a dark red color. Add the fried eggplant and some water (and noomi if you like it), and boil, covered for about 1 hour, adding water if necessary. It should be the consistency of a thick soup or a thin stew. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve over rice or with flat bread, etc...

Boorak

Boorak
Crepes:
2 eggs
2/3 cup flour
1 cup low-fat milk
salt
Meat Filling:
1/4 pound ground beef
2 tbs olive oil
salt
black pepper
1/4 tsp allspice or kabsa spices
1/4 cup minced parsley
2 green onions (spring onions), minced
Oil for frying
1. Whirl the crepe ingredients in a blender or food processor until
smooth. Set for at least 1 hour.
2. For the filling, sauté the ground beef in the oil, sprinkling with
salt and pepper. Stir to break up any lumps. When the meat is cooked,
drain off the fat in a sieve. Toss with the remaining ingredients.
3. Brush an 8-10 inch nonstick skillet lightly with a bit of oil.
When it is hot, pour some batter into the center of the pan. Tip the
pan around to spread the batter over the surface. Cook about 30
seconds and flip to cook the other side for 10-15 seconds. Repeat
until all the crepes are done.
4. To form the rolls, place several crepes on your work surface,
bubbly side up. Put about 2 rounded tbsp of filling on the lower
half of each crepe. Fold the bottom edge up, and the left and right
edges over toward the middle, thus closing 3 sides of the package.
Roll up like an egg roll. Repeat the process with the remaining crepes
.
5. Heat oil for frying in a skillet. Transfer the rolls to the
skillet, lightly sauté them until golden crisp, and drain on paper
towels.

Lissan el quathi (tongue of the judge)

(Eggplant wrapped meat)
A literal translation: "Tongue of the Judge"
Makes about 20 pieces

2 large eggplants
1/2 - 1 cup oil (if frying eggplant)
Stuffing:
2 lbs. Lean ground meat
1 medium onion (1 cup) finely minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Sauce:
2 tbsp corn oil
1 large onion diced
1 large tomato sliced (optional)
1 large tomato peeled and chopped
14 oz. tomato sauce
1 cup beef or chicken stock
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp turmeric

Peel eggplant, trim off the top and bottom. Stand eggplant up on
cutting board and slice vertically, 1/8" thin. Sprinkle generously with
salt, place in a strainer for about 1 hour. Rinse off the salt and
strain eggplant to dry.

Heat about 4 tbsp corn oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplant
slices in batches, turning once to brown both sides. Be careful not to
burn. Add more oil as needed. Drain cooked eggplant slices on paper
towels.

Low fat alternative: Place eggplant slices on baking sheets lined
with foil and brushed with corn oil. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees
for approximately 20-30 minutes until brown, turning the eggplant
halfway.

Mix together the ground meat, onion, salt and pepper. Divide the
meat into sausage shaped portions 1" thick and 2" long. Place a
portion of the meat stuffing at one end of an eggplant slice and begin
wrapping the eggplant around it.

Place the rolls in a baking dish and layer the tomato slices on top (optional).

In a saucepan heat 2 tbsp oil and saute the diced onions. When
soft add the chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and turmeric. Add tomato
sauce, beef or chicken stock and lemon juice to taste. Cover and simmer
15 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the rolls in the baking dish, cover with
aluminum paper and bake for 1 hour (or until done) at 450 degrees.

Curried Kuftas

1 pound ground beef (or 1/2 kg)
3 tbs sifted breadcrumbs
4 small onions
salt and pepper
1 tbsp flour
3 cloves of garlic
butter or ghee
1 tbsp curry
1 tsp tomato paste (or more if u like)
water
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 pound (1/2 kg) potatoes

chop an onion and pass through a meat grinder along with the meat and bread
crumbs. Or you can grate the onion and mix it by hand with the ground beef.
(or even use the food processor if youre brave) Add salt and pepper and mix
well. Make small balls the size of a walnut with the meat mixture (1 tbsp),
dip in flour to coat well. Fry the kuftas in the butter or ghee and remove. add the remaining onions and the garlic to the pan and fry. Dilute the tomato paste in some water and add with the curry powder to the onion and garlic mixture in the pan. Bring to a boil, add the rest of the water season and boil for like 10 minutes. (the recipe said to use 7 tins-- I have no clue what a tin is, perhaps a cup) Add the lemon juice and the fried kuftas. Boil the potatoes, peel them and cut into large pieces (in halves or quarters depending on size). Add them to the boiling kuftas, and allow to simmer for an hour. Serve with rice

Halawa

Halawa

1 tin sugar
1/2 tin water
Rosewater
1 tin butter
1 1/2 tins flour

Make a Syrup of the sugar and water and flavor with rosewater. Allow to
cool. Melt the fat in a saucepan, add the flour, stirring constantly until
it is well cooked. Remove form the fire and add the syrup, pouring it in
slowly and stirring all the time. The mixture should resemble a thick cake
batter. If it is too thin, return to the fire and cook until thicker.
Occasionally this sweet is decorated with almonds.
personal note-- The Iranian ladies I know who make this usually pour it onto
a nice serving platter before it is cold, and sort of sculpt little swirls
or spoon patterns onto it. This is also made in Iraq.

Mid Eastern Beans and Rice

Ingredients

(this is for the smallest possible batch. I usually double or triple this recipe)

1 can of drained black eyed peas (Iraqi version), or 1 cup cooked green fava beans (Iranian version)
1 cup of basmati rice

butter

salt

dill weed (I use dried)

Instructions

1. put a large pot of salted water on the boil
2. add the rice (you can wash it first or soak it if you want to reduce the cooking time)
3. cook the rice for 8-9 minutes (less if washed) or until it is al dente-- not completely cooked. Drain
4. put some butter (I always use enough to clog my arteries) in the bottom of the pot and melt it--
5. add the drained rice, the drained black eyed peas/fava beans, salt to your taste, and several spoonfulls of dill weed-- you choose how much you'd like-- but at least 1 tbs per batch-- I always use quite a bit more than that.
6. use your spatula to make the rice mixture look like Devil's Tower (dont forget to hum the melody for Close Encounters lol lol ) and poke a few holes down through the mixture with the handle of your spatula to facilitate steaming.
7. I put a few more pats of butter on top and more salt if needed
8. put a paper towel or thin dish towel over the top of the pan, and then put the lid of the pot over the top-- if the rag is long, tie it on top of the lid.
9. Steam on LOW heat for 15-25 minutes or until u can't stand it anymoreHow to eat it-- some people like this with a Roast chicken, but I always go the vegitarian way by just taking home made pickles (torshi) and plain yoghurt to mix in. Serve with a nice salad with a lemon vinagrette too

Potato Kubba

Ingredients & equipement

(For the Potato Shell)

*1/4 cup white rice, any type except converted or instant
*3 Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
*1 or 2 big slices of day-old bread
*salt
*black pepper

( For the Meat Filling )

* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 2 tbs olive oil
* 1/2 pound ground beef
* Salt
* Black Pepper
* equal pinches of cinnamon, cumin, and curry powder (I sometimes just use curry)
*1/4 cup minced parsely
*Oil for sautéing
*Optional- toasted pine nuts

Instructions

1. Boil the rice in 4 cups of water until tender. Drain and allow to cool down.

2. Steam or boil the potatoes in salted water until tender (roughly 15 minutes). Drain and use a potato masher or mixer to mash.

3. Tear the bread into pieces and whirl them in the food processor-- you should have about a cup of bread crumbs as a result.

4. Measure 1 cup cooked rice, and add to the food processor, processing again with the crumbs

5. Add th potatoes to the rice-bread combo and knead the mixture until a smooth dought is formed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. For the stuffing, gently sauté the onion until soft, add meat and spices, and fry for a while, making sure to break up the lumps of meat. when browned, drain any extra oil and stir in the minced parsely & optional toasted pine nuts.

7. To shape the potato cake, form a ball the size of a lime and insert your finger to hollow out the inside. Fill with about a tsp of the meat stuffing and close the potato mixture around the filling. Flatten slightly between yor palms. At this point I like to place the uncooked kubbe in the refigerator for an hour or so to firm it up. You can also freeze it as is to be thawed and fried later on.

8. Lightly sauté the kubbe in oil until pale golden brown and crisp. Serve hot or at room temp.

Iraqi Shorba

Ingredients

One or two large onions, chopped
Several cloves of garlic
One Large Tomato, chopped
Olive Oil
Dried Lemon (optional)
One 6oz can of tomato paste
Salt, pepper, hot pepper (optional), preferred spices
Your choice(choose ONE) of vegetable: okra
yellow and/or zuchini squash
spinach
green peas
other...
Your choice of either beef or lamb, cubed or on the bone
(at least one pound, but you can make due without meat)



Instructions

*Fry onions in olive oil over medium heat until they are transparent.
* Add garlic (chopped or whole) and fry gently for a few minutes.
*Add cubed meat, salt, pepper, and spices and brown.
*Add the tomato and dried lemon
*Add water (enough to well cover the meat) and cover pot.
*Add tomato paste
*Boil for two or three hours, or until meat is tender
(using a pressure cooker reduces the time for the meat!!!)
*Add your chopped or cubed vegetable and boil until a thick stew.
**Note: You will definetly have to keep adding more water to
the pot, make sure your shorba doesn't boil down and burn!


Serving Suggestions

*over pita/Arabic bread in a large serving bowl.
*eat with pita or arabic bread instead of a spoon.
*serve over saffron or long-grained rice