Nomadic Bedouin way of baking and grilling in the desert !

Looks like it has been ages since I visited my own blog ! My kids, who are a Blessing, are keeping me on my toes and I am enjoying every bit being and investing time with them so much that I hardly miss blogging ! Yet again, a tiny place in my heart feels guilty of having neglected blogging for such a long time....
So, here I am again to share a recipe (though not mine) which reflects upon the nomadic way of cooking ! Well, to give an intro about it, my husband was on a road-trip, about 5000 kms, with his friends to Western Sahara last month. He got the rare opportunity of staying with the local nomadic tribes in the deserts of Sahara and learn their survival techniques and got the first hand experience of the primitive way of baking and grilling, which are still in use in many parts of the world...
We have come so far baking varieties of breads and cakes and casseroles and what not in our modern sophisticated ovens. These nomads not only bake breads but prepare and make their own ovens "on demand"! I am sure you will definitely enjoy viewing this interesting mode of grilling and baking done by one of the  bedouins of Mauritania. I am not going to duplicate what my husband has already documented with the pictures here :)

Gözleme

When I first came to Germany, i happened to attend an International Food Festival organized by the local city here. My friends had set up a big Tent stall for selling Turkish food to the people. In the background, many Turkish women, old and middle aged were preparing fresh flatbreads (Gözleme) on a large traditional griddle. I was so amazed to watch them preparing it. One of the old ladies out there saw me and kind enough to ask me if I wished to give them a helping hand. Hurrah ! what a fabulous opportunity and  I at once grabbed it! I did all the stuffing work, and brushing the breads with oil once they are done. That was an unforgettable exciting experience. My interest for Turkish cuisine was probably born at that moment. And it has grown so much in 6 years that I am posting Turkish recipes in my blog now !!!!

Gözleme is a savoury traditional Turkish hand made and hand rolled pastry. Fresh pastry is rolled out, filled and sealed, then cooked over a griddle. Gözleme varieties include:

• Spinach and Feta Cheese
• Spinach and Feta and Minced meat
• Spinach and Feta and Egg
• Egg
• Minced Meat
• Cheese
• Potatoes
• Mushroom

Source : Wikipedia
 
Ingredients
For the filling (I have used Minced Meat and Onions for my stuffing)
Onions - 3 (finely chopped)
Long green Chilli - 2 (chopped)
Minced meat - 300 gms
Paprika powder(or chilli powder) - 1/2 tsp
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Salt
Pepper

For the Dough
All purpose flour - 500 gms
Milk - about 60 ml
Dry yeast - 1 pkt
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Lukewarm water for activating the yeast - 2tbsp
For glancing
Butter - 1 stick
Oil - 2 tbsp
You need a non-stick pan with a lid for Baking !

Preparation
Filling
1. Heat the oil and saute the onions until transparent. Add the green chilli, minced meat, paprika powder,salt and pepper and cook until the meat becomes tender.
The idea is to cook whatever stuffing you are using (e.g. potatoes, spinach) beforehand.

Dough
1. In a small bowl, add the yeast, lukewarm water and sugar. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
2. In a separate large bowl, mix all the ingredients and the yeast solution. Knead well to form a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and let it rest at a room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Punch the air back and knead the dough once again for 2 minutes until smooth.
4. Divide it into lemon sized small balls (of the size that fits your hand and this also depends on your pan size you are going to bake in).

Glancing
Melt the butter and oil together by heating them a little.

Preparing the Gözleme
1. Dust the working surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, flatten the balls to paper-thin thickness.

2. Place the filling at the half portion.

  3. Cover the other half over it and seal the edges well by pressing with your fingers. You can as well use a fork for better sealing and design.

  4. Heat the non stick pan. Place the pastry over it. Cover the lid. Bake for 4-5 minutes until the side that is cooking is done and brown dots appear. Turn the other side and cook for another 2 minutes(with the lid closed). (You can keep changing the sides for getting it fully cooked)

5.When both the sides are done, remove from the pan and immediately brush it with the butter-oil mixture for extra glance.

6. Serve it along with Soups and Salats.

Tip :
You can prepare the dough in large quantities and freeze it for later use. It stays good for about a fortnight.
If you are interested, you can view a video about the preparation of Gözleme from here. It would be fun to see how they prepare it :)

This recipe goes to Iftar Moments by Taste of Pearl City and to Spotlight : baking without oven.

Cornmeal Bread

Sometimes we have no time for making a time-consuming breakfast or might just be feeling lazy to prepare one on a busy working day. This cornmeal bread, which is an "oven-free" could be prepared in less than half an hour! Cornmeal is a flour ground from dried corn. It is ground to fine, medium, and course consistencies.  When fine ground, it is known as cornflour. This Moroccan recipe calls for a medium ground Cornmeal. The bread made out of this cornmeal has a very typical corn flavor and leaves a delicious  taste in your mouth with a satisfying full stomach. I am sure you will love it too if and when you try it sometime.

Ingredients (for 6 breads)
Cornmeal flour(semolina) - 2.5 cups
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Butter (melted) - 8 tbsp
Milk - 2/3 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Preparation
1. Mix all the dry ingredients (cornmeal, sugar and alt)
2. Add the melted butter and milk and knead well to form a smooth and soft dough.

3. Divide the dough into 6 balls and flatten each ball between your palms.

4. Take a nonstick pan and cook each side of the bread for about 7-10 minutes on a medium heat.  Every now and then, using a wooden or plastic spatula, please make sure that the side that is cooking is not burnt !

5. Serve it with Jam or honey.

Tips:
1.Stays good for 3-4 days in an air tight container.
2. An ideal snack for picnics.

This recipe goes to A veggie/fruit a month: Corn  guest hosted by Akheela of Torview for Priya's monthly event and to Iftar Moments Hijri 1431 of Umm Mymoonah and to Spotlight : baking without oven.

Tortillas and Wraps

Tortillas look very similar to the Indian flat breads "chapatis". I had always wondered what these Tortillas are made of. Luckily, I found this recipe in one of my bread books and was amazed to know its ingredients and so had to try it immediately :). They make a good, healthy and light meal. You could just stuff it with any vegetable available in your fridge and/or with left over fried chicken or with mayonnaise, ketchup, depending upon your taste. So lets get into the job of how these Tortillas are made...

Ingredients (for approx. 10 Tortillas)
All purpose flour - 1 and a half cup
Corn flour - 1 cup
Lukewarm water - approx. 150 ml

If you are wondering if I had omitted to mention any ingredient, no I have not ! These are all the ingredients it requires ! Isnt it simple ? :)

Method
1. Sift and mix the two flours in a bowl.
2. Add the water and knead it for 5 minutes into a smooth dough.
3.  Divide the dough into 10 balls.
4. Take a ball and using a rolling pin, flatten it out into 0.5-1 cm thickness. (Please do not roll it out thin. Otherwise they will be difficult to fold later. While working with one ball, cover the other balls with a clingfilm so that they dont get dried up !)
5. Take a nonstick pan and heat it. Place the "flattened roll", one at a time, and cook it in a medium flame for 2- 3 min. Turn the other side and cook again for a minute. There is no need to add oil or butter !
6. Repeat the process for all the other balls.

Gently rub off the flour sticking on the nonstick pan with a kitchen tissue from time to time to avoid the Tortillas from getting burnt.
Serve it with your favourite stuffings. For a crispy munch, use crushed Torilla chips.

I had tried to make a light "Chilli Red Beans-Minced meat" stuffing. The recipe you could check it out from the link Chilli Red Beans- Minced Meat in the Curries and Gravies section.

Tips : The unstuffed, plain Tortillas stay fresh for a week in an airtight container. Bake them or Microwave before reusing it for 3 min. at 180°C

You could as well cut the unused Tortillas into small pieces and deep fry them in hot oil and your Tortilla chips are ready as a snack !
This recipe goes to Spotlight : baking without oven.