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 :)

Spicy Meat with Bell Peppers

Cooking for me is like a sine wave. There are times when I am in such a cooking spree that I innovate and experiment my culinary skills and come out with many ideas and totally feel out of the world but there are times when the "peak" is down and I just warm up the frozen foods which I stock in my freezer to fill my stomach. Guess I am in the positive wave side now and am coming up with ideas, especially with the Meat. Its been almost a month since we celebrated Eid-ul-Adha and my freezer is stocked up with lots of meat now..... so are my posts sitting in my drafts ! So came up with this recipe where the spicy Meat is first cooked, then fried a little, and then added to the vegetables and Soya sauce. The Indian style cooked meat mixed with the prime Chinese ingredient Soya sauce and Bell peppers had a very good blend of both these cuisines. Your palates would love it !

Ingredients

Meat - 1 kg

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Finely chopped Ginger - 1 /2 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Water - 2 cups

Tomato paste - 1 tbsp

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Red Onions - 2

Green Bell pepper - 1

Yellow Bell Pepper - 1

Soya sauce - 2 tbsp

Green Chillies - 3

Method

1. Trim the excess fat from the meat. Marinate with turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, ginger paste, and salt and set aside for about half an hour. Cook the marinated meat with 2 cups of water. I pressure cooked it to speed up the process. 

2. Remove the cooked meat from the broth. Use this broth for some other purpose or just in a noodle soup.

3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Fry the meat pieces. Add the tomato paste, 1 tsp chilli powder. Keep turning its sides to brown them evenly.

4. Slice the red onions about 1 cm size. Cut the bell peppers lengthwise.

5. In a separate pan, heat the oil and saute the red onions, bell peppers for 3 minutes. Do not over fry them. They have to retain their crispness and color. Add the soya sauce, chopped green chillies and  chopped ginger. Saute for a minute.

6. Fold these vegetables into the meat and cook for a minute again. Serve warm with breads or rice.

Karniyarik (Stuffed Eggplant)

Karniyarik is one of those Turkish favourite dishes which could be unmistakably seen throughout the country on every simple to big occasions. Karniyarik literally means "split belly". The eggplant is split, stuffed with a mix of ground meat, garlic, onions and spices.

Ingredients
Eggplant - 3 or 4 (big size)
Olive oil - 90 ml
Onion - 2 (small and finely chopped)
Ground meat - 350 gms
Tomatoes -2 (skin peeled off and chopped)
Tomato-paste - 1 tbsp
Grated cheese - 120 gms
Salt - to taste
Ground pepper - to taste

Method
1. Split the eggplants into two. Remove the white part(you could use this for some other preparation).
Sprinkle some salt on the cut halves.

2. Allow it to strain through a sieve for half an hour. This helps remove all the browning, which gives bitterness to the vegetable.

3. In a separate pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Saute the onions. Add the ground meat, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper and cook until the meat turns light brown.

4. Wash the eggplant, dry them using a paper towel. Place them in a tray. Stuff the ground meat filling. 

5. Sprinkle the grated cheese. Mix the rest of the olive oil with 150 ml water and carefully pour it into the tray as a water-bath. This helps prevent the eggplant's skin from sticking to the tray while baking. 

6. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Bake the stuffed eggplant for about 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 170 °C and bake for another 30-45 minutes until it is soft and done. Keep checking for the over-browning of the cheese from time to time !

7. Serve the Karniyarik with bread or rice. Tastes lecker when warm !

This recipe goes to the Global Food Festival, organised by Sizzling Tastebuds.

Lamb leg grill with spicy coating

The most awaited and the blessed month of Ramadhan has finally come and i would like to wish Ramadhan Mubarak to all the Muslims across the globe !!!!

Its been almost an year since i wrote something...With the arrival of another little bundle of joy at home, I have been totally neglecting this one for indeed a very long time. My blogging buddies have been so kind to me and their emails have been so encouraging and supportive during my absence that I would like to thank one and all for it.

With Ramadhan here, the blogging world eagerly waits for the Iftar Moments hosted by my close friend Umm Mymoonah of the Taste of Pearl City. Iam sure every one would be as excited as Iam.. This event definitely holds a special place for me. Though I kept myself away from blogging, I cant and I dont want to miss participating in this wonderful event... can I??

So, here is my recipe exclusively for the Iftar Moments...

Ingredients

Lamb leg - about 3 kgs
Butter - 100 gms
Red Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic pods - 2 (pressed)
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
Saffron - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 80 ml
Ground Pepper - 1 tsp or according to your taste
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - according to the taste
Water - 1/2 cup

Preparation

1. Spread 50 gms butter and ground pepper and rub it on the lamb leg thoroughly.

2. In a separate bowl, mix well the chopped onions, garlic, all the spices, olive oil and a little water.

3. Take half of this mixture and spread firmly on the buttered meat.

4. Pour the other half of the onion mixture and the rest of the butter in a large baking pan which should be large enough to accomodate the leg.

5. Now place the lamb leg on this onion mixture bath, cover it with a foil and marinate for minimum 1 hr at room temperature.

6. Remove the foil and slow grill the lamb leg at 175 °C for about 2.5 hrs until it turns crispy from outside and is cooked well. Every now and then, using a spoon, pour over the underlying onion juice on the lamb during grilling.
7. Using a sharp knife, cut it in slices and serve it as a steak with rice or bread.

I bet this juicy and grilled lamb-leg is a nice treat for the meat-lovers !

Note :
1. If the meat is uncooked, you could regrill it in the oven for another half an hour or so.
2. This grill time varies according to the size of the lamb leg in different countries. Please adjust the time accordingly.
3. Feel free to use spices of your choice :)

Mansaf -Jordanian National Food

Mansaf, the traditional dish of Jordan is comprised of "Jameed" - drenched rice, meat and Shrak bread.
Jameed is a special kind of sun dried yoghurt, that is generally fist-sized and hard as a rock. It is later broken down and cooked, then served in generous quantities alongside the rice and meat. Since, we do not get Jameed easily in Western countries here, I did not try it until when one of my Jordanian friends suggested that i make a substitute for it by mixing Yogurt, curd cheese with a powdered essence of Lemon. Though the taste would be a little different from the traditional Mansaf, it definitely was a rich feast  ! Someday, would defnitely love to try it with the actual "jameed" !


Ingredients for 2-3 persons

Lamb - 1 kg
Basmati rice - 2 cup (washed, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained).
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Onion - 1 (cutted to squares)
Arabic loaves of bread called Shrak or Pita
Parsley - 1 cup (finely chopped)
Salt
Pepper - 2 tsp
cloves - 3
spices (according to your taste)
Yogurt - 500 gms
Curd Cheese - 2 tbsp
Powdered essence of Lemon - 1/2 tsp (available in Turkish shops as Limon Tuzu)
Water - 1 litre

Preparation
1. Slow cook the lamb in cold water with salt and pepper. Bring to boil, simmer it and cook for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the meat and reserve the broth.
3. In a separate bowl, add Yogurt, curd cheese, powdered essence of lemon and whisk it well.
4. Mix this Yogurt mix with the reserved broth. Let it boil.

5. Add the meat, onions, salt, spices, cloves and simmer until the meat is tender and cooked well with the broth.

6. In a separate pan, heat the ghee and saute the rice for 2 minutes until the grains are coated completely with the ghee.

7. Add enough water and cook the rice until fluffy. (Please read the instructions in the packet of the rice used, as regards to the water).
8. Take a large serving plate. Spread out the one or two loaves of bread on it. 

9. Pour over a laddle full of the Yogurt broth over the bread.

 10. Put the cooked rice on the bread.

 11. Arrange pieces of the meat on the rice bed. Pour over the Yogurt soup generously all over.

 12. Sprinkle roasted pine nuts and/or Almonds and parsley.

Serve Mansaf along with a bowl of the Yogurt soup which could be poured as and when you are enjoying the feast. Its a single plate meal. All the members gather around and eat from this single plate with hand.

This festive rice recipe goes to the Festive rice event hosted by Torview

Etli Kuru Fasülye (White beans with Beef)

Kuru Fasulye is a traditional and the most popular Turkish dish and it is associated with Turks around the world just like sish kebab. Served warm with bread, rice or Bülgur Pilavi, it tastes best in cold weather !

Ingredients (for 4-6 persons)
White beans - 500 gms(soaked in water overnight) or canned ones
Beef or Meat - 500 gms (bite size)
Onions - 3 (medium size and chopped)
Green Paprika - 3 (seeds removed and cut in small pieces)
Tomatoes - 3 (pulp and seeds removed and then chopped)
Butter - 3 tbsp
Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
Water or Meat stock - 5 cups
Salt - added to desired taste
Pepper - added to desired taste

Method 
1.  Drain the soaked white beans and cook them separately. Set aside.
2. Heat the butter in a pan. Saute the onions and then add Paprika, Tomatoes, Tomato paste, salt, pepper and mix well. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the meat and water/stock and cook until the meat gets tender. You could pressure cook everything together.
4. Once the meat is done, you could finally add the cooked beans and cook for another 5-10 minutes in a slow flame. If you are using canned beans, wash them well and directly add them in this step. This would save a lot of time!
If you want more watery consistency, add more water/stock or cook on a slow flame for 10 minutes to thicken the gravy.

Tip
If you want to make it completely vegetarian, just omit the meat and prepare using vegetable stock for extra richness !

This recipe directly goes to Divya's Show Me Your Curry, and to MLLA 27

Aalu Gosht ka Saalan

Aalu Ghost is considered a king of combinations in a non-veg Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Potatoes and meat make a beautiful pair with their flavours complementing each other. The method of preparing it is almost the same everywhere but different spices are used to give a slightly different flavour. My mom used to add coconut paste to increase its consistency.This is my version of the recipe.

Ingredients
Meat or Lamb pieces (with or without bones) - 1 kg
Potatoes - 3 (medium sized, peeled and each cut into 4-6 pieces)
Onion - 4 (sliced)
Ginger paste -2 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 3 (big and chopped)
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Cardamom -2
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or according to the spicy taste
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder - 4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Water - 1 1/2 to 2 cups
Salt - to taste
Corriander leaves - 1 cup (chopped)

Method
1. Heat the oil in a pan or a pressure cooker.
2. Saute the onions until golden brown.
3. Add the ginger paste and the garlic paste. Keep stirring until the paste combines well with the onions and leaves out of the pan without sticking to it. (Care should be taken that the onions do not get burnt at the bottom. So please keep stirring it well ).
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they get tender for about 10 minutes. Keep stirring it again regularly for every 2 minutes.
5. Add the spices (red chilli powder, turmeric powder, corriander powder, cumin powder,  and salt) and cook for about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the meat pieces to it. Mix it well.
7. Depending upon the potato variety, you could add the potatoes now together with the meat or later when the meat is half cooked.
8. Add the water and pressure cook it until the meat is done and tender. If you are cooking on a pan, cook it on a medium flame. You need to keep checking the bottom by stirring it well at regular intervals so that the ingredients are not burnt. If necessary, add a little more water and cook on a slow flame.
9. Garnish it with corriander leaves and serve along with steamed rice or breads or chapatis.


Tip :
You could use the same recipe for making Meat with any other vegetables like brinjal, drumstick, White Radish, Green peas, or Beans. But make sure you use less water when you prepare using these vegetables because they lose water when cooking.

Iam sending this recipe to  Taste of Pearl City, of Umm Mymoonah for Iftar Moments , Divya's Show Me Your Curry, and to Akila's Dish Name Starts with : A

Chilli Red Beans with Minced Meat

I made it as a stuffing to my Tortillas and it made a perfect combination to it. You could as well use it with chapatis or as a stuffing to any bread.
Ingredients
Minced meat - 250 gms
Chilli red beans (Chilli Rote Bohnen in German) - 1 tin.  You could get this from any supermarket in the "canned food" section. It has some chilli and spices mixed into it. It gives a slightly different taste, different from the normal spices used in an Indian cuisine.
Onion (chopped) -1
Olive oil or any oil - 2 tbsp
water - half cup
Salt to taste

Method
1. Heat the oil and saute the onion until transparent.
2. Add the minced meat, chilli red beans, salt and water and cook it until the meat is done.

Moroccan Tajine

Tajines in Moroccan cuisine are slow-cooked dishes braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce. Tajines can be made vegetarian or with meat. The preferred cuts of lamb are the neck, shoulder, cooked until it is falling off the bone. It can be made with any meat. Moroccan Tajines often combine lamb or chicken with a medley of ingredients and seasonings. My favourite combination is lamb and olives, which i ate in an iftar party  hosted by a Moroccan family! It is generally presented in a large serving plate which is shared by 5- 6 people and is served with breads.

I would love to share this simple and delicious recipe with you... 

Ingredients

Meat - 500 gms (preferably large pieces)
Onions - 2

Garlic pods - 3
olive oil - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tbsp
Ginger powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
a pinch of saffron or orange colorant (optional)
corriander leaves (chopped) - 1/4 cup
Green olives(seedless) - 300 gms
salt to taste 

Method
1. Mix all the spices together with 1 tbsp of water.
2. Marinate the meat with this mixture for 2 hours.
3. In a separate pan, fry grated onions in olive oil until they are transparent.
4. Now add the marinated meat to the onions and mix well.
5. Add 1 litre of water and cook the meat until tender. (You could as well pressure cook the meat for quick results)
6. Take out the meat from the sauce.
7. Add olives to the remaining sauce and cook for 5- 10 mins. until the sauce thickens a little bit.
8. Finally add the meat to the sauce and serve with a bread !