thank you for being here
TL;DR: my recipes are to be followed closely the first time with the freedom to add spices or change quantities based on your preference. as you become more comfortable with the recipe, add a dash of spice and a lot of love. so here's the thing. Arab food, middle eastern food is not well documented. Arab culture is heavy on oral tradition: our stories and recipes are passed down orally, not written down. we are auditory learners and explainers. if you need something from me, I will most likely send you a voice message before I write an email. that being said here's the disclaimer: all my recipes are based on the way I make things in MY house at the current time. the names of the dishes in Arabic vary as well as the method and amount. I am confident that you will love my dishes as a stepping stone into Middle Eastern cuisine but please don't be offended if your Arab guests comment on how their families make the same dish. It's customary to discuss the dishes at the dinner table and how they were made, learning new methods and tastes along the way. if I were to make any of my recipes in my kitchen, I almost never follow the exact recipe. I will add more garlic, less onion, more meat, pine nuts, different spices, etc. it all depends on my mood that day. that's because I know the flavor I'm trying to achieve but my recipe is always a guideline to help me along the way. food is about memories and feeling and love. the recipes I share are filled with my personal memories but feel free to add or change things that make you feel happy. cooking and baking should be fun and fill your house with love and with that I want to thank you again for choosing baytbushra for your meal today. I hope your kitchen is filled with happiness and delicious food.
0 Comments
aka Nescafe Cake. So when the internet exploded with nescafe cakes I was surprised to see my favorite coffee cakes remade! Heifa at Fufuskitchen makes an excellent Nescafe Cake and credit goes to her for digging up this classic recipe and making it popular again. Here is how I do it.
Disclaimer You will need:
Start by boiling 1.5 cups of water and placing it in a shallow bowl (I put mine in a 4 cup pyrex) and adding 2 Tbsp instant coffee. Set aside to cool slightly. To make the brittle, dry roast the slivered almonds in a dry pan until they start smelling lovely and toasty and have a golden color. Set aside to cool. Wash and dry the shallow pan then place 2 Tablespoons of water and the sugar. Mix until dissolved. Cook on medium high heat until the sugar becomes a caramel color. Do not mix with a spoon; swirl the pan only. When the caramel is ready, turn off the heat and mix in the toasted almonds. Gently transfer the caramel to a silpat or parchment paper to cool. **If caramel scares you, you can simply dry toast the almonds and chop them. Use this as a filling/garnish. It will give the same crunchy texture. In a large (preferably cold) bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream and the vanilla until it looks like whipped cream, stiff peaks. Be careful not to over whip. Add the entire can of condensed milk and 2 Tablespoons instant coffee. You will need to whip again until the peaks return since the condensed milk is quite heavy. Now we assemble! In a 9 x 13 casserole dish or a deep baking sheet, spread a thin layer of the whip cream mixture. Next, take a biscuit or graham cracker and dip it quickly into the coffee then arrange a layer of dipped biscuits over the whip. Layer a generous layer of whip cream and then another layer of dipped biscuits. If using nuts or brittle, now is a good time to add some of the nut mixture (they add great crunch and texture). Finish with one more layer of whip, biscuits, and whip. Garnish with the rest of the nuts. If you're not adding nuts, sprinkle powdered cocoa and chocolate shavings for garnish. Chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Enjoy within 3 days. On the third day, I split the remaining coffee cake into small containers and place in them in the freezer for delicious coffee ice cream on the go! (I sometimes have this for breakfast... haha) ENJOY The pink pickle.
You will need:
Notice: there is no measurements for this recipe. I will say if you want to make a small batch, start with three or four turnips. They keep really well in the fridge. Follow this method for as much or as little pink pickles as you like. First, peel and slice your turnip into fat french fry shapes. Prepare your straining dish by placing a strainer in a large bowl. Place one layer of sliced turnips in the strainer and sprinkle salt generously. Add another layer of sliced turnips and then more salt. Repeat until your turnips are all sliced. Leave them to drain their water. Cover loosely and place in the fridge to drain. This will take a minimum of 6 hours or you can leave them overnight. Prepare your jar by boiling it to sterilize it and letting it cool. Boil some water and add pickling salt: each 1 cup of boiled water should have 1 tsp salt. Let it cool before using. Now comes the math part. Depending on your jar you will need 2/3 cup vinegar and 1/3 cup of that salty water you made. BUT you can change this ration depending on your preference. Some people make it with equal parts vinegar and water. My mom only uses 1 cup vinegar and the rest with water, but she adds more salt (she uses a big jar). Before layering the turnips in the jar, slice up beets similarly to the turnips. If you used 3 turnips, use 1 medium sized beet. Layer the turnips and beets in the jar. Add your liquid vinegar and salt water. Place aside to begin the pickling process. If you leave it on the table top, room temperature, it will take 4-6 days before you can open to taste. If you let it ferment in the fridge, it could take 10 days but the flavor will be more sour and deeper. Store the pickles in the fridge. ENJOY the famous Upside-Down Dish. Maqloobeh is a staple dish in every household. It varies from country to country and even from one family to the next, like most Middle Eastern cuisine. Here is my favorite way to make it, a blend between my mother's recipe and my mother in law's recipe. This recipe makes for 8 people. The recipe is here and all the notes and little tips are below (scroll down).
DISCLAIMER: this is just one way of making this. All recipes/variations are delicious and valid. Eat what you love. Cooking is a skill. It's a style, a technique. Learn from my recipe but feel free to adjust the amounts, the veggies, the meats, salt, etc. For this maqloobeh I used: **see notes**
Begin by salting the eggplants. Peel and slice. Place on a tray lined with paper towels. Sprinkle salt generously over the eggplant and flip them over. Salt the other side. Cover with more paper towels and leave to the side for a minimum of 1.5 hours. **Salting the eggplant removes the water from the eggplant. It makes the eggplant less prone to soaking too much oil in frying. **Here you can also prepare cauliflower instead of the eggplant. It needs to be washed and cut into medium florets, boiled for a 3-4 minutes and then left to dry before frying in oil. Next you will prepare the meat. For beef or lamb: wash and clean by removing any large fat pieces. Wash again. For chicken, soak in water and vinegar or lemon and salt for at least 30 minutes to remove any 'bad gamey smell' (zinkha). Wash again and remove any excess fat. Heat some olive oil (2-3 Tablespoons) in the pressure cooker. Peel and quarter the onion. Sauté onion for 3 minutes. Add the meat to brown, turning them on their sides to brown all around. Add the whole spices and bay leaves. Heat water in a kettle and enough boiling water over the meat to cover it. Add salt about 1 tablespoon. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 35 minutes, slow release. **You do not need to use a pressure cooker. In a normal deep pot, cook the same way for 1.5 hours or until tender. The time will depend on the quantity of the meat or chicken. **If you use an instant pot it might take closer to 50 minutes on high pressure for this amount of meat. The instant pot needs more time than a regular pressure cooker. Prepare your rice: soak your rice in a large bowl and leave to soak 30 minutes. Fry the eggplant until golden brown and leave to cool on a paper towel-lined plate. **If you prepared cauliflower, fry these until golden. You can also fry sliced potatoes (circles like the eggplant) and baby carrots. Drain and wash the rice until the water runs clear. Put the rice back in the large bowl. Toast the vermicelli in 2 teaspoons of olive oil until golden brown, stirring constantly. **Some regions, and people do not use vermicelli. If you do not want to use it, adjust the amount of stock so that you use around 1:1 ratio of rice to stock. Of course always check your rice bag instructions. Another option is to mix regular calrose rice and Uncle Ben's. Uncle Ben's rice has a very low margin for error and a good place to start if you're nervous about cooking rice. Others use basmati rice which is another great option but follow the amount of stock necessary on your rice bag. Add the vermicelli to the rice. Add the ground spices to the rice. Mix well. Strain the stock from the spices and onion. Place the stock back in the pot and reheat until it boils. **REMEMBER to taste for salt. Taste the stock it should be slightly salty, especially if you added potato as the potato will soak up a lot of salt. Taste for salt PLEASE. Assemble the maqloobeh by layering your prepared ingredients. Start by sprinkling a handful of rice on the bottom of the pot so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Next add half the eggplants (or other veggies), then the meat, and finally the rest of the eggplant (or other veggies). Finish by adding all the rice and gently push the rice around so it goes in between all the nooks and crannies of the dish. **Some people line their maqloobeh pot with fresh sliced tomato. It gives wonderful flavor. Just remember the tomato will release a little bit of juice so reduce the amount of stock JUST a little bit. Place the maqloobeh pot on the stove on medium heat until the pot is warmed. Add the 6.5 cups of hot stock to the maqloobeh pot. Gently push all the rice under the water. When you see little bubbles in the stock, cover and cook over medium-low heat for around 30 minutes. You will know that the maqloobeh is done because the water has dried up. Fluff the rice on top and turn off the heat. Leave the maqloobeh to the side to rest for around 20 minutes. **If you have changed the amount of veggies or rice and you need help deciding how much stock, go for about 1 cm of stock above the rice. Lastly toast the slivered almonds in a couple teaspoons of olive oil until golden. Be careful not to burn these. Let drain on a paper towel-lined plate. **The almonds are for decoration and crunch, totally optional. Other tasty garnishes include cashews, pine nuts, chopped parsley, lightly fried golden raisins. When ready, place the round serving dish over the maqloobeh pot and flip quickly. Lift to reveal the beautiful maqloobeh! Garnish with any of the above mentioned toppings. Serve with salad, yogurt, or cucumber salad. Let me know how you like this recipe in the comments below! stuffed zucchini with yogurt sauce and fluffy rice Sheikh el-Mahshi literally translates to stuffed Sheikh-- a sheikh referring to a religious or old man. I do not understand some Arab dish names but it's fun to say anyway.
Click here to read the DISCLAIMER for all Arab foods. Here is what you will need: FOR THE SAUCE
Start by coring your Mexican squash (like a zucchini but smaller) and frying them in a shallow fryer until they're almost completely cooked through. Leave them to cool on a sheet lined with paper towels. Make your filling by finely dicing your onion and sauteing it on the stove top in the olive oil. Once the onion starts to take on a golden color, add the ground beef and cook through. Season with cinnamon, allspice, salt, pepper to taste. Set aside. Optional!! You can add pine nuts to your mixture if you're feeling fancy. Prepare your sauce by mixing the cornstarch in the water and adding all sauce ingredients into a deep pot. Use an immersion blender to blend the egg well into the sauce and to mix all the ingredients together. Cook the sauce on a medium heat, constantly stirring until the sauce starts to bubble. While you wait for the sauce to boil, stuff your cooled zucchini with the meat filling. When the sauce boils, gently add your stuffed zucchini into the sauce. Let the flavors mix and let the zucchini finish cooking in the sauce, about 10 minutes. Serve with vermicelli rice or plain rice and garnish with parsley. |
MEMy name is Bushra and I post my favorite recipes on my youtube channel. All recipes are gathered here on my website as well as helpful links to my videos and fancy ingredients. Thanks for stopping by! Archives
October 2023
|