Thai Rice Pudding

4pm must have been a magical time for my mother.

Once my brother and I arrived home from school the tranquillity of the empty house dissipated so rapidly she could be forgiven for thinking it had been mere reverie.

Gasping through the hormonal fug of both early and mid adolescence – there are four years between us – we were mostly unpleasant both to each other and, regretfully, to her, by association. I have no idea how she put up with it and am not surprised that the occasional outburst came our way.

The debilitating and damning effects of the chemical surge were exasperated by hunger (probably because lunch had gone uneaten) and on entering the house the first question was always ‘What’s for tea?’ quickly followed by ‘When?’

Whatever the answer, we would head to the cereal cupboard to sate the hunger brought on by double Chemistry last thing in the afternoon or French lessons with the formidable Mrs. Losse (thanks to whom I will never, ever forget how to conjugate etre and avoir).

Cereal was our go-to, our emergency, our stop gap.

But not always.

There were a few occasions every month, more often in the winter when the weather made us more receptive to it, when a fresh rice pudding would have been slowly cooking in the oven. The soul-fulfilling smell of rice, milk and nutmeg was a great welcome home. Piled into bowls and topped with cinnamon and brown sugar or honey.

On those days we left the fighting until at least five o’clock.

An hour’s peace in exchange for rice pudding? Sounds like a good deal.

Thai Rice Pudding



This is a Thai-rice pudding as opposed to a Thai rice-pudding. The grains are of the fragrant jasmine variety which lends an extra level or warmth to the dish. They are particularly glutinous and sticky as well making for a hearty and satisfying dish just as good last thing at night as it is for breakfast with a cup of coffee.

One part Thai rice
Three/Four parts milk depending on how runny you like your rice pudding
Butter
Brown sugar
Nutmeg

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the rice, stir the grains until they are coated with the butter then add the milk. Bring to an easy simmer, stir in as much or as little sugar as you like and a fine dusting of nutmeg (whenever I use mutmeg I always think of Anthony Bourdain’s advice, namely ‘go easy’).

Cook for 45 minutes in a pre-heated oven at about 130 degrees C by which point the rice should be cooked. Check halfway through – add more liquid if it needs it. This is an instinctive dish – you’ll know if it’s too dry.

It keeps in the fridge for about a week – great for spooning out and reheating at opportune moments to be topped with a dollop of strawberry jam or nuts and seeds if you are feeling virtuous.

For more comforting bowls of deliciousness, follow me on Twitter

Kedgeree - The Totally Scottish Curry!

There are those who will claim that Kedgeree was brought back from India by His Majesty's Forces serving there and made in to a British breakfast dish. In a sense, these people are not wrong, but they are missing out the previous history and creation of Kedgeree and creating an entirely false impression. Kedgeree was devised in Scotland in the late Eighteenth Century by a number of soldiers who had served with His Majesty's Forces in India. They in turn took the dish to India, where it became popular, and was re-introduced to Great Britain as that famous breakfast dish. The recipe for Kedgeree was first published in a Scottish Recipe Book as far back as 1790 - so it is by no means impossible that The Bard himself enjoyed a plate of it at some point!

Kedgeree is a dish like so many in that the way in which it is made and the ingredients which are included in it have both been "improved" over the years by a variety of cooks and chefs. The recipe which I have prepared is as simple as I could reasonably make it to be and is for two people.

Ingredients

4oz basmati rice
1/2lb smoked haddock fillet (undyed)
3/4 pint of semi-skimmed milk
2 eggs
1/2 small onion (very finely sliced)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

It is important in the first instance - as always when cooking eggs - that the eggs be removed from the refrigerator and allowed to reach room temperature a couple of hours in advance. Eggs which are cooked straight from the refrigerator, in whatever way, will not produce quality results.

The smoked haddock should be placed in a large pot and the cold milk and spices added. The milk should be brought to a simmer and the smoked haddock cooked for around seven or eight minutes. After this time, the fillet should be removed from the pot with a spatula and sat on a plate to cool enough for handling.

The rice should be washed thoroughly and added to the spiced milk along with the onion. The milk should be brought back to a simmer for a further ten to twelve minutes. The eggs should now be added to a pot and enough cold water added to comfortably cover them. The water should be brought to a rolling boil and the heat then reduced until the water is gently simmering for about eight minutes.

The skin should now be removed from the smoked haddock fillet and discarded. The fillet should be very gently broken in to flakes, feeling for any stray bones which should be removed and discarded with the skin. The flakes of fish should then be re-added to the pot with the rice for the last couple of minutes of cooking time. The milk should by this stage be almost totally absorbed and care is required to ensure that the Kedgeree does not dry out completely and burn.

The eggs should be run under cold water and carefully shelled before being quartered as shown in the picture. The parsley and required seasoning should be stirred through the Kedgeree only at the very last minute prior to serving.

Walima November Challenge: Sheesh Barak - شيش برك

This month's Walima Cooking Club challenge is representing the Lebanese Cuisine.
We share this recipe also with the Turkish cuisine and with a little difference in preparation, they call it "mantee" or "manti" and the shish barak word that we use is I would say comes from the Turkish and Balkan word "burek". I used the manti this time in my recipe which is the dough filled with meat, it's the same except that it comes in a different shape. In Lebanon, we shape it (the Sheesh Barak) like tortellini.

Here are the ingredients as given by Walima Club founder Arlette from Phoenician Gourmet blog:

Lebanese Style Sheesh Barak

INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ kg of plain Greek style yogurt or home made
1/2 quantity of Ajeen or basic dough recipe
3 cloves garlic, crushed with a dash of salt
1 cup finely chopped fresh mint (if fresh is not available use couple spoons dried)
½ kg (16 oz) ground meat (either beef or lamb)
3 medium sized onions, finely chopped
¼ cup fried pine nuts
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter

Basic Dough or Ajeen
(this is used in many savory pastries)

INGREDIENTS:
1 kg (32 oz / 5 cups) plain flour
1 ¼ cups warm water
½ cup olive oil
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

PREPARATION:
Sift the flour into a working surface.Mix in salt and sugar. Make a well in the center. Pour olive oil and vegetable oil in the well. Mix the dry ingredients into the liquid. Add water gradually. Knead the dough into a ball (if the dough is too stiff add some water). Knead the dough on a floured working surface until it is smooth and elastic this can be done in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, or in a food processor. Form the dough into a ball and put into a lightly floured bowl, covered with a damp cloth. Leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.

For the Cooked Yogurt:

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 kg of plain Greek Style Yogurt
or home made you can check my blog for home made yogurt (you can check my blog for homemade yogurt)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 cup water + 1 beaten egg (or egg's white)

PREPARATION:
Strain yogurt using a smooth colander into a pot. Add egg or egg's white. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 cup of water. Stir into cold yogurt for 2 minutes.Place on medium heat, stirring constantly until it boils.
Preparing the Sheesh Barak:

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 1 cm thickness. Using a round cookie cutter (medium size), press over dough to get equal rounds.
Fry onion in shortening till color changes a little. Add meat, salt, allspice and cinnamon. Stir occasionally and fry for 7-8 minutes. Add pine nuts and Mix. Drain the mixture as butter would affect closing the pastries.

Spread the round a little with your fingers. Place 1 tspn of the filling on it. Fold over one end to make a semi-circle. Press edges down to seal. Take the two ends from the straight side, bring them together to make a small ring. Press well. Repeat till rounds are done.

You will have left over dough , (this is the best part) roll the remaining dough in thin rope and cut into diagonals. Place the stuffed dough and the cut pastries in a tray with parchment, Bake in a hot oven (400F) for 10 minutes or until golden. During this time prepare and cook the yogurt and when it starts to boil add the baked pastries to the boiling cooked yogurt one by one. Let it boil over low heat for 10 minutes or till pastries are cooked.


Note: The egg and the cornstarch are there as stabilizers so that the yogurt won’t separate.
Make sure to cook the yogurt on medium low heat , high heat could ruin the sauce.

In a separate skillet you’ll want to quickly sautée the garlic and mint in one tbsp extra virgin olive oil and add it to the Sheesh Barak. And cook for another 2 minutes .

Serve hot in bowls, or you can serve with it Lebanese Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli.

The Tastes of Autumn: Squash, Chestnut & Bacon Risotto

When it comes to food, Autumn is the most exciting season. By the time the end of November rolls around, one hankers for rich, big, warming flavours and hearty platefuls to ease the depression of driving home in the dark and fighting through increasingly bad weather.



Large jumpers can hide expanding waistlines and the only way to achieve a healthy glow is by supping an extra glass of wine. It truly is the season for gourmands.

Those earthy flavours so reminiscent of Autumn are a delight to cook with. Their versatility offers infinite combinations, each one guaranteed to be tasty. Pick three of the following and you’re almost certain to achieve deliciousness in perfect harmony:

Pheasant. Bacon. Mushrooms. Pears. Truffles. Pumpkins. Squashes. Rabbit. Potatoes. Pigeon. Chestnuts. Garlic. Thyme. Apples.



In fact, you could probably put all of the above together and create something lip-smackingly good.

I didn’t quite go that far with this risotto but came pretty close.

First step was to roast off a small squash – sliced and cooked until tender in a hot oven, squash develops a rich sweetness that demands to be matched with something salty. In this case bacon, although some melted blue cheese with it would make a good meal on its own.

Once the bacon had been crisped up nicely in a hot pan, the fat rendered out into a tasty sizzling liquid, it was put to one side and a finely chopped red onion softened in a tablespoon of the reserved bacon fat – using the same pan to make the most of the flavours in there (and minimise washing up)

A handful of chestnuts were roasted in the oven until the insides were sweet and the skins had split open. Half were then chopped finely, the others merely split in two to act as a textural contrast.

The risotto was made in the usual way – toast rice, add onions and spoon stock in until rice is tender but still in possession of some integrity. Right at the end, along with the requisite Parmesan and butter, the bacon, roasted squash and chestnuts were stirred in.



The whole thing was topped off with thinly sliced pheasant breast that had been fried off in a little butter, chestnut halves and a little of the reserved bacon. Finally, it was seasoned with a small pinch of ground coffee to add the merest hint of bitterness.

A big, steaming, delicious bowl of Autumn.

Menu 8: A Second Spanish-influenced dinner

Chicken Marbella
Now that we have the pronunciation straight, we can proceed. Within the last year I have discovered that not everyone shares my affinity for sweet and savory in the same dish. I recently mentioned Chicken Marbella to Jessie, a dear friend of a friend, who said that she would never fix anything that had chicken and prunes together. She just wasn’t drawn to those combinations. What you have probably noticed by now is that I am drawn to those combinations. In fact, they jump off the page of a cookbook and into my lap. Sweet and salty. Raisins and bacon. My mouth waters. I want you to know that I fully confess to this affinity and won’t take offense if you don’t share it.

What is really great about Chicken Marbella is its ease: you can marinate the day before, then put it in your pots or pans, pour in the wine and sprinkle sugar, and bake. None of that nasty browning business. The thighs are much more forgiving than chicken breasts which tend to dry out.

8-10 chicken thighs, skin and extra fat removed
½ head of garlic, peeled and pressed
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1 cup pitted green olives
¼ cup capers with a bit of juice
3 bay leaves
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup wine
2 tablespoons chopped flatleaf parsley or cilantro

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken thighs, garlic, oregano, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Add the salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight. You can also make it in the morning and refrigerate for the day.
2. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
3. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in one or two large shallow baking pans or clay pots and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.
4. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when the juice from the thighs runs clear, not pink, when pricked.
5. If you’ve cooked in the clay pots, then leave them as they are. If you’ve cooked in not-so-pretty pans, transfer the thighs, prunes, olives and capers with a slotted spoon to a serving platter, moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and pass the remaining juices in a small pitcher. Sprinkle the clay pots or the platter generously with parsley or cilantro.
Note: This dish can be served right out of the oven or at room temperature.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Julee Ross and Sheila Lukins’ The Silver Palate Cookbook

Coconut Rice
This rice is actually Cuban, but it goes with the Marbella so nicely. Both speak Spanish fluently. The photo doesn't reveal how tasty this dish is. Delicious. But not very visually stimulating.

2 tablespoons oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons minced or grated fresh ginger
1½ cups basmati rice
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (comes in a can)
1½ cups water
1 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oil or butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, but not brown, about 1 minute. Add the rice and sauté until the individual grains are shiny, about 1 minute.
2. Add the coconut milk, water, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and cook the rice until all of the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and let the rice stand, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve at once.

If you want to make it a bit ahead of time, you can rewarm it in a low oven.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Miami Spice

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
I am crazy about these tomatoes, especially the cherry tomatoes. Fresh sliced regular tomatoes or cherry tomatoes would be great with this meal as well. Both the roasted and fresh add a necessary color to the plate.

















3 pounds small to medium tomatoes of any kind or color
OR
2-3 boxes of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Cut the regular tomatoes in half crosswise and remove the seeds.
OR
Poke a hole in each of the cherry tomatoes.
2. Place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Mix together.
3. Place the cherry tomatoes or the regular tomatoes with their cut side up in a single layer on low-sided pans lined with parchment paper or silpat. Roast in a 350ºF oven. No need to preheat. You can use convection mode on either roast or bake if your oven has that feature.
4. Bake in the oven until the skins are wrinkled and juices evaporated somewhat. The flesh should still be moist and soft to the touch. For regular tomatoes, count on 1-2 hours; for cherry tomatoes, one hour should be sufficient. If you are using convection, the times will be shorter. You can remove the tomatoes that are starting to caramelize (and potentially burn) if you desire.
5. Remove from the oven and cool.

4 servings
Adapted from a Ramekin’s cooking class taught by Mary Karlin, August 2004.

Menu 6: A Persian Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July dinner for friends, Kit from LA and Nancy and Bill from Sonoma, was not your usual grilled affair. I felt more inclined to support free and fair elections for the people of Iran than to celebrate the birth of American freedom with burgers and buns. So I planned a dinner around one of the most famous dishes in Persian cuisine: Fesenjan or Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce. We ate the Fesenjan with an herby rice dish and two salads. You’ll find these recipes below. We started with hummus and toasted pita in the living room over our first glasses of wine and a selection of gorgeous cheeses and finished with a decadent Chocolate-Lime Cheesecake from Nigella Bites. It was a splendid dinner, colorful and delicious.

Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce (Khoreshe Fesenjan)

















10 chicken thighs, extra skin and fat removed
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon poultry seasonings or za’tar*
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste or harissa*; or 1 tablespoon of each
2 cups walnuts, very finely chopped.
Note: Use a food processor if you have one. Stop before the walnuts become a paste.
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon smoky hot paprika or regular paprika
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup fresh pomegranate juice (Pom brand is very good)
2-3 tablespoons pomegranate syrup or molasses*
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1. Sauté the chicken in the butter, sprinkling each side with the poultry seasoning or za’tar, salt and pepper, until light brown on all sides. Remove to a plate.
2. Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the combined chicken fat and butter. Sauté the onions in the remaining fat until golden brown. Add the tomato paste and/or harissa and sauté for a few minutes. Add the walnuts and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so as not to burn the walnuts.
3. Add the stock, cinnamon, paprika, lemon juice and pomegranate juice and syrup. Cover and let cook on a low fire for about 35 minutes. Taste the sauce and add salt if necessary and sugar if the sauce is too sour for your taste.
4. Arrange the chicken in the sauce. Cover and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Taste for seasoning. I needed to add more salt and a bit more lemon juice.
5. Decorate with parsley and serve with rice.

Za’tar, harissa, and pomegranate syrup or molasses are available at Middle Eastern or Persian food stores or delis.
You can make this the day before. Reheat gently before serving and garnish with the parsley.

6-10 servings, depending on appetites
Adapted from Maideh Mazda's In a Persian Kitchen

Rice with Herbs (Sabzi Polow)

















2 cups basmati rice
Salt for boiling the rice
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely chopped herbs of your choosing.
Note: A combination of tarragon, chives, flat-leaf parsley, and dill is good. Use a food processor to chop, if you have one.
6 scallions, finely chopped in a food processor
6 tablespoons butter or 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Wash the rice in warm water and drain.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pour in the rice and boil for about 12 minutes, until the rice is still slightly undercooked. Drain.
3. In the same pot, heat half the butter or oil. Pour in the rice, mixing in about ¾ of the fresh herbs and the teaspoon of salt. Add the remaining butter or oil. Stir gently.
4. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and steam for 15-20 minutes over very low heat. You want to create a very lightly brown crispy layer on the bottom of the rice. After the rice has finished cooking, you may need to turn up the heat a bit to crisp up the bottom, watching it carefully.
5. Add the remaining herbs just before serving. If you are using a nonstick pan, you may try flipping out the rice onto a large platter. If you have not, use a spatula to scrape the rice out into a serving bowl, displaying the beautiful crust or crusty bits on top.

You can also make this using leftover plain cooked rice from another occasion. Just begin the process at #3. If the rice is cold, it will take longer than 20 minutes to reheat and to form a crust. You can keep peeking inside the pan to check on the crust.

6-8 servings
Adapted from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food

Beet and Yogurt Salad or Dip
















2 large or 4-5 small uncooked beets (red or golden) OR
1 can (16 ounces) cooked beets, drained
1 cup drained plain yogurt or more depending on your amount of beets and your serving bowl
Note: Buy thick Greek yogurt or drain soupy yogurt by lining a sieve with two layers of paper towels, pouring in the yogurt, and letting it drain over a bowl for several hours. To see a photo of the draining process, check the Cucumbers and Yogurt recipe.
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or slivered mint or 1 teaspoon dried mint

1. If using fresh beets, steam them with the skins on for about 1½ hours or longer until tender.
OR
Place fresh beets in a baking dish filled with ½-inch water. Cover with foil. Bake in the oven at 400 F for 45 minutes for small beets, longer for larger. I usually use this method.
2. Peel the fresh beets. Cut cooked or canned beets into ¼ - ½-inch cubes. Mix with the sugar and salt to taste. Chill until ready to serve.
3. Immediately before serving, spread the yogurt in the bottom of a shallow serving bowl. Place the beets on top, gently nestling them into the yogurt. Garnish with the mint. Serve as a salad or as a dip with toasted pita bread.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Najmieh Batmanglij's New Food of Life


Parsley, Celery and Herb Salad

















2 cups parsley leaves
½ cup 1-inch snipped chives
½ cup tarragon leaves or mint
4 stalks celery, cut on the bias about 1/8-inch thick
OR
An equal amount of fennel
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon, Meyer if possible
Salt and pepper

1. Combine the parsley, chives, tarragon/mint, and celery.
2. Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
3. Just before serving, pour the olive oil mixture over the greens and toss gently. Taste for seasonings.
Note: The proportions can be varied depending on the herbs you have at hand. Celery leaves are a good addition. You can also add 2 small seeded tomatoes for color.

6-8 servings
Adapted from the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, January 30, 2005, David Bazirgan at Baraka

Walima Cooking Club June Challenge: Fish Stew from Bahrain

This is my savory recipe for the second Walima cooking challenge for the month of June. The ingredients and directions below are as given by Summer. I kept the fish as a whole fillet, and I used Tilapia fish. The jalapenos that I used were ones that I had hand picked them fresh earlier this year and put them in a jar full of olive oil and preserved them, very powerful! I also left the sauce on the side and poured it over the fish before serving. The taste of this dish reminded me of a similar fish with sauce that I had in one of my favorite Indian restaurants, I guess the use of turmeric and spices is what made it so similar, as well as the flavor of the Basmati rice.

Ingredients:
1 tsp of turmeric
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 kg of fish fillet cubed
2 jalapeno peppers seeds removed and finely chopped
1 tbsp of freshly chopped fresh ginger
4 cloves of garlic chopped
Some fresh ginger chopped
2 med size chopped onions
2 med chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp of mustard
2 ½ cups of water
2 cubes of chicken broth , unless you have homemade chicken stock
Replace the water with stock
2 tbsp of freshly chopped cilantro

Preparation:
Mix the turmeric with veggie oil, and marinate the fish in it for couple of minutes.
Then lay the fish on a baking tray and bake in a preheated 400F oven for 18 minutes to turn golden brown.
In a food processor, add the garlic, onion, jalapeno peppers tomatoes ginger and mustard, and whip until it turns to paste.
I did not puree my sauce, I felt that it would taste better chunky.
Heat a non stick pan and cook the paste on medium heat, without oil, till it start to turn golden,(takes around 5 min) add the water and dissolved chicken bouillon or the chicken stock, whatever you have on hand, and cook for 7-8 minutes more to become a thick sauce, pour over the fish in the oven and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.
Serve over Basmati rice and sprinkle fresh cilantro on top.

Thanks Summer!!!!! That was very delicious!

Menu 3: The Diversity of South Africa

There are so many cultures involved in South African cuisine. I knew nothing about the complexity and the diversity until I found two South African cookbooks and started cooking. Dutch settlers (the Afrikaners) brought a European influence with Milk Tarts and other delicious baked goods along with an amazing barbeque (braai) with beef and chicken; Malay laborers from Java and Indonesia brought their spices; indigenous Africans added in cornmeal porridge and greens, reminders for us of the soul food of the American south; Indians brought their curries. I love how the colors and flavors intermingle and dance with each other. Bobotie is a classic example.

Bobotie from South Africa

















2 onions, finely chopped
2 pounds ground beef, or a mix of ground meats
1 slice bread
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
1½ tablespoons sugar
½ cup raisins
3 tablespoons chutney, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup slivered almonds
1 egg

1. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Sauté beef or meat mix with onions until meat is brown, breaking the meat up into small pieces. If necessary, drain fat from the pan and discard.
3. Soak the bread in half the milk; mash it with a fork. Add it to the meat.
4. Combine all the remaining ingredients except the egg and the remaining milk. Spread the mixture in a greased casserole.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Beat the egg with the remaining ½ cup milk and pour it over the casserole. Return to the oven for another ½ hour.

6 servings
Adapted from The Africa News Cookbook

Braised Carrots

















2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 3½ x ½ x ½-inch sticks)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
3 slices lemon, seeds removed, plus juice from the rest of the lemon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon anise seeds
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Put the oil and the carrots into a heavy 10-inch skillet. Cook on high heat, stirring and shaking the pan often and scraping the browned bits occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the carrots have lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, mint, lemon slices, sugar, salt, anise and cumin; mix well.
3. Cook until bubbling vigorously; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir, turning the carrots. Cover and cook until the carrots are very soft, 10 minutes or so more. Add lemon juice and season with pepper. Remove the lemon slices.
4. Before serving, sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot or at room temperature.

If you make this ahead, you can reheat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave.

4 servings
Adapted from Eating Well, February/March 2006

Oven-Roasted Zucchini

















8 medium zucchini, thickly sliced (½ inch) on the bias
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
or 2 roasted garlic cloves, chopped, and 1 fresh garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped or ¼ cup chopped herbs of your choice (tarragon and chervil or tarragon and thyme or oregano and thyme or dill are all good)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper

1. Place the zucchini in a roasting pan(s), add the olive oil, toss to coat, and arrange in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Put the pan(s) in the oven and turn the temperature to 425ºF. Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once mid-way. The zucchini should be nice and brown on both sides.
2. Mix together the garlic, parsley, lemon zest, and herbs.
3. Make a layer of some of the zucchini slices on a serving dish. Sprinkle with some of the herb mixture, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the lemon juice. Continue making layers until all the ingredients are used, ending with some herbs on top.
4. Set aside in a cool place for about an hour for the flavors to mingle before serving. Can serve warm or at room temperature. To warm slightly, put the dish in a microwave and heat for 1-2 minutes.

Note: I have made just steps 1 and 2 of this recipe with salt added along with the olive oil. Even at its most simple, it is a delicious dish.

4-5 servings
Adapted from The Silver Spoon, a comprehensive cookbook of Italian food.


Yellow Rice

1½ cups basmati rice
2 tablespoons oil or butter
2 2/3 cups water
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ cup raisins or currants, optional
1 stick of cinnamon
1½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped or sliced, optional
4 tablespoon desiccated coconut, optional
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil or butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and sauté until the individual grains are shiny, about 1 minute.
2. Add the turmeric, raisins or currants, cinnamon, water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes.
3. While the rice is cooking, heat the 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat in a frying pan and sauté the onions until they are golden.
4. Once the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork, and stir in the onions and coconut or spread them over the top, if desired. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Serves 5-6
Adapted from Lehla Eldridge’s The South African Illustrated Cookbook

Potato Stew over Rice - يخنة البطاطا مع الارز

Serves 4-5
5 potatoes peeled and medium cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 small chopped bell pepper
1 clove of garlic chopped
3 cups of chopped tomatoes (or can cubed tomatoes)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of sweet paprika
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of allspice or 7 spices
2 cups of fresh chopped cilantro
1 cup of lean minced meat (or 1/2 pound cubed stew meat)
An optional dash of red pepper flakes (or more depending on how spicy you want it)
Few cups of water
Salt & pepper to taste

For the plain white Rice:
The recipe is in most of my previous recipes of rice or stews

In the cooking pot, add the butter, chopped onions and garlic, minced meat and olive oil, let it cook on medium heat. Add salt & pepper to taste and red pepper flakes. Once the meat browns and cooks, add the tomatoes, let the ingredients cook for a couple of minutes then add the potatoes and let them all cook for few minutes. Add the flour to coat the ingredients. Now, add water enough to cover the stew, then add the tomato paste and stir a bit to dissolve it. Add the paprika, allspice and cilantro. Cook until the potatoes are done. Serve with the rice.

I chose minced meat this time, just for a change. Normally I use beef stew meat, or sometimes I make this without meat if I want it a vegetarian dish.

Layered Eggplant, Rice, Cauliflower & more - مقلوبة الباذنجان باللحمة

This recipe is very common all over the Arab world and not only Lebanon. In Jordan, it is very popular and they prepare it with Lamb. In Lebanon, another version of this is popular also, but made with chicken instead of meat and without eggplant and nuts, I will post it one day as well. I personally prefer this one :) In arabic it is called (Makloubeh or Ma2loubeh= turned over, because you layer everything and turn the pot upside down to serve)

Serves at least 5
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 small cauliflower
2 cups of rice (long grain)
1 pound of lean medium cubed beef or lamb
1 cup of assorted raw nuts (like pistachios, almonds, pine nuts etc...)
1 big onion chopped
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
4 cups of wate
1 teaspoon butter
Vegetable oil for frying
Some olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste and some allspice

- Slice the eggplant into medium circles, sprinkle salt and let it drain its water for like half an hour (this way it won't absorb a lot of oil ;))Then drain on a paper towel and fry them half way until they begin to turn gold. Fry the cauliflower too and let drain ona paper towel as well.
- Now in a cooking pot, add chopped onions and some olive oil then add the meat, add salt & pepper to taste and allspice, cook until the meat is mostly cooked, then layer the eggplant on top of the meat and onions, then layer the cauliflower on top of that then the rice. Now mix the tomato paste with the 4 cups of water and add to the rice and all. Let everything cook on medium and until the rice is done and has absorbed the water. Meanwhile, in a pan, add a teaspoon of butter then add the nuts and toast them. To serve, place a rounded serving plate on top of the pot, hold it tight and flip upside down quickly. Be careful so that the whole thing doesn't fall apart. Top with the nuts and serve with any salad of your choice.

Beetroot, Ginger & Chocolate Risotto

You learn something new every day, or so the saying goes. Did you know, for example, that the first meal that was eaten on the moon by Armstrong and Aldrin was a roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings (freeze dried, one would assume)?

Or that sperm swim faster after they have been exposed to caffeine?

Or that the largest beetroot ever grown was over 18 feet in length?

Or that it is near impossible to take a good photo of a risotto? Especially a risotto that I promised you good people a couple of weeks ago (you'd thought I'd forgotten, hadn't you?)

It’s true – no matter how appealing it may look on the plate, in photographic form it will almost always take on the appearance of lumpy aardvark vomit.

You could gild it with gold leaf, adorn it with asparagus and top it with truffles but under the lights and through a lens it will still look about as appealing as a jock strap salad.

We tried. We really did. But even the best photo we got wouldn’t have looked out of place in a crime scene report. So you’ll have to make do with this representation instead. And the best thing about beetroot risotto is the colour anyway. So sit back, use your imagination and take note. Recipe below.



It’s hard to write a definitive recipe for risotto. There are so many variations (rice absorbency, stock quality, stirring capacity) that I hesitate to make any assertions for fear I will end up with angry emails and comments.

Instead, use this as a platform, a launch pad, or a mere eyebrow-raiser. All I will say is that it is certainly worth trying and that there is true deliciousness hidden behind the vaguely bizarre veneer of the combination of ingredients.


The Ingredients – should serve four

Olive oil or butter (about 25g)
A pinch of bicarbonate of soda
A small onion, or three/four shallots finely chopped
Two cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A teaspoon of grated ginger
Four or five small beetroot, roasted in the skins (in a sealed foil package for about an hour), peeled and diced into teeny, tiny pieces.
Risotto rice (Arborio, carnaroli, vialone nano) – about 250g
A small glass of white wine or white vermouth
Chicken or vegetable Stock (impossible to say how much you will need but most likely about a litre), in a pan on a gentle heat.
The darkest dark chocolate you can find, preferably 70%+ cocoa solids

The method
You all know how to make risotto, right? You’re going to find this incredibly patronising if you are talked through each step in the manner of a sports teacher humiliating the fat kid aren’t you? Oh well, here goes:

Put the onion and garlic in a large, heavy bottomed pan along with the olive oil or butter. Turn on the heat (low – see here for why) and add the bicarb (this helps soften the onion and bring out the flavours. I learnt why here). Fry gently for 10 minutes, or until you have a delicious pulpy mass of onion and garlic. Add the ginger and stir.

Crank up the heat. Pour in the rice, stir and cook off for about a minute to start it toasting. Add the wine or vermouth. It should sizzle and give off a fairly potent steam of near pure alcohol. Stir again (can you see a theme developing?). Tip in the beetroot. Admire the colour. Go on, you know you want to. Stir.

The stock (which is in a pan on a gentle heat, right?) can now be ladled in bit by bit. Stir. Stir some more. When almost all the stock has been absorbed add another ladle full. Stir. Keep stirring.

Repeat the above until the rice is cooked – usually about forty minutes. By this point your arm will aching and you should have worked up a considerable appetite with all that stirring.

Spoon onto a plate, grate the chocolate over the top. Admire the colour once more and eat.

One final point – risotto should be soft, it should spread evenly and slowly over the plate like a slew of molten lava running down a volcano. You shouldn’t be able to slice it.

Want more? Tweet me! www.twitter.com/justcookit

Spinach with Rice - السبانخ مع الارز

This is a very easy and healthy spinach recipe.

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:
1 big bunch of fresh Spinach, chopped (or frozen, canned etc..)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 tsp allspice
Juice of a lemon
1 tsp tomato sauce
1 cup of lean minced meat
1 1/2 cups of water
Salt & pepper to taste

- In the cooking pot, add onions, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and cook for about a minute, then add the minced meat, salt, pepper & allspice. When the meat is cooked, add the spinach. Turn the heat to low and let the spinach cook for few minutes then add the water, tomato sauce and let it all slow cook for another 12 minutes. Add the lemon juice in the last 5 minutes. Serve with rice cooked with vermicelli (the rice recipe is already posted with the red beans/chilli recipe).

Breakfast time and some very old eggs

In keeping with my anthropological approach to eating whenever I am away I eschewed the regular looking breakfast items and went straight for the steaming bowl of what looked like wallpaper paste.

Eggs and bacon are all well and good but whenever I eat anything like that for breakfast I feel so sluggish and tired, like I want to head straight back to bed, rest a hand on my belly and watch some inane television. This was most definitely not what I wanted to be doing during my holiday. I wanted to be suppressing boundless energy and racing from temple to temple and market to market. Not snoozing in front of Mythbusters in an air-conditioned hotel room.

So steaming wallpaper paste it was. If this was full of enough goodness to keep generations of Asian farmers fed then I was sure it could keep me sated for the next few hours, no matter how many over-zealous tuk-tuk drivers I had to fend off.

I assumed that this rather unappetising looking gloop was congee, a breakfast staple round the whole of South East Asia. To the side were a number of bowls of condiments. I rather like this DIY aspect of Thai food, being able to adjust your meal to your exact tastes. Like it spicy? Not a problem. Prefer things a touch sweeter? Go right ahead, my good man.

Unlike here in the UK, there is much less differentiation between breakfast and the other meals of the day. It is not unusual to have fried rice or even noodle soup at an early hour, perhaps thickened with a little egg. Congee is made by cooking rice for a long, long time. Occasionally if you fail to put the kitchen timer on and you forget about the pan of basmati bubbling away, it can take on a somewhat glutinous feel as the starches and grains break down. Well, if you do that for about an hour longer then you have congee, almost like a rice porridge.

And it is delicious. It is warming and filling in the way that you would expect from a bowl full of pure carbohydrate but it really comes alive when you get creative with the condiments. The usual array of flavour options are there (salty fish sauce, astringent white vinegar, sweet sugar and fiery chilli) but these are joined by other tasty morsels such as fish balls (balls made from fish, not trout testes), chicken balls (ditto), crispy fried shallots, thinly sliced green pepper and thousand year eggs.

Now, thousand year eggs do appear on my list of things to try but if I am being perfectly honest they are not up there with kobe beef and oturo tuna. They don’t even come as far up the list as a New York hot dog or genuine boudin noir. They are hovering somewhere between deep fried chicken feet and a Domino’s Meateor Pizza – things that I might eat given the opportunity (and if my curiosity was in need of something a little more adventurous), but not something I would go out of my way to nibble on. They are a frightening looking foodstuff. If you took an x-ray of a raw egg, asked a three year old to colour it in and took a photograph of the result, the negative of that photo would look similar to a thousand year egg.


(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

What we know as the white is not white at all. It is a translucent brown colour reminiscent of recycled glass. The yolk, far from being an appetising yellow, is grey. And hard. Depending on how old the egg in question is, the smell can be no more than a tickle of ammonia to an eye-wateringly sulphurous tang. Century eggs tend to be milder whereas the millennial counterparts really are a force to be reckoned with. Governments in need of an alternative fuel source need look no further than these potent little ova.

They are made by wrapping regular eggs (that taste so very good fried or poached or boiled or scrambled) in a mixture of salt, lime, mud, clay and straw and then leaving them. For ages. Occasionally they are even buried in the ground for several months before they are deemed edible. And here they were staring me plainly in the face, at breakfast.

So, along with a spoonful of all the other delicious extras, I gingerly (oh, thinly sliced ginger was in there as well) added a couple of pieces of strange-shiny-brown-grey-sulphur-egg to my congee. For good measure I stocked up on chillis – my rationale being that the heat from these tiny nuclear strength peppers would render impotent the flavour of the eggs, if necessary.

And it was necessary. The very moment I put this odd, quivering brown and grey jelly to my mouth I knew it wasn’t going to end well. The subtlety of the congee was simply lost amid an explosion of rancid sulphur, like a box of old eggs had been cooked in a catalytic converter. Everything about this bizarre foodstuff was repellent – the flavour, the texture, the smell and the appearance. I didn’t listen to it but I dare say if I had, it would have sounded disgusting as well.

Just to make sure I wasn’t being blinded by preconception I tried another piece. That ended up in the same place as the first one: in a tightly folded napkin. The heat from the excess of chilli became a welcome distraction but I can safely say that, as far as I am concerned, century eggs and all their ilk can stay buried firmly in the ground.



www.justcookit.co.uk

Meghli (Lebanese Rice pudding) - المغلي

Meghli is a kind of Lebanese rice pudding prepared in special occasions especially when a baby is born. It is a tradition to serve it to guests and friends when they come to offer their congratulations. It is also served on Christmas Eve's dinner along with the Yule Log. Most people nowadays prepare it all the time not only on occasions.

Serves 7-8 (of the same size of the serving bowl shown in the photo)

Ingredients:
1 cup of rice flour
1 cup of sugar
8 cups of water
1 tbsp of ground caraway seeds
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground anis seeds

For the topping:
Raw almonds, pistachios, walnuts and coconut flakes.

In the cooking pot, add the cups of water, rice flour, whisk or stirr until desolved, then add the sugar until it desolves too. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Add the spices: caraway, cinnamon, anis seeds. The pudding can easily stick so you can't leave it. Stirr until it thickens then transfer into the serving bowls and let it cool. Meanwhile, add water to the alomds and pistachios and let them sit until they soften (about half to an hour or so). Before serving the pudding, top it with coconut flakes, then almonds and pistachios then serve. Or you can decorate the bowls and leave them in the refrigerator.

Siyyadiyeh (Lebanese Style Fish over Rice) - صيادية

This is my easy version of Siyyadiyeh. The traditional version is a little bit more complicated and requires using whole fish, where you bake it and then remove the head and bones and boil them with water and spices to obtain fish broth. In this version, I make it with fish fillets and use ready fish broth. Therefore, I don't deal with bones nor a longer cooking time.

Serves 4-5
Ingredients:
1 pound of Whiting fish fillets (or Tilapia)
2 cups of white long rice
2 cups of fish broth (or any other broth you like)
2 onions, cut in half and sliced
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of allspice
1/2 cup of Olive oil
1/2 cup of vegetable oil (I prefer canola)
Salt & pepper to taste

For the sauce:
1 teaspoon of butter
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of flour
1 cup of fish broth
Juice of half a lemon
Salt & pepper to taste

Take the fish fillets and coat them with a mixture of flour, cumin and salt & pepper, set them aside. In a pan, add the vegetable oil and cook the fish on both sides and let drain the oil on a paper towel.
In another pan, add olive oil and the onions. Cook the onions until they are brown. remove from the oil and add the pine nuts to the oil until golden then also remove and transfer on a paper towel to drain the oil.
- In a pot, add the 2 cups of fish broth bring to a boil and then add the browned onions, cook on medium for a couple of minutes and then add the rice with 2 cups of water. Then add the cumin, allspice, salt & pepper, and let it simmer and cook.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce, in a sauce pan, add the butter, then the flour, mix until the flour obtain the roue, then add the broth, cumin, lemon juice, salt, pepper, stir and bring to a boil until it thickens.
Serve the cooked rice with pine nuts on top as well as the fish fillets and top them with the sauce. Any salad is good with it too.

PS: You also have the option to bake or broil the fish fillets but then you skip the flour and cumin coating and you spice them and drizzle some olive oil.

Lebanese Style Chili over Rice (Fasolia w Rizz) - فاصوليا مع الارز

This is the Lebanese style of making Chili served over rice with vermicelli.

Serves 4-5
Ingredients:
1 onion chopped
Half a pound of lean stew meat
4 sliced cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of butter
2 cups of tomato sauce
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 cup of fresh cilantro
1 cup of red beans soaked overnight and cooked
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste

For the rice:
2 cups of white long grain rice
1/2 cup of vermicelli
1 teaspoon of butter
1 cup of meat stock or chicken bouillon (optional)

In a pan, add the chopped onions, butter, stew meat, salt and pepper. After the meat had browned and the onions cooked, add the garlic then cook for another few minutes then add 1 cup of water and the tomato sauce and slow cook the stew for 15 minutes. Add the beans and then the cilantro in addition to the lemon juice and simmer for 10 minutes.

While the stew is cooking you can prepare the rice:
In another pan, add butter then the vermicelli until they turn brown, then add the rice and 3 cups of water and 1 cup of stock, bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked and the water is absorbed. (Do not stir the rice more then twice so it doesn't get lumpy).

Serve the Chili with the rice.

Lebanese Style Roast with Gravy - الروستو مع الصلصة

Serves a crowd!
Ingredients:
About a 3 pound roast (Lamb or beef)
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 carrots peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1-2 big onions chopped
10 cloves of garlic, peeled only
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into medium cubes
1 celery stick, chopped
2 cinnamon sticks, 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of allspice
1/3 cup of wine (optional)
1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

The vegetables need to be medium sized and not small or finely chopped because they need to cook with the roast and this will keep them from browning quickly and falling apart. And my technique is that I allow one minute between every ingredient, I don't like to dump everything all at once. So in a pot, add the oil, onions, potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, celery and garlic add half the amount of salt and black pepper and cook for few minutes then add the roast, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves.(I usually rub the roast with a bit of salt and black pepper and let it sit for few minutes before I cook it). Once you've added the roast you want it to brown from all sides and absorb all the flavors. Here you can add the wine. Turn the roast every now and then until the sides are browned then you add 2 to 3 cups of water. Once you've added the water, add the rest of the spices, bring to a boil then reduce to medium-low and let it cook slowly. It would probably take about 2 hours maybe more depending on the meat.
Once the roast is cooked take it out of the pot and transfer into the cutting board. Now to obtain the gravy just put everything left in the pot in the mixer for a couple of minutes. I personally leave everything in the pot, take out the cinnamon sticks and the bay leaves and use the handy mixer for few minutes until all the chunks are gone. You'll obtain a thick gravy because of the potato and vegetables so no need to thicken it. After I obtain the gravy, I let it simmer for few minutes and then serve it with the roast.

Tips on how to serve this roast:
1- You can leave it as a whole on the cutting board and when it's time to eat, cut and serve with the gravy on the side.
2- Slice and put back in the sauce or gravy and simmer for few minutes and serve (I recommend this)
3- Slice some and serve on the side as cold cuts and put the rest in the gravy for variety.
4- Serve the roast with Basmati rice and nuts as shown in the photo or serve it with mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables.

PS: Cooking the Basmati and toasting the nuts can be found in my previous recipes like the Chicken with rice recipe for example.

Grape Leaves with meat - ورق عنب باللحمة

Makes around 24-25 (I prefer to eyeball or use as much as the filling makes)

This recipe can be served with a green salad and plain yogurt.

Ingredients:
Grapes leaves (24 small or medium, half of that if the leaves are big cause you can cut in half)

Filling:
1 cup of lean minced meat
1 cup of chopped onions or shallots
1/3 cup of small diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of plain white rice
1 teaspoon of allspice
Salt & pepper to taste

2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of flour to be mixed with some water. 2 Cinnamon sticks.

- In a bowl, add the minced meat, onions, tomatoes, wash the rice and drain and add to the bowl too, add the spices and mix the ingredients together.
- If the grape leaves are fresh, soak them in hot water for half an hour, then drain.
- If you are using the ones from the jar, soak in tab water for few minutes, then drain and use. To start filling, take the leaf and spread it on the surface you're using, cut the stem, take a teaspoon or less depending on the size of the leaf and place the filling a bit before the center, fold the sides toward the center and roll tight. In order for them to unravel and fall apart while cooking, I tie them up together. I place three stuffed grape leaves, then two on top, then another one or two like forming a triangle, I tie them up together with a string and place in the pan, add the water and tomato paste, cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil, add the flour mixed with a little bit of cold water then reduce the heat and let them cook slowly for half an hour. Remove the cinnamon sticks and discard when serving the grape leaves.

PS: If you end up with extra filling, keep them in the freezer or stuff a bellpepper, tomato etc... ;)

Kafta with rice (Lebanese meat loaf)- كفتة مع الارز

Serves 4

Ingredients:
For the kafta:
1/2 pound of minced lean meat
1 small chopped onion
1 small clove of garlic chopped
2 cups of fresh chopped parsley
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon allspice
Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
2 cups of chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 small onion
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/3 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon of chili pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the rice:
1 1/2 cup of rice
3 cups of water
1/2 tablespoon of butter
Salt and pepper to taste

In the food processor, add: minced meat, parsley, onions, garlic, bread crumbs, allspice, salt and pepper for 1 minute or 2. When the ingredients are combined all together, transfer into a bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for half an hour. After that, start making medium-small balls of the kafta. Heat a non-stick pan and start cooking the meatballs, turn them every 2 minutes until done. Set aside. In the same pan, if no juice is left from the cooked meat, you might wanna add a tablespoon of olive oil, then add the onions, allspice, chili flakes, salt and pepper, cook for about 3 minutes then add the tomatoes and let them cook on low for 10 minutes, then mix the tomato paste with the water and add it. Cook for another 5 minutes then add the meatballs and let all simmer for few minutes. (If you find the sauce thick you might wanna add a little bit more water.
Now for the rice: in another pan, add butter, then add the rice, fold them together until the rice absorbs the butter, add salt and pepper then the water and stir 1 time only. When it starts boiling, turn down the heat and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Serve the rice with the meatballs and sauce on top.

Rice Pudding (Riz b-Haleeb) - ارز بالحليب

Serves 4-6 (depending on the size of the dessert bowl)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white rice
3 1/2 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of water
4 tablespoons of condensed sweetened milk (optional)
5 tablespoons of sugar
4 tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon rosewater
A pinch of salt
Apricot marmelade for the topping

In a pan, add water, pinch of salt, then add the rice and cook for 30 minutes on low. Drain any water left if not all absorbed. In another pan, add milk, sugar, corn starch, condensed milk, vanilla, rosewater. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium. Add the cooked rice and stir. You need to keep an eye on that and keep stirring until it thickens. Also you need to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When it thickens, pour into the serving bowls and let it completely cool. After that, spread the marmelade on top then refrigerate until time to serve.