Courgettes in Yogurt ( Ablama).

Hello everybody.

Very very busy morning,my husband brought a big bag of turnip from the farm (لفت ) so I bought extra beets,cauliflower and eggplants and made two large pots of pickles for Ramadan.

I also made a batch of date rolls for my lovely cousin to take with her to Dubai,these rolls are becoming my traditional gift for people I love ,better than anything you buy <3.

After all this work I cleaned all my kitchen in and out then started to cook,I posted this recipe in the early days of my blog,today is a repeat to remind you of it,I know many people cook it first day of Ramadan cause they say you must cook something white !!

Ingredients and method:

* hulled courgettes.

* cooked minced meat spiced and mixed with roasted pine nuts.

* ewe yogurt or jameed and butter milk.

* starch.

* cook the yogurt after mixing it with equal amount of water and 2 big spoons starch,add salt,pepper and margarine.

* stuff meat after cooling into the courgettes.

* fry courgettes or as I prefer roast in the oven with a bit of oil and keep turning them till golden from all sides.

* dip courgettes in boiling yogurt on low heat for 40-50 minutes.

* serve with rice.

I had some courgettes left so I cut them to rings,added salt,garlic,summaq and a bit of oil then roasted them in the oven and made tahini sauce on the side,really good side dish 🙂

Enjoy .

Sfeeha ( meat on a dough).

Hello everybody.

Upon my Uncle Abu Rashed’s recommendation, I ordered a good amount of Sfeeha today for lunch and to freeze the rest for Ramadan,can be useful as a side dish on the table.

Well after this successful trial I do recommend this place also,Al-Basha butcher and bakery,really tasty, we brought two kinds,with tomatoes and yogurt mix.both really delicious.

Sfeeha or meat on a dough is a very famous kind of pastry in many Middle Eastern countries as well as Turkey and many other places,recipes or mixtures may vary between them but basically it’s a very thin dough with minced meat mixed with either tomatoes and chili or yogurt ,of course many other flavors may be added like tahini or pomegranate sauce,this depends on restaurant or kind you like.

Today’s Sfeeha was great,place called Al Basha,gardens strt,tel 06 5680535.

Enjoy 🙂

Chicken Tikka Masala.

Hello everybody.

No escape from cooking today I guess,though I was confused what to do after grocery shopping,I bought many vegetables and stuff so I have many options.

After family discussions I decided to do this recipe sent to me by my friend’s niece Hanin whom I saw the other day and everybody in her family recommended it, so chicken masala it is,since I have all ingredients which is the most important thing,sometimes I do cancel the whole dish cause one ingredient is missing,don’t you?

This is an Indian recipe of course,most Indian food is usually hot and spicy,well today I made it medium so that all can eat with comfort,it turned out very delicious and easy.

Ingredients and method:

* 2 large chicken breasts ( original recipe says thighs but nobody in my family loves them,but breasts were good also),cut to big chunks.

* marinate for chicken:

* 1 cup yogurt.

* ginger garlic paste ( 1 tablespoon fresh ginger with 3 cloves garlic pressed or finely chopped together)

* 1 tsp salt.

* 1/2 tsp pepper.

* marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you can.

*Sauce:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil.

* 2 tablespoons butter.

*1/3 cup ginger garlic paste.

* 2 hot peppers (didn’t have any so I used hot dried chili )

* 2 tablespoons tomato paste.

* 1 tablespoons gram masala spices ( Indian spices bought ready or homemade by mixing special spices including : 2 tablespoons cumin seeds,2 tablespoons coriander seeds,1 tsp pepper seeds,2 tsp cardamon seeds,1 tsp cloves,1 tsp fennel seeds,1 cinnamon stick,3 bay leaves,1/2 tsp fenugreek (حلبه) ,pinch of nutmeg. you roast all seeds except nutmeg very well then grind then to fine powder and add nutmeg)

* 2 tsp paprika.

* 8 small tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes.

* 1 1/2 tsp salt.

* 1-2 cups water.

* 1/2 cup heavy cream.

* minced fresh cilantro for garnish.

* cooked rice or naan bread for serving.

* making sauce and cooking:

* heat oil and butter then add ginger garlic paste and stir,then add hot peppers.

* add tomato paste and cook till brownish then add masala,paprika and saute for 3 minutes.

* add tomatoes,saltand water and simmer till sauce is thickened,you may need more water if it dries.

* meanwhile grill the chicken in some hot oil,try to shake excess marinate .

* cook till golden on all sides.

* now blend the sauce with hand mixer or blender.

* add chicken pieces to sauce and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

* add cream and stir then at the end add chopped coriander.

* serve with rice or bread.

Very tasty savory dish,not a piece left ,thank you dear Hanin,now it’s officially Hanin’s Chicken in my cook book 🙂

Fava Beans Fatteh ( فته فول).

Hello everybody.

Till late this morning I had absolutely no idea what to cook, I still have some pasta so I needed something with it.

Then,after lots of thinking, decided to do this light fatteh which I learned from my dear friend Reham, people usually make it when they have fava beans with rice leftovers,but you can do it from scratch,very delicious specially if you’re a fava bean fan as I’m.

All Fatteh recipes have basic ingredients,fried or toasted bread, tahini sauce,nuts and minced meat on top. Fillings in the middle are various like hummus,eggplants,fava beans…etc.

* Ingredients and method:

* fava beans boiled till tender then cooked with a little amount of rice ( 1/2 kg needs 1/2 cup of rice), I added maggi cube,pepper,all spice,cinnamon and a bit of cardamon when boiling the beans.

* fried or toasted pitta bread.

* cooked minced meat.

* crushed roasted garlic.

* roasted almonds or pine nuts.

* fresh coriander leaves.

* tahini sauce ( tahini with yogurt and lemon juice) .

* put pitta bread in a bowl or wide serving dish then add a layer of beans and rice.

Note: if you have some chicken stock you can a bit on the pittas to soften but it’s an option.

* add tahini sauce on top then garnish with meat,nuts,garlic and chopped coriander.

I usually make it in one big Pyrex or bowl but today we were only two at lunch time so I made 2 small bowls for each so as bread won’t become soggy for late comers.

Very healthy light option,will be good to do in Ramadan,right?

Let Summer Begin :)

Hello everybody.

In honor of the newly weds and beginning of Summer activities in our garden we’re hosting the first BBQ of the season .

Actually my hubby is the one responsible of the BBQ, my part is making salads and side dishes,some of them that are basic each time like grilled tomatoes and hot peppers with garlic and yogurt with oregano and mints .

Today I’ll make few extra things Crab Salad and mixed vegetables with yogurt salad.

Ingredients and method:

Crab Salad:

* 1 pack frozen crab.

* mixed green leaves ( lettuce,parsley,mint,rocca)

* cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.

* mayonnaise ,lemon juice,balsamic vinegar,salt and pepper for dressing.

* mix chopped greens with tomatoes,add mushrooms and shredded crab on top.

* mix dressing components well then drizzle over salad.

Mixed Veggies Salad:

* Mixed vegetables boiled till tender: potatoes,beans,peas,carrots,corn,red beans.

* bunch of fresh dill.

* 2-3 cups of plain yogurt and 1 small creamed yogurt.

* salt and pepper.

* mix all veggies with yogurts,add chopped dill,salt and pepper.

As for the lovely part of the evening, chocolate fountain was set and ready early afternoon with a selection of tasty assorted chocolates melted on a water bath and various fruits and dips.

It was a great gathering ,wish everybody enjoyed Friday as we did 🙂

I will post more pictures later of the real yummy food 🙂

Fava Beans In Cooked Yogurt.-(فول باللبن)

Hello everybody.

Seems winter is coming back!!!

Woke up this morning to thunder and rain,though weather is very hot, typical Amman Spring .

Today’s dish is Syrian,we used to order it from the famous Syrian restaurant Jabri when having guests for dinner or or lunch,a specialty of his then I saw a Syrian chef doing it on T.V turned out to be an easy thing to do after all, and started doing it at home ever since.

Ingredients and method:

* 5-6 pieces of beef or lamp steaks .

* 1 big thinly sliced onion.

* 1 kg green fava beans.

* 1 kg Ewe yogurt (لبن نعاج).

* 3 big spoons cornflower.

* salt ,pepper,all spice.

* some cream or milk (optional).

* boil beans in salted water till tender.

* mix yogurt with cornstarch and 4 cups water with hand mixer very well,add salt and pepper then leave to boil and thicken,stir constantly.

* season beef then saute till brownish on both sides.

* add onions, cover and leave to simmer on low heat.

* remove water from beans and add them over meat .

* when yogurt is thick pour over meat and beans,add more spices if you like then leave to simmer all together on very low heat or in the oven for 1 hour.

* you can add cream or milk at the end.

* serve with white rice or alone.

Though kids don’t like it too much but I do think this is a very tasty dish, one of my favorites 😉

Enjoy.

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

yogurt

Courgettes in Yogurt ( Ablama).

Like this:

Sfeeha ( meat on a dough).

Like this:

Chicken Tikka Masala.

Like this:

Fava Beans Fatteh ( فته فول).

Like this:

Let Summer Begin :)

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Fava Beans In Cooked Yogurt.-(فول باللبن)

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