shhhh i'm on a mission

HI!
I'm new to the forum and am married to a syrian... Just wanted to know if any of you know of any recipes that are 100% syrian or if arab food is not from any specific country???
THANKS!!

Most MENA foods are made thoughtout MENA with a slightly different spin on it. I can't say I have any recipes that are 100% Syrian, however it should'nt be too hard to find some. Syria and Lebanon are probebly the most renouned countries when it comes to MENA cuisines, Syria being the pioneer of many.

For example, most MENA counties make stuffed grapeleaves but the recipe will vary by region and family. Your best bet in making your hubby happy is to follow his mom's recipes. My family and my husbands family are both from Jordan but the cooking style is SOOOOO different.

What is a big problem for us is I wasn't a big cook before he came here, and now that he's here he wants me cooking everyday It's a good idea though for him to get recipes from his mother...I'll try that!
Any suggestions on what to do about his expectations of wanting me to cook everyday??? We had an argument about that last night!
Help!

Well you can definitly find recipes online. Show them to him, he may have some feedback on things to change based on what he is used to. Trial and error is going to be the best way to figure out what he wants to eat.

Don't look at this as such a big problem, cooking isn't as hard as people make it out to be. I cook at home, but not everday. Sometimes we have leftovers and I know my husband isn't fond of them but I refuse to waste food. So he knows when we have leftovers, he has to eat them!!! I try to cook 4-5 times a week. Sometimes I make things he likes, sometimes its what I like. He made an agreement with me when we got married, if I cook it, he will eat it...even if he doesn't like it. Same goes for him when he cooks (rare event, lol).

I'm not sure what area you live in, but you should try to find an arabic store. You will definitly need to get some spices if he didn't bring any with him. But I will warn you, they will be totally different than what he is used to. Check and see if his family can send you some.

Here are some websites to try:

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=syrian

http://www.everylastrecipe.com/rdir-id-2198.asp

Arab food here never tastes the same back home. Even the arab bakeries/restaurants use processed ingredients here and american spices added. Sometimes it tastes good sometimes like you're eating american food in Arab disguise. Sometimes craving that specific bourbousha - couscous i wanna take a plane to my grandma's house and eat. damn!

The stuff we make here tastes the same. We bring all our spices from back home so we don't use anything from here.

As far as arab bakeries, they all suck in America. I wastn even all that impressed with Shatila in Detroit. Restaurants...there are some good ones. Depending on where they are from. The best arabic food I have eaten in restaurants was in Chicago and Houston.

I don't know why but I tried "instant couscous" from the box Oh wow..I don't recommend anybody trying it tastes so wierd!

Have you tried Rice Select's Original Couscous? It is the only instant couscous that we use and comes pretty close to made from scratch couscous. Better to steam it than to follow the directions of adding boiling water though. It comes in a plastic container not a box.

Salaam all,

i just did a quick search for Moroccan bread, and this is what hit... i'm sure it's be discussed throughout the forum so please excuse me in advance if my question is a tired repeat.

ready to try Meriem's recipe, see below... but the thing is that, i don't have a bread machine. any thoughts on how to make Moroccan bread... khubz... any good recipes or ideas, please send them my way...

oh, by the way, it will be my first time trying this so please wish me luck!

thanks!!
hz

I'm pretty sure you can use the same recipe without the bread machine.

I use this also !!

Does anyone have recipe for somethin called Damascus Rose, it's a dessert made from eishta and puff pastry! Thanks!

Could it be under another name? Ashtalie? I'm searching my cookbooks but don't see anything under that name.

Baked filo, rose water(? I think), has orange blossom jam, eishta, topped with pistachio? I may have the recipe...Delish.

This was all I could find!

I'm in the mood to cook....but I need ideas!

what kind of food are you thinking about? what kind of meat?

I changed my mind...I'm too lazy to cook now. LOL I tried to make the effort!

LOL! I get in moods at inappropriate times-- like i want to cook while I am at work. Come home and I don't want to do ANYTHING.

Im making mansaf tonight, i havent had it in forever, and although the leban gives me awful heartburn, im gonna eat it anyways...EXTRA ALMONDS!

I'm making that next Saturday for my whole family! I'm starting to run low on Jameed though, I only have enough left to make 3 very large meals or 6 regular size meals. We usually only make it when its for a crowd. I hope my MIL sends me some more soon! And DOUBLE YES to the extra almonds and extra pine nuts too!

Yes, these are the ingreidents from what I can see! I had this before! As you said:Delish! But maybe called something else ... but I know it as Damascus Rose or Rose of Damascus!

Holly: Yup, saw that video! I have recipe for making the eishta but never seems to work for me!

I made some Morrocan style Paella last night that was faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaab!

Recipe please! I've made a Moroccan style Paella as well that had both chicken & shrimp in it and it was yummy!

My Moroccan Paella

I need soup recipes for Ramadan. I need to perfect them before it starts 'cause I can't test taste. Any ideas for soup with chicken in it?

If you put chicken pieces in a pot with an onion & bayleaf, you can make a pretty good base for any other ingredients you want to throw in. I usually take the chicken out and shread it, then return it to the pot. You can add almost any startch, potatos, rice, noodles, etc. Veggies to your liking, or even none. Then season to taste with salt/pepper & spices.

Well I've made chicken noodle soup but hubby doesn't care for it. When his sisters make it it's as though they just used the fat on top as the soup whereas I make mine fat free. Maybe if I add tons of spices he won't notice the lack of oily greasy fat.

With middle eastern style chicken soup, we use every part of the chicken. I usually throw in the breasts, legs, thighs, and back with the skin removed. However I leave it in tact on the wings. I also throw in the neck. This usually gives it enough fat but its also the use of the bayleaf and onion which makes a huge difference. I usually put one large onion (which is removed later) and 4-5 bayleafs. This makes a really rich broth.

My husband hates chunky soups, so whatever you add in you might want to see how likes it in the soup. You could also thicken up the soup with some cornstarch or roux or let it reduce down at bit.

Egyptian style soups:


Lesan al Asfo

1. 1/2 a cup Orzo
2. 1 pound Stew Beef meat (cut small)
3. 2 OZ Butter (1/2 stick)
4. 1/2 tea spoon salt
5. 1/2 tea spoon pepper
6. 2 medium size onions
7. 4 cups of water
8. 1/4 tea spoon of ground decorticated Cardamom (or 5 Cardamon sticks).
9. 1 Lemon.

1. Melt the butter.
2. Add Orzo to butter.
3. Cook on a low flame and stir in the Orzo until Orzo becomes a red color.
4. Wash beef well.
5. Boil 4 cups of water and cook beef for 3 minutes. Scoop boiled blood if any.
6. Cut onion.
7. Add Onion, Orzo, salt, and pepper to beef and cook until onion and beef are cooked.
8. Add 1/4 tea spoon of ground decorticated Cardamom (or 5 Cardamon sticks) to beef.
9. Add water if needed.
10. After the soup is cooked remove the 5 Cardamom sticks.
If you failed to remove the sticks, the Cardamom will have a bitter taste when you eat it.

Serve soup while it is hot. If you like, add lemon to the soup. Enjoy.



'Adds bi-gibba matbukh

• 2 cups lentils.
• 1 small onion.
• 4 garlic cloves.
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin.
• 1 tablespoon butter.
• Salt.
• Lemon juice as needed

1. Cover the lentils, onion, and half the garlic cloves with twice their amount in water.
2. Boil until tender and very little water remains.
3. Crush the remaining garlic cloves with salt and fry.
4. Toss garlic, butter, and cumin into cooking pot and cook for 5-7 minutes.


'Ads asfar matbukh

• 2 cups split lentils.
• 1 chopped onion.
• 5 garlic cloves.
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin.
• 2 table spoons oil.
• Salt.
• Hot chili

1. Place lentils in pot with chopped onion and garlic and cover with two and half times their measure in water.
2. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
3. Pass through juice extractor, using a coarse screen.
4. Return the flame, adding cumin, oil, salt, and hot chili
5. Simmer for 5-7 minutes longer


Fatta al Lahma

• 2 cups rice
• 2 cups water
• 500 g cooked chicken breasts (boiled)
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 4 tablespoons garlic (crushed and made to paste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 4 loaves thin pita bread
• 1/2 cup chickpeas (boiled)

[/color]

1. 
   
   Boil rice in 2 cups of water until cooked and all water evaporates.
2. 
   
   Cut bread into small squares.
3. 
   
   Fry bread in a pan with vegetable oil until it turns orange and crispy.
4. 
   
   Mix yogurt, garlic and salt and pepper.
5. 
   
   Pplace in a casserole rice in bottom.
6. 
   
   Then add a layer of chicken.
7. 
   
   Add the bread then spread the yogurt mix to cover all surface and sprinkle the chickpeas on top.
8. 
   
   [color="#000000"]Serve immediately before the bread gets soft.

Algerian soups:

Chourba el hamra

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/2 Pound Lamb (Optional) -- cubeed
• 1 Large Onion -- chopped
• 2 Teaspoons Ground Coriander
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne
• 1 Pinch Black Pepper
• 1 Pinch Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Pound Tomatoes -- mashed
• 1 Large Potato -- sliced
• 1 Large Carrot -- sliced
• 1 Medium Zucchini -- sliced
• 1 Stalk Celery -- chopped
• 1 Can Chick Peas
• 1/4 Pound Vermicelli
• 6 Cups Vegetable Broth
• 1 Medium Lemon -- thinly sliced

Saute in oil lamb, onion, corainder, cayenne, balck paepper, cinnamon and salt. When meat is well browned, add 6 cups broth. Bring to boil. Add all vegetables. cover, recuce heat, simmer covered until vegetables are the desired consistency. Return to boil, add pasta until done, serve in bowls with slice of lemon on top of each.



Saudi Arabian:

Saudi Chourba

• 1 small onion finely chooped
• 1 clove garlic finely grated
• few chunks of meat with bone
• 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon cummin
• 1 dried black lemon
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup porridge oats or barley (barley will take longer to cook)

Saute onion until translucent, add the garlic and sautee for further 2 mins. Add the meat and fry until browned. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until meat is tender and the oats have turned slimey (for want of a better word) or the barley has become somewhat mushy. Check water level every so often and stir to stop oats/barley from sticking to bottom of pan.

If you can't get dried black lemons, add a good squeeze of lemon juice in at the end or have lemon slices on the table for people to squeeze in themselves

Moroccan:

Harira

• 1 lb. lamb, cut into small cubes
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup chopped celery and leaves
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup parsley and cilantro, chopped
• 1 2-lb. can of tomatoes, chopped
• salt
• 3/4 cup lentils
• 1 cup chickpeas (canned are fine)
• 1/4 cup fine soup noodles
• 2 eggs, beaten with the juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the lamb, spices, butter, celery, onion, and parsley/cilantro in a large soup pot and stir over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomato pieces, and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes. Salt lightly.
Add the juice from the tomatoes, 7 cups of water, and the lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for 2 hours.

When ready to serve, add the chickpeas and noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Then, with the soup at a steady simmer, stir the lemony eggs into the stock with a long wooden spoon. Continue stirring slowly, to create long egg strands and to thicken the soup. Season to taste. Ladle into bowls and dust with cinnamon

Where are the good restaurants ME in Houston??? thanks .....

can anyone help me...I am a beginner and never liked the food i saw in egypt..and so i kind of avoided the kitchen..but i want to suprise my husband when he comes home and make him something special....what is a good thing that is simple and hard to mess up that yall would recommend? I saw a few things in the middle eastern section at the store like couscous and grape leaves. I appreciate any input on a easy recipe.

Kristy

There is a restaurant called Fadi's, I LOVE it.

is it in downtown houston? that sounds cool ...I will tell my husband about it

Fadi's is good. There is also a relatively new place that is fantastic called alladin's on the corner of Westheimer and Montrose. Order the Kababs!

I only went there once but I wanted to stand by the bread oven all day and just keep eating it!

If I ever win the lottery, the first thing going into my kitchen is a bread oven

Whole Foods has the most awesomest green olives marinated in a little olive oil, sliced lemons and garlic BUT...........it's wicked expensive. I want to make this myself but I want pitted green olives, not the ones with the pits. Where do I buy unmarinated (so I can do it myself) pitted green olives that are fresh? I swear there's are so fresh they almost crunch when you eat them!!! I want to start marinating them soon since that's a staple that hubby wants for suhoor during Ramadan.

What isn't expensive at Whole Foods? Isn't why its called Whole Foods (whole prices?)

You could always just buy an olive/cherry pitter. I have one and it comes in quite handy. Then buy your olives and pit them yourself.

This isn't the one I have, but it's similar.

do u have any idea how long it would take me to pit the amt of olives we go thru?? and how does it pit the olive without poking a hole in both ends?.....curious...

You may be able to buy fresh green olives but somehow I doubt it. olives take processing to make them edible...

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Olives.html

No one eats raw olives. There are different varieties of olives which ripen into different colors... and are picked at different times in order to accomplish varying goals (oil versus eating).

So, if you can find someone who sells the variety of olive you want (my be best to contact the maker of the olives you liked and see which variety they are using-- there are thousands literally!!), see if you can obtain a source, brine and coure and marinate. Now, I can't quite remember but I think it takes weeks to brine olives. The reason the olives we think of are mushy has to do with the canning process used, not the brining process.

OK, I found this which may be the recipe you are looking for:
http://homecooking.about.com/od/fruitrecipes/r/blfruit37.htm

The above one I thought you may like does involve olives which are green when mature... and then you aren't canning which is what makes the mush factor.

here are some others:
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archi...curedolives.htm

CHICKEN RAFISA

dough for melwi (1/4 to 1/2 of M4E's recipe here is enough for a serving plate)
oil
3 medium onions
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 or 3 tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ras al hanout (optional)
3 T fenugreek seeds, rinsed and soaked overnight if possible
2 quarts water

Prepare melwi dough according to recipe. While dough is rising, slice onions and cook in a little oil on medium-high heat in a medum-sized stock pot. Add the chicken and cook until browned on the outside. Stir in the chopped tomatoes.

Add 3 C water, salt, pepper, ginger, turmeric, paprika, ras al hanout, and fenugreek seeds. Bring to a boil. Add the rest of the water, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken and fenugreek are tender (especially if the fenugreek wasn't soaked ahead of time).

While chicken is cooking, fold melwi dough in several layers according to recipe and fry it. While it is hot, pull layers apart and tear into small pieces. Pile on serving plate. Top with chicken and veggies in the center. Spoon broth over chicken and melwi, but don't get the melwi sopping wet.

NB: I like the smell of fenugreek, but the scent will come out through the pores of the skin up to a day or two later, so time important face-to-face meetings accordingly.

One of my favorites!! Musakhkhan....This is a Palestinian dish...that I have seen prepared in varied ways...layering several layers or one single one...depends on the amount of people you are cooking for. You eat it with your hands...DIG IN! LOL SO Yummy

Musakhkhan

Yield: Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1-One cut up chicken into six pieces, or a combination of chicken legs and breasts. Or if you prefer just breasts of chicken...your choice. (Approx. 3 pounds)
2-One cup virgin Olive Oil
3-One pound or a bit more of large diced onions
4-Fried pine nuts for garnishing
5-One table spoon ground cardamom
6-Two table spoons Sumac
7-Salt and pepper to taste
8-Flat sheet bread, marquq or Taboon bread.


1. Cut the chicken into up into two breasts, two thighs, two legs, and two wings. Prepare it for cooking by washing, cleaning and drying. I add a little bit of lemon juice and olive oil to the chicken.

2. Sauté one medium diced onion, add the chicken, enough water to cover the chicken, cardamom, salt and pepper and boil over high heat and then let simmer until the chicken is done. I like it practically falling off the bone (if you use boned meat).

3. Add 1 cup olive oil to a casserole and cook the rest of the diced onions until translucent, this takes about 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sumac and cook for 2 minutes to mix. Do not over cook the onions, you do not want them burnt and you do not want them mushy.

4. While cooking the rest of the onions. Preheat the oven to 350F, remove the chicken from the pot, bake until golden brown.

5. Fry the pine nuts to a golden brown color. Make sure to watch them frying, they tend to burn quickly.

6. Cut up the bread or use it whole, and assemble in the serving platter. Add the first layer of the onion mix on top of the bread, add pine nuts. Repeat with another layer of bread, onions and pine nuts. It is up to you if you want to have one layer of bread and onions; I like to have two layers because the bread I use is very thin. At this point, add about half a cup of chicken stock if you feel that the bread is too dry.

7. Arrange the baked chicken on top and garnish with pine nuts. (A serving of bread, onions and pine nuts with each serving of chicken)

Toppings for each serving: Yogurt

Nawal, I LOVE Msakhkhan, with lots of onions and sumak and the bread extra crispy...I dont even care about the chicken, I could eat the bread alone...Droooooling! I havent made it in about a year, last time I did i used waay too much olive oil and ruined it

I'm addicted to it! LOL My Aunt makes it the BEST (i get by...hehe)!! I miss Ramadan in Jordan A LOT!! Magloubeh, msakhkhan, mashi....omg...I'm drooling...hehe!

Curious to know from the NA members have you tried to learned or have been required to learn the "gateaux" preparation? Esp those whose SO's are already with them in the US? Ramadan is coming up ... gateaux making time LOL!

don't even know what this is... never heard of it!

Gateaux - those fancy pretty looking cakes (that taste horrible in my opinion) that Algerians, Moroccans and Tunezians make/eat esp for the holidays.

they dont even look appetizing, no offense..

No offense taken. Most of them are not appetizing ... many look nice fancy but taste horrible. Cultural thing in NA thou LOL!