Kabab Koobideh with Chelo

I first tasted Persian food about 15 years ago in Maryland, USA where I used to live. Back then, there were not many halal food outlets in my neighbourhood. The only ones I was aware of were a Chinese Muslim, an Indian & a Persian & the Persian outlet was the nearest to my place. (A few weeks ago, I was just curious, so I googled & apparently, the restaurant, Mediterranean House of Kabob, is still around!) I often went there with my daughters (my only children then) on weekdays after school because there was really no choice for us if we decided to eat out... but we didn't mind because my daughters & I loved the food, so much so, I made sure we dropped by the place for the last time the day before we left the country for good. I also wanted to let the restaurant owner know that we were leaving...

There were a few types of kabob served at the restaurant but our favourite was kabab koobideh (grilled ground meat on skewers) served with rice or pita & cucumber yogurt sauce. And today, we had home-cooked kabab koobideh & chelo (steamed rice, Persian-style). My family loves the kabab & rice. I think adding the sumac to the meat makes a difference as it gives the authentic middle eastern flavour. I bought my sumac powder from Mustaffa a few weeks ago. I'm also amazed by how delicious the chelo is,  although it is basically just white rice with butter. And, if you have not tried grilled tomatoes before, I say you should try it because it is so much better than raw or overcooked tomatoes! 

Before I leave you with the recipes, I 'd like to wish all BitterSweetSpicy readers Happy New Year! Thank you for supporting my blog & FB Page & have a wonderful 2014!

Kabab Koobideh
Adapted from recipes by Fauzia's Kitchen Fun  & Turmeric & Saffron.

Ingredients:
1 kg ground beef (mixture of lean & fat)
1 large onion - grated (squeeze out the juice, if any)
1 small bunch coriander (leaves with stems) - chopped
1 tbsp sumac powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper powder

For Grilled Vegetables:
4 medium firm and ripe tomatoes, cut in halves
2 medium onions, quartered
2 capsicums, sliced

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well with your hands until the mixture becomes well blended. Cover the bowl & leave it in the fridge overnight to ensure that the meat is well marinated.
2. Divide the mixture into portions (I made 10 portions). Take each portion & shape into an oval. Then place it on a flat and long metal or wooden skewer and press onto the skewer. Do the same with the rest of the portions. (The thickness and the length of the kababs depend on your preferences.)
3. Heat up the grill (I used a grill pan.), making sure that it is very hot. Then place the skewers on the grill. Turn each skewer over quickly and continue to do so until the meat cooks & turns brown on both sides.
4. To grill the vegetables, place them directly onto the hot grill or place them on thin metal or wooden skewers and grill for a few minutes.

Chelo
Recipe by Maideh Mazda from In a Persian Kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups rice - I used basmati rice.
1 1/2 tbsp salt
2 litres water
2 tbsp salt

1/2 cup butter (melted)
saffron - mixed with hot water (optional)

Method:

1. Wash rice three times in lukewarm water & then soak in cold water of which 1 1/2 tbsps of salt have been added. Use enough cold water to cover the rice. This rice should be soaked overnight (in a pinch, 1 or 2 hours' soaking will suffice).
2. Boil 2 litres of water of which 2 tbsps of salt have been added.
3. Pour off the water in which the rice has been soaked. Add rice to the boiling water & boil it for 10-15 minute. (Stir rice with spoon once or twice to prevent the grains from sticking together.)
4. Pour the rice & water into a strainer & rinse with lukewarm water.
5. Put 1/3 of the melted butter into the bottom of the pot in which you have cooked the rice. Add 2 tbsps of water to the butter in the pot.
6. take a spoonful of rice at a time & put it in hot pot, distributing it evenly. Allow it to mount into a cone shape.
7. Pour the rest of the butter (& saffron, if using) over the rice, distributing it evenly.
8. Put paper towel over the pot. Cover & put 2 or 3 dish towels on the lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium fire.  Lower the fire & cook for 35-40 minutes on low fire. 

Notes:

1. By putting dish towels over the lid, the rice will cook more evenly throughout.
2. If the rice is cooked at the right temperature, the rice will form a crust at the bottom of the pot which will become crisp & turn into golden brown, while the rest of the rice remains white. If desired, add more melted butter before serving. 
3. When serving rice, put 2-3 tablespoons of rice in a dish & add to it 2 tbsps of saffron. Mix it well & decorate the chelo with this rice.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: West Asia hosted by Shannon from Just As Delish.

Mdammas a.k.a Kacang Pool

Kacang pool, or mdammas as it's referred to in the Middle East, is one of my favourite dishes. When I was living with my parents, my mother often prepared it for breakfast on Sundays. My mum's version is very simple to prepare. Crushed black pepper is added to the cooked beans & the dish is served with sliced onion & green chilli & sunny side up egg fried with ghee. According to her, that was how kacang pool was prepared & sold by the Arabs during the 1950s & 60s in the Kampong Glam area. In fact, fried egg was not part of the dish! 

Originated in Egypt & Sudan, mdammas is the most popular food in these countries. However, according to  Salah Jamal, the author of  Arabian Flavours, the true masters in the preparation of the most delicious version of this dish are the Arabs of Asia Minor i.e. the Palestinians, Jordanians, Syrians, Lebanese & Iraqis. In his book, Salah Jamal shared 2 recipes of mdammas, both the Egyptian & Sudanese version as well as the Asia Minor version. The former is very simple, just like how my mum often prepared hers, except it uses cayenne pepper instead of black pepper & olive oil instead of ghee. The latter involves the use of more ingredients. I used this recipe when I prepared mdammas for breakfast more than two weeks ago.  

Mdammas a.k.a Kacang Pool
(the Asia Minor version)
Adapted from recipe by Salah Jamal from Arabian Flavours, Recipes & Tales of Arab Life.

Ingredients:
1 can cooked broad beans (fava beans)
1 large clove garlic (crushed)
2 sprigs fresh coriander, chopped (original recipe uses fresh parsley)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp tahina
salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
tomato - chopped (I added.)
onion - chopped
green chilli - sliced

Method:

1. Pour beans into a saucepan & heat up for about 5 minutes. Mash the beans with a folk. (You may also puree it using a blender.)
2. Add in garlic, coriander, lemon juice, tahina & salt. Mix thoroughly.
3. Pour mixture into a serving dish. Drizzle olive oil & top it with tomato, onion & green chilli.
4. Serve with bread.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: West Asia hosted by Shannon from Just As Delish.
I'm also linking this post to Cook Your Books No. 7 organised by Kitchen Flavours.

Turkish Pide

When I first saw Wendy posted her Turkish pita last week, right away I knew I wanted to bake it! In fact, I could so eat it right then! How could I not... the pita looked so beautiful & colourful, and the shape is so unique! Looking through the ingredients, I knew the dish would taste great. I think this dish will make a great & interesting presentation for guests.

The pita was so good that Wendy regretted baking only one piece... I didn't want to have any regrets, so I baked 4! Haha! But that's a good thing because my first two pitas were not presentable enough for picture taking (but still good to eat ^_^), most probably because of the mistake I made with the filling (read notes below). Also, good thing that I made 4 because all my kids loved it. They kept telling me that the crust was really good. I'm thinking of using this pita recipe for my pizza crust. One thing I know for sure, this is one dish I will make again & again.

Notes & modifications:

1. I made the mistake of mixing the egg together with the rest of the ingredients for the filling, besides cracking an egg on top. As a result, my filling was quite watery after baking. Actually, my kids & I did not really mind the moist filling. The only problem is the liquid did get soak a little into the bread..
2. Before pinching the dough at the two ends, I applied some water on the edge to ensure the dough was sealed securely. 
3. I baked my pita on a baking stone which I preheated for 1/2 hour, so I only needed to bake each pita for about 20 minutes.

(Update: I made this again. This time I used the filling recipe by Paul Hollywood. I think it has better flavour. Take a look at the recipe here.)

Mozzarella cheese topping for my youngest...

Turkish Minced Meat Pita
Source: Table for two.... or more.
(Makes 1 large pide.)

Pide dough:
125g flour (I used bread flour.)
20g water + 1/2 tsp instant yeast
20g natural yoghurt
20g milk (I used 30g.)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
olive oil for brushing on baked pita

Filling:
100g minced meat
1 tomato, seeds removed, diced
2 tbsp onion
2 tbsp chopped parsley (I used coriander leaves.)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 egg (for topping)

Method:

1. Dissolve yeast in water. Combine all ingredients for pastry & knead using hand for 2 minutes. Leave to proof (covered) for 2 hours.
2. 20 minutes before end of proofing, combine all ingredients for  filling, except egg, & place the mixture in a colander to drain any liquid.
3. Preheat oven at 180 (fan) or 200 deg C.
4. Roll out dough into an oval, 5mm thick. Place dough on a baking paper which is placed on a dark-coloured baking tray. Put filling on the dough, leaving 1-inch border. Fold the sides in & pinch the ends together. Crack the egg onto the filling.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until the dough turns golden brown. Remove pita from oven & brush the crust with olive oil. Serve warm.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: West Asia hosted by Shannon from Just As Delish.