Diaaiyit sabanikh - Baked Spinach

Ingredients

1/2 cup chickpeas
1 pound spinach, coarsely chopped
7-10 garlic cloves, halved diagonally
2-3 cups tomato juice
1 pound savory minced beef
cooking oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Soak chickpeas overnight, drain, add fresh water and boil for about 10 minutes. Drain.
Saute spinach in a small amount of oil until it wilts. Mix with chickpeas, garlic, and seasoning.
Add 1 cup of tomato juice to savory minced beef and place in bottom of cake mold. Cover with spinach and top with remaining tomato juice. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 30 minutes. Turn over onto platter before serving.

Musa'a`a - Eggplant, moussaka

Ingredients

2 cups tomato juice
1 pound savory minced beef
2-1/2 pounds fried eggplant
salt, pepper, and mixed spices
Directions
Mix 1/2 cup of tomato juice with savory minced beef and cook over low flame for 7-10 minutes. Line bottom of oven pan with one layer of eggplant slices, spread the minced beef on top, and cover with the remaining eggplant. With the tip of a knife make several deep dents in the eggplant. Season the remaining tomato juice and pour over the eggplant. Bake in center of 350 F oven for about 30 to 40 minutes

Beed ma'li bi-bastirma - Eggs Fried with Pastrami

Ingredients

4-1/2 ounces pastrami
4-6 eggs
cooking oil
salt and pepper



Directions
Remove the coarse rind of pastrami. Pastrami becomes crisp very quickly when heated, so place with the fat to heat together. Turn over to cook both sides, then add eggs, beaten or whole. When eggs are set, remove onto serving dish and season

Egyptian Faatah - Rice & Meat With Crispy Bread on Botto

Ingredients


1 lb stew meat
1 onion
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 fresh tomato, blended in blender to make smooth
4 fresh garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups short-grain white rice (Egyptian rice)
1/4 cup fideos, noodles
1/4 cup butter
2 cups oil, some for frying bread
1 white pita bread
1 tablespoon cumin
salt & pepper
3 tablespoons white vinegar


Directions

To prepare bread for bottom of dish: Take pita bread and rip into bite size pieces. In a frying pan, add about a 1/4 stick of butter, add bread pieces and fry until golden brown and crisp. Put these pieces in a glass baking dish, preferably a square sized dish. Set aside.

Add to same pan, a little more butter, salt, approximately 2 cloves of crushed fresh garlic, and a teaspoon or so of cumin stir around a bit until you can smell aroma, then add fried bread pieces to this mixture, stir to coat bread and put back into glass baking dish. Set aside.

To prepare meat: put some butter in a pot, stir fry meat until brown, add 1 onion quartered, salt & pepper, 1 cube of chicken bouillon and water to cover meat. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer, cover and cook until tender, approximately 2 hours. After meat has cooled, take out chunks of meat and put in a bowl, set aside. Reserve soup from the meat separately.
To prepare the rice: Put some butter into a pot, add shareya (fideo noodles) like a handful or so, keep stirring until golden brown, not too dark, but very golden. Then add two cups of rice, stir a little bit until some of the rice turns an opaque white. Add 2-1/4 cups of water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to simmer, cook until tender. Test the rice tenderness after about 35 minutes.

Now take some of the soup from meat and add to the top of the bread pieces in baking dish to saturate. Add cooked rice on top of bread pieces. Slowly spoon remainder of soup onto rice, looking at glass dish sides to see level of soup, should reach just to top of rice, don’t worry, this doesn’t have to be exact. Now you’re ready to make the sauce and fry the meat to put on top.

To prepare red sauce: In a pan, add a little oil or butter, crushed tomato, a half teaspoon of tomato paste, salt & pepper, 2 cloves of fresh crushed garlic and cumin. Add also approximately 3 tablespoons of vinegar, stir this until you smell aroma and it is a bit smooth. It should be a bit thick, not watery, but if too thick you can add a bit of water. Spread with a wooden spoon atop the rice to cover.

To fry meat: In a pan add a bit of butter or oil, the meat, just a touch of tomato paste, about a tablespoon of fresh crushed garlic, salt & pepper, a teaspoon of cumin. Cook until meat is golden fried.
Spoon this atop the rice and serve. Enjoy!

Shawerma

Ingredients


1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbl lemon juice
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, black & white pepper, dry fine oregano and salt
2 bay leaves
2 cups yogurt
1 tomato
1 1/2 lbs of lamb or beef sliced 1″ x 2″


Directions

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl and marinate the lamb (or beef) in it for 6 hours.
Grease a saucepan with oil and heat.
Add the marinated lamb (or beef) and cook until tender.
Serve it with Pita bread and tahini sauce (see below), mint leaves, tomatoes and onions. (Alternatively, you may hook the pieces of meat on small wooden skewers and grill on charcoal until tender).

Kibda Skandrani - Egyptian Fried Beef Liver

Ingredients

1/2 kg thinly sliced beef liver
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 lemon
1 pinch salt
4 garlic cloves
2 chili peppers
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup vinegar
1 lemon, juice of
some cold water


Directions
Put all 6 ingredients in liquidiser then into a 1/2 litre bottle,add cold water till full, shake and keep refrigerated.
In a small frying pan put approx ½ cup of oil, when hot add the thin cut liver,salt and mix while cooking. don't overcook. After several minutes add some Egyptian condiment according to taste.Spoon into fresh pitta bread and squeeze some lemon juice

Egyptian Sambusak

Ingredients


Dough
1/4 cup Margarine
1/2 cup Corn Oil
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp Salt
2 1/2 cup Flour
Filling
2 1/4 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 x Onion, Big, Finely Chopped
1 x Clove Garlic, Minced
1/3 cup Pine Nuts
1 dsh Nutmeg
1 dsh Allspice
Salt, To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Oil, For Frying
1 x Egg Yolk


Directions
In a small pot, over a small flame, mix all the Dough ingredients – except the flour. cook until the Margarine melts. pour into a bowl.
Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time. mix well until you get a smooth dough. shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic sheet and set aside.
In a pan fry the onion and garlic to golden brown, add Pine Nuts and fry for 2 min. more. add the meat and spices, and cook on medium flame, while stirring, until the meat changes color (about 10 min.). it is vital to stir the meat to avoid the formation of big lamps of meat.
Heat oven to 180C (350F)
Roll out the dough to 3mm (1/8″;) and cut 10cm (4″;) circles.
Put a tablespoon of filling in the middle of each circle and fold into half a circle. pinch the edges tightly.
Put sambusaks in oiled and floured pan (or just use a cooking parchment)
Brush a little egg yolk on each sambusak. Bake for 30 min. or until golden brown.

Kibbeh - Stuffed Cracked Wheat Shells

FOR THE SHELLS
250 g (8 oz) burghul (cracked wheat)
500 g (1 lb) minced beef
1 onion, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
FOR THE STUFFING
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs. sunflower oil
2 Tbs. pine-nuts
500 g (1 lb) minced beef
salt and pepper
sunflower oil for deep-frying

To make the shells, soak the cracked wheat for about 20 minutes in water, then drain. Blend the meat, onion, salt and pepper in a food processor. Then process again, in batches, with the cracked wheat and continue until the mixture is soft enough to work like a dough. Knead well by hand

For the stuffing, fry the onion in oil till soft, then add the pine-nuts and fry till golden. Add the meat, salt and pepper and stir until the meat changes colour.

Wet your hands. Take a small egg-sized portion of the shell mixture and roll into a ball. Make a hole in the centre with your finger and shape into a thin-walled pot with a pointed bottom by turning and pressing it in your palm. Place some stuffing into the hole and pinch the top of the pot together to seal it. Shape the top into a point. Repeat with the rest of the mixtures, wetting your hands frequently.
Heat the oil. Deep-fry 4 or 5 kibbeh at a time until golden brown and drain on kitchen paper. Serve hot. Makes 20

Beef and Okra Casserole

1 1/2 lbs. okra

6 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, finely chopped
6 tomatoes, peeled, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup stock or broth
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
3 tablespoons dairy sour cream
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Cut the stalks from okra and preferably on a cone shape.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan, add the okra and sauté the dry oil of on paper towels. Discard oil in pan and wipe pan with paper towels. Heat 2 more tablespoons oil in saucepan. Add chopped onions and tomatoes; sauté until heated through. Add ground beef; cook stirring occasionally, until browned. Add stock or broth; bring to a boil. Add garlic and salt. Simmer until most of liquid had evaporated. Preheat oven to 350o Brush a large baking pan with oil. Stir yogurt, sour cream and white pepper into beef mixture. Spoon half of the beef mixture over bottom of oiled pan. Cover with okra. Then cover okra with remaining beef mixture. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon oil. Bake 50 to 60 minutes. Garnish with tomato and lemon slices.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.