Kahk Cookies

5 cups all purpose flour

1¼ cups milk

2-2 ½ cups ghee

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon clove powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon yeast

2 tablespoons baking powder

Filling/Stuffing

2cups dates paste

1 cup chopped pistachio

 About the image above: Egyptian kahk cookies

Combine the flour, powdered spices and baking powder, sieve and keep aside.

In a pot put the ghee on the head until boiling and add the flour mixture slowly and stir continuously with a wooden spatula and it set.

Take out from the fire and cool a bit, when the mixture bit cool but still warm add the yeast and sugar and stir gently.

Form the dough into balls and stuff inside with nuts and dates paste. Arrange them on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take out from the oven and allow cooling, sprinkle with sugar powder before serving. Makes about 60-80 pieces

Kushef

1 cup dry date of dates

1¼ liter milk

½ cup dried plum, roughly chopped

½ cup dried apricot, roughly chopped

¼ cup roasted almond, chopped

¼ cup roasted walnut, chopped

¼ cup roasted pistachio

¼ cup raisin, chopped

¼ cup shaved coconut or young coconut

3-4 tablespoons natural honey

About the image above: Egyptian style kushef

Soaked the dried date and clean up the skin. And roughly cut the date. In a clean bowl, combine the ingredients and soak it, and keep in the fridge to allow the kushef cooling and taste nice. Make about 3.5 liters

Dates Candy Balls

3 cups fresh ripe dates

¾ cups toasted ground walnuts

¾ cup toasted ground almonds

2teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

2/3 cup pure honey

About the image above: dates candy balls

‘Dates recipe has probably been developed since thousand of years. The original recipe was just the ripe dates fruits, honey and spices (cinnamon and cardamom), to be stored as ingredient to produce sweet dish, bread, cake or to be served as paste, just like jam. Recently add with some toasted ground nuts as just like to crumb.’

In food processor, turn the dates into paste with honey, cinnamon powder and cardamom powder. Store it in a clean bowl and keep in the fridge for about 1 hour to chill.

Meanwhile in a clean bowl, combine the toasted ground walnuts and toasted ground almonds.

Use glove on both hands, turn the date paste into balls then roll those balls into the toasted ground nuts mixtures. Better to serve these dates balls while they are cool. Makes about 30-36 pieces.

Helpful Hints

• You may prepare the candy earlier and keep them in your fridge.
• Put more honey if you like them sweeter.
• When you use the sweet dates, may need to put less honey.

Muhammara - Hot Pepper and Walnut Dip

3pieces red bell pepper

2-4 pieces hot red chilies

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

¼ cup freshly made white bread crumbs

¼ cup garlic cloves, sliced and sautéed

½ cup red onion, sliced and sautéed

1 ½ tablespoons molasses

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh pomegranate juice

2 tablespoon fresh pomegranate fruit for garnish

About the image above: mohamara

Rub the pepper and the chilies with little oil and roast in the oven until it soft and take out from the oven. Allow cooling and peel the skin out as well as take out the the seeds of both chilies and peppers.

Combine the bell peppers, red chilies, toasted walnuts, white bread crumbs, sautéed garlic, sautéed onion, molasses, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice and pomegranate juice. Turn the ingredients into a fine paste. Check the taste.

Chill the paste in the fridge before serving. Serve with bread or accompaniment for Arabic dishes. Makes about 3 cups

Helpful Hint

You can serve the dip as mezzah or accompaniment of Middle East dishes. If you like it hot, you will ne to increase the number of the hot chilies.

Vermicelli Rice - Roz bil Shaghria

1 cup long grain rice

2/3 cup dry broken vermicelli (ready in a package)

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoon butter

½ cup chopped red onions

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 ½ cups rich chicken stock

salt to taste

1-2 bay leaves (optional)

About the image above: vermicelli rice – roz bil shghria

In a pot, sauté the vermicelli to nearly golden brown and add chopped onion and garlic and continuously to sauté and add the rice in. Continue to sauté a little bit and add the stock to cook and the bay leaves. Add also some butter to make the taste tastier as well as some salt.

Cook the rice slowly over low heat and covered. Check the rice after 20 minutes or maybe you need to cook the rice a bit longer. When it is ready, serve the rice with other Arabic dishes. Make about 4 servings.

Helpful Hints

The just cooked rice will give more flavors then the old rice. I like my rice to be served with molokhia and nice grills items. It is a great rice dish for your special Middle East theme dinner.

Bamia - Stewed Okra in Tomato Gravy

1 cup of red tomatoes

1½ teaspoons of chopped garlic

½ cup of chopped red onions

2 thin slices of green lime

1 teaspoon of lime juice

1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley

1 ½ tablespoons of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

½ teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds

dash of cardamom powder

ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste

4 cups of okra pods, clean

1 tablespoon of olive oil

About the image above: Egyptian bamia

Chop the tomatoes and place in a blender to make puree, keep aside. Meanwhile; put a pot over medium high heat and with the olive oil, sauté the red onion and chopped garlic until fragrant and add the crushed coriander seeds and then add in the tomato puree, chopped parsley, chopped coriander leaves and sliced green lime. Keep sautéing until the tomato cooked and add the okra. Cook until the okra becomes soft and season with salt, pepper, cardamom powder, and lime juice.

Take out from the heat and serve immediately with rice or vermicelli rice. Make about 4 servings

Helpful Hints

If the fresh okra is not available, you can replace with the package okra ready to cook.

Egyptian Lime Pickles

2 kilograms of fresh green limes

3.5 liters water

320 grams salt

About the image above: Egyptian lime pickles

For the paste

500 grams red chilies

1 tablespoon white pepper powder

Salt to taste

120 grams garlic

2 tablespoons ospur/safflower or local saffron

2/3 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Step 1

Wash the limes the running water. Over medium high heat, bring the water and sold to the boil and add the limes. Boil the lime or lemon for at least 5-7 minutes to make sure the skin of fruits are becoming softer.

Take out from the boiling water and place them in a clean colander. Make sure there is no excess water in the lime.

Step2

Turn the ingredient for the past into a rough paste, except the oil and toasted black sesame seeds. You may need to add a little water to smooth the paste in a blender or food processor but do not turn.

Sauté the paste and the toasted black sesame seeds to make sure the ingredients are well cooked and taste nice.

Step3

Add the cooked limes into the sautéed paste and continue sauté for about 5 minutes to make sure the fruits are coated by the paste. Remove from the fire and allow cooling. Store it in the container and keep in the fridge or you can serve immediately.

Make about 2 kilograms of pickles

Helpful Hints

You can prepare the pickles earlier as you can keep this pickle more than a week. The best taste of the pickle will be after 2-3 days in the jar. You may also produce Egyptian lemon pickles with the same method of this lime pickles.

Basbousa - Semolina Cake

3 cups semolina flour

1½ cups desiccated coconut

1½ cups butter

1-1½ cups milk

3 tablespoons plain yogurt

1-1½ cups sugar

¼ cup chopped hazelnuts

¼ cup slivered almond or chopped to top the cake

2 tablespoon butter to grease the baking tray

In a pot on medium heat, combine the butter and bring to the boil. In meanwhile, combine the semolina, desiccated coconut and sugar. Lower the heat and add the semolina mixture slowly and the rest of the ingredients to the boiling milk. Mix them well to make sure the semolina will not burnt.

About the image above: basbousa – semolina and coconut cake

Grease the tray and pour the mixture into the tray and distribute the mixture evenly. Bake the cake until golden brown about 35-40 minutes at 350°C.

When the cake start to turn to golden brown, remove from the oven and sprinkle the nuts on the top of the cake. Use your finger to press the nuts gently over the cake. Then let the cake to cool down for about 1½ -2 hours. Sprinkle with syrup or soak it and then bake the cake one more time at 180°C-200°C for about 5-8 minutes or until it turn to really golden brown. Slice the cake to serve either warm or cold. Sprinkle with some toasted nuts on top. Makes about 46-54 pieces.

For the syrup

1 kilogram sugar

½ kilogram water

200 grams glucose

1-2 pieces juice of lime

Combine the ingredients and dissolve them in a pot over the heat slowly. Take out from the heat after the sugar dissolved.

Helpful Hints

You will prepare the cake a bit earlier if you have to serve the cake for some special theme party. The cake can keep for about 4-5 days in good temperature fridge.

Ballah Hassem - Sweet Fritters

2 cups flour, shifted

8-10 eggs

2 cups water

200 grams margarine

2 cup oil to fry

Bring a heavy saucepan to medium high heat with water and margarine to boil. Add the shifted flour slowly and stir with wooden spoon until the dough becoming stiff and form a ball. Remove the dough from the head and place into a clean bowl to cool it down.

About the image above: balah hassem

Combine the eggs into the dough one by one; make sure the dough is soft and elastic. Filled a pot with frying oil and let the oil hot at the temperature to fry the dough. Filled the dough into clean piping bag, and gently drop the dough into hot oil. Let do this sequence until all of the dough has been fried. Turn the fried dough and make sure it cooks from every angle to golden brown, use a skimmer to turn the dough. Remove from the hot oil when it cooked and place them on a tray with paper napkin underneath to absorb the excess of the oil.

The next step is to dip the fritters into thick heavy syrup for 1-2 minutes to coat the fritters. You can serve warm or cold.  Makes about 25-30 pieces.

For the syrup

1 kilogram sugar

½ kilogram water

200 grams glucose

1-2 pieces juice of lime

Combine the ingredients and dissolve them in a pot over the heat slowly. Take out from the heat after the sugar dissolved.

Helpful Hints

Prepare the syrup earlier at least a day before so easier for you when you prepare the fritters. You can keep the syrupy fritters in your fridge for longer self-life of 3-4 days.

If you do not like with syrup, you can dust some powdered sugar after you fry.