Kebab bil karaz/ Sour cherry kebab

Ok so cherries and meat...weird combination right? why would I try this right? I have some memory of being at some medical conference that my parents dragged us to as kids (I think Mackinac Island) and going to a dinner where they had cherries and chicken. I just took a little bit and it was amazing! I have wanted something similar since but I guess it isn't that common of a thing. Anyways, I have been wanting to try this dish for a long time and I never see sour cherries here in America (however I have seen dried sour cherries, sour cherry jam, and sweetened sour cherry juice) and I wanted to try it the real way so I went to whole foods to buy some fruit and I saw SOUR CHERRIES and I think I might have squealed with delight out loud and embarrassed myself but nothing out of the ordinary. So yay for whole foods.

Kebab bil karaz is a dish from Halab (Aleppo) which is about 4 hours away from Damascus. Just 4 hours away and it seems like their food is so different from the food in Damascus. Halab is known for their kibbeh and kebab and for using spicy Aleppo pepper in their food contrary to Damascus. Damascus food is very....well we tend to focus on the ingredients rather then the spices and so some may find it kind of boring.

I have never been to Aleppo, at least not that I can remember. I know that when I was around 13 our family and some other family friends took a trip around Syria but I was at that age where I didn't care about much so we probably passed through Aleppo but I couldn't tell you much about it. Kano, from Syrian foodie in London, always has interesting information about where foods came from and about the city so check out his blog. He also has a recipe for Kebab bil karaz. I have never tasted this dish so I don't know what it is suppose to taste like but I enjoyed it and so did my Damascene husband who doesn't always like to try new food (especially such a foreign concept like fruit in his dinner). Anyways I tried my best and I think it tasted like it was suppose to however probably in Syria it tastes much better because the fruits and vegetables in Syria in general have a much better taste...fruits and veggies in America have a watered down taste. Anyways here goes:

Ok so I washed the cherries and then i pitted them with this handy dandy gadget. If you don't have one and don't want to buy one then you can either crush the cherries and pick out the seeds of just cut the meat of the cherries off from around the seed.

These cherries are really soft and dark and are not as sour as I thought they would be from the name. I think they use the cherries not as ripe when making them in Halab but we need to compromise here. (sha7ad oo msharit)

Pitted cherries.

So in a heavy bottom saucepan (because of the sugar it would burn easily otherwise) add the pitted cherries, some sugar, and a little bit of water to get the cherries started.

I covered the pan and put it at medium low and about 5 minutes later this is what it starts to look like. Start smashing the cherries a bit so more juice is released and it can be thickened.

At this point add some dibis rimman (pomegranate molasses) and just a tiny tiny bit of cinnamon. I was kind of hesitant about the cinnamon because at this point the sauce was very sweet. I was kind of scared and mad that maybe I had messed up this dish but once you add the meat the sweetness evens out.

So I decided to puree my cherries (1st because I don't like chunks of soft fruit in anything and 2nd because I wanted the sauce to thicken easier) however I believe they don't usually puree the cherries and they keep some of them whole...but its your food so you can do what you want.

I put it back in the saucepan and cooked it just a little more.

Grate an onion on the finest setting (If the onion is too big you won't be able to form the meat or it will fall apart while cooking). I decided to add the onion juice to the sauce to take away from the sweetness, it worked but I don't think it is necessary because like I said earlier the meat evens out the sweetness.

So I decided to use ground lamb (some recipes say just meat and some said lamb). If I made this again I would either mix lamb and beef or just use all beef and that is because I am just use to Damascus cooking and they always use beef for their kebabs and stuff. The lamb tasted good but it has a strong taste if you are not use to it.

I formed the meat into medium sized meatballs.

I cooked the meat in a little bit of samneh (clarified butter) but I believe in Halab they grill them. You can also place the meat in a pan close together and cook them in the over half way. Next time I would put them in the oven because this dish gets heavy with the meat and the pine nuts and samneh you garnish with.

Cook on all sides until a nice dark brown. When the meat forms this crust it helps to keep the juice in and makes a really good deep meaty flavor that will mix with the sauce.

Once the meat is cooked half way through, finish cooking them all the way in the cherry sauce. The sauce will become a little thinner when you add the meat because the meat releases some juice so that is why the cherry sauce should be thickened before hand. If you want to thicken the sauce more and you have already added the meat then just cook on medium until the desired consistency but watch the bottom because sugar burns easily.

So you are suppose to serve the kebab bil karaz with triangle pieces of pita bread and I believe you are suppose to just eat it like that but I made some rice. When you serve the Kebab you need to garnish with fried pine nuts and chopped parsley.

It was really good and very filling.

This is how we ate it. If you are form Halab and are offended from my version of the recipe then...sorry. I understand, its like when you see recipes with quinoa in tabbouleh or fava beans in the hummus....it is annoying.

Anyways, hopefully I did everything right ( I searched many recipes for this and they were pretty much all the same).

Written Recipe:

kebab:

1 pound of ground lamb (or a mix of lamb and beef or only beef, your preference)

1/2 onion finely grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 1 tablespoon of mixed arabic spice

Sour cherry sauce:

2 cups whole pitted cherries (or around 1.5 pounds of whole cherries)

2 tablespoons of dibis rimman (pomegranate molasses)

1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 cup of water

(my addition of about 1 tablespoon of onion juice from the grated onions)

garnish with fried pine nuts and samneh, parsley and pita bread.

Shakriyeh (lamb and yogurt stew)

What Arab doesnt like yogurt and rice? Ya thats what i thought..you cant think of one. Yogurt and rice to Arabs is like burger and fries to Americans....i guess. Shakriyeh is so very delicious, everyone has their own way of making it, what i love about this dish is that it is hard to mess up unless of course you dont follow directions and leave the yogurt on the stove and burn it or something. AHHHH i just remember one of the first times i made Shakriyeh after i got married. I had seen my mom make it a ton of times and i knew how easy it was but my MIL insisted i cook the yogurt and then add the starch, well a long story short i tried her way and the yogurt boiled over and curdled...i was very depressed that night. This is seriously a fool proof way of making it. I can imagine some Arabs in their heads when reading my directions for Shakriyeh saying, "OH MY GOD she is doing it so wrong" well i don't care because it tastes the same and i have never ruined my Shakriyeh before (except that once). People, we need to improve and make things easier on ourselves, why must we follow traditions of a time when they didn't know how to take easy routes? Anyways my rant is over, this is how i make Shakriyeh.

I start off by boiling lamb shanks in a pressure cooker. I leave the bone in (some people don't) and yes that is the silver skin still on the shank. Don't fret my dear ones, once you boil these shanks the silver skin will come off and the meat will stay in tact while it boils because of it.

So once the meat comes to a boil and the scum is removed i add in an onion, salt and these spices. Can you guess them? cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamon and bay leaves! GOOD JOB

So this is the meat after it is done cooking (about 1 hour in a pressure cooker because it has the bone in)

The meat should be literally falling off the bone YET it should keep its shape because youwere smart and left the silver skin ON! aren't you glad you listened to me?

So in a big pot with a strainer over it add in yogurt, 1 egg (i leave the egg yolk in but some people only use the egg whites) and corn starch. This is where people think I am screwing up this dish. Usually Arabs add in the corn starch slurry after the yogurt has heated up. The problem for me with this is they stand over the yogurt with much anxiety stirring constantly! If you turn your head for a minute the whole thing comes boiling over and curdles (my first experience) so listen to me if you want an easy Shakriyeh experience, add the corn starch in and whisk it into the yogurt BEFORE it gets hot.

So after the yogurt starts getting warm add in the lamb broth. This amount it up to you because some people like their yogurt very white so they don't add much in but i like my yogurt to taste good so i add in a few cups of the broth.

So when the meat has cooled down enough for you to handle it (but not cold otherwise you wont be able to get the silver skin and fat off) i remove the meat from the bone and I remove anything else that is not meat (i don't like fat so i get it all off but arabs do like their fat...not judging)

Serve with vermicelli rice and cracker black pepper

Some people like to eat their Shakriyeh cold served over hot rice ( it becomes like jello when cold) but i like the rice and yogurt hot. Enjoy

Written Recipe:

1 container of yogurt

1 egg

1 tablespoon of corn starch

3 lamb shanks

1 onion cut into 4

2 cinnamon sticks

6 cloves

5 cardamon pods

2 bay leaves

salt to taste

vermicelli rice

Bamyeh (okra stew) بامية

Bamyeh...every time i think about this i remember when i was engaged. Oussama and i were engaged and he had told me once that he felt like eating home cooking arabic food. I called my mom and we asked her how to make bamyeh and she told us the directions and then we went out and bought all of the ingredients and made it together. It turned out really well actually...i remember i was like so proud and i was shocked at how easy arabic cooking really is. Here is how my mom taught Oussama and me how to make Bamyeh..over the phone.

In a pan cook the bamyeh (size 0 frozen okra) until they are cooked and no longer frozen (because they are frozen there will be water at the bottom of the pan, when the water is gone it means they are cooked) Be careful when stirring bamyeh because if they break, the stew will become slimy. To prevent the bamyeh from sticking to the bottom of the pan i rinsed the bamyeh with water and dry them.

Next i add 1 can of tomato paste (you can use real tomatoes if you like, just blend them up and cook them down, i don't use real tomatoes because i use beef broth to give it more flavor)

Cook the tomato paste until it kind of sticks to the side of the pan, intense tomato flavor at your service

Add in the broth from the lamb cubes that you boiled (I didn't show this step because i have posted it in many other posts and it is always the same routine) The broth should cover the bamyeh. Let this come to a boil and then cook it on low for about 45 minutes. If you don't have time then you want let it boil for like 10 minutes but the longer it cooks the better and more blended the flavor is.

Chop up 1 bunch of cilantro (cleaned and dried of course)

Smash 3 large garlic cloves

This is dibis rimman (concentrated pomegranate juice or pomegranate molasses) I use the Turkish brand sera because it is the most sour i can find. Usually the dibis rimman i find here in America is sweet and that wont work for this dish. If you don't have this or can't find it then feel free to use lemon juice, it tastes just as good but it just isn't the "original" recipe.

Once the bamyeh is done cooking add in the cilantro, dibis rimman and garlic and stir for about 2 minutes. DONE...see how easy that was.

Serve with vermicelli rice

I know i say this alot but this is one of Laiths favorite dishes...I am so proud to have raised a boater when it comes to food. I realized this because every time i think about making non arabic dishes i stop myself because i know he wont eat them.

Written Recipe:

1 cup of Lamb cubes (boiled ad cooked with 3 cloves, 1 onion,1 cinnamon stick and a bay leaf)

1 can of tomato paste

1 bag of frozen size 0 okra (fresh can be used too same exact steps)

2 tablespoons of dibis rimman (pomegranate molasses)

1 bunch of chopped cilantro

3 large garlic cloves smashed

Broth from the boiled lamb cubes

2 to 3 tablespoons of oil (samneh, oil, butter, whatever you want)

Salt to taste (i only salt the broth)

Riz ibFool (Rice and broad beans) رز بفول

Riz ou Fool is a very healthy and quick dish to make for dinner, in no time you can whip this up and even have a side to go with it. Broad beans or fool are a good source of protein and fiber, in 1 cup of broad beans there are 10 grams of fiber!!! This dish is an excellent example of why i LOVE arabic food, because spices come secondary to the actual flavor of the food. Arabs tend to use very little spice and rather combine ingredients and bring out their flavor, which i love.

I start off by cooking my lamb cubes in about 2 tablespoons of oil (the amount of oil doesn't matter because when the meat boil and you remove the "scum" you remove all the oil as well). The reason i do this step is because i want my broth to have as much flavor as possible and in order to do that i either need bones OR to make brown spot on my meat and pan. So once the "brown" spot are achieved add water and let it boil, remove the "scum" and then add 4 cloves. 1 onion, salt, cinnamon stick and 1 bay leaf.

I used Montana brand green broad beans (this brand was good, I've had some bad beans in my days)

Saute the frozen beans until they are no longer frozen and then...

Add a cup of water and cover the pot and cook the beans until all the water is gone.

Once all the water is absorbed add 1 cup of rice with 1 1/2 to 2 cups of your meat broth. and let it come to a boil. Add (optional) 1/4 teaspoon of Arabic spice and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon)

Note: i decided to use basmati rice because it has less starch than jasmine rice (traditionally used) and the broad beans have starch as well.

When the level of water is level with the rice and beans then turn the heat down all the way and cover and continue to cook until the rice is done.

Now the dish is done just plate it up and put your lamb cubes on top and garnish with fried almonds and pine nuts

Serve with a yogurt salad (yogurt, garlic, cucumbers, salt and dried mint) or with a small salad

Written Recipe:

1 bag of frozen broad beans (you can use fresh too, about 1.5 cups)

1 cup of basmati rice

1 cup of lamb cubes (fried and cooked with 1 onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and 4 cloves)

1 - 2 tablespoons butter, oil or samneh

1/4 teaspoon Arabic spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pine nuts and almonds for garnish

Super Freaky Freekeh فريكة باللحمة

Freekeh is one of my most favorite Arabic foods (do i say that about everything Ive posted so far) No but seriously it is, in this post i made freekeh with lahme but of course alot of people typically make it with chicken. I have had some bad experience with freekeh, once my MIL brought me some freekeh from Syria so i put it in a jar to keep it and i left it in the cabinet, about 3 months later i found bugs crawling all over the inside i was lie traumatized for life. It is very important when buying your freekeh to look at the bag, if you see webs or if they are little granules at the bottom of the bag then don't get it, buy freekeh where you can see every granule and there is no dust appearance in the bag. Some freekeh comes in boxes, i always open the boxes and look at the box. the brand i used today was Nour, its really good except there are alot of rocks to pick out. Here is how i make freekeh ma3 lahme

First i go through the freekeh and look for stones or weird looking things and pick them out. Sometimes there are little branches or the freeked is still in the grain so look, This is annoying but i think it is worth it and you get fast at it eventually.

I spy.................. imperfections and rocks in my freekeh!

In a pan ( i use a pressure cooker) put some oil in the pan and cook the meat so that it has little brown spots. Add water and wait until the meat boils and remove the foam at the top of the water.

This is what the foam looks like, make sure to removes all of it.

After you remove all of the foam add in the spices and onion and close the lid and pressure cook it for about 45 minutes

Add some oil to a pan and slightly fry the very well washed freekeh (i rinse usually 4 times and soak for about 5 minutes) Make sure all the pieces of freekeh get a little oil on them.

Add the broth that was made when you boiled the lamb cubes, add enough so that the freekeh is cover by about an inch or if you like to measure 1 cup of freekeh to 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water. Add in some Arabic spice (not too much because it will make the freekeh dark) and some cardamon

When the freekeh is almost done cooking and the water is almost evaporated make a well in the freekeh and put the frozen peas in a strainer to steam. You probably think I'm crazy and you are wondering why i just don't stick them on top of the freekeh, well that's because the peas will lose their bright green color and become kind of dark green and plus i like to sprinkle the peas on top and i don't like t mix them because they tend to break and it doesn't look as pretty.

Serve in a plate by layering the freekeh the peas then meat then nuts (here i fried up some cashew, pistachios, pine nuts and almonds)

The written recipe:

1 cup of lamb cubes (add 1 onion, salt, whole cloves, 2 bay leaves and whole cardamon and cinnamon stick to the water)

2 cups of cleaned freekeh

4 cups of broth

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Arabic spice

1/2 teaspoon of cardamon

1 cup of frozen peas

3 tablespoons of samneh or butter or oil

pine nuts

cashews

pistachios

almonds