Almass

Good stuff and your off to a good start. Two considerations: 1- In case you do not have the proper oven/stone oven..etc where the oven surface is hot enough to achieve bread pockets. Try this: a- Heat you baking sheet to max then place prompltly the dough on the baking sheet and replace in the oven. b- Roll a thinner dough and place one pitta on top of the other while moistening with water the covered side and stick together by pushing firmly (avoid water on the edges). This will create one pitta composed of two sides with moisture in the middle thus allowing the formation of a pocket. 2- Bamboo stick are very practical but tend to burn. Soak the bamboo stick in warm water for approx 10 minutes to moisten them thoroughly and yet retain the firmness. When on the fire, the bamboo sticks will not turn into charcoal and impair the chicken/meat falvour. On the other hand a bit of charred smell might give the rustic taste!

My God! I'm crosseyed!! ← And I'm flabbergasted, Luis... To see comments of this caliber on a board such as eGullet, where we've covered these subjects in depth, is a bit disheartening... Almass, please do a little search about jamón ibérico, right here on this board (just click on the search engine!), and then come back and explain this "poor brother" theory to us. Thanks in advance! ← vserna. No need to be flabbergasted. Do the search yourself and not on eGullet but in real life with Parma Ham purchased in Italy and Iberico purchased in Spain. And if you think you are in the right, then we agree to disagree and no need for the repartie!

Now where in the name of the Big Kebab and how did you come up with such explanation??? Shish or Sheesh or Sish mean skewer in Turkish. Seekh or Sikh mean skewer in Arabic. Kebab is grilled meat in Turkish originally and now Arabic. There is no such thing as Sheesh Kebab or Sikh Kebab different from each other. Sheesh Kebabk or Kebak al Sikh or Sikh Kebab is one and the same and means meat on a skewer. It can be chunks of meat or pounded/minced meat. And Sheesh Taouk is chicken chunks on a skewer. I repeat Sheesh or Sikh means skewer and the skewers can be flat or rounded or square. Originally all Kebab was on rounded skewers which did not represent any problem for chunks of meat. The Kefta to be able to stick on a round skewer had to fulfill two rules: - To balance correctly the meat v meat fat proportion in the mix and to reduce the meat fat if parsley-mint-onions...etc is added to the mix. - To pound the meat in a meat mortar. Nowadays, the meat is minced in a food processor and people at large use lean lamb cuts which does not adhere properly on a thin round skewer and the flat skewers were born. It goes without saying that here is a world of difference between Kofta made with lean meat and Kofta made with a mix of meat white fat as the flavor is heavenly. In certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, they would grill slivers of fat (Lyeh) and eat it directly from the grill. Very nice but you need to check with your health insurance before hand. If you ask for Sheesh Kebab (in whatever spelling), depending on the country and the restaurant you are in, you will get whatever the restaurant understanding of Sheesh Kebab is. It can be lamb chunks or pounded/minced meat. However if you ask for Kebak Shekaf or Kebab Mashoui then you are sure to get meat Chunks. If you ask for Kebab Orfali or Kebab KhashKhash...etc then you will get a particular pounded/mince meat recipe cooked on a skewer/grill. If you ask for Mashaoui or Tashkilet Mashaoui, you will get a mix grill. (unless you are in the Maghreb as a Mashoui is Roasted Lamb) (Mashoui is a cooking process of roasting on open fire/grill). Finally, if you want to make sure to get lamb chunks on a skewer grilled on a bed of charcoal grill, then you ask for: Kabab Shekaf al Sikh al Fahhm. or Sheesh Kebab Shekaf al Fahm.

Ahlein fiki. WoW. Myself and with few other millions of people must be among the living dead! We used to eat green almonds by the bucket load and the only ill effect was a tummy ache! Children and adults eat the stuff all over the Med and enjoy it thoroughly without being sick. Welcome to the world of spin. Any food consumed in excess is detrimental to one's health. Do you know that drinking too much water beyond recommended levels will result in kidney failure and death. So there. As for the Apricot kernels, I don't know about the California Apricots but only a very particular variant in the Levant produces non bitter and edible kernels. if my memory serves me right they are called Meshmush Ajami (Persian Apricots). You have these in California? Blanching bitter Apricot kernel will not remove the bittereness but only separates the skin from the nut and the nut is the bitter one and not the skin. Try it. Incidentally, clever entrance and plug for your book!

Eat with right hand- left hand - no hand, at the end of the day it is the way that you act in all echelons of your life which defines who you are. Enforce higher standards upon yourself and your family and you will achieve higher standards. Maybe table manners were set for the upbringing of the children, maybe they were set to make meal time a happier experience where everybody shares the same ritual or maybe they were made for the so called "Les gens du meme milieu". The fact of the matter is you either do it because it is second nature to you or you do it to impress the Joneses in which case fogetaboutit. Let me put it this way. When all the money has gone, all what you are left with is your manners and savoir vivre.

Nice write up and I have a vague feeling that you are being on the generous side for the level of Egyptian grub. 1- I would not eat street food ever in Egypt! That's just too risky and the odds are worse than in Vegas. 2- In general, food level is not at par with other ME countries like Beirut or Dubai or other. 3- There are some nice restaurants but you have to be guided by the locals who live there. 5 Star hotels are a safe bet and still leave a lot to be desired. For the real local Egyptian stuff which is very nice, you would really need to go with someone who lives there. There are some famous street kebab shops open at night next to the Maslakh (slaughter house) but the stench might put you off and you have to disregard the cats and the occasional dog. Some other shops specialize in Koshari and some other in foul or Ta'amia (Falafel which is the real original Egyptian fry up). Sophisticated dishes is not the Egyptian forte and I remember having the best meal of chicken in the dirtiest place I ever been too. The plastic plates were so worn that you could not guess the original color and the place only serves one meal combination per day. Which on this day was salad (fogetaboutit) bread - chicken and rice. The chicken was succulent and obviously you would eat with your hand. In case any one is adventurous to try the place is called Um Mohamad and is mid way on the Alexandria highway (Zira'ee) and not the desert one. Its a place for truckers and any driver will take you there. Try the open Egyptian village at the Marriott in the evening and start with corn on the cob bbq on open fire followed by Termoss - Koshari - Foul - freshly baked bread and a combi of grilled meat and Tahina dip. Follow with a Sheesha and a mint tea. If you can still walk after that, hit the Casino for a drink and a laugh or better in summer go upstairs to the open air Cinema cum restaurant to see an Egyptian film. 4- Beer has a slight problem as they increase the glycerin level for storage in summer and you can be either passed out or washed out by the time you get to your room. Egyptian wine is first grade vinegar which goes well for salads. 5- The country is a beautiful country for the people are very affable, the humor is uncany and the history and archeological sites are just mind blowing. It is a dream holiday but not a gastronomic one.

- One wheel of mature Manchego (Queso Manchego Viejo). - Jamon Serrano ham (poor brother to Parma Ham) - Few bottles of Cava bubly (Spanish answer to Champagne) and Rioja red (Cross of Burgundy v Chianti) - Olive oil (quite good actually) On second thought just get one wheel of mature Manchego...

Ayran with this "sour" kick. If you are not gravitating in the ME and would like your Ayran with the sour kick. This is what you do: - Plan A Take a glass or any small quantity of fresh organic milk and spray a minute dust of sugar (few grains=1 dozen or so) on the milk and stir to dissolve. Place container in a warm place for couple of days or so and magic: the milk goes sour. Take the sour milk and mix with your yoghurt. Do balance the amount of milk to the amount of yoghurt you are using. We are talkin few ml of sour milk for 250ml of yoghurt. Keep new mixture in warmish place untill it starts going sour, refrigerate or mix with water and salt and drink your Ayran with the "sour" kick. - Plan B if you cannot be bothered with the above, simply add a small tea spoon of Sour Cream to your yoghurt and wait for the youghurt to go sour. - Plan C add lemon juice - Plan D buy ready made from the shelf - Plan E have a coke and a nice day!

Yes the recipe I made is the one I know, the fennel flavored ones. I used sesame because that's what the recipe asks for and I liked it very much. Honestly, the ones I had as a kid had neither sesame nor pinenuts. So, I guess it varies. Note: the book is divided by region (kadaa'), not by the traditional app-entree-dessert format. Actually he offers 2 different Sfoof recipes not 3 as I mentioned. The above one is on page 660 from Bshari, the other one is Sfoof Bil Dibs from Baabda on page 62. This one uses Dibs Kharoob, a type of molasses made from ...well...Kharoob (I have no idea what this is in English) instead of sugar for a sweetner. I have never had this variety but it has a cool black color due to the molasses. It also has no fennel or turmeric. Almass, do you know what Kharoob is in English? I know it is a pod that looks like Tamarind, but I do not believe it is the same thing. Elie ← - So ChefRamzi offers two little known variant of Sfoof and does not offer the traditional version? Maybe it's hidden in another "kadaa" section? Note to self: I wonder how many dishes any chef "really" tries out before publishing a book? especially when it is an Encyclopedia kind of book. - Of course the perfect accompagnement to Debs el Kharoob is Tahineh which is the famous one and only "Debs weh T'hineh". No need for a chef recipe here. Simply mix Debs (Kharoob) with white T'hineh and balance to taste as some like it more tarty than others. And scoop with Arabic flat bread.

The word Arak which is "sweating" or "perspiration" predates Ibn al-Baytar reference to "Irk". Arak was first mentioned by Jaber Ibn Hayan in his Kitab al Jumal al Eshrin (Book of Twenty Articles) in the 8th century. He was the first to mention "Arak". Then the second literary evidence was in Hikayat Abu Al Kassim Al Baghdadi in the 11th century where he speaks of "Arak al Nabidh" which is Arak of wine. And the rest is history.

Alcohol = Al Kohl = Al Kohul nice transition

Bil Hana wal Shefa - Bon Appetit

"Sfoof is a cake whose main flavoring is fennel (or anise seeds)" Is this a variant version of the traditional Sfoof with fennel or anise seeds? And usually it has pine kernels on the top. From what I can see in the picture, you put sesame seeds! Is this also a variant of the traditional Sfoof? I noted that you mention three different recipes in the book, as I don't have the book yet, maybe you could advise whether Chef Ramzi indicates which one is the traditional Sfoof and whether the other two recipes are his adapted versions.

1- Haraymi - So called the Lybian version is as the recipe descriped above. Now obviously this dish which is composed of Fish and spices, comes in different variant not on a ME basis only but all over the world. You want to call it "chreimeh" but where is the Cumin? replaced by ground Coriander? You want to call it "hamraya" but where is the Cumin? replaced by Harissa? You want to call "Samkeh Harrah" with both Cumin and both ground and green Coriander? The fact of the matter is that the name Haraymi relates to Lybia with its own recipe which differential is Cumin. Take any recipe across borders, change one or two ingredients and claim it is original to a particular place. You can do it in some cases and next to impossible to do it in other cases. 2- As for the Arabic transliteration, I had a look at the posted link and frankly I would thread very carefully with this link which is omitting one major factor in the Arabic language which is the "Accentuation". Although "Accentuation" might complicate sorting out a system of transliteration. But at the end of the day you have to consider two points: A- Arabic "Accentuation" although is not omnipresent in all text (newspapers - bestsellers...etc) is still present in the mind of the reader and while it is not always used in writing but as an Arabic pupil you learn Arabic grammar Al E'raab which comprises "Accentuation". So it is present in the mind of the reader and not necessary on paper. B- Any word pronounced in different accents has, at the end of the day, to be put in writing. It is only when you write the word in Arabic that you can bounce back the pronunciation across all the Arabic world into one common language and phonetics. As some of you know, the written classical Arabic is somehow different from the coloquial Arabic, a lexico-grammatical and phonological combination. Write it and read it aloud and it is the same phonetic transference and this is the power of the language. Write Harissa in Arabic and the pronunciation is common across every Arabic speaker. Same for Haraimi and same for Humos and etc. So transliteration can be either a representation of the coloquial pronunciation or the writing application. And when both coincide then the transliteration is at its best.

Yes you are right for Harissa and spelled Ahrissa or H'rissa. Because the Arabic writting is with the Soft Ha'a. While Haraimi is written with the hard Ha'a. Take Homos or Humos or whichever pronunciation. Humos in Arabic is written with the hard Ha'a. However any non Arab would pronounce the word Humos with a soft H for the simple reason that they simply cannot pronounce the hard Arabic H as it does not exist in the latin alphabet and hence they have problem with the phonetics. Same for the Arabic word Da'l and Da'ad as two different Arabic letters for the same letter "D". Same for Caf and Kaf. Same for Kha'a and Gha'a. And that's why the Arabic language is called Lughat al Da'ad i.e. the Da'ad language. There is also another reference for the purest spoken and written Arabic but we shall be slightly starting to go out of the topic in this thread and maybe Arabic transliteration needs its own thread. Thank you for your interest

Tricky stuff is transliteration. Obviously it is phonetics related and one must be able to speak and understand the lingo before attempting to transliterate. It also implies that the person is proficient in the language to be transliterated into. In some cases, allowances are made as means of compromise as you could end up with quite a few versions: Humos-Homos-Hummos-Hommos-Houmos...etc In the Haraymi case. The Arabic spelling is with the letter Ha'a stress on the H cause there is another letter Ha'a with a soft H. So the stong H is followed in arabic with an R which reads HAR. If the word in Arabic was written with a soft H then H'reimi would be correct. Now I have no idea if Haraimi as a word means anything in local Lybian lingo and I hazard that it does not have any specific meaning. However HAR in Arabic stands for Chilli and as the dish is quite heavy on spices, I would go for the Haraimi transliteration. (incidentally the begining of the word Haraimi in Arabic is HRAIMI and an A accent has to go on the letter H to read as HAR... The H'reimi phonetics implies a soft H which is not in line with the spelling and pronounciation. It also does not bear any meaning. So to sum up, the word is written in Arabic with a strong Ha'a and thus Haraimi is correct. But in any case it is a very nice dish.

Anybody tried the Green Zaatar salad. Sprigs of fresh green zaatar (uncut) with a Lemon/Olive Oil/Salt/Pepper dressing and finely cut spring onions, with an assortment of fresh Kebeh Naiee (Raw pounded lamb + Burghul), Fresh Habra Naiee (Raw pounded lamb), Fresh Kebbe Naiee Harra (Raw pounded lamb + Burghul + Chilli pepper), Fresh Kasbeh Naiee (Cut raw Lamb liver), Fresh Shekaf Naiee (Cut raw lamb pieces) lots and lots of Olive Oil with salt and Pepper, add a nice Hommos Hab dish (cooked Hommos beans with a dressing of Olive Oil + Cumin + Black ground Pepper and NO LEMON), a pitcher of Arak Telt bi Teltein (third water only) and few dew ladden green almonds dipped in salt, what a way to start the day. Oooops, the dream got carried away...

It is a well known Lybian dish and the correct transliteration is not H’reimi but Haraymi. It is basically a fish dish and unfortunatly does include tomatoes in the recipe although the taste gets lost with the Lemon - Garlic - Cumin and Chilli peper. If you do a search for Haraymi you will come back with the same recipe as copied from one of the sites as follows: Ingredients: 4 pieces of fish Tomato paste ½ spoon salt ½ chopped garlic ½ spoon Cumin lemon juice ½ spoon chilli Marinate the fish in lemon, salt, Cumin and garlic. Put some oil in pan heat it up until it sizzles then put onions, garlic and heat till coloured. Add 3 spoon tomato paste and tomato juice. Leave for 5 minutes then add salt, Cumin and water. After 10 min. Add the marinated fish to the mixture and heat up for 15 min. Try it.

I recommend William Bounds Pepper mill and specifically the: Extra Coarse - HM Reel Mill - Pepper http://www.wmboundsltd.com/shopexd.asp?id=412 The W.Bounds mills come with a Patented 3 Step Milling Mechanisim which is very practical. But the Extra coarse might be the one you are looking for.

Nops, "the pan is not deglazed and a sauce made of the juices". It is a separate prepared sauce which is poured or dressed on top of the coocked item. Usually the sauce is vinegar/lemon/pomegrenate or any acid based sauce which is the anti taste of the prepared dish. Examples: 1- Sliced fried Aubergines lifted from the pan and doused with pomegrenate molasses (Debs Reman) 2- Sauted Hot green or red peppers in oil lifted from the pan and doused with red wine vinegar 3- Sauted/Fried chicken liver lifted from the pan and doused with Lemon and garlic concoction or Debs Reman. 4- And so on... Also some purists cover the dish so that no crispiness is left and this is called Ma'khmour instead of Em'taffa. The Arabic word Ma'khmour comes from the Arabic word Khamr or Khamra which stands for fermented alcohol. In this instance it is the fermentation and sweating of the fried Aubergines or Peppers or whatever when covered with the lid just after coming out of the pan and where the food steam goes back into the food and mollifies the item. Mummm, try to fry some sliced aubergines and immediately cover when out of the pan after dousing with garlic pounded and macerated with Pomegrenate Debs Reman. Wait five five minutes and dig in with Arabic bread as a scoop. Heaven on earth. When doused on open pan it is Em'taffa. When doused and covered by a lid it is Ma'khmour. When not doused it is Ma'kli or Em'hamar. When simply boiled, it is Maslouk. And all this is Ma'tboukh. Could turn this into a song, I suppose I say all this and I am not even an expert on ME food or a chef to that matter.

I never liked Burj al Arab exept for the outside architecture. It is for me too much in your face affair and the only time I stayed there was to have a personal valet assigned to the suite (which is the house rule) and who started unpacking my stuff to my horror and the horror of my GF. Their food outlets are at par with other establishment in Dubai and you just feel that someone is watching you all the time and I hate to have waiters gravitating around the table and refilling the glass even if you simply glance at it! I did advise the head honcho who is a personal friend, but this is his way of running both hotels and I must admit that the man is very good. But I don't stay there anymore. Last time I had dinner at Retro was a kind of muted affair. It was a weekday and we arrived late as we mostly do and there were only two or three tables occupied. We had a set menu that kept on coming and my GF who was not too much hungry did put me off eating. Specially when served with a menu item of scallops or was it foie gras and she would not touch it. The things you have to suffer with ladies! Anyway the service was excellent and they brought me, without prompting, a very nice cigar ashtray to rest my cigar. The ashtray was part of a promotion by either Moet et Chandon or some other French Champagne and was just the part but I was not allowed to take it home. Big Sighhhhh I did enjoy the menu, the service and the setting but I am not too thrilled with the entrance to the restaurant and the view overlooking the left over pool and far beach. Coffee was good though and they did have the long matches for lighting cigars but I don't use matches...

Hey Smithy, I don't think you are too far off. As far as Turkish, "tavuk" is chicken. At least that's what I remember on my trip to Istanbul a few years ago. I distinctly remember that word because the lamb/beef kebabs I ordered at restaurants gave me heartburn. So, I usually ordered tavuk shish instead. I think tavuk shish is skewered/charbroiled chicken/skewered chicken. I could be wrong on that one. As far as motefa, I am stuck on that one too. HTH ← LoL@Smithy, this one made me laugh and you are of course very right and indeed "motefa" is an arabic word and very much cooking related. And of course wrek92 is right on the Turkish name for Tawuk. But, it is the spelling that must have thrown the members off. Let us try this spelling and instead of "Motefa" let us spell it correctly as "Em'taffa" or maybe try this one "Moutaffa". Em'taffa or Moutaffa means litterary: Extinguished (as in to extinguish fire and douse water on it) And Motaffa is the process of dressing up vegetables or poultry or meat with a sauce of some kind as soon as the grilled/fried/cooked item is out of the pan. This brings to mind Red or Green Hot Peppers fried in oil and as soon as out of the pan you douse with red wine vinegar and eat as soon as temperature slows down. Very nice with bread and helps tremedously with ulcers. You have mentioned that "The grilled chicken chunks were sprinkled with a reddish spice that might have been sumac (or paprika?). The sauce had garlic, and had a hint of spicy heat that might have been paprika or might have been something hotter but in very small amounts." So there you have it, the chicken was grilled and Em'taffa or Moutaffa with a sauce they have prepared hence the name of the dish: Tawouk Em'taffa or Moutaffa. Riddle solved or in good Ol'English Sorted!

Quote from The Pierre Gagnaire website. My memory fails on exactly which I chose, but the fruit one (almond and rhubarb mainly) was more sucessful than the chocolate one with tonka bean which I found a little bit too subtle. Both had the most perfect patisserie bases though- as crisp as you could get and a great vessel for the creamy, fruity goodness above.I just loved this place and can't wait to go back and try the sandwiches. Not a scone in sight though, so this probably isn't a place for afternoon tea purists. ← Ahhhh, les douceurs of PG at Sketch. Truly outstanding and I particularly enjoy the one with the petal on top (no name I can remember). I often end up at Sketch after lunching in the vicinity and the reason is the beautifull patisseries offered. I am a cigar smoker and it is one of the places where you are allowed to indulge. On one occasion, we bumped into MM and discussed the patisseries and upon him finding out that we only tried and satisfied ourselves with a short list of three or four different petite douceurs, he galantly offered us the whole range to try. Granted that it was a nice PR gesture but it simply reinforces the fact that MM high standards are not only in the food area. I enjoy all Sketch outlets and Tea at Sketch might be a bit different from the other five star establishments but it is a delectable experience. As for five star Tea, The Lanesborough is my prefered place.

I suppose it is personal experience cross checked with available data. Yes and No.Nowadays Rakayek are made with ready made Phyllo pastry. However if my memory serves me right, Rakayek were a derivative of Baklawa pastry which in fact is Phyllo but with Samneh instead of oil (fat is only needed in minute quantity to enable long strand gluten formation). The origin of Baklawa is Assyrian 8th century B.C. and reclaimed by Turkey. But the term Phyllo which in fact means "leaf" in Greek simply complicates matters even more. But the historical fact is that Baklawa is of Assyrian origin. Today the masters of Baklawa are in Lebanon and have just been outwitted in the last few years by Syria who has produced the lightest and more savoury version to date made available in the smallest size you can imagine. We are talking 40mm x 12mm. It is interesting to note that Sfiha made of the same Baklawa/Phyllo pastry is different from the ordinary dough Sfiha (yeast) and hence refered to as either Sfiha Baalbakieh or Sfiha Hamaouieh basking in Samneh which of course is different from Sfiha Traboulsieh which again is different from the Egyptian variety which is not even worth mentioning to come thinking of it.

So many great restaurants in so litttle time but most importantly is that you enjoyed them all and the report is very entertaining. Thank you One question, who paired the wines for you and the Château-Châlon 1997 is indeed a very capricious wine.