Nicolai

1- The Mango pickles is called Amba and is an Iraqi specialty which might not be to the taste of everybody as it is hot, spicy and tangy. We eat it with cut tomatoes which gives the pickles another dimension. 2- Masgoof wanabe restaurants in London or wherever are only Masgoof by name. The restaurant has to have a- Carps b- An open vertical wood fire pit. The carp in my pictures is from Iraq and the one in the other thread is from Iran. If the restaurant does not post the pictures of the fish and of the vertical fire pit then it is not the genuine Masgoof and the fish is grilled on the usual amber fire and most of the time they use Sea Bass. The Masgoof fire is real wood and not charcoal and the fish has to be butterflied from head to tail and served whole! Restaurants in Europe and the States need a special license to operate live wood fires indoor! No pictures = No Masgouf

Nanerj is the name used in Lebanon - Syria - Jordan - Palestine Narenj is used in Iraq - Kuwait...etc Nareng with a hard "g" is used in Egypt - Sudan...etc Nareng in Persian seems to be the original word. Naranja is the name for Oranges in Spain. Narenj became spelled as Orange by the French as a derivative from Une Orange spelled as N'orange and ended up as Orange. The Arabs introduced Oranges to Spain in the 8th century.....introduced to the Arabs by the Persian only for this variety as the sour variety is the Jaffa and Levant variety....The origin of the origin seems to be China! My explanation is based on the fact that we have several variant of Oranges in the Levant including both Burtucal Helou and Burtucal Hamod (Bitter/Tangy Orange and Sweet Orange) The Burtucal Hamod is the Jaffa oranges variety with the sourness also known as Shamouti oranges, add to that you have the Burtucal Mawardi also called Maghrabi which is Blood Orange and finally Oranges are a hybrid cytrus fruit. To cut a along story short, Nareng is the original Persian name. I think I will have now a nice fresh Orange juice.

Hello Smithy Yes, the fish is served skin side down and you do not eat the skin. The flesh does not come in contact with the embers, only the skin is laid on the embers to char before serving. It is a bony fish and this is another reason to scoop it directly with the fingers (or a fork and spoon if you have to) from the serving plate and eat it while being careful about the fish bones. But it is worth it and is a whole new dimension both in fish and the whole ceremonial....fingers, wood fire, pickles et all. It is an experience not to be missed.

Molasses in the aera comes in varied forms. Carob Molasses in Lebanon and Syria Grape Molasses in Greece and Turkey Date Molasses in Iraq and the Gulf countries incl KSA. Sugar Cane Molasses (Black Treacle) in Egypt. Which one you prefer is conditioned by where you were raised and if not then which is more appealing to your taste. Take a common sweet which is Loqaimat or Lekmet El Kadi which is the same as the indian ones or the Dutch ones and they all are Dumplings. In Lebanon and Syria they would douse them with Sugar Water or Honey. In Turkey and Greece they use Grape Molasses, In Iraq and the Gulf they douse them in Date Molasses.....and so on. I like them every which way but I would not eat Dibs wa Thineh with Date Molasses only with Carob Molasses......as for Grape Molasses......Fogetaboutit.

Masgouf is an Iraqi dish through and through. Masgouf is a butterflied Carp impaled on vertical hooks over an open wood fire. I usually eat fish from the sea and dislike soft water fish except the Iraqi Masgouf. It is a Carp (fresh) which gets a butterfly cut and spread with a mix of spices. The spices are varied and depends on the area and the person preparing the fish. The spicing is very light to almost negligeable as the fish is served with side sauces of either Tamarind based or Tomatoes based with a vaying degree of heat. Masgouf is kind of unique in the cooking as it is impaled on a hook or spit and the strange part which is against all rules of fish cooking, it is not the skin which faces the fire but the inside meat. You have to note that Carp is a fatty typle of fish a la Salmon and the fire burns all the fat out which drips down and leaves the beautiful taste of the fish. When ready, the fish is laid on the ambers skin side down to char it quickly before serving. Our way of eating Masgouf is with the fingers and no bread. We squeeze on the fish cut Nanaerj which is in a similar family of Seville Oranges. These Nanerj are sweet to taste and do not have the Lemons or Oranges sourness. They marry beautifully with the fish, In the pictures, you will see our hands squeezing the cut Nanerj on the fish and you will see the typical Iraqi bread. You will also see two dishes which do not belong there and are not part of the Masgouf. These tomatoe based dishes are Bamieh which is Okra and Fassoulieh which is white beans. I simply like these two dishes too much and the restaurant has them prepared for me. The Masgouf comes also with pickles which makes use of green and dried Coriander giving the pickles a very unique taste and this type of pickles is served in both Iraq and North Syria. One of the other pickles specialties is Pickled Mangoes which have nothing whatsoever to do with Chutney. It is an entirely different prep with lot of sourness and heat. We eat it mixed with chopped fresh tomatoes giving us the elusive Umami. Enjoy the pic and make sure to Google Masgouf to learn more about the dish. Do you know Masgouf? Have you ever tried it?

Date Syrup or more correctly Dates Molasses is not only the staple of the Iraqi kitchen but the staple of each and every Arabic country, some African countries and all the area. From Lebanon to Dubai, from Jeddah to Khartoum and from Selalah to Cairo, Dates are eaten from raw to ripe and cooked in tens of recipes. Dates in all their iterations are not unique to Iraq but to all the area including Dibs wa Thineh! Now you wish to talk about Men wa Salwah and you wish to talk about Kebbet Moussel or Masgouf and other pure Iraqi great dishes then indeed they are particular to Iraq. While I do enjoy lot of Dates, but unfortunately I cut down on Dibs wa Thineh.......however I make up on Masgouf and probably Masgouf deserves it's own thread. This is one of many lunches and you can see two Masgoufs on the table. The dish in the foreground was made specially for me and it is Bamieh wa Maosat which you eat with the rice (my plate left). If you look closely, you will spot the famous Iraqi bread and another Iraqi delicacy in the plastic tub next to the Moutain Dew soda......I will help you, it is a type of Pickles. As you are from Iraqi origin , you should be able to guess what it is. Thank you.

A Typical Xmas in Lebanon and Syria is very much a French inspired menu with a twist for the Turkey stuffing. Entree: Smoked Salmon - Foie Gras - Feuilletés Ham and Mushrooms Plat principal: - Stuffed Turkey with rice - mince meat - pine nuts - Almonds - Pistachios - Chestnuts being the hero. To keep the stuffing moist, you add raisins and/or apricots. Side dishes are green beans - Carrots - Courgettes. Suite: Endives salad and walnuts - Cheese Board Dessert: Bûche de Noël et Petits Fours - Maamoul Enjoy....

A rather simple Buttermilk Pancake with a filling of clotted cream ice cream cut with a strawberry compote peppered with a hint of Szechuan pepper and dressed with Vanilla Cream......accompanied with a bottle of Prosecco.....off camera

I just want to be able to read the Menu

Award winning chocolate sculptures. Gold Medal Silver Medal Silver Medal ex aequo

I like Midori as well and mix it with Vodka + Milk. (1+1+1) I also like Midori + Mozart Liqueur + Milk (1+1/2+1) Stir and pour over ice. .....life will never be the same again

Evil Profiterole with Creme Chantilly, Strawberry slivers, Chocolate coating with a sugar sprinkling....

Fresh Brioche from the local baker and served with Canadian bacon and Nutella......including a bollocking from the wife....

Anybody for some Armani choccies

Penne/Fusilli with Tomatoes ragout -Garlic - mushrooms - black olives and capers Followed by some nice Mangostene.

How about a Penne/Fusilli with Tomatoes ragout -Garlic - mushrooms - black olives and capers? Like what I am having now

LoL @ Celery 1- Celery seed was found in Egypt burried with the Pharaos. 2- Celery is split in four parts: - Seeds - Root - Stalks - Leaves 3- Celery was never ever used in cooking until very recently in the Middle East - Iran or Turkey The very early usage was seeds based for medicinal purposes. 4- The only country known to use Celery post 19th century is not surprisingly Egypt. It is called in Egypt and the Arab world as Karafs. The way it is used in Egypt was only the leaves which were chopped and added to a lentils based soup. The root and stalks were fed to the cattle as chewy and leafy. The seed was used for old medicinal preparations. 5- Growing Celery as it is known today required in past times some extra attention and hence was not popular with farmers. 6- All the recipes posted are new inventions and there is no authentic or old Celery based dish in the mentioned countries. 7- The first and only time I came across a Celery used dish was the Egyptian Lentils soup when I was very young and a Celery stalk in a Bloody Mary many years later followed by a nice Bolognese sauce with pasta I hope this helps. P.S. I hope your next post is not going to ask about Fennel which is in a similar situation as Celery.

Thank you for your comment. - Image 2 is indeed a giant Paella - Image 5 shows a whole potato spiral cut and fried on a stick with different flavouring. It is a new fad from Korea. Lots of fun and a show stopper.

A great day at London Borough Market on a beautiful and sunny day in this July. Many people of different nationalities and food from all over the world. I had to have my German Bratwurst with Mustard and NO ketchup followed by a Swiss Raclette, few glasses of Prosecco and a Habanos Enjoy.... 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9-

Sabayon is originally Italian = Zabaglione

Is it supposed to be Parma Ham or Serrano Ham or any Ham?

Nicholas Spyrou> Yes, you are right, Beef is dry, same as Chicken and same as Porc. That is why the original meat is Lamb and not any lamb but the Fat Tail version indigenous to the Levant. The Vinegar used is usually red Grape vinegar and not white and it acts as a tenderizer and preserve the meat. I do however appreciate that White Vinegar will not affect the Porc and Chicken color. The Original Lamb Shawarma is layered with fat which moistens the meat on the stick. To avoid dry meat (Chicken - Porc - Beef) you should marinate for a longer period using whichever marinate you fancy as long as you have Red Vinegar and Cardamon pods in the marinate. By all means you can replace with Mustard Powder or Ginger...etc....but you will be departing from the original recipe. Basting continuously as well. When the Lamb meat is sliced of the spit, the meat slivers fall on the base where the fat has collected and sometimes the addition of Tomatoes roasting on top of the spit, this helps keep the Shawarma moist and now I am hungry writing about it. Lately, I had Fish Shawarma and Prawns Shawarma....It is nice but it is taking the Shawarma name a bit too far. ......and I do not remember seeing any Shawarma stand in Turkey prior to the 80's. Still, Turkey can claim the name as much as they claim the Baklawa name and for the little history, Turkish coffee was brought to Turkey by a Syrian couple and in fact Turkish coffee has nothing to do with Coffee.....unless they had Coffee beans plantations that they did not tell me about. Coffee originated from Yemen and Ethiopia and made it's way up the Middle East map.....Brazil was too far! As a matter of fact, Coffee in Turkey pre 80's was pretty disgusting and we had to take our own coffee with us when visiting. Yuk! What does coffee has to do with Shawarma? Ground teaspoon is added to the marinate to cover up for the Lamb stench if any. While we are at it, it is worth mentioning that Arabic Coffee brewed in the pot on wood fire is the original preparation method. But better have a separate thread about coffee lest the power that be take umbrage at the discussion

Very different countries. Turkey is more aimed at the Tourist market and Morocco as well but with much lower traffic. Tourism is big business and great for any economy, unfortunately, Tourism also brings the other side of the coin and when the Antique or Curious shops were native, they become commercial and tacky, this applies across the board including food. This is the case of Turkey. Food is also asepticized to cater for the foreign taste and thus is the case of Turkey main cities and tourist centres. Morocco with a lower Tourist traffic is still at the stage where the food is still native and hopefully to remain so. Street food in Morocco goes way beyond Turkey or any other country in the world if you simply visit Jemaa-El-Fna in Marrakesh: Turkey does not even have anything close to that! You want local color go to Marrakesh You want tourist color go to Istambul Finding work for a month in any city will depend on luck more than anything else. I would go to Morocco Let us know how it goes.

Shawarma is different from Doner Kebabs. Both in type of meat, meat prep and seasoning. Although the world at large seems to agree on allegedly Shawarma being of Turkish origin with the word "çevirme"which means turning. I disagree with the origin and appellation as it sounds as a phonetic creation of "çevirme" spelled as Shawarma. My take on it is that Shawarma is Levantine in origin and the name Shawarma is composed of two distinct words namely "Shawa" which means to grill on open fire and Kawarma which is a type of preserved meat in the Levant. Hence Shawa + Kawarma became Shawarma.....but please feel free to disagree and go with the alleged Turkish version. Now to the meat. The original recipe for Shawarma calls for Lamb meat + Lamb fat. You have to note that the Levant type of Lamb indigenous to countries like Syrian (as a side note, there was no Shawarma in Syria prior mid 70's), the Lamb have a Fat TAIL which is different from the other type of Lamb. And this is what moistens and adds taste and flavor to the meat. As far as I am concerned, Shawarma is of Lebanese origin and the best of the best would be Abu Khodr and lately Barbar in Beirut. Shawarma is cut meat + fat. Originally Lamb and now Beef. (There was no significant number of "beef" cattle in the Levant or Turkey where Lamb and Goat exist in higher number. As Shawarma is street food of relatively modest price, originally Lamb would be used and not Beef). Doner is ground meat. The seasoning is also different and Shawarma main spice is Cardamon and the marinate is Vinegar based. Not so with Doner. There was not any Doner or Shawarma stands in the streets of Turkey, this came much later and adopted in Turkey as "traditional" street food! Similar story for Falafel....etc Shawarma as with all other food, is taking new roads and the Chicken versions started multiplying. Here are two versions of Chicken. One is called Lebanese Chicken Shawarma and the red one is called Mexican Shawarma......go figure.... Separately, the Chicken so called original version is pounded chicken meat.......and the latest twist is Prawns Shawarma....the world moves in mysterious ways! This is quite an elaborate subject, so I think I stop here but will answer any of your direct queries.

Very nice dish. Could you tell how you incorporated the Tamarind? Fresh, dried, sauce, coulis, macerated......etc?