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melamed

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Everything posted by melamed

  1. Those look delicious! I don't know much about chocolates but while vegetable shopping at the suk today I found a beautiful bunch of lemon scented thyme which the seller was also using to flavour his tea. I don't know if this would go well with honey but my guess is that it might ( I hope I am not suggesting a forbidden combination!)
  2. Does the green symbolize anything? I once visited a Persian friend and couldn't help but notice wilting lettuce, parsley and other green leaves on every door knob of the house, which I thought very bizarre. She explained that during the spring holidays it is a tradition and that it symbolizes new growth and health.
  3. All this time I thought the spiceman was selling me old barberries, its nice to know he's not cheating me! If I had used the bright red super sour barberries my rice would have been completely out of balance. Zereshks are much more complex than I ever thought! I really need to find myself a nice Persian grandmother and see how she makes the Tah-dig using a stainless steal pot, otherwise I will be posting about my stuck on rice the next 50 years. I would love to learn the secrets of the Tah-dig.
  4. That looks so tasty! I have never made this Persian stew and would love to try it. BTW, I usually use the black Pesian limes, is there a difference in taste? The black limes I use in Ghormeh Sabzi (herb stew) which is my favorite Persian stew but your Khemee might change that. I tried making this stew: It looks like a plain Irish stew except that those are apples in there and not potatoes, and it is flavoured with cinnamon and safron. The flavour is sweet and sour so popular in many Middle Eastern dishes. It was a bit stange and I would make it with a sweeter apple next time and not granny smith.
  5. found this while searching Syrian food, an article about Anissa's tour in Syria, http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/aug/...velfoodanddrink sounds great and wish I could go with you. You mentioned that you have been to Syria several times, are there differences that you know of between Syrian and Lebanese food? thanks
  6. Lots of interesting information I didn't know. In our local spicestore they sell barberries under the name zereshk, a name used both by the Kurds and Persians (although I don't know of any Kurdish recipes using barberries). I googled it and found this information: Who would have known that there is even a zereshk polo! wikipedia (I still don't know how to link text to a site) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berberis#Zereshk I don't know anybody who makes authentic royal persian rice so its hard for me to know if my recipe is out of balance (I compared a few recipes from books and internet and came up with it). The dried barberries I used were not bright red like I have seen in some pictures so pehaps this effects their flavour, In anycase, the final dish was quite good and not mouth puckering. The cherry polo I have never made but would like to try. I have a nonstick pot just for the tah dig because I haven't figured out how Persians made their tah-dig before the invention of teflon, or perhaps tah-dig is only a recently developed dish to take advantage of the great qualities of teflon ?
  7. Once in a spice shop the spiceman refused to sell me a spice which he knew I didn't know how to use, it was enough just looking at me. He was right of course, I had no clue, so now I need to do some research and go back there, or perhaps pay someone who blends in more to buy it for me
  8. Looks pretty interesting, what does it taste like and how is it made? The shell looks spongy. Is is a popular snack in many regions of China? I have been China for a short trip in September and ate moon cakes, which, besides the shape, seem very different from green cake.
  9. no, actually not gummy at all, the potatoes are that white (they do look a bit gluey, don't they?). I actually took your grandmother's advice and grated the potatoes while still hot. No gluten in pototoes, just starch which is released, as you said, if mixed too much or overboiled. Have no idea what kind of potato I used but they are in season and the best quality now. In the summer I wouldn't make this. I am not sure what causes potatoes to be so sticky out of season.
  10. My first potato kubba, very tasty and big hit with the kids. Added currants, almond slivers and cardamon, although forgot the parsley. I think this kubba would be a a good introduction to Iraqi cuisine for someone who eats only shepherd's pie. I tried frying and broiling, the darker kubba was fried. I prefer broiling because it is less greasy and messy- and the flavour is still very good. I made a few a bit too big and bulging, so next time I will try flattening them a bit more. Nawal Nasrallah uses corn flour in hers which she says helps when working with nonstarchy potatoes.
  11. tah-dig! That's the best part! It is the crunchy bottom part of the rice. I had a friend who used to complain about the food her Persian mother in law gave her. Out of respect she was given the best part of the rice- the "burnt" part of course and would always tell me "those Persians really don't know how to make rice, they burn it everytime and once more they give this to me!". Back then I didn't know any better myself.
  12. that would seem right, that was the only thing they were selling in a gymnasium sized room, just farmer's cheese. This I though pretty strange but was told that this is a remnant left over from the communist regime when farmers were told exactly what to grow. When we were traveling in transalvania we noticed that each village would sell a different crop at the size of the road. We didn't notice early enough because while passing through a kortus kalacs village (hungarian pastries that I love so much) we drove through without stopping, figuring we would stop at the next town. Next town they were selling nothing but onions, the town after that only potatoes, and so on, until we were out of kortus land completely...
  13. The checkout line is a great way of meeting people and I have made best friends with some of them! Like you mentioned, someone would cast a glance in the shopping cart and the questions would begin "What do you do with burghul, how do you make polenta, is that blue cheese any good?..." Israeli's are a gregarious bunch. Mixed markets are much more fun and there is much to learn from them.
  14. Interesting information, v. gautam Although all evidence point to the Himalayan foothills and China as the center of origin of rice, it was already introduced to the Middle Eastern area during Hellenistic times. Archeological remains were found in Iran from 1 AD. During the golden age of the Persians, in the pre-Islamic Sassanid period rice was widely cultivated; unfortunately no cookbooks survive this era. During the Sassanid's dynasty, Persian controlled vast areas of land from Europe to India, integrating and influencing various cultures and ultimately leaving a distinct cuisine behind which the Arabs assimilated and developed as their own. The Persian connection is seen through the imprint of their language on many recipes and ingredients. So there is always lots of cross influences as you mentioned. While you are here, I posted a question about garlic, I noticed that in the Persian cookbook that I have and the recipes given to me by Persians, garlic is seldom used (Although others tell me differently now). Is this wide spread and why? Is there a Zoroastrianism, Jain Ayurvedic connection?
  15. I decided to go to the traveling Ramla/Lod shuk to buy a saj (an upside down wok for baking flat bread). This market is not an organized place like the more famous ones in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, but a crowded and filled not with tourists but busy people looking for a bargan. There are Bedouins, Arabs, Ethiopians, religious Jews, it was hot, crowded, stinky and loud, and I loved it. I pickup the saj from the Arab seller and proceeded to wander around the suk looking to buy vegetables. Every 10 steps an Arab or Bedouin women would stop me and ask "You know how to make pita on the saj?". I told them that I am learning. Finally a Bedouin asks me how I make my bread so I tell her that I take a 1kg of flour..... "a kg of flour! ha, ha ha!! we always use at least 10 kg" It was so in congruous for them to see me with the saj. Sort of like a bedouin walking around the suk with a platter of sushi rolls. Perhaps not a clash but a bridge? Do you have any stories that brings two cultures together?
  16. We took our three kids to Romania last summer, don't have any specific recommendations just some observations from our trip. In transalvania, north of Sinai, they make the best grilled pastries called Kurtos Kalacs (Hungarian), which I think is brilliant and the most memorable thing I ate there. Turns out they sell it in Israel not far from where I live. All the road stop restaurants we went to grilled their meats to super well done, I was never afraid of contacting any strange bugs. I loved their ciorba soups, which is flavoured with lovage and dill. It is a bit sour because they add sauerkraut juice to it. Traditionally fermented bran was used and this I tried doing at home with very stinky results. Anyone living in Romania during Cecuscu's regime did not know why we wanted to visit. Bear pastrami was listed as one of the items in restaurants in Sinai, The day we arrived they shot 2 bears that entered city limits. This I didn't try out of respect for smoky. Also liked their kashkaval cheese which is more pungent than I am used to but great on pizza. We didn't seek out any well known establishment worth mentioning, especially with three kids tailing along. Beautiful country, especially the Carpathian Selling potatoes what cheese is she selling?
  17. I am not sure where you can buy barberries. I know that Persians, as well Uzbeks use it for their national rice dish (osh plov?) so a middle eastern store would be my guess. I will put this on Egullet recipe. Persian Jewelled rice 3 cups basmati rice 2 cups orange rind 2 carrots, grated coarsely 1 cup sugar 1 cup barberry ¾ cup vegetable oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped ½ cup raisons ½ cup cranberries ½ cup dried sour cherries or dates 2 tablespoons yogurt ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground cardamom ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon saffron, soaked in 4 tablespoons boiling water for 1 hour ¾ cup pistachios ¾ cup almonds, slivered Wash the rice and cook it for 10 minutes in plenty of salted boiling water, drain and set aside. Boil the orange rinds for 10 minutes, be sure to remove as much of the bitter white pith as possible. Soak all the dried fruit in water for 20 minutes. Cut the orange rinds into thin matchsticks and combine them with the carrots in a small pot. Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Fry the onions until golden brown. Drain the dried fruit and fry for about 1 minute making sure not to burn the barberries. Add the carrots and orange rind. In a small bowl combine the cardamom, cinnamon and cumin. In a nonstick pot add ¼ vegetable oil heat until very hot; add the spices and fry for a few seconds. Add about 2-4 tablespoons of rice, or rice combined with two tablespoons of yogurt and spread evenly to the bottom of the pot, pressing down. Add 1 spoon of rice, and on top of that a spoonful of the dried fruit mixture, alternately until there is none left. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add 1/5 cup of oil and the saffron to the rice. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel, put the pot cover on top of it, folding the towel over the cover. Cook over very low heat for 50 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before opening the pot. Lightly fry the almonds and the pistachios until just turning to brown. Transfer the rice carefully spoon by spoon, leaving the crispy bottom of the pot alone, unto a large serving plate to a pyramid shape, sprinkle with nuts. On the bottom of the pot transfer the Ta dig to another plate.
  18. I made sourdough starter once about 2 years ago and keep it in the fridge. My major mistake was not feeding it properly and after the first couple days it became contaminated (stinky). On my second try, I fed the dough as soon as I began seeing bubbles in it, throwing half out and replenishing. I didn't bother with checking temperatures. When it began to bubble nicely a few hours after feeding I moved it to the fridge. Also use your nose! does it spell like sourdough? that's the best indication that you are doing the right thing. I am not an expert but I hope this helps.
  19. That looks 100 times better than my kibbeh hamdah. My shell was a bit crumbly and I ended up making baseball sized kibbeh with a pea sized filling, if I had a Syrian grandmother she would have fainted. Do you also use allspice for the filling? Does the lean meat make for a more pliable dough? I noticed you also make teardrop shaped kibbeh (like Aromas of Aleppo), is that very typical? ok, enough questions... Good luck with the beet kibbeh.
  20. The shirin polo sound a bit like the polo I made above, but with less dried fruit. I also like the sabzi polo (with herbs) In the persian cookbook I have the broadbean(fava,fool)/dill polo is called bagale. This dish is particulary popular during Pesach, when these beans are in season. I never made the albaloo polo before partly because I am not sure what kind of cherries to use. The only sour cherries I can find are jarred sweet/sour cherries in juice, is that appropriate for this dish? I should try it, even if it looks like rice with kool-aid poured over it
  21. From internet reseach I found that in Mardin (southeast Turkey near Gaziantep) stuffed mulberry leaves are eaten in addition to stuffed grape leaves. It seems to me that this dish probably comes from Turkey/Syria and is not a tampa thing. To get back to kibbe Nayeh, Mardin has their version called çiğ köfte’ (spicy raw meatballs). Interesting, perhaps rebecca is right and you are relatives?
  22. Thanks rebecca, I have such a huge mulberry tree here that it can feed an entire village. I had a mulberry tree growing in our backyard in New York and it was deciduous, with berries the Italians would use to make jams and pies. Is it the same mulberry I am talking about? sorry if I am going off topic... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulberry
  23. Gourmet Kubba indeed! now that's love! Some of my relatives who sell kubba make special vegetarian ones, either stuffed with mushrooms or tofu, very strange east/west fusion I must say.
  24. thanks! a whole world of kibbe nayeh I never knew about. I have a gigantic mulberry tree near my house so would love to get my hands on a stuffed mulberry leaf recipe.
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