by Anissa Helou
Within the mosque, the cooks had laid long plastic sheets on the carpet to serve the meal they had cooked to those coming in after the procession. I then walked back to the hotel to watch the people from the neighborhood filing into the hotel to pick up their share of khoresht-e gheimeh and rice. The hotel cook garnished the gheimeh with chips, but in homes, the garnish would be either French fries or cubes of fried potatoes. Some people replace the potato garnish with fried eggplant.
SERVES 4
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for deep-frying the potatoes
4 lamb shanks (3 pounds 5 ounces/1.5 kg total)
2 medium onions (10½ ounces/300 g total), halved and cut into thin wedges
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Finely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons (30 g) tomato paste
4½ teaspoons ground dried limes
1 pound (450 g) yellow split peas, rinsed
4 pale dried limes, pierced in several places
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
Sea salt
9 ounces (250 g) potatoes, cut for French fries
Plain Iranian Rice
1. Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy pot over medium heat until hot. Add the shanks and brown them all over, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate then add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until golden brown. Add the turmeric and pepper to taste and mix well.
2. Return the browned shanks to the pot and add 4 cups (1 liter) water. When the water starts bubbling, add the tomato paste and ground dried limes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let bubble gently for 45 minutes, stirring every now and then.
3. Add the split peas, whole dried limes, lemon juice, and salt to taste and continue cooking for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until the peas are soft but not mushy and the meat is tender. If the sauce is watery, uncover the pan, increase the heat, and let it boil hard until it has thickened.
4. Meanwhile, place a fine-mesh wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet or line with paper towels. Pour 1 inch (2.5 cm) vegetable oil in a deep skillet and place over medium heat. To test the temperature of the oil, drop in a piece of bread. If the oil immediately bubbles around it, it is ready. Fry the potatoes until golden and drain on the paper towels or set on the rack—the latter will keep them even more crisp. Lightly salt the fried potatoes.
5. Transfer the khoresht to a shallow serving bowl. Scatter the fried potatoes all over, or pile them in the middle. Serve immediately with the rice.
Iranian Mixed-Herb Lamb Stew
KHORESHT-E GHORMEH SABZI
IRAN
Sabzi means “mixed herbs” in Iranian and this khoresht is made with an amazing number of different herbs, greens, and scallions—a mixture that people often buy ready-made in the bazaars in Iran, which they then have the seller chop in a special machine a little like a meat grinder but with a much wider rotating blade so as not to bruise the herbs. You can make this khoresht with fresh herbs, but if not available, you can use a packaged mix of dried sabzi available in Persian groceries. Obviously the dried mix will not be as vibrant as fresh sabzi, but it is more than acceptable. If you do use dried herbs, you will need 8 ounces (225 g), which is half the weight of the quantities of fresh sabzi I give below. I remember going into the courtyard of a refuge for the disabled in Isfahan and finding a group of women in black chadors chopping a huge mound of sabzi to freeze so they could use it in the winter months. It was an impressive sight, to say the least. Their grinder was quite different from those I had seen in the bazaars. Perhaps it was a cheaper version as it was giving them a lot of trouble, jamming with every batch, whereas the guys in the bazaars were operating theirs for client after client without any problem!
SERVES 4
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
FOR THE SABZI
1 ounce (30 g) fresh fenugreek leaves, finely chopped, or 2 tablespoons dried
¾ bunch flat-leaf parsley (5 ounces/150 g), most of the bottom stems discarded, finely chopped
½ bunch cilantro (3½ ounces/100 g), most of the bottom stems discarded, finely chopped
1 small bunch dill (1 ounce/30 g), most of the bottom stems discarded, finely chopped
FOR THE KHORESHT
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 bunches scallions or baby leeks (7 ounces/200 g total), white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 pound (450 g) boneless lamb meat from the shank meat, cut into medium chunks
⅔ cup (130 g) dried red kidney beans or black-eyed peas, soaked overnight in plenty of water with ½ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground dried limes
4 pale dried limes, rinsed and pricked in several places with a sharp knife
Juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
Sea salt
Plain Iranian Rice, for serving
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sabzi and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until the herbs begin to darken. Set aside.
2. To make the khoresht: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and lightly golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the lamb and sauté until browned.
3. Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the pot along with the fried sabzi, ground limes, and whole dried limes. Add water to barely cover. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and salt to taste. Let simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced and the meat and beans are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve with rice.
Ali Farboud
Iranian Lamb and Eggplant Stew
KHORESHT-E BDENJN
IRAN
This khoresht is similar to the Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Eggplant, except that the eggplant is fried and added to the lamb at the end. As for the sauce, it is made with tomatoes and not with a lamb stock reduction. Both are delicious, though, and a wonderful way to combine meat with eggplants in the summer when they are at their best.
SERVES 4 TO 6
4½ pounds (2 kg) globe eggplants, peeled lengthwise in stripes and cut crosswise into 2-inch (5 cm) disks
Sea salt
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions (10½ ounces/300 g total), halved and cut into thin wedges
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) boneless lamb leg or neck fillets, cut into medium chunks
3 tablespoons tomato paste
One 14-ounce (400 g) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained, seeded, and coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
Finely ground black pepper
Pomegranate seeds, for garnish
Plain Iranian Rice, for serving
1. Salt the eggplant slices and let them sweat for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
2. Set a fine-mesh wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet or line with paper towels. Pour 1 inch (2.5 cm) vegetable oil into a deep skillet and heat over medium heat until hot (if you drop a piece of bread in the oil, the oil should immediately bubble around it). Working in batches, fry the eggplant until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to the rack or paper towels to drain.
3. Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the onions and fry until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and add the meat. Sauté until the meat is browned all over. Stir in the tomato paste, chopped canned tomatoes, and lemon juice. Add water to barely cover the meat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and let bubble gently for 30 minutes.
4. Add the fried eggplant slices and a little more water if the sauce seems too dry. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 more minutes.
5. Carefully transfer to a serving platter, making sure you do not mash up the eggplant slices. Serve very hot, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, alongside the rice.
Quince Stew
KHORESHT
-E BEH
IRAN
Here is quite a wonderful stew that can be made only when quince are in season as no self-respecting Iranian would consider using frozen or canned quince. I always look forward to the fall when I start seeing quince in the market, as this is one of the first quince dishes I rush to make. It is also very simple to prepare. I have made it with lamb and I have made it with veal. The latter takes longer to cook, so adjust the cooking times according to what kind of meat you are using.
SERVES 4 TO 6
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
4 medium onions (1 pound 5 ounces/600 g total), cut into thin wedges
1 pound 10 ounces (750 g) boneless lamb leg or neck fillets, or boneless veal breast, cut into medium chunks
½ cup (100 g) yellow split peas, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Good pinch of saffron threads
3 tablespoons raw cane sugar
Sea salt and finely ground black pepper
3 large quince (1 pound 10½ ounces/750 g total), peeled, cored, and cut into medium-thick wedges
Plain Iranian Rice, for serving
1. Heat the oil in a pot (large enough to eventually hold the meat, split peas, and quince) over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the meat and sauté, stirring regularly, until browned.
2. Add the split peas, turmeric, saffron, sugar, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 cups (500 ml) water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Add the quince and simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes, or until the meat, split peas, and quince are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
3. Transfer to a shallow serving bowl and serve with the rice.
DAIRY
* * *
YOGURT
I can still see my mother making yogurt in our kitchen in Beirut, how she wrapped a thick blanket around the pot in which she mixed the yogurt culture with the hot milk and then slowly and carefully pushed the pot to the back of the counter before sternly turning around to me—I was her kitchen pest and always hovered around her when she was cooking—to warn me not to touch the pot, otherwise we wouldn’t have any yogurt. Hardly anyone makes yogurt at home nowadays. The choice in the supermarkets is vast, with goat, sheep, or cow’s milk yogurt; organic, nonorganic; made with live culture; fat-free; and so on. Still, there is nothing more satisfying than making your own the old-fashioned way. Also, the yogurt made at home with live cultures will curdle more easily if you want to make fresh cheeses or ghee from scratch. And you can experiment and make dried yogurt products such as Lebanese kishk or Jordanian jameed, or Iranian kashk, or Turkish tarhana, which unlike the others comes in different versions.
Yogurt has been an important part of the diet of Arab Muslims from the time of the Prophet Muhammad. Their flocks of sheep, goats, or camels provided milk, and yogurt kept better than milk. It is still an important part of the diet of Muslims throughout western, southern, and central Asia as well as in the north and east of Africa. Here, I give a brief description of the different ways of preserving yogurt, followed by recipes that make use of both fresh and dried yogurt. Yogurt is also consumed on its own or served as a side with stuffed vegetables or freekeh, but more important, it is used in cooking a whole range of dishes.
LABNEH
Also known as chaka in Afghanistan, labneh is basically strained yogurt. Many call it “yogurt cheese,” but it is not really a cheese. Labneh is made by simply draining the whey off yogurt. Helen Saberi also explains in her book Afghan Cookery that by straining yogurt, you get rid of the acidity or sourness that whey can impart to the yogurt. In the Levant, labneh is usually eaten on its own, drizzled with olive oil, or made into dips together with other ingredients. It can also be used in fillings for savory pastries.
KISHK
Kishk is made by mixing bulgur with part regular yogurt and part labneh, then fermenting and drying the mixture before grinding it to produce an ivory white powder that resembles flour. The time to prepare kishk is in late summer and early fall after the wheat has been harvested and processed into bulgur. Traditionally, kishk was prepared in mountain villages as a winter provision to be used during the cold months with qawarma (a kind of minced lamb confit) and garlic to make a hearty breakfast porridge. My mother’s family, when they still made kishk at home, used one portion of bulgur to eight of salted yogurt. They placed all the bulgur in a wide crock and covered it with two parts regular yogurt. They let it soak in the yogurt for twenty-four hours, during which time they salted and strained the rest of the yogurt by putting it in a cloth bag to let the whey drain off. The next day, they divided the strained yogurt into three parts, and mixed one with the bulgur-yogurt mixture. They saved the other two to be added on successive days. Once all the yogurt was used, they let the mixture ferment for a week, kneading it every day, until it became quite sour. Then they pinched off small lumps, spread them on clean sheets laid over straw mats, and put them to dry in the sun. Once completely dried, my grandmother, mother, her sister, and a couple of neighbors gathered around a large tub and rubbed the lumps of kishk between the palms of their hands until they broke them all down into a coarse powder. My grandmother then sifted the kishk through a fine steel mesh into a fine powder, which she stored in canvas bags. She used the bigger pieces that were left with qawarma, and sometimes labneh to make a filling for savory pastries. Kishk is mostly made commercially nowadays and ground by machine. The result is a very fine powder with a uniform ivory color, whereas homemade kishk is speckled with golden flecks of bulgur. You can also mix kishk with onion, tomatoes, sesame seeds, walnuts, and olive oil to make a topping for manaqish.
KASHK
Kashk is the Iranian equivalent of the Levantine kishk but is made without any grain. It’s simply dried salted yogurt that you can buy shaped into hard balls or reconstituted into a thick spread in jars or cartons. It is added to dips and soups, and is also used as a garnish. Kashk has a sour-salty flavor that is very pleasing and the spread has a thick texture that adds body to both soups and dips.
JAMEED
Also known as quroot in Afghanistan, Jordanian jameed is basically salted and dried yogurt. The yogurt is put in cheesecloth and salted daily. During that time, the outside of the cloth is rinsed daily to get rid of all the whey. When the yogurt has become very dense, it is unmolded and rolled into balls, either round or with a pointed top and put to dry outside. If left in the sun the balls will turn rather yellow, whereas if they are dried in the shade they will remain pristine white. It is important to dry the balls to the core so that they keep well. Jameed is used in the national dish of Jordan, mansaf.
TARHANA
Tarhana is the Turkish version of the Levantine kishk, which can be made simply with a grain and yogurt, with added tomatoes, or added vegetables. It comes in different shapes and forms, such as coarsely ground or as flakes or lacy chips, and it is mainly used in soups.
SHANKLISH
Shanklish is the Syrian version of blue cheese, with its own unique, rather pungent flavor. The way the cheese was traditionally made, and in some cases still is, was by first extracting some of the butterfat from the yogurt by shaking it in an earthenware jar and skimming off the fat bit by bit, after which the semi-skimmed yogurt was brought to a boil. Once curdled, it was strained to get qarisheh. When the qarisheh had cooled down, it was salted, seasoned with Aleppo pepper, then kneaded until it became quite smooth. At this stage it was rolled into rounds the size of tennis balls. These were put to dry in the sun first—my aunt put hers to dry on a white sheet on the flat roof of her house in Mashta el-Helou. After the balls of cheese had dried, they were put to ferment, traditionally in the same earthenware jars year after year so that the cheese could be innoculated by the same spores to grow the same mold (although nowadays it is more likely that those still making shanklish at home would ferment it in glass jars). The mold takes at least two weeks to develop and cover the outside
of the balls; the longer it is left to ferment, the stronger the flavor and the creamier the cheese. The mold is then washed or scraped off and the cheese is rolled in dried thyme, or sometimes Aleppo pepper, before being stored in clean glass jars to eat plain with bread, or to make into a salad with tomatoes, onion, and olive oil to serve as part of a mezze spread. I still remember the taste of my aunt’s shanklish, creamy and piquant, and absolutely exquisite. Most shanklish nowadays, at least that which is sold commercially, is actually made from labneh mixed with salt and Aleppo pepper and covered with za’atar with practically no fermented flavor.
Shanklish Salad
SALATET SHANKLISH
LEBANON | SYRIA
This salad is one of my favorite mezze, but you need to find really good shanklish for it to be tasty, or you need to make your own shanklish. A few years ago I found a Syrian couple in London who made shanklish the way it should be made, but their venture did not last long. I guess they couldn’t make it pay or they were hampered by regulations, which is a shame. I make my own in sunny Sicily, where I have a terrace to put the cheese out to dry. It is a little time-consuming and I have to watch out for the birds, but I cover the balls of cheese with cheesecloth and the birds leave them alone.
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 ball shanklish (about 7 ounces/200 g), crumbled
2 medium firm-ripe tomatoes (7 ounces/200 g total), seeded and cut into small cubes
1 small red onion (2 ounces/60 g), finely chopped
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only (optional)
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving