Feast
Page 24
FOR THE MARINADE
Pinch of saffron threads
2 tablespoons rose water
¼ cup (60 g) tomato paste
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
FOR THE GARNISH
½ cup (100 g) blanched almonds
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 medium onions (10½ ounces/300 g total), halved and cut into thin wedges
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
⅓ cup (50 g) golden raisins
¼ cup (50 g) yellow split peas, boiled for 20 minutes, until tender and drained
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
4 black dried limes, inside pulp only (seeds and peel discarded)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon b’zar (Arabian Spice Mixture)
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground fennel
1. To make the seasoning mixture: In a large bowl, mix the pureed tomatoes, onions, celery, ginger, garlic, oil, chili, black limes, bell pepper, the ground spices, whole spices, pepper flakes, and salt to taste. Aisha recommends mixing all the ingredients in one bowl so that you can add them all at once and won’t forget any.
2. To cook the chicken: Put the chicken in a large pot and add the boiling water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, skimming the froth from the surface. Add the seasoning mixture, cover the pan, and let bubble for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
4. Pull the cooked chicken pieces out of the pot with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet. Add the fresh herbs to the pot and bring back to a boil. Drain and rinse the rice and add to the boiling liquid in the pot. Cover and cook the rice for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel and replace over the rice.
5. To make the marinade: Put the saffron to steep in the rose water for 15 minutes in a medium bowl. Then add the tomato paste, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, cayenne, and turmeric. Rub the mixture into the cooked chicken, coating it all over. Place the chicken pieces in the hot oven and roast for 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
6. To prepare the garnish: Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 6 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Pour 2 inches (5 cm) of 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). Toss the onions with the flour and deep-fry them until golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes—watch them at the end so that they don’t burn. Drain in a sieve and shake off the excess oil to keep them crisp.
8. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the grated carrots, raisins, cooked split peas, eggs, dried lime pulp, fried onions, almonds, and ground spices and mix well. Sauté for 5 minutes, until the carrots have softened and the mixture is well blended.
9. Transfer the rice to a large serving platter. Lay the chicken pieces over the rice and garnish with the fried onion and nut mixture. Serve immediately.
Yemeni Chicken “Risotto”
YEMENI MANDI
YEMEN
The first time I had mandi was in Syria at Palmyra, a fabulous Roman site in the middle of the desert once ruled by Queen Zenobia in the third century. A Frenchman built a fascinating hotel right on the edge of the ruins in the early 1900s and called it the Zenobia Hotel. It must have been magnificent then and I guess for a while longer, although sadly not by the time I got to know it. The only magnificent thing left was the setting, with its spectacular views of the ruins from some of the rooms and the most amazing terrace overlooking the ruins and at times unbelievable sunsets. I always included Palmyra on the itinerary of my culinary tours, not only for the ruins but also to let the group sample the chef’s mandi. The dish comes from Yemen, where they make it by roasting a whole lamb in a tannur oven, which they then serve over a luxurious rice flavored with saffron, nuts, and raisins. But the Palmyra mandi was made with lamb shanks and roasted in a regular oven, and the yellow color of the rice came from turmeric and not saffron. Still, my groups and I enjoyed it—that is, until I had mandi at a specialist mandi restaurant in Dubai where the cooks were Yemeni. The rice there was flavored with saffron and enriched with ghee while the meat was cooked in a tannur oven—although it was a shoulder and ribs and not a whole lamb—and was far superior to the Syrian version. Mandi has now been adopted by most Arab countries and you find it throughout the Middle East. The recipe below is closer to the mandi I had in Dubai except that it is made with chicken. You can use lamb shanks instead (see Note).
SERVES 4
FOR THE CHICKEN
4 teaspoons Yemeni Mandi Spice Mixture
Juice of 1 lemon
Good pinch of saffron threads
Sea salt
1 whole organic chicken (3 pounds 5 ounces/1.5 kg), quartered
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
FOR THE RICE
1 tablespoon (15 g) unsalted butter
1 small onion (3½ ounces/100 g), finely chopped
4 green cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
1 small tomato (2½ ounces/75 g), seeded and finely diced
1½ cups (300 g) basmati rice, rinsed under cold water
Sea salt
1. To marinate the chicken: Combine the mandi spice mixture, lemon juice, and saffron in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons water and salt to taste and mix well. Let steep for 15 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and toss them in the marinade. Let marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably longer in the refrigerator.
2. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and slowly roast for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate. Pour the cooking juices into a large jug.
3. To make the rice: Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the whole spices and stir for a couple of minutes. Then add 1⅔ cups (410 ml) water to the jug with the chicken cooking juices. Stir well and add to the pot, along with the tomato and rice. Add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and place the chicken pieces over the rice. Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel and replace over the pot. Take off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve hot.
NOTE: To make the mandi with lamb, use 2 shanks if they are very large or 4 if they are a regular size. Depending on the size and quality of the shanks, you will need to cook them for at least 30 minutes longer than the chicken.
Sweet-Savory Rice
MUHAMMAR
QATAR | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | BAHRAIN | KUWAIT
There are two ways of making this sweet-savory rice, another classic from the Arabian Gulf, normally served with fried or grilled fish. One way is to caramelize sugar before adding water and parboiling the rice in the sweet water, then finishing the rice by steaming it with a little butter or ghee and saffron-rose water. The other method is to sweeten the rice with date syrup, which is what was done traditionally. I like the flavor of date syrup and the recipe below, which was given to me by Mariam al-Abdallah, who was Qatar’s first celebrity chef, calls for date syrup. Mariam cooks the rice by the absorption method—i.e., in just enough water so the rice absorbs it fully—but you can also parboil the rice (see Note). Be sure to get the right date syrup. Some are very thick and dark and they do not produce a great result. Instead try to find a light golden date syrup. Serve with the Arabian Spiced Fried Fish or any other fish dish that strikes your fancy and will go with the sweet-savory f
lavors of muhammar.
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 cup (250 ml) date syrup
2 cups (500 ml) boiling water
4 cardamom pods, smashed
1 cinnamon stick
2½ cups (500 g) basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes in 2 quarts (2 liters) water and 1 tablespoon salt
Sea salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
Good pinch of saffron threads, steeped in ¼ cup (60 ml) rose water
1. Put the date syrup in a large pot in which you will be cooking the rice. Add the boiling water, cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then drain the rice and add to the pot. Stir the rice, bring back to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the liquid is fully absorbed—check after 10 minutes and taste for salt; add more if necessary.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat.
3. When the rice is done, sprinkle the hot oil over the rice and sprinkle the ground cardamom and saffron-rose water all over. Use a fork to mix the rice and fluff it up. Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel and let the rice steam over very low heat for 10 more minutes. Fluff it up again with a fork and serve hot.
NOTE: You can also parboil the rice in a lot of water, then drain it and return to the pan to let it steam over very low heat. To do so, increase the amount of date syrup by ½ cup (125 ml) and add 5¼ cups (1.25 liters) water to parboil the rice for 3 minutes. Drain the rice and instead of the oil in the recipe, add a little ghee or butter to a clean pan and add the drained rice. Place over very low heat and steam the rice for 20 minutes. Sprinkle a little saffron-rose water over the rice at the end.
Saudi Fish “Risotto”
SAYYADIYAT SAMAK
SAUDI ARABIA
This is the Saudi version of sayadiyeh, a classic Lebanese dish, but made with hamour, which is the most popular fish in the Gulf. The Lebanese version is quite different, both in look (brown from the caramelized onion broth) and in flavor. The different spicing and the tamarind sauce for the Saudi version give an interesting tart flavor to the dish. Make sure you ask your fishmonger to give you heads for your stock. Using them will make the stock so much tastier. Fish heads are usually discarded in the West so you should be able to get them for free.
SERVES 6 TO 8
FOR THE FISH STOCK
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
4 medium onions (1 pound 5 ounces/600 g total), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced to a fine paste
1 medium tomato (3½ ounces/100 g), quartered
2 fish heads
4 green cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Sea salt
FOR THE TAMARIND SAUCE
About 1 cup (200 g) seedless tamarind paste, soaked for 30 minutes in 1½ cups (375 ml) hot water
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Sea salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
FOR THE “RISOTTO”
2½ cups (500 g) basmati rice, soaked for 1 hour in lightly salted water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
TO FINISH
3 pounds 5 ounces (1.5 kg) white fish steaks
Sea salt and finely ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for pan-frying the fish
½ cup (75 g) blanched almonds, toasted in a hot oven for 7 minutes, for garnish
1. To make the fish stock: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are caramelized and have turned golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so. Transfer to a food processor. Add the tomato and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer the tomato-onion puree to a saucepan. Add the fish heads, 4 cups (1 liter) water, whole spices, cumin, pepper, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, until the stock has reduced by a quarter. Take off the heat. Discard the fish heads and strain the stock into a clean pot.
3. To make the tamarind sauce: Mash the tamarind paste in the water, then push through a sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the pulp to extract as much tamarind sauce as possible. Add the coriander, pepper, salt to taste, and cilantro. Mix well.
4. To make the “risotto”: Drain the rice and add to the pot of stock. Add the tomato paste and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the rice is done and has completely absorbed the liquid. Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel and replace over the pot. Let steam over very low heat for 10 more minutes.
5. To finish: While the rice is cooking, season the fish steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Pour enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet and place over medium-high heat until the pan is very hot. Slide the fish in skin side down and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden. Flip and fry on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the fish steaks are just done. If the fish steaks don’t fit in the pan at once, you may have to cook them in two batches. In that case, between batches wipe the pan clean and add a little more oil.
6. Transfer the rice to a serving platter. Arrange the cooked fish steaks over the rice. Garnish with the toasted almonds and serve immediately with the tamarind sauce.
Lebanese Fish and Caramelized Onion “Risotto”
SAYADIYEH
LEBANON
In this sayadiyeh, the rice has the loveliest golden brown color because of the stock made with caramelized onions, and the flavor is pretty straightforward with only lemon wedges served with the “risotto.”
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) white fish heads
2¼ pounds (1 kg) white fish fillets or steaks
Sea salt
Vegetable oil, for frying
4 medium onions (1 pound 5 ounces/600 g total), halved and cut into thin wedges
2 cups (400 g) Calasparra or bomba rice, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes in lightly salted water
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
2 ounces (60 g) pine nuts
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1. Put the fish heads in a pot. Add 3½ cups (875 ml) water and bring to a boil over medium heat, skimming the froth from the surface. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let bubble gently for 15 minutes, until the stock has reduced slightly.
2. Pat the fish dry with paper towels and rub lightly with salt. Pour ½ inch (1 cm) vegetable oil into a large nonstick 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). Fry the fish for 1 minute on each side to seal it. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on several layers of paper towels.
3. Pour 1 inch (2.5 cm) oil into the pan and heat over medium heat until hot (if you drop a piece of bread in the oil, the oil should immediately bubble around it). Add the onions and fry until golden brown, being careful not to let them burn, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a sieve and gently shake the sieve to get rid of any excess oil and let the onions become crisp.
4. Strain the fish head stock into a clean pot and add three-quarters of the fried onions, reserving the rest for garnish. Bring the stock to a boil and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it has taken on the color of the onions. Reserving the onions in the sieve, strain the broth into a clean stockpot. Transfer the onions to a food processor and puree, then stir back into the stock.
5. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
6. Bring the stock to a boil over medium heat. Drain the rice and add to the pot together with any loose fish flakes from the fried fish. Season with the cumin, pepper, and salt to taste. Reduce the heat to low,
cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed.
7. Meanwhile, spread the pine nuts on a baking sheet and toast in the hot oven for 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Place the fried fish fillets on top of the cooked rice. Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel and replace over the pot. Let steam over low heat for a few more minutes or until the fish is just done.
9. Transfer gently to a serving dish, making sure the fish sits on top of the rice. Scatter the reserved crispy onion slices and toasted pine nuts all over the fish and rice. Serve hot with the lemon wedges.
Bengali Vegetable “Risotto”
BENGALI KHICHDI
INDIA
There are many ways of preparing khichdi, khichri, or khichuri, from the simplest version with only rice and mung dal to bhoutik, considered to have “supernatural” properties, with added spinach, bitter gourd, potatoes, and peas. Bhoutik was Chitrita Bhanerji’s family winter recipe, as she explains in her book Bengali Cooking. The khichdi recipe below could become “supernatural” if you add a little spinach and bitter gourd, but I like it as it is. Like many of the rice dishes in this chapter, it makes a perfect one-pot vegetarian meal (although you can easily change that by serving it with fried fish). You can also add the Indian Fried Eggplant.
SERVES 6
1 cup (200 g) mung dal
¼ cup (60 ml) mustard oil
2 large potatoes (14 ounces/400 g total), cut into medium cubes
1 cup (225 g) cauliflower florets
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 green cardamom pods
2 dried red chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
1 inch (2.5 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and minced to a fine paste
1 large tomato (7 ounces/200 g), finely chopped