 EATING THE
IRAQI WAY...
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Iraqi food is rich and diverse, incorporating spices typical of Arabic cooking, such as saffron and mint. Extra food is usually cooked in case of surprise visitors, while expected guests are treated to many elaborate dishes. People eat their evening meal around 8:00 p.m. Most cooking is done on gas or paraffin-oil stoves, though in the cities, people often own microwave ovens to help shorten cooking time. The preferred meats in Iraq are lamb, beef, goat, mutton and poultry; Muslims do not eat pork or pork products. As in other Middle Eastern countries, Iraqi meat dishes often combine vegetables and rice. Iraqui cooking uses two varieties of rice: amber rice in the north, and neggaza in the south. Popular main courses include kebabs, which are skewered chunks of grilled meat; quzi, roasted and stuffed lamb; and kubba, which is minced meat with nuts, raisins and spices. Masgouf is a special dish made from fish that live in the Tigres river. Another popular dish is tripe, a dish made of cow's stomach; there are a number of tripe restaurants in the cities. Most meals are accompanied by flat rounds of bread (samoons). For dessert, people enjoy some of Iraq's local fruits, rice pudding, Turkish Delight, sesame cookies, or baklava, a pastry made with honey and pistachios layered between filo sheets. The most widely consumed drinks in Iraq are coffee and tea. Arabic coffee is famous for its strong flavour. In Iraq, people brew their coffee thick and bitter, and serve it black. Tea is usually served in small glasses and drunk sweetened, without milk. Fruit juices and soft drinks are also popular. Muslims are officially forbidden to consume alcohol.
What you will find here: Rice with Saffron, Almonds and Raisins Timman (Iraqi-Style Rice) Iraqi Pomegranate Soup (Shorbat Rumman) Chalabis Red Magloube Yaprakh (Iraqi Rice) Lis-san el qua-thi (Eggplant wrapped meat)
and for desert:
Um Ali Ma’mounia, dating from the 9th century Iraqi Cardamom Cookies (Hadgi Badah)
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| Rice with Saffron, Almonds and Raisins
960 ml water
4 tbsp vegetable oil Method: In a large saucepan, mix the water, saffron, salt and four tablespoons of oil. Bring to a boil on high heat. Add the rice. Return to a boil, then lower to a medium heat. Let cook uncovered until most of the water has been absorbed. Stir from the bottom up, lower heat to simmer, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the two tablespoons of remaining oil in a small pan. Fry the almonds until slightly brown. Add the raisins, stirring for a few seconds until fluffy. Remove from heat. Serve the rice on a platter, garnished with the almond-raisin mixture. taken from: http://www.settlement.org/cp/english/iraq/eating.html
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| Timman (Iraqi-Style Rice) 3 cup Jasmine rice 4 tbs Olive oil
Method:
Wash rice in cool water and drain. In a large pot, put in rice with water to cover by 3-4". Bring to boil and cook for 6 minutes. Test by biting a grain of rice: The outside should be soft but the inside still hard. Transfer rice to a sieve and rinse. Add oil to the pot and put wet rice back in. Place a kitchen towel over the pot and replace the lid. Cook on low heat for 45-55 minutes, or until fluffy. At the bottom of the pot a crunchy layer will form that is everyone's part. Makes 10-12 servings taken from: http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=iraqi
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| Iraqi Pomegranate Soup (Shorbat Rumman)
8 cup water 1 lb lamb shanks (or other lesser cuts of lamb and bone) ½ cup yellow split peas 1 cup chopped onion 3 x beets with green tops ½ cup rice 1 bn scallions sliced well down into the green 2 tbs sugar 3 tbs lime juice ½ cup parsley 2 tbs pomegranate concentrate (called “molasses” or “paste”) see * note ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro 2 cup finely chopped spinach
GARNISH 1 tbs dried mint crumbled, mixed with ¼ tbs cinnamon and ¼ tbs freshly ground black pepper
Method :
Note: Or substitute 1 cup pomegranate juice made by rolling an uncut fresh pomegranate hard underfoot on the floor, then making an incision and "squeezing" it over a juicer. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, then stir in the lamb, split peas, and onion. Skim where necessary, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an hour. In the meantime, wash the beet tops and spinach, slice finely and chop, wrap in paper towels, and crisp until needed. Also peel the beets and chop into a small dice. Also prepare the mint/cinnamon/pepper garnish in a separate bowl.
When the lamb broth is ready, add the beets and rice and cook another 30 minutes. Pick out the lamb - cut away the bones and fat, shred the meat, and return to the pot. Add the scallions, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, parsley, and either the pomegranate concentrate or the pomegranate juice. Simmer for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil and stir in the beet greens and spinach. Let wilt, while stirring for a minute or two, then stir in cilantro, more lime juice, as needed, and seasonings. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the mint/cinnamon/pepper topping.
Serve hot as a meal to 6 people, with lots of bread on the side. Comments: It sounds pretty weird - and it's not as "pure pomegranate" as I was hoping - but it does happen to be very, very good. taken from: http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=iraqi
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Chalabis Red Magloube
Clean, wash, and soak rice in water. Drain after 30 minutes. Sprinkle salt on sliced eggplant. Heat half oil; saute sliced eggplant until light brown. Remove from pan and place on paper towel. Saute sliced onion until tender. Set aside. In another pan, heat remaining oil, saute lamb shank. Stir for a minute. Add tomato sauce, water, salt, cinnamon, and cardamoms. Simmer for 30 more minutes. Add rice and simmer for 30 more minutes. Arrange a layer of eggplant in wide teflon frying pan; top with a layer of onions. Place lamb shank on top of onions. Pour rice mixture on top of meat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Turn onto a platter, with rice layer down. Serve hot. taken from: http://www.riceweb.org/homechefs/chef_iraq.htm
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Yaprakh (Iraqi Rice) 3 large tomatoes 1/2 kg small round eggplants 8 sweet peppers 1/12 kg large onion 4 c oil 4 c glutinous rice 1/2 c tomato paste 1 head celery leaves, chopped 2 tsp white cumin seeds 1/2 kg ground beef 1/2 c ghee or butter Salt to taste 1/4 tsp chili powder 50 pechay leaves Wash all vegetables. Slice round the top of tomatoes and set aside; scoop out all pulp and put in a bowl. Do the same with eggplant and sweet pepper. Reserve tops as cover. Sprinkle some water inside tomatoes and eggplants. Peel onions and cut lengthwize on one side (not at center). Press each onion between the palms of hands to separate layers. The smaller inner layers can be chopped. Heat 1/2 of oil, saute eggplant pulp and chopped onion until slightly tender, but not brown.Wash rice and add to onion and eggplant mixture. Add tomato paste, vegetable pulp, chopped onion, chopped celery, and cumin seeds. In another skillet, heat remaining oil; add beef and fry till cooked. Add beef mixture to rice mixure. Add ghee or butter, salt, and chili powder. Mix very well. Fill onions, eggplants, tomatoes, and sweet peppers with mixture and cover them with vegetable tops tightly; set aside. Spread some pechay leaves in a large and wide pan. Arrange first layer of stuffed onions, individually wrapped in pechay leaves tightly. Arrange tomato layer on top of onions; repeat, using sweet pepper and eggplant. Cover vegetables with a very heavy plate and place another heavy weight on top of the plate. Pour 3 cups water into the pan and cook on medium heat for 30-40 minutes. Leave on very low heat for some time until done. taken from: http://www.riceweb.org/homechefs/chef_iraq.htm |
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Lis-san el qua-thi (Eggplant wrapped meat)
A literal translation:
"Tongue of the Judge"
2 large eggplants
Stuffing:
Sauce:
Peel eggplant, trim off the top and bottom. Stand eggplant up on cutting board and slice vertically, 1/8" thin. Sprinkle generously with salt, place in a strainer for about 1 hour. Rinse off the salt and strain eggplant to dry.
Heat about 4 tbsp corn oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplant slices in batches, turning once to brown both sides. Be careful not to burn. Add more oil as needed. Drain cooked eggplant slices on paper towels.
Low fat alternative: Place eggplant slices on baking sheets lined with foil and brushed with corn oil. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes until brown, turning the eggplant halfway.
Mix together the ground meat, onion, salt and pepper. Divide the meat into sausage shaped portions 1" thick and 2" long. Place a portion of the meat stuffing at one end of an eggplant slice and begin wrapping the eggplant around it.
Place the rolls in a baking dish and layer the tomato slices on top (optional). In a saucepan heat 2 tbsp oil and saute the diced onions. When soft add the chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and turmeric. Add tomato sauce, beef or chicken stock and lemon juice to taste. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Pour the sauce over the rolls in the baking dish, cover with aluminum paper and bake for 1 hour (or until done) at 450 degrees. taken from: http://www.bjcny.org/recipes.htm
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Desserts:
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Um Ali 10oz
cooked puff pastry
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Ma’mounia, dating from the 9th century
3 cups water 1 cup sugar 1 tsp lemon juice ½ cup sweet butter 1 cup semolina whipped cream 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Put sugar and water in a large saucepan over low heat, and stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil while adding lemon juice. After syrup boils, reduce heat and let simmer until syrup thickens slightly (about 10 minutes) In another saucepan, melt butter and add semolina. Stir until semolina is lightly fried, then add the syrup from the other pan, and let the mixture simmer another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool 20 minutes. Spoon ma’mounia into individual serving bowls, top with whipped cream, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serves 4
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Iraqi Cardamom Cookies (Hadgi Badah) 2 cup All-purpose flour 1 tsp Ground cardamom ½ tsp Salt ¼ tsp baking powder 1 1/3 cup Sugar 4 large eggs 2 cup ground blanched almonds, around 10 oz. rose water (optional) 6 dozens whole almonds (approximately)
Method: · Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease several large baking sheets. · Sift together the flour, cardamom, salt, and baking powder. Beat the sugar and eggs until light and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture, then the ground almonds. · Form the dough into 1-inch balls, moistening your hands with rose water, if desired. Place on the prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly. Press a whole almond into the center of each cookie. · Bake until lightly browned about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. · Makes about 72 cookies. http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=iraqi
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For an excellent resource of Iraqi food, check out "Delights From the Garden of Eden", A cookbook and a history of the Iraqi cuisine, and its website www.iraqicookbook.com |
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3al-3afiya!!
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