Umm Ali

Happy Birthday Judy, on this beautiful day,
There’s so many things, We just want to say,
You inspire many, with your thoughts and actions,
We’re all so grateful, for your calm reactions.

Happy Birthday on this beautiful day,
You’ve always been there, for everyone’s birthday,
Kindness and thoughtfulness is your forte,
Our love for you, we wish to convey.

Happy Birthday on this beautiful day,
We wish you the best, for a beautiful day,
Hope you enjoy it, from beginning till end,
Here’s a hug and kiss, We at BOTCIY send.

The Egyptian Umm Ali is a delicious dessert, which utilizes many exotic ingredients and assorted nuts, and what better dessert could we dedicate to our exotic Queen of ‘Bring On The Chef In You’. Thanks Judy for all your efforts, in raising our blog to heights we never anticipated, for all your enthusiasm and passion in finding the apt dish for our food blog. Without your zeal, we could not have received such rave reviews. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday and many more to come from all of us at ‘Bring On The Chef In You’

Ingredients
• 1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 5 cups milk
• 1¼ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts
• 1/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
• ½ cup double cream
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Unroll the puff pastry sheets, and place flat on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until puffed and golden brown.
2. Break the puff pastry into pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add the raisins, almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, ¼ cup sugar and coconut, and toss to distribute. Pour into a 9×13 inch glass baking dish, and spread evenly.
3. Pour the milk into a saucepan, and stir in ½ cup sugar and vanilla. Heat until hot but not quite boiling. Pour over the mixture in the baking dish.
4. Beat the double cream with the remaining ½ cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly over nut mixture in dish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

PS : For a quick dessert, you can use honey coated Cornflakes instead of Puff Pastry and follow the recipe as above.

“Habibi Ya Nour El-Ain”…….Basboosa

“Habibi Ya Nour El Ain,
Ya Sakin Khayali,
A’ashek bakali sneen wala ghayrah bibali,
Habibi, Habibi, Habibi, Ya Nour El-Ai aaah,
Habibi, Habibi, Habibi ya Nour el-Ain,
Ya Sakin Khayali…..”
{click on this link to hear this lovely song by Amr Diab} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiIjau-0wWI

The countdown to Valentine’s Day has begun and “Bring On The Chef In You”  presents to you ‘Basboosa’, the Egyptian delicacy, a semolina cake that is baked and then soaked in a rose/lime syrup. With Egypt so much in the news,  it would be so wrong  not to have an Egyptian sweet on the menu for Valentine’s Day. ………. Do try this and enjoy this lip smacking ‘Basboosa’;  with love  from Egypt .
Recipe :
For the syrup: 2 cups sugar, water 1-1/2 cups, juice of one lemon and the zest (cut into thickish strips) rose water – 1 tablespoon.
For the cake : 2 cups semolina, baking powder 2 teaspoons, butter ½ cup, sugar ¾ cup, vanilla essence -1 teaspoon, eggs (2 small), yogurt ¾ cup, blanched almonds -1/2 cup
Preheat oven to 170 deg C. Make the sugar syrup first by heating the sugar and water and lemon zest strips and lemon juice for 8-10 minutes till syrupy. Add the rose water and keep aside.
Sift the semolina, baking powder and set aside. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy then add eggs and vanilla essence. Then add the semolina and baking powder mix and beat till well incorporated. Add yogurt and mix. Pour into a 9×12 inch baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. { When baked for 30 minutes remove and make diagonal lines creating diamond shapes. Press an almond into each square and return to oven to bake till golden brown}. Pour syrup little by little on the hot cake and set aside till completely cool. Cut the basboosa into diamond shaped pieces and serve at room temperature.

Falafel

Falafel is a patty or fritter made from ground Chickpeas.  We in the Middle East are fortunate to taste so many varieties of Falafel ; sometimes spicy, sometimes sour and sometimes even sweet.   The Egyptians say that Falafel originated there;  which is strongly refuted by the Lebanese and other Arabs.    Falafel is usually served in a Pita Bread or Khubz, which acts as a pocket for the Falafel.  You can top the Falafel with salads, pickled vegetables  like carrots, cucumbers, turnips and chilies and drizzle it with a sauce of your choice; usually yogurt based or tahini based.

I love Falafels, while the family prefers ‘Shawarma’;  so when it is falafel time at home, you know who has an overdose of them .  I made them recently and though they were a little flatter than usual, they tasted real yum.

Falafel is high in protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber and it is said that chickpeas are low in fat and salt and contain no cholesterol.    Dear friends,  care enough for your family to replace hamburgers with Falafel  ?????

Recipe :  1 cup dried chickpeas (wash and soak overnight in water),  few fava beans (optional), 1 small onion, 3 garlic cloves, ½ cup coriander leaves, ¼ cup chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¾ teaspoon cumin powder, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, salt to taste,  1 tablespoon of sesame seeds/til to sprinkle on the falafel just before frying).

Pick, wash and soak the chickpeas overnight in a bowl of water.  After soaking, drain and dab them dry.  Place the chickpeas (uncooked), the fava beans and all other ingredients in a mixer (except the sesame seeds) and pulse till you get a coarse dough.  Sprinkle a little water if it is too dry.  You should have a sticky dough which can be easily made into balls.

Form the balls and flatten a little.  Sprinkle all over with sesame seeds.   Heat oil in a skillet and deep  fry on both sides till golden.  Drain on paper towels.

To serve,  split pita-bread or khubz and fill with shredded lettuce, thinly sliced peppers, tomatoes, pickles like salted carrots, turnips and chilies and few teaspoons of sour cream.

To make sour cream,  whisk together half cup cream, 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 cup hung curd and salt to taste.

Am sending this recipe to the event “Deep Fried Snacks” by Tickling Palates http://ticklingpalates.blogspot.com/p/events.html

Date Rolls

Flour – 4 cups

Ghee or  Butter – 2 cups

Powdered sugar -3/4 cups

Eggs – 3

Vanilla essence 1 teaspoon

Baking powder 1.5 teaspoon

(Make a paste of dates, cinnamon and butter – and keep aside to be used as a filling).

Sift flour and baking powder. Cream butter/ghee – add powdered sugar beat till well mixed then add eggs and vanilla essence.

Make lime sized balls of the dough (big limes ), roll into a small round on a flat surface – enclose a teaspoon of dates and and form into a ball or a longish roll.  Seal all ends.   Gently stamp with a cookie design/cookie press or leave them plain.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top (optional).   Bake for 15-18  minutes in a pre-heated oven till golden.

Hummus

Hummus is an Arabic dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with Tahina (sesame seed paste), olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.

Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amount of folate and vitamin B.  The chickpeas make it a good source of protien and dietary fiber.

One can have it as an appetizer and dip, hummus is scooped with pita-bread or khoboos.  It is also served as an accompaniment to falafel, grilled chicken, fish or eggplant.

There is no hard and fast rules when making hummus.  Mine has a strong lemon and olive oil flavour.  So, keep your own tastebuds in mind when making it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1/4 cup water (from the pan after boiling the chickpeas)
• 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahina (paste of sesame seeds)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 green chilly – chopped fine (optional)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coriander leaves – cut fine for garnish

Preparation:

Soak chickpeas overnight and wash and pressure cook for 10 minutes.  When done, drain chickpeas and keep aside ¼ cup of liquid . Combine remaining ingredients (except green chilly) in a blender for 3-5 minutes on low until it is all thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl and dribble olive oil, garnish with parsley and green chilly.

Arabic-bread Rolls

Arabic Bread
Garlic Mayonese
Lettuce
Chicken Stir-fry (or any dry leftover cooked meat)
Tomato
Potatoes cut into strips and deep fried
Onions
Corriander leaves
Mustard paste
Tomato ketchup

Split open the Arabic Bread and spread garlic mayonese on it.  Put shredded lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, stir-fried chicken and onion.  Sprinkle with corriander leaves.   Splash a bit of mustard-paste and tomatoe ketchup and roll up into rolls.  Cut into halves and secure firmly with toothpick.   Serve hot.