[Sca-cooks] looking for middle eastern

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Here is Part Two of Middle Eastern Buffet Recipes.

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MEATS
Stuffed Eggs - Andalusian "deviled" eggs
Thumiyya - Chicken with garlic, lavender, and spices
Barida - chicken cucumber salad
merguez - lamb sausages with spices and lavender flowers
Andalusian Spiced Meatballs - while recipe calls for lamb these can 
be beef, turkey, whatever
Sinab - Mustard-almond-honey sauce for meatballs

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The Making of Stuffed Eggs

Take as many eggs as you like, and boil them whole in hot water; put 
them in cold water and split them in half with a thread. Take the 
yolks aside and pound cilantro and put in onion juice, pepper and 
coriander, and beat all this together with murri, oil and salt and 
knead the yolks with this until it forms a dough. Then stuff the 
whites with this and fasten it together, insert a small stick into 
each egg, and sprinkle them with pepper, God willing.

as many eggs as you like
pounded cilantro
onion juice
pepper
ground coriander seed
murri or Japanese soy sauce
oil (olive? sesame?)
salt
toothpicks

Boil eggs whole in hot water.
Put them in cold water until cool.
Shell, then split them in half with a thread.
Remove the yolks, and set yolks and whites aside.
Pound cilantro - i'd suggest pureeing in a blender or food processor 
with onion juice and murri
Mix cilantro with pepper and coriander.
Beat all this together with oil and just a little salt.
Mash the yolks with the seasoned liquid until it forms a paste.
Stuff the whites with this.
Fasten egg halves together, insert a small stick into each egg, and 
sprinkle them with pepper.

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THUMIYYA - CHICKEN WITH GARLIC, LAVENDER, AND SPICES

ORIGINAL
from An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook - 13th century
translation by Charles Perry

Take a plump hen and take out what is inside it, clean that and leave 
aside. Then take four uqiyas of peeled garlic and pound them unitl 
they are like brains, and mix with what comes out of the interior of 
the chicken. Fry it in enough oil to cover, until the smell of the 
garlic comes out. Mix this with the chicken in a clean pot with salt, 
pepper, cinnamon, lavender, ginger, cloves, saffron, peeled almonds, 
both pounded and whole, and a little murri naqi. Seal the pot with 
dough, place it in the oven and leave it until it is done. Then take 
it out and open the pot, pour its contents in a clean dish and an 
aromatic scent will come forth from it and perfume the area. This 
chicken was made for the Sayyid Abu al-Hasan and much appreciated.

My Version:
Serves 8 as a main course

Several of the recipes above were for an "Iron Chef" feast. I served 
first, then there were two other courses. The High Table judged. It 
was deemed a tie between me and the final course, which was mostly 
from Le Menagier de Paris.

This recipe was for the cook-off tie-breaker. I won.

NOTES:
1. If you get boneless chicken and cut it into cubes or strips, and 
serve with toothpicks, it could become "finger food"
2. This must be kept refrigerated or well chilled while travelling.
Can be served warm or at room temperature

4 lb. chicken breasts and thighs
4 ounces of garlic, peeled
3 Tb. olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tb. cinnamon
2 tsp. lavender
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
hearty pinch saffron
1/2 c. ground blanched almonds
3/4 c. peeled whole almonds
1-1/2 Tb. murri naqi

In honor of the noble gentles to whom i am serving this dish, and 
especially the Princess's delicate sensibilities, i used skinless, 
boneless chicken breasts and thighs and did not use any of the 
chicken's innards.

1. Puree peeled garlic.
2. Fry it in oil until the smell of the garlic comes out.
3. Put chicken in pot, spoon garlic and remaining ingredients and 
spoon over it.
4. Cover the pot well, place it on a medium-low fire, and cook until 
done, stirring occasionally, and adjusting the heat, as necessary.
5. When done, pour contents onto serving dish.

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Barida - 82-83

WAINES: This cold dish made from chicken was devised by Ibrahim ibn 
al-Mahdi. The recipe is expressed in poetic form, not surprising from 
a man who was not only a gourmand, but well known as a poet too. He 
describes the dish as perfect summertime fare. The physician al-Razi 
observes that such dishes of the bawarid type, when made with vinegar 
or with the juice of sour fruits, serve to cool the temperament and 
moderate it. Qutha and faqqus, mentioned in the original recipe, are 
species of cucumber.

ORIGINAL: Two parts almonds and sugar and two parts vinegar and 
mustard mixed together in a vessel with partially dried safflower 
adding colour around the [one short word not legible in my photocopy, 
may be "edges"]. Cucumber peeled, qutha and faqqas, and pomegranate, 
chopped up small and sprinkled around the vessel. Add a little oil. 
Take a fine young chicken, cooked in vinegar, jointed and cut up in 
pieces and placed over the other ingredients in one vessel. Decorate 
the dish with pomegranate (seeds) and with almonds and olives chopped 
up fine.

I haven't made this yet, but just noticed the recipe, and i think it 
looks great

almonds
sugar
white wine vinegar
mustard  - i'm not sure if they mean powder or prepared
partially dried safflower
cucumbers, peeled and chopped up small
pomegranate seeds from a fresh pomegranate
a little oil, sesame or olive
a fine young chicken, cooked in vinegar
pomegranate (seeds)
almonds chopped up fine
olives chopped up fine

Mixed together equal parts of almonds, sugar, vinegar, and mustard in 
a vessel with safflower for color.
Sprinkle cucumbers and pomegranate around the vessel.
Add a little oil.
Take a fine young chicken, cooked in vinegar, joint it and cut up in pieces.
Placed chicken over the other ingredients in one vessel.
Decorate the dish with pomegranate (seeds), almonds, and olives.

NOTES:

MUSTARD: I'd start experimenting by using prepared mustard, 
preferably a Dijon mustard.

SAFFLOWER: Safflower is sometimes sold as "Mexican saffron". When it 
is whole it doesn't look like saffron because it is flower petals. 
But powdered it is sometimes falsely sold as saffron. It should be 
cheap, whereas saffron is expensive. Here it is just used for color, 
since safflower adds very little flavor, unlike saffron which has a 
very rich flavor.

MORE MODERN: One could take the chicken meat off the bones and either 
lay it on the other ingredients as directed, or toss the cut up meat 
and the other ingredients to make a more modern chicken salad.

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Recipe for Mirkas (Merguez Sausage)
from the 13th century Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook

It is as nutritious as meatballs (banadiq) and quick to digest, since 
the pounding ripens its and makes it quick to digest, and it is good 
nutrition. First get some meat from the leg or shoulder of a lamb and 
pound it until it becomes like meatballs. Knead it in a bowl, mixing 
in some oil and some murri naqi', pepper, coriander seed, lavender, 
and cinnamon. Then add three quarters as much of fat, which should 
not be pounded, as it would melt while frying, but chopped up with a 
knife or beaten on a cutting board. Using the instrument made for 
stuffing, stuff it in the washed gut, tied with thread to make 
sausages, small or large. Then fry them with some fresh oil, and when 
it is done and browned, make a sauce of vinegar and oil and use it 
while hot. Some people make the sauce with the juice of cilantro and 
mint and some pounded onion. Some cook it in a pot with oil and 
vinegar, some make it rahibi with onion and lots of oil until it is 
fried and browned. It is good whichever of these methods you use.

I made this, but didn't write down quantities, so what i have below 
is a rough guess. Adjust spices to your taste. Don't use too much 
lavender or it can taste unpleasant.

15 lb. meat from the leg or shoulder of a lamb
3 Tb. sesame oil
3 Tb. murri naqi' or Japanese soy sauce
1-1/2 Tb. ground pepper
3 Tb. ground coriander seed
1-1/2 Tb. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 Tb. lavender
three quarters as much of fat (i left this out)
washed casings
fresh oil for frying

SAUCE
vinegar and oil
OPT: juice of cilantro and mint and some pounded onion

OPT. Topping:
onion browned in oil

1. Pound lamb until it becomes like meatballs - i recommend putting 
ground lamb in a food processor and processing until fairly smooth, 
almost a paste.
2. Knead meat in a bowl, with some oil, murri naqi', pepper, 
coriander seed, lavender, and cinnamon.
3. Add fat, which should not be pounded, as it would melt while 
frying, but chopped up with a knife or beaten on a cutting board.
4. Using the instrument made for stuffing, stuff it in the washed 
gut, tied with thread to make sausages, small or large.
5. Then fry them with some fresh oil, until it is done and browned

6. Make a sauce of vinegar and oil and use it while hot. Some people 
make the sauce with the juice of cilantro and mint and some pounded 
onion. Some cook it in a pot with oil and vinegar, some make it 
rahibi with onion and lots of oil until it is fried and browned. It 
is good whichever of these methods you use.

1. I can get lamb for $1.99US/lb. at my local hallal market, but if 
you can't get cheap lamb, use other ground meat
2. You can substitute soy sauce for murri, according to Charles 
Perry, who actually made some from scratch.
3. Buy lavender at a health food store and get assurance they are 
untreated. Lavender intended for potpourri often has chemicals added 
that are not safe to eat.
4. I didn't add any extra fat.
5. I couldn't find non-pork casings in a quantity i could afford, so 
i didn't make sausages. I just rolled the meat into small sausage 
shapes.
6. I didn't fry them, since they weren't really sausages - i put them 
in a single layer in a baking pan and baked them at 350 for about 15 
minutes - test to see if the inside is the color you want. Bake more 
if necessary.
7. These can be frozen. Thaw the day before and bake the day of the feast.

NEW NOTE: Just a couple days ago, the butcher in my Whole Foods 
Market said he could sell me small quantities of lamb casings, so now 
i have some for next time...

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ANDALUSIAN MEATBALLS
Makes 600 meatballs for 100 to 150 people

NOTE: These should be cooked ahead of time - then freeze and thaw or 
reheat on site - they can be served at room temperature. Depending on 
how long your trip is, they can also keep unfrozen in a cooler. Also, 
if you freeze them, you can take them to the event and allow them to 
thaw along the way.

This recipe is based on an analysis of several meatball recipes in 
the 13th c. Anonymous Andalusian cookbook. In some the meatballs were 
boiled, some fried, some simmered in a sauce. Because these meatballs 
were served with Sinab, a mustard sauce, they were cooked simply, 
rather than boiled in sauce.

30 lb. ground meat - we used beef
10 lb. onions
3  bunches fresh cilantro
3 Tb. salt
6 Tb. ground coriander seed
4 Tb. + 1-1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
3 Tb. powdered cinnamon
3 Tb. ground white pepper
12 eggs

To keep meatballs consistent, I suggest doing this in batches by 
dividing ingredients by 3 or 4.

1. Peel onions, cut off tops and tails, then quarter.
2. Puree onion in blender or food processor with cilantro, salt and spices.
3. Beat eggs.
4. Mix eggs with onion-spice puree.
5. Mix egg-onion-spice puree with ground meat. Be sure all 
ingredients are blended well together.

At this point, I suggest that you cook a couple small meatballs first 
and taste them to see how seasoning is. If it needs adjustment, write 
down what you add and process remaining batches with the same amount 
of spices. If the sample batch tastes find

6. Form into meatballs about the size of a walnut.
7. Cook meatballs. Some recipes call for frying, others for boiling. 
You could also try baking. Do whatever is most comfortable or 
convenient for you. If you want, you could even try all methods 
simultaneously...
8. When meatballs are cooked, cool them until they are cool enough to handle.
9. When they are cool enough, freeze them in zip-close plastic bags.

To Serve:
Meatballs can be served at room temperature.
Thaw in refrigerator. Heat water and pour into a large container - 
immerse bags of meatballs in hot (not boiling) water until they are 
warm enough.

Variations:
If you like, you can add any or all of the following:

1. Murri
Murri is a Medieval Middle Eastern liquid seasoning, originally made 
with fermented barley and seasonings. There is a simpler, quicker 
recipe which can be found at:
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Medieval.html
For 30 lb. of ground meat, I suggest using 1-1/2 cups of murri.
Note that Charles Perry who translated the 13th c. Anonymous 
Andalusian Cookbook made murri from scratch from barley and said it 
tasted a lot like soy sauce, so one can substitute that.

2. Crushed Garlic
For 30 lb. of ground meat,  I suggest purchasing either a jar of 
already crushed garlic or a bag of already peeled garlic cloves and 
puree the necessary amount in a blender or food processor. It takes a 
long time to separate and peel the cloves from multiple heads of 
garlic. Once you have your garlic, use the equivalent of 150 cloves 
(that's one per diner).

3. Saffron
Crumble and blend with the onion-and-cilantro (it needs moisture to 
release its color and flavor). For 30 lb. of ground meat, I suggest a 
minimum of 1 Tb.

4. White Wheat Flour
You can add this to extend meat and make the balls hold together, if 
you like. Ours stayed together fine with no flour.

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SINAB - MUSTARD SAUCE
Serves 100 to 150, with above meatballs

NOTE: This is best made ahead of time. It doesn't need to be 
refrigerated if you use it within a day or two of making. Otherwise 
refrigerate - should keep for a week.

 From the 13th c. Anonymous Andalusian cookbook.
Clean good mustard and wash it with water several times, then dry it 
and pound it until it is as fine as kohl. Sift it with a sieve of 
hair, and then pound shelled almonds and put them with the mustard 
and stir them together. Then press out their oil and knead them with 
bread crumbs little by little, not putting in the bread crumbs all at 
once but only little by little. Then pour strong vinegar, white of 
color, over this dough for the dish, having dissolved sufficient salt 
in the vinegar. Then dissolve it well to the desired point, and 
strain it thoroughly with a clean cloth; and there are those who 
after it is strained add a little honey to lessen its heat. Either 
way it is good.

Easy Version

2 quarts of prepared Dijon mustard
3 lb. almonds, very finely ground - about 3-1/2 cups
several slices of white bread, barely toasted and ground to make 3-1/2 cups
1-1/2 quarts honey

1. Pour mustard into a large bowl and stir in almonds.
2. Then stir in bread crumbs, and mix well. Make sure there are no 
pockets of dry almonds or crumbs.
3. Then add honey and mix well.

This can be made to suit your taste. Add more honey, if you like it 
sweeter. Add more almonds and/or bread if it's too sharp or too sweet.

Notes:
To save time, I used purchased mustard. The Dijon was quite sharp, so 
I added a lot of honey. You may prefer more or less. The diners 
seemed to like it quite a bit. Mixing your own is better than buying 
commercial honey-mustard as you can control the sweetness vs. the 
spiciness. I do not care for commercial honey-mustards - they're too 
sweet for me.

If you make this ahead of time and keep refrigerated before the 
vigil, the flavor will mellow, so add less honey than you think it 
needs. If you deem it too strong on the day of the vigil, add more 
honey.

Serve at room temperature, NOT cold - the human mouth tastes things 
better if they're closer to body temperature.

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