Emjheddera

Emjheddera is kind of like Arabic mac & cheese. Or maybe more like spaghetti and sauce. It's what you always keep ingredients on hand for and make when you run out of time or don't feel like making something complicated.

We love it, though, and I like to serve it (usually with a roasted chicken) when we have guests from the States (or other Western countries; not to be discriminatory). It's also my go-to recipe when people ask me for an Arabic recipe they can make, since it doesn't require an Arabic spice mix, just cummin. Don't know why I haven't posted it before.

This is the bare bones, basic Arabic kitchen recipe. I'm sure there are some cookbook versions out there with fancy twists. Feel free to elaborate.

Saha!

serves 4-5
traditional Arabic gheda (lunch)
excellent source of protein when eaten with leban (plain yogurt)

1 C lentils, rinsed
2 C rice, rinsed
1/4 - 1/2 C olive oil
1 t salt
1 t cumin
1-2 med onions, chopped
1 T butter

Place rice in bowl with water to cover 1 - 1 1/2 inches. Soak 30 mins.

Meanwhile, place lentils in 2 qt. pan with water to cover 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes. Lentils should be cooked but not mushy. Drain.

Place 2 1/2 C water, oil, salt and cumin in 4 qt. sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Drain rice. Add rice and lentils to boiling, seasoned water. Simmer 8-10 mins.

Sauté onions in butter. Use to top lentils and rice.

Serve with Arabic Salad (diced tomatoes and cucumbers with a little vinegar, oil and some dried mint; minced onions are optional) and leban (plain yogurt, slightly runny and slightly tart).

Malfoof

stuffed cabbage leaves
serves 8-10
from my friend, "Debra," who makes this often because of its "simplicity" (it really is the simplest Arabic dish I've heard of), Spring 2001

∑ 2 med. heads cabbage
∑ 3 C rice
∑ 1 lb ground meat
∑ 1/2 C vegetable oil
∑ 1 t salt
∑ 1 t Arabic spices
∑ 1 t cumin

1. Soak rice 15 mins. Drain and rinse.
2. Separate cabbage leaves. Rinse. Boil large pot of water.
3. Place several leaves at in the boiling water for two minutes.
4. Remove and repeat until all leaves have been boiled.
5. Combine rice, meat, oil, salt and Arabic spices.
6. Remove the large vein from the middle of each cabbage leaf.
7. Place the veins in the bottom of a large pot (this way, if anything burns, it is the vein and nothing else).
8. Cut larger leaves in half.
9. Place 1 to 1 1/2 T of meat/rice mixture between two of the smaller veins on a cabbage leaf a little ways up from the bottom.
10. Roll the bottom of the leaf over the meat mixture.
11. Continue rolling until the leaf is completely wrapped around the mixture.
12. Place in pot on top of veins.
13. Repeat above until all leaves are gone or until the meat mixture is gone or until the pot is 2/3 full (either continue with another pot or save the rest for another time).
14. Add water to the pot until it is visible between the rolled leaves in the top layer, but do not cover completely.
15. Sprinkle with cumin (this helps reduce the gas-producing properties of the cabbage) and salt.
16. Bring to a boil.
17. Reduce heat until water is simmering. Simmer 45 mins.

Hint: This makes a lot, and can get old after a meal or two, so you might want to divide the recipe, unless you're serving a crowd.

Mharrat Bandoora wa Koosa

A recipe from a friend in the West Bank. It's been forever since I've made it, but I remember it being relatively simple and very good.

3-4 lbs. fresh tomatoes (peeled*) or equivalent amount in canned, peeled tomatoes
3-4 tsp. Arabic spices
4-5 tsp. salt
2-3 tsp. pepper
2 lbs. green squash (may substitute yellow squash)
2 lbs. potatoes
1-2 large onions
6-8 cups cooked rice** (optional, if using recipe as vegetable side dish)
6-8 chicken pieces, cooked and de-boned (omit, if using recipe as vegetable side dish)

1. Chop the peeled tomatoes and place in a large pot (at least three or four quarts in size).
2. Cover with about one inch of water.
3. Add Arabic spices, salt, and pepper. Stir. Cover.
4. Bring mixture to a boil and continue boiling while preparing remaining vegetables (thirty to forty-five minutes), stirring occasionally.
5. Remove tops and bottoms of squash and discard. Slice squash into 1/4-inch circles, and slice each circle in half.
6. Chop potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces.
7. Chop onions into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces.
8. Add squash, potatoes, and onions to tomato mixture. Stir.
9. Bring back to boil, covered.
10. Continue to boil forty-five minutes to one hour, stirring occasionally.
11. Uncover as needed to allow excess water to boil off, depending on desired consistency.
12. If serving as main dish, add cooked chicken pieces and allow mixture to re-heat.
13. Serve over rice.

* To peel tomatoes most easily: after washing, bring a couple of inches of water to a boil in a pan on the stovetop. Prepare a several inches of water with a tray or two of ice cubes in a separate pan or bowl. Spear each tomato with a fork or hold with tongs and dip it into the boiling water for several seconds and then place it in the ice water. From experience, I have found that leaving the tomatoes in the ice water for a minute or two makes them most easy to peel. Alternately, you can boil the tomato pieces with the skins on and skim as many skins as you can from the top.

** If serving recipe as main dish, cooking the rice in the water in which the chicken was cooked adds to the overall flavor.