3rd day of iftar..with CHICKEN ROSEMARY & CHEESY WIDGEST

Iftar..3rd day

Full set

Roasted Chicken with Rosemary

Cheesy Widgest

Fry Macaroni with arab spices

Shorba Adas/ Lentil soup

garlic bread

Katayef with nuts

Menu of the day :)

SHISHBARAQ

SHISHBARAQ

Shishbarak (Arabic: ششبرك‎) is a stuffed dumpling dish made in Balad Sham (Lebanon, Syria and Jordan) that has been described as a kind of local variation. After being stuffed with ground beef and spices, thin wheat dough parcels are cooked in yogurt and served hot or you can fry and serve as a light snack.
It's a dough filled with minced meat and shaped into a shape similar to a half moon then served with yogurt sauce … the sauce is basically yogurt, garlic and coriander (some people like to use mint instead), of course every family around the Balad Sham has there own recipe for it and this is the recipe passed from my sister in law (Shes a syrian), so to make it you will need:

Dough:
4 cups flour
a pinch of salt
water … as much as needed to form the dough
Mix all the ingredients until become a soft dough until you get a firm dough that doesnt stick to the sides of the bowl … also it shouldn’t stick to your fingers when lightly pinched. Lightly flour a bowl and place the dough to rest for around 1/2 an hour or until you prepare the filling
Filling:
1 small onion .. finely chopped
1 lb minced meat
1 ts allspice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tb ghee or butter
Sauce (enough for half the amount of shish barak):
1 liter yogurt … around 4 cups
2 tbsp cornstarch
Salt to taste
4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 finely chopped coriander
2 tb Ghee or butter
Refer to the filling of the fried kibbe or kubbe recipe, its the same, then let it completely cool down before using it.
Now to shape the shish barak-first roll out the dough.You can either use a rolling pin or use a pasta machine maker. It should be rolled thin a little thicker than a lasagna around 0.2 mm
Then using a 2 inch round cutter or a Turkish coffee cup like I did, cut the dough into circles. (you can increase the size if you wish to)
Now add around 3/4 ts of meat to the center of the dough, Start closing the dough to form a semi-circle, they should look like a cresent
Keep repeating until the dough is over.
Now place all the shish barak onto a baking sheet.(some people skip this step and drop the dough straight to the yogurt)
Or at this point you can freeze the shish barak and whenever you need it just simply make the yogurt sauce and drop the shish barak without defrosting it.
NOTE: the amount of yogurt sauce mentioned in the ingredients is enough for HALF the shish barak and not the whole amount. If you want to make the whole amount at once then double the sauce ingredients …

To make the sauce,
Fill around 1/2 cup of water and dessolve the cornstarch. Then add the cornstarch mixture to the yogurt. Whisk the yogurt sauce on low heat until it slightly thickens then add the salt. Now add half the shish barak and let it boil for around 15 mins. In a frying pan, melt the ghee or butter then add the minced garlic and cook until its golden. Then add the coriander and cook a little more. Then add the garlic, coriander mixture to the shishbaraq, mix it well then take it off the heat.Serve immediately while its still hot or you can fry as a light snack without yogurt

Arabic Syrup

Arabic Syrup
5C Sugar
2C Water
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Rose Water
1tbsp Orange blossom water
1 zest of lemon
How to prepare:
Prepare the syrup a few hours before starting to make the kunafa and keep cool.Mix all the ingredients until boiling and keep aside.

LABAN CHEESE BALLS/ labni

Laban in arabis (yogurt), labneh (strained yogurt). Yogurt, strained, is an important element in Syrian cuisine, eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. One famous Syrian dish is laban mixed with crushed dry mint leaves, garlic, salt and sliced cucumbers. They can be eaten sweet or salted, and used for stuffed vegetables, meat stew, and fried kibbe.
In Syrian, labneh is most commonly made of cows' milk, which is available all year. They can be kept for over a year. However, as it ages it turns slightly more sour. This is prepared by rolling the labneh into little balls the size of a nut and filling a jar with olive oil then filling it with the labneh balls.

LABAN CHEESE BALLS/ labni
1 tsp salt
1C Yogurt
Mix the salt into the yogurt, strain the mixture trough cheesecloth, then tie the cheesecloth up into a bundle and hang it over a sink for a day or two, to allow moisture to drain out.
Refrigerate the Laban Cheese until it has dried out, then roll it into small balls and store them in a jar of olive oil.
Note:- You can add in some crush herbs or chilli

STUFFED EGGPLANT PICKLE IN OLIVE OIL (makdous)

Makdous (Arabic: المكدوس‎ or sometimes المقدوس) are oil cured eggplants. From Syria and Lebanon, they are tiny, tangy eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red pepper, garlic, olive oil and salt. Sometimes chilli powder is added.
MAKDOUS or Macdoos an Eggplant Delicacy Is a stuffed eggplant that is marinated in extra virgin olive oil. Stuffed eggplant with walnut, herbs and spices. It can be considered a pickle but there is no vinegar in the recipe. This is widely served as an appetizer mezza on most Middle Eastern tables, widely found at wedding receptions and simple enough to make that can be made for any occasion. Marinating eggplant is not difficult to at all. For more eggplant recipe or other pickled vegetables recipes, check out the site.

STUFFED EGGPLANT PICKLE IN OLIVE OIL (makdous)
2 pounds Small eggplants (2-4 inches long)
Salt
1C Walnuts-finely chopped
1 Small red chili/ cayenne-finely chopped
4-6 Cloves garlic-crushed
Sunflower/ Canola oil
How to prepare:
Poach eggplants in boiling water until softened around 15-20 minutes.
Remove, drain and allow cooling. Mixed the walnuts with the chili and garlic and add salt, keep aside.
Cut/slice eggplants lengthwise down the middle of each the eggplants, but not right through, leaving the ends so as pocket. Stuff the eggplants with little walnuts mixture.Put the eggplants in the colander over a bowl, with a plate and weigh on top. Leave overnight/ 24 hours in room temperature for water to drain. Transfer carefully to the jar and cover with oil. They should be ready in 2 weeks or until rich the flavor develops and keeps for a few months in room temperature.
Note:- Makdous like BELACAN in evry Syrian house..hahhahaha