Monday, May 26, 2008

Call for participation: Recipes for Peace

Yesterday I was down and Enigma and I got into a little sisterly chat which started from sharing her potato salad recipe:
You need:
Bag little red potatos, english cucumber, red onions, one lime, Cilantro, Sweet Basil, Mrs.Dash, (regular).
Paprika ( Sweet Hungarian) Mustard ( Brown or Yellow, 3-4 spoons) Mayo (half cup to one cup) 2 tablespoons of Sour cream

Little red Potatos Half a Bag...Boil them slowly...Then run under cold water...the skins should fall off...or able to peel off with fingers.. Put in a large bowl... sprinkle lightly with lime juice...from the lime.. Then add the rest of the ingredients, and the mayo is the last thing to add, start with a Half cup, then add until it nice and moist- but not soupy... and then add the Sour Cream ( it adds a nice flavor... Then sprinkle, MrsDash, Light salt , light pepper, and mustard...and sprinkle with paprika...

I have been thinking of a food project for some time, and finally:

THIS IS A CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

You are cordially invited to post one of your most favorite "ethnic" recipes.

Recipes from Israel; Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are particularly appreciated.

If you know of symbolism of a dish or ingredient, please let me know.

Folkloric food stories are particularly welcome.

If you are or know of an Israeli restaurant in North America or UK, please let me know.

Pass on the message please.

Thank you for participating.

31 comments:

Larry said...

You should put out a cookbook with the recipes you collect Naj.

Naj said...

:) Larry, where's your recipe?
Naah, nowadays no one reads cook books.

Anonymous said...

There's an Israeli restaurant Me Va Me in Toronto - superb food.

DivaJood said...

Great idea Naj. I will post my falafel recipe here, and my peace pie recipe at my place with a linkback to you.

Felafel is my favorite street food. And the best place I ever had it was at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv. The fact that I got Pharoh's Revenge 8 hours later was completely irrelevant, but I believe that street food brings people together.

Felafel (Deep-Fried Chick-Pea & Crushed Wheat Balls - Israel)
(makes about 30 one-inch balls)

1/2 cup fine burghul (crushed wheat)
1 1/2 cups coarsely crubled pita bread
1 1/2 cups dried chick-peas (garbanzos), soaked, cooked and drained*
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Vegetable oil or shortening for deep frying

Place the burghul in small bowl, pour in enough cold water to cover it completely, and let soak about 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly in a sieve or colander. At the same time, put the crumbled pita into another bowl, add water to cover, soak for 15 minutes. Drain the water from the bread, squeeze the pieces dry. Set the burghul and bread aside.

In an electric blender or food processer, combine the chick-peas, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, red pepper, cumin, sea salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Blend on high until it is a smooth puree, and transfer to a deep bowl.

Stir the burghul and pita into the puree. Keep your hands moist by dipping in cold water, and shape the puree into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Put them on wax paper, and let them dry about one hour.

In a heavy 10- to 12- inch skillet, heat 2- to 3- inches of oil until it reaches a temp of about 375. Fry the balls in the hot oil, about a dozen at a time, until golden brown. Transfer them with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain while you fry the remaining batches.

To serve:
Pita bread, sliced open at the top
Shredded lettuce
Chopped Tomatoes
Tahini (sesame paste)
Hot sauce

Slice open the tops of the pita bread. Put about two or three felafel balls into the pita, put in a tablespoon of tahini, lettuce, tomato, and top with hot sauce. Grab lots of napkins, this drips like mad.

You cannot be angry with others when eating messy street food.

Naj said...

Thanks Diva (and Pedestrian)

what's "Pharoh's Revenge"?? :)

DivaJood said...

Pharoah's Revenge is a rather nasty version of Montezuma's Revenge, which one gets when in Mexico and drinks the water or eats raw veggies. :0

Anon-Paranoid said...

Naj...

Thank you for your thoughtful words about Ginger.

I'm sure you heard about Hillary invoking the Death Card as a reason and possible path to the Democratic Party nomination.

I believe that she has set back womens rights fifty years and this is not a person who should hold any elected office as her true self is showing through.

I hope your having a good Memorial Day with your family and friends.

Take care and ...

God Bless.

Unknown said...

I'm thinking, do you know what Yorkshire pudding is?

Naj said...

Rick,

Nope, I don't!
My favorite British food is Indian ;)

Unknown said...

It is for many Brits too! Ok will write up a Yorkshire pudding guide.

Commander Zaius said...

Try this recipe from the South.

Potato Salad Recipe
I make this all summer long. We have to have this anytime we grill or BBQ which is often. Never, never any left-over.

1¼ hours | 30 min prep | SERVES 8
4 lbs red potatoes
5 hard-boiled eggs, separated
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water to cover 40 minutes or until tender; drain and cool.
2. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch pieces.
3. Chop egg whites.
4. In a large bowl, stir together potato, egg whites, 1/2 t. salt and green onions.
5. Using a fork, mash the yolks in a small bowl; add in remaining 1/2 t. salt, mayo, pickle relish, mustard, pepper, and celery seed; stirring until well blended.
6. Gently stir yolk mixture into potato mixture; adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Cover and chill 2 hours (it is even better if you can chill this overnight and serve the next day).

Naj said...

:)
well I have to share my potato salad too:

Ingredients: (this can be a meal on it's own, keeps well)

Potatoes (yellow) 4 (boil, chop to small cubes)
Chicken breaks (1, boned, boiled with one onion, cut to tiny cubes)
one can of green peas
one carrot, boiled, grated
4 eggs, hard boiled, grated
Sour and salty cucumber pickles (buy from Jewish or Iranian stores), chopped to tiny pieces
mayonnaise 1 cup
olive oil 1 cup
2 limes
2 table spoons of mustard
1 tea spoon of black pepper
half a cup of vinegar (I mix white balsamic (aged, so it's a bit sweet), apple and rice vinegars)

First prepare the sauce: beat mayo, and add the vinegar mix gradually, and then add olive oil.

Then mix the hard ingredients, mustard, pepper and salt and lime juice.

Pour the sauce over and mix well. If it turns to mush; it's even better. This shouldn't be too runny; but not to hard either, if too hard, add Mayo.

bijan said...

Hi Naj! What is Mrs. Dash?

Naj said...

Bijan

"Mrs Dash" is a mixes spice; does magic for chicken or oven-roasted potatoes.

You'll find it in the spice section of your grocery store.

Id it is said...

There is host of Israeli food places in this town called Highland Park in New Jersey. It's a very popular hang out for students from Rutgers and Princeton.

A novel post Naj!

Commander Zaius said...

I am a dolt, posting another potato salad recipe. I'm sorry but I had my son bugging me for the computer and I grabbed the first thing that I liked. Try this recipe instead, get a bunch of people upset with the world, give them this soup and watch the ill feeling dissolve.

She-Crab Soup Recipe

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, grated
3 celery stalks, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
Lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
2 cups total white she-crab meat and roe
1/2 cup sherry
Garnish
Paprika
Chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion and celery until soft. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, stir, and cook 5 minutes. Add all the spices, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and a splash of lemon juice and simmer briefly. Add the cream and milk and heat almost to scalding, stirring constantly. Add the crabmeat and roe and stir. Heat just long enough to warm through. Add the sherry and serve at once, garnished with paprika and chopped parsley.

Yield: 8 servings

From Wikipedia
She-crab soup is a rich soup, similar to bisque, made of milk or heavy cream, crab or fish stock, Atlantic blue crab meat, and crab roe, and finished with a splash of dry sherry. It may be thickened either by heat reduction or with a purée of boiled rice and may also include such seasonings as mace and shallots or onions. The soup is a regional specialty from the South Carolina Lowcountry. It is considered to be the signature dish of Charleston, South Carolina, and is commonly featured on the menus of many of the city's restaurants. The soup is named for the "She-Crab", or female crab, which supplies the flavorful orange roe, or eggs, that comprise a chief ingredient in the soup.

Anonymous said...

Hey Naj ... You stole my mom's recipe! :-)

... My family is originally from Dezful/Khuzestan. So I am trying to find the recipe for my favorite Dezfuli Ash :-)

Naj said...

BB

THANK you now that is one fancy dish; I will try it and report to you soon. Although this may be a winter dish.


I would love to try Dezfuli Aash, Pedestrian. In fact I love southern cuisine. I used to have to Ahvazi friends and their food was the BEST.

Ahvazi food, Tabrizi food, and caspian food ... yummmm!

Najaf Darya-Bandari has written a food encyclopedia in Iran; I wish I had asked my mother to bring me a copy.

I know very little about food in different regions of Iran; I only know the basic common stuff.

enigma4ever said...

oh this is soooo wonderful...I came back but was having blogger woes on Wed...this is such a good idea..I agree with Larry- COOKBOOK ;-)

Cookbooks are soooo hot..seriously I watch the Cooking Channel and America's next Best Chef, and Iron Chef...( yeah...I watch too much TV...but it has improved my cooking:-)

there are some really good reciepes here..wow...I am so hungry now....

( it is funny that Mrs Dash makes things so much better eh? Hay have you tried Old Bay Seasoning? )

I will post a reciepe tomorrow..I have been eating Curry Chicken all week- and since you like Indian food...( me 2..)

Wonderful post...

Naj said...

Thanks Enigma,
I hope more of my Blogfriends will visit and share a recipe.

Anonymous said...

Oh Naj ... I have that book! The two volumes sure did take their toll on the weight of my suitcase, but they were worth every pound!

I think it should have received so much more recognition ...

I can scan & email you some pages if you are looking for any particular recipe ....

Naj said...

Pedestrian,

I think the book has received plenty of attention, no? I was just absent-minded to ask my Mom bring a copy for me. I asked for Jalal& Simin's letter's though. If you haven't bought it, do!

Feel free to send me anything exotic you wish. I'd love your Dezfuli recipe; I am waiting for it.

Also, if you have pictures of Khuzestan, I would love to see some. That's the one province of Iran I never saw, MUCH to my regret.

enigma4ever said...

Naj,
I blogged about the Peace Cookbook Idea- and told folks to come see you....namaste.

( oh and I have a new curry chicken reciepe up...enjoy)

goatman said...

Lime in potato salad, an interesting addition. I shall try your concoction.
I will soon submit a listing for a coffee (tea) cake, if that is allowed? It involves apples and sour cream.

goatman said...

Whoa . . . what the heck are "chicken breaks" naj?

Naj said...

Goatman:

L O L

My dyslexia is really taking an interesting turn.

What I meant is


C H I C K E N B R E A S T

How the hell did I write chicken breaks? Baffles me!

Anonymous said...

The Middle East is drifting toward a new great confrontation in 2008. Iran must understand that without a diplomatic solution in the coming months, a dangerous military conflict is very likely to erupt. It is high time for serious negotiations to begin.
IRAN: Former German official says war imminent

goatman said...

Here is the promised recipe for Sour Cream Apple Kuchen:
(I think the German kuchen uses yeast but this is Americanized.)

1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (reserve 2 tablespoons for topping)
1 cup peeled, coarsely grated apple
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons oil or melted shortening
Topping:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
reserved nuts

Sift dry ingredients together; beat egg, milk, and oil together. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until smooth. Stir in the apple and chopped nuts.
Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch round cake pan. Spoon the sour cream onto the top in a spiral pattern, leaving center open. Sprinkle with the reserved nuts, then evenly sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sugar on top. (This was the original family recipe instruction; we never use an entire half cup of sugar on the top of the cake.) Bake in a pre-heated 400° F oven 30 minutes.

Anonymous said...

locale specific foods tell us about that civilization - the ingredients tell us of the agricultural & horticultural arts, patterns of trade; the cooking methods tells us about the type of techniques available for cooking; the resulting flavors tells us about the culture with subtle tatstes indicating a discreet culture, strong flavor a bold culture, flat food a peasant culture, and so on. And the arrangement, variety, and the manner of serving of the food tell us about how sophisticated that culture is.

Thus Perisan food tells us about Iran and the Iranian pople, if you can read the signs. "Man is what he eats."

Naj said...

goatman,

i shall go to the market and buy ingredients to make that :)

Anonymous (Pen name?)
Recipe please :)
And/or a concrete example.

goatman said...

Naj,
Please let me know how you like it.
I copied your potato salad recipe; seems to be a meal in itself; what with the chicken, peas and all. Looks good. It will be tried.