Any questions about the wonderful cuisine of the Middle East

I am Assyrian I love cooking authentic Middle Eastern food they way my mom did so if anyone has any questions or wants a meal prepared let me know! =)

I would love a good, detailed pacha recipe. One including head if you could be so kind.

Basima/shukran,

Habibi

NO problem just give me a little time....and its basimta...im a girl =)

HI,

I don't know if this falls into your area of expertise. A recipe of lamb meatballs with sour cherries, which I recently saw on a Turkish website.

Regards,

The dish you are referring to, which I believe also appears in Syrian cusine and known as kofte bil kraz - or simply kofte with cherries is no more complicated than adding sour cherries to your favorite kofte recipe.

The classic Palestinian kofte recipe:

2-3 Pounds fine ground fatty lamb (or beef if you are weak of palate)
Medium onion, finely chopped
Lots of parsley, finely chopped
Small tomato, finely chopped
Tablespoon Baharat (Arabic spice mix)
Tablespoon Black pepper
Dash of allspice
Salt

Form sausage like patties and grill or broil.

Add chopped dry or canned sour cherries (or fresh ones if you live in the East Mediterranean or South Eastern Europe, or know where I can get some in Chicago) and you should be set.

I've seen the sour cherries used in a sauce, but never as an ingredient of kofte. Sounds interesting.

or fresh ones if you live in the East Mediterranean or South Eastern Europe, or know where I can get some in Chicago

If these are similar to the sour cherries used here in cherry pies, they should be all over the farmers markets in a few weeks or so.

rickster wrote:

or fresh ones if you live in the East Mediterranean or South Eastern Europe, or know where I can get some in Chicago

If these are similar to the sour cherries used here in cherry pies, they should be all over the farmers markets in a few weeks or so.

I don't know if they are still in business or not, but Bread and Bowlin Niles used to sell frozen sour cherries by the big bag.

I will begin slowly taking pictures of meals I make so you guys can see what real Assyrian food looks like. Hope you will enjoy.

•About a pound or less minced lamb

•1 onion, finely grated

•3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste

That's rather a lot of garlic for a pound or less of meat.

Many recipes for kofte from the Levant use only onion and no garlic (as in Habibi's recipe above), though there certainly are versions I've seen -- and eaten -- that have both. But never have I come across garlic in such quantities relative to the amount of meat used. Is that a reflexion of your own or your family's tastes or would you say that that is typical of Assyrian recipes for kofte in general? I've had kofte in Assyrian restaurants here and don't remember it being extraordinarily garlicky but have made no particular inquiry in this regard...

Antonius

i love garlic and once it is cooked it flavor is not so potent, but if that sounds like to much for you by all means reduce the amount.....we call them kipte, the recipe i posted was turkish i found it online sorry i didn't put that in the post so it was taken off i will try to repost it incase anyone wants to have it.......

Well since I had such a problem with that recipe I think I'll stick with Assyrian recipes seeing as I cannot just find a recipe to elp someone that wants it.......these are Assyrian meatballs you are to cook in a tomato stew.
KIPTE
2 lb ground meat beef/lamb
2 tblsns Tarragon
1 small bunch parsley
1 bunch green onions
1 banana pepper
2 mediums onions
1/4 cup #1 bulgar wheat the finest one
About 1 tblspn salt to taste ans some pepper
Mince all the ingredients and add to meat along with the wheat. Shape into tennis-sized balls and drop in tomato stew.

For the stew.....
1 small onion diced
1 large tablespoon tomato paste
1 tblspn Paprika
1 small can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup larger bulgar
8-10 cups water
Add some oil and sautee the onion until translucent, add the tomato paste give it a minute to sautee as well.
Add paprika and can of sauce once it bubbles add your water till the pot is 3/4 full and once it boils you may add your meatballs and a 1/2 cup # 3 or #4 bulgar wheat. Let it simmer for atleast an hour or until thickened.

This has been discussed here before, but do you have a recipe for harissa, sometimes spelled hariss (have I seen it called harif?) (hot sauce)?
I've had various delicious sauces textures ranging from tomato paste to mexican salsa cruda -- I'd love to know your favorite.

stevez wrote:

rickster wrote:

or fresh ones if you live in the East Mediterranean or South Eastern Europe, or know where I can get some in Chicago

If these are similar to the sour cherries used here in cherry pies, they should be all over the farmers markets in a few weeks or so.

I don't know if they are still in business or not, but Bread and Bowlin Niles used to sell frozen sour cherries by the big bag.

Bread and Bowl was open when we were there last Saturday, but I didn't see whether they had sour cherries. Also, Argo Georgian Bakery carries frozen ones.

Harissa is actually a North African condiment. Assyrian [i]hareessa is a dish in itself with barley and chicken cooked in stock with butter.

Silvert121 wrote:Harissa is actually a North African condiment. Assyrian [i]hareessa is a dish in itself with barley and chicken cooked in stock with butter.

Then there isn't a hot pepper sauce you'd serve with roast meats or things similar to shawerma or falafel?
(I must profess ignorance as to where those dishes originate too, but I thought one of my favorite places for both was Syrian, which Assyria overlapped at one point).

Here's a link to a collection of Assyrian recipes, sent by a cousin to Sweet Baboo, who is Assyrian. The first recipe he asked me to try was the one for the hamburgers, and I've made them many times since, freezing a dozen at a time so we almost always have some on hand. I add cilantro and dill to the hamburger mix, rather than serving them on the side. Every time I bite into one I can't help thinking, "this is a tasty burger!"

Katie wrote:Here's a link to a collection of Assyrian recipes, sent by a cousin to Sweet Baboo, who is Assyrian. The first recipe he asked me to try was the one for the hamburgers, and I've made them many times since, freezing a dozen at a time so we almost always have some on hand. I add cilantro and dill to the hamburger mix, rather than serving them on the side. Every time I bite into one I can't help thinking, "this is a tasty burger!"

these are kitlete served great with home made fries and samoon. yummy

JoelF wrote:

Silvert121 wrote:Harissa is actually a North African condiment. Assyrian [i]hareessa is a dish in itself with barley and chicken cooked in stock with butter.

Then there isn't a hot pepper sauce you'd serve with roast meats or things similar to shawerma or falafel?
(I must profess ignorance as to where those dishes originate too, but I thought one of my favorite places for both was Syrian, which Assyria overlapped at one point).

not really a hot pepper sauce.....we have pickled mangos we eat as a condiment ith meats and other pickles veggies called tursheeyea

Katie wrote:Here's a link to a collection of Assyrian recipes, sent by a cousin to Sweet Baboo, who is Assyrian. The first recipe he asked me to try was the one for the hamburgers

Assyrian Hamburgers look tasty, but I am not familiar with "Season All."

Lawry's Seasoning Salt?

G Wiv wrote:

Katie wrote:Here's a link to a collection of Assyrian recipes, sent by a cousin to Sweet Baboo, who is Assyrian. The first recipe he asked me to try was the one for the hamburgers

Assyrian Hamburgers look tasty, but I am not familiar with "Season All."

Lawry's Seasoning Salt?

Morton's version of Lawry's.

no no no.....we use paprika salt and pepper in kitlete

JoelF wrote:

Silvert121 wrote:Harissa is actually a North African condiment. Assyrian [i]hareessa is a dish in itself with barley and chicken cooked in stock with butter.

Then there isn't a hot pepper sauce you'd serve with roast meats or things similar to shawerma or falafel?
(I must profess ignorance as to where those dishes originate too, but I thought one of my favorite places for both was Syrian, which Assyria overlapped at one point).

Joel,

The harissa you are referring to is a classic North African condiment that appears in a number of varieties as you indicated in the post before this; sometimes its thick and pasty, other times it resembles salsa.

I enjoy the former because the base flavors - dried peppers, cumin, coriander, are more intense.

While I can't give you precise measurements, these are the basic ingredients for a good harissa. Like all good condiments it is open to myriad interpretation. Don't like cumin and want to double the garlic? By all means. Wanna see if cardamom perks it up a bit? Shit, why not.

Harissa

Ingredients (in intuitive amounts):

Dried peppers (ancho, guajillo, pasilla, whatever you can find in Chicago)
Onions
Tomato paste
Garlic
Cumin (toasted and ground)
Caraway (toasted and ground)
Coriander (toasted and ground)
Salt

Olive oil (optional)

1. De-seed and soak peppers in hot water for about an hour. (You can also toast them before doing this the way you would when preparing mole to up the ante).

2. Blend everything up. Add water if needed to loosen. Salt to taste.

Use as a sauce for grilled meats, spread on warm bread, marinate meat, or as a base in tagines and other braises and stews.

I'd never bought Morton's Season-All before, but wanted to stick to the recipe. It seems similar enough to Lawry's Seasoned Salt. From what Silvert121 says, the key spices for the recipe are paprika, salt, and black pepper.

Silvert121 wrote:these are kitlete served great with home made fries and samoon. yummy

Silvert121,

Sweet Baboo did not recognize that word (unlike his older siblings, he was born here in the US, so his Assyrian is limited), but I found a website for an Assyrian cookbook with a recipe for hamburger aka kitlehteh. Thanks for that tidbit.

Thanks also for posting the recipe for kipte - that is the next thing he is eager for me to try to make. I have a question about that: the recipes I have (the link I posted before) include one for kipte with "cracked wheat (medium #2) or rice" as an ingredient of the sauce, and "cracked wheat (fine #1)" as an ingredient for the meatballs. The "easy" recipe that follows that one shows uncooked rice and breadcrumbs as ingredients rather than cracked wheat. Your recipe shows bulgar wheat as the corresponding ingredient. Pardon my ignorance, but is bulgar wheat the same as cracked wheat, and how do you obtain it medium or fine? Would I find it in both finenesses at any place that sells bulk grains, such as Whole Foods, or do I need to go to an Assyrian grocery for it? Do you have any opinion about the results obtained using wheat versus rice and breadcrumbs?

While I'm on the subject, I wonder if there are any Assyrian groceries and/or restaurants that you would particularly recommend. I know some have been mentioned in other LTH threads in the past, but I'm not clear on whether ones that are identified as Iraqi are necessarily Assyrian, and I think some of the Assyrian restaurants mentioned in the past are now closed.

Silvert121, if you're originally from the Chicago area, Sweet Baboo wants to know if you ever got homemade lavasah (bread? I'm not sure how it's spelled) from the Assyrian Church of the East. I gather it was sold for fundraising.

Not from the church, but there is a bakery on oakton in skokie, il next to Dominos that sells fresh assyrian breads.

Re the cracked wheat question, I found the answer to this at my local Garden Fresh Market. Ziyad brand cracked wheat is labelled, #1, #2, #3, though other brands (e.g., Bob's Red Mill) are not.

Silvert121 wrote:Not from the church, but there is a bakery on oakton in skokie, il next to Dominos that sells fresh assyrian breads.

Good to know, thank you!

I also would like to know what the green bean stew is called and what goes in it. I've had it at some Assyrian restaurants before (probably Venus) and have a craving for it from time to time.