EGGAH Egyptian lamb omelette

http://www.congocookbook.com/rare_recipes/barbara_krauss_part_iv.html

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. cooked lamb, chopped
• 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 level tablespoons flour
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 1 level teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 level teaspoon pepper
• 2 level tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 3/4 level teaspoon salt

Directions:

Brown lamb and onion in 2 tablespoons oil; mix the flour into the lamb and onion mixture, and set aside.
Mix beaten eggs, garlic, cumin, pepper, parsley and salt. Add onion and meat mixture; pour into a sauté pan in which the remaining 2 tablespoons oil have been heated. If an electric frying pan is used, turn heat to 300 degrees F.; otherwise cook over low heat. When the mixture is no longer liquid, increase heat for a few seconds to brown the bottom. To turn omelette, place a plate over it and turn it out on to the plate; return to pan to finish cooking and browning.

Fish And Lamb Mold Bamia Au Combos

http://www.congocookbook.com/rare_recipes/myra_waldo.html

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 pound lamb, ground
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup sherry
• 6 fillets of sole

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the onions, lamb, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the sherry and stir well. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Butter a 7- to 9-inch casserole or mold. Arrange the fillets so that they cover the bottom and sides of the casserole. Pour in the lamb mixture. If the fillets extend over the outside edge of the casserole, turn them inward to cover the lamb mixture. Bake in a 275° oven for 2 hours.

Mutton And Globe Artichokes

http://www.congocookbook.com/rare_recipes/thora_stowell.html

Ingredients:

1/2 oke kharhsoof
1 rottel mutton
one rottel tomatoes
2 onions
semn
seasoning

Directions:

Take off the outer leaves of the artichokes, cut off the tops, and cut the rest into pieces. Fry in semn, then remove. Fry the sliced onions and minced meat, season well. Grease a saucepan, put into it a layer of artichokes, then meat, the onion, and so on with artichokes on top. Add the strained tomato juice, and cook on a gentle fire till tender, about one and a half hours.

Kosheri

http://www.congocookbook.com/vegetable_and_side_dish_recipes/kosheri.html

Kosheri (also spelled kushari, kosheree, kosheree, kochary, kochari) is an inexpensive, filling, and nutritious Egyptian fast-food dish: layers of lentils and Rice, topped with fried onions -- a layer of pasta, and a tomato sauce are often added. In Egypt, kosheri is sold by street vendors and in specialized kosheri restaurants that serve nothing but . . . kosheri (your choice of small, medium, or large).

Ingredients:

• one pound lentils (brown or black)
• one to two cups Rice
• one to two cups elbow macaroni (or similar pasta) (optional)
  
• one cup vegetable oil (evenly divided into two portions)
• one clove garlic, crushed (optional)
• one hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
• three or four ripe tomatoes, chopped ; or one large can crushed tomatoes
• one-half cup water
• two tablespoons vinegar
• salt (to taste)
  
• one onion, chopped or cut in rings

Directions:

• Clean and rinse lentils. Place lentils in large pot. Cover with cold water, such that the water level is one inch above the lentils. Add salt if desired. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender and water is almost completely absorbed (approximately 30 minutes). Add additional water if necessary.
• While lentils are cooking: Cook rice in normal manner.
• Prepare sauce while lentils and rice are cooking: Heat oil in large skillet. Sauté garlic and/or chile pepper for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook on high heat for a few minutes, then reduce heat and simmer.
• While lentils and rice are cooking and sauce is simmering: Heat remaining oil in another skillet. Sauté onion until it is done to your liking (either lightly golden, or deeply browned and crispy. When done, remove onion from skillet and drain on absorbent paper or paper towels.
• While lentils and rice are cooking, sauce is simmering, and onion is sautéing: If macaroni is desired, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook macaroni in the normal manner.
• When everything is done: Assemble each serving of kosheri in a soup bowl: alternate layers of lentils, rice, and macaroni, then top it all with the fried onions and tomato sauce. Serve with bottled hot chile pepper sauce.

Variations:

• Cook the lentils in vegetable stock instead of water.
• Add a spoonful of cumin to the tomato sauce.
• Add a layer of cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• Assemble the dish in one large serving dish, instead of individual soup bowls.
• Cook the lentils, rice, and macaroni together in one large pot, adding them in order such that they are all done at the same time.

Kosheri is an Egyptian version of the Kichri (kitchree, khitcherie) of India, which is always a combination of rice and lentils. Kichri is also the ancestor of the British/Scottish kedgeree which was a culinary byproduct of the British imperial Indian experience.

Fool Medames (Egyptian Fava Beans)

http://www.congocookbook.com/vegetable_and_side_dish_recipes/fool_medames.html

Fool Medames (or Fool Mudammas, Ful Medames, Ful Mudammas, Fuul Medammis, etc., often just called Fool, Ful or Fuul) is an Egyptian bean stew: the basic recipe is fool (ful, fuul, i.e., fava) beans, cooked until tender, mashed then mixed with olive oil and seasonings, typically lemon juice and cumin. The mashed beans are usually served garnished with egg accompanied by pita bread. Fool is often eaten for breakfast, and is sold by street vendors: Egyptian fast food.

Ingredients:

• four cups (about two pounds) dry small fava beans (broad beans or pink beans)
• one-half cup split red lentils, washed, rinsed, and cleaned (optional)
• one or two ripe tomatoes, chopped (optional)
• one onion, chopped (optional)
• four cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
• one teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
• one teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• ground cayenne pepper or red pepper, to taste
• one handful fresh cilantro, parsley, or mint leaves, chopped
• one bunch green onions (white part and some of the green part), chopped
• four hard-boiled eggs

Directions:

• Wash and rinse fava beans and soak them, covered with cold water, for an entire day (to have fool in the evening, soak the beans from early one morning until the same time the next morning, then cook). Drain and rinse before cooking.
• In a large pot, bring fourteen cups (three and one-half times the amount of beans) water to a boil. Add beans and lentils. Boil for several minutes. Skim any foam off top. Reduce heat and simmer. Add the optional tomato and onion (if desired -- or they can be added after the beans are cooked). Cover (and do not uncover) and simmer over very low heat for eight hours. After eight hours, check for dryness. If beans are dry, add boiling water (not cold water) as necessary. Cook another two to three hours, until beans are very tender.
• Mash beans with potato masher or ricer. Stir in garlic, tomatoes and onions (as desired), coriander, cumin, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Simmer and stir for a few minutes more.
• Place serving-sized portions into bowls. Garnish to your liking with cilantro (or parsley, or mint) leaves, green onion, and sliced hard-boiled egg. Serve warm with warmed pita bread. (Can be stored in the 'fridge and re-heated.)

The beans can also be cooked in an ovenproof casserole dish: Place the soaked beans in the dish, add boiling water, cover, and place in medium-hot oven.

Though not traditional, this dish could also be attempted with pinto beans (as used to make refried beans in Mexican cuisine); fool and pita bread is not too different than refried beans and tortillas. More evidence that ancient Egyptians did build those Meso-American pyramids? They Came Before Columbus!

Molokhia (Egyptian Greens Soup)

http://www.congocookbook.com/soup_and_stew_recipes/molokhia.html

Molokhia (Melokiyah, etc.) is a traditional dish in Egypt and Sudan -- some people believe it originated among Egyptians during the time of the Pharaohs. Others believe that it was first prepared by ancient Jews. Molokhia is a mucilaginous, nutritious soup made from a type of greens, known as molokhia or Jew's mallow (also called Nalta jute, Tussa jute, Corchorus olitorius), which is found throughout Egypt, the Levant, and similar climes elsewhere. Dried or frozen molokhia greens may be obtained from Middle Eastern or Asian grocery stores worldwide.

Ingredients:

• six cups chicken stock
• one pound fresh molokhia leaves or frozen molokhia leaves (thawed) -- or -- a similar amount of spinach; stems removed, cleaned, rinsed in cold water, and patted dry (frozen molokhia is usually already cleaned and chopped)
• one tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
• one hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
• one bay leaf (optional)
• one small onion, finely chopped (optional)
• black pepper, to taste
• two tablespoons olive oil, butter, or any cooking oil
• several cloves (or more) of garlic, minced
• one teaspoon ground coriander
• one teaspoon salt
• one tablespoon fresh coriander leaves (also called cilantro) or fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)
• juice of one lemon or a teaspoon vinegar (optional)
• ground cayenne pepper or red pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions:

• Chop the molokhia leaves as finely as possible. This should leave them bright green and slightly slimey. In Egypt, the perfect tool to finely chop molokhia leaves is a makhrata -- a curved knife with two handles similar to the Italian mezzaluna. (Get one of these kitchen cutters and you'll love it so much you'll be using it by the light of a half-moon!) Some Egyptian cooks prefer to cut the molokhia leaves by rolling them into a tight bundle and using a very sharp knife to shave them into thin slices.
• Over high heat, bring the chicken stock to a near boil in a large pot. Add the molokhia, stirring well. Add the tomato paste, chile pepper, bay leaf, and onion (if desired), and black pepper, continuing to stir. Reduce heat and simmer. The molokhia will simmer for about twenty minutes. (Allow an extra ten if frozen molokhia is not completely thawed.)
• After the chicken stock and molokhia have simmered for about ten minutes: heat the oil (or butter) in a skillet. Using either the back of a spoon in a bowl or a sharp knife on a cutting board, grind the garlic, ground coriander, and the salt together into a paste. Fry the mixture in the oil for two to four minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic is slightly browned.
• After the garlic has been browned and the molokhia is nearly done (after it has been simmering for about twenty minutes and has broken down to make a thick soup), add the garlic mixture and the oil it was fried in to the simmering molokhia. Stir well.
• Add any of the remaining optional ingredients that you like. Continue simmering and stirring occasionally for a few more minutes.
• Adjust seasoning. Serve immediately, hot. Molokhia soup is often served over boiled Rice and sometimes with boiled chicken.

Molokhia is prized for its mucilaginous quality, a quality which spinach lacks. If using spinach, the addition of a few tender okra pods, very finely chopped, will serve to thicken the soup.

If using dried molokhia, rub the leaves between your hand to crumble them into small pieces, moisten these with a few spoonfuls of water then proceed with the recipe. Frozen Mulukhiya is sold already cleaned and chopped, ready to use.

The fried garlic and coriander mixture is known as ta'lya (ta'leya, ta'liya) and is used in many Egyptian dishes. Some cooks leave out the salt; others add the onion and/or the tomato paste to the ta'lya. The ta'lya can also be added to the molokhia earlier.

A richer Molokhia Chicken soup can be obtained by boiling a pound of cut-up chicken meat in the chicken stock before adding the molokhia leaves. Some cooks add a bit of cardamom or cinnamon.

If you like molokhia, consider yourself lucky that you didn't live in Egypt a thousand years ago: Consumption of molokhia was banned (along with a great many other things) during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim (c.1000 AD).

Feta and Lamb Stuffed Grape Leaves

Mary Kay Radnich

Make these savory appetizer bundles of lamb and feta up to a day ahead, then cook in the microwave oven in minutes.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound ground lamb or beef
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh mint or oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano,crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 of a 16-ounce jar grape leaves (20 leaves), drained and well rinsed
• Olive oil
• Lemon wedges

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet cook ground lamb or beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until lamb is no longer pink. Remove from heat; drain off fat. Stir in feta cheese, mint or oregano, and pepper. Set aside.

2. Place a grape leaf on a clean work surface, shiny side down and stem end toward you. Place 1 level tablespoon of filling about 1/2 inch from the bottom edge of each leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf over the filling, overlapping slightly. Starting at the bottom edge, roll up the leaf and place, seam side down, in a 2-quart square microwave-safe baking dish. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling. Cover the baking dish and chill until needed or heat and serve immediately.

3. To heat, add 1 tablespoon water to the baking dish. Brush grape leaf bundles lightly with olive oil. Cover and micro-cook on 100% power for 4 to 5 minutes or until heated through, turning dish once. (For a low-wattage oven, micro-cook bundles on high power for 5 to 6 minutes, rearranging once.) Serve immediately with lemon wedges. Makes 20 bundles (2 per serving).

Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare bundles as directed. Cover the baking dish and chill up to 24 hours. To serve, micro-cook as directed.

Fattah

Dr. Maged El-Bialy

Service for : 4 people

Fattah is a mixture of meat cubes embedded in rice and crusted pita pieces in soup. It is a traditional meal that is enjoyed by all Egyptian and is considered the most famous dish in Egypt. It is served in the bairam feast (an Islamic holy feast after the month of Ramadan) but it can also be served at any time of the year.

Ingredients:

• One kg of meat cut in cubes. One may use any type of meat but lamb if preferred.
• Two cups of short rice.
• 2-3 loafs of pita bread
• two small peeled onions
• dash of pepper
• mastic
• cardamom
• garlic
• ghee
• cumin
• tomato paste
• salt
• vinegar

To prepare a perfect dish of Fattah you need to follow four steps.

Preparing the meat:

Fill a pot with water and place two small peeled onions, pepper, mastic and a cardamom. When the water starts to boil drop in the pieces of meat and let them boil to a stew.

Preparing the rice:

Wash the rice and let it sit in water for about 10 minutes then seive it well. Place two tablespoons of oil in a pot on medium heat. As soon as the oil starts to fry add the rice and half a tea spoon of salt. Stir the rice for 5 minutes. Add 2 glasses of the meat stew to the cooking rice. Let the rice cook (for 20 minutes) on the lowest heat until it absorbs all the stew and becomes tender. When the rice is all dried up remove it from the stove.

Preparing the crisp pita bread:

Cut the pita bread into small squared pieces, then place those pieces into a pan. Apply oil or butter to the bread pieces. Place the pan filled with bread pieces in a preheated oven for ten or so minutes until it becomes golden and crisp.

With the above three steps finished you have to place the ingredients in a deep bowl in layers before you can proceed on to the fourth step. Do not forget to pour some of the meat stew on each layer after placing it in the deep bowl. Make the lowest layer from bread top it with a thin layer of rice and pour some stew. Add the meat layer and pour some more stew on it. Place the final layer of rice and do not pour soup on the top layer of rice so that it does not turn soggy.

Preparing the dressing:

Now that you have placed the meat, the bread and the rice in layers in a deep bowl, you are ready for the final and most important step in making the Fattah dish. The dressing gives the secret taste to the whole dish. So you have to be extra careful when you prepare it.

In a frying pan place one tablespoon of crushed garlic, one table spoon of ghee, half a teaspoon of cumin and 1\4 teaspoon of salt. Dissolve one tablespoon of tomato paste in two tablespoons of water in a cup. In a frying pan, use low heat and stir the garlic, ghee, cumin and salt until the mixture darkens. Then add to the darkened mixture the tomato paste you prepared. Stir the mixture for a minute then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Leave the mixture on low flame for 4-5 minutes. Pour the dressing on top of the Fattah.