We had the opportunity to spend 4 amazing days in Istanbul for Eid al Fitr– the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan. It was indeed a long month, given the long summer hours, so celebrating Eid in a city with so much Islamic history was truly incredible. We enjoyed wandering the streets, the festive atmosphere of Eid, and we loved sampling all of the delicious foods. I was familiar with doner, which is the Turkish version of shawarma, but beyond that, I really didn’t know much else about the cuisine. Much to my surprise, I found a lot of overlap between Turkish and Egyptian cuisine. I guess the Ottoman’s spread a whole lot of recipes during their rule! But seriously, I found so many familiar foods that were made with unfamiliar flavor combinations. The spices are indeed different in Turkey, with sumac and pomegranate molasses adding their familiar tartness to dishes I wasn’t used to tasting them in.

So doner is pretty much everywhere, although some places looked sketchier than others. We tried some off the street and some at the restaurants. As soon as we landed in Turkey, we were starving, and went to the nearest doner stand we could find. I was so excited, I could barely contain myself. I was reminiscing about all of the great gyros, shawarmas and Olga sandwiches I had in my time and felt this would trump them all. I took a HUGE bite, and then….I spit it out. How sad. It was LAMB. And it wasn’t any old lamb, it was the strongest tasting lamb I think I have ever had. I was devastated. I was so excited to eat doner all day, every day, and here I was spitting out my first bite. Seeing the sadness in my face, my dear husband turned around and ordered a chicken doner. Ah, right. Forgot about that. Crises averted! I was back in heaven again, as I bit into the best tasting sandwich ever. I won’t even mention how many of these I ate in the 4 days we were there….

Almost everywhere you turn in Istanbul, you see farm carts filled to the brim with oranges and pomegranates. Overlooking the vendor’s dirty fingers and the likely fact that the fruit has not been washed, I went ahead and ordered a cup. I quickly realized why I would never make this at home – it was some serious hard labor to squash those things! Nonetheless, the result is delicious, and not to mention good for you.

Also, on Eid, we stumbled upon a Ramadan Festival in the Sultanahmet area, which is where some of the oldest mosques in the world are. When I saw the words, “tastes of Ramadan,” I was so excited.

Luckily the fair was free, and given that the country still uses Turkish lire, the food was cheap, cheap, cheap! My first stop was at a small stand for a sweets shop, Hafiz Mustafa. The shop has been a family business since 1864, and makes some of the most amazing lokma, or loqmat al ‘adi (in Arabic), I have ever had. This is a popular Middle Eastern dessert, which is a light, fluffy donut that is soaked in syrup. These were not overly sweet – which is great, because you get 10 of them in a tray!

We needed something to wash down all those sweet donuts. We were intrigued by the large vats of questionable looking juices. One of the problems in Istanbul is that most people do NOT speak English. So when I asked what the juices were, we got some strange responses. The first one (of which everyone seems to order) sounded like Ottoman Sherbet, and looked too much like karkaday(hibiscus) which I am not a huge fan of. The second was lemon and cardamom, the pink one was rose, and the last one was another questionable response. I had never had lemon and cardamom paired together, so I decided to give it a whirl. Boy, was I in for it – WAY too much cardamom, no sugar, and super tangy lemon. Bleck. Should have ordered what everyone else was getting. So much for that…

The other great thing about Turkey is all of the great savory bread items. We had gozleme, which is a traditional Turkish handmade, hand-rolled pastry. We ordered ours stuffed with potatoes, but you can order spinach or cheese also. It reminded me of Indian aloo naan, as the bread was buttery and flakey, while the stuffing was nicely spiced. We actually had to order another one because we ate the first one so quickly.

I did get the chance to pick up some amazing Turkish spices on a visit to the Grand Bazaar, and to top it off, they were organic spices. Living in the UAE, you buy your spices from these huge vats and you barely know the source, let alone how the spices were grown. So to see organic spices, I was in heaven. Actually, I was in heaven the entire time I was in Istanbul. I love that city so much, and I cannot wait to make it back there again. I hope you enjoyed a peek at my culinary adventures in Istanbul. Keep an eye out for my attempts to make some Turkish cuisine!

Hello midEATS Readers!

We have good news for anyone who is looking to get published online and join a growing community focused on sharing traditional and healthy Middle Eastern recipes: we are looking for one to two contributors.  As you know, Heba and Brenda cannot do it all alone, and we want our readers to have access to more voices and make midEATS a true community of regular contributors.

Here’s how it’ll go down:

From now till the end of November 2013, you can send an email to midEATS (at) gmail (dot) com introducing yourself, and include an attached document containing an entry to be featured on midEATS.

You can do any one of the following:

(1) reminisce about a childhood or more recent memory involving Middle Eastern food,

(2) review an Arabic restaurant you checked out,

(3) review a Middle Eastern recipe you found or tried before,

(4) share your own recipe, OR

(5) write a post about a Middle Eastern ingredient and how you use it (check out the ‘spotlight ingredient’ posts on midEATS for an idea of how we usually put these together).

Some tips for a successful entry: Use your words as a paintbrush. Use action verbs. Provide legit links. Try to keep it at a reasonable length (no more than two pages of text and 5 photographs).

The Requirements!

–       As a midEATS contributor, you must be committed to writing at least ONE post per month.

–       Your posts must focus on using healthy and natural ingredients (i.e., no bouillon cubes like Maggi, fake butter or margarine, or other processed ingredients).

–       Your posts must be related to the Middle East — this can be through an Middle Eastern ingredient, a traditional recipe, or some fusion of sorts.

–       You must own/have access to a good camera! One of the most important aspects to food blogging is taking good quality pictures to entice the reader to cook and try out your recipe.

The Perks!

–       Get an online following … we know it’s not a popularity contest, but it still feels good to publish content online (not to mention the bonus of having content to provide for anyone interested in checking out your writing and photography skills).

–       If you already have your own site, contributing on midEATS will give you the unique opportunity to promote your web content and introduce yourself to more readers.

We look forward to receiving your submissions and growing the team of midEATS writers!

Bil Hana wal Shifa, 

Heba & Brenda

I cannot believe Ramadan is already here. I had been so busy that I didn’t have a chance to do my requisite trip to the grocery store the night before. One of the main things I always stock up on is dried fruit and nuts. For as long as I can remember, my mom always made khushaf or khoshaf. It was so nice to introduce it to my husband and make it part of our Ramadan tradition at home. At first glance, khushaf doesn’t seem to look all that appetizing. It looks like a bunch of floating chunks of dried fruit in some milky liquid. However, it is probably one of the most delicious and nutritious ways to break your fast. Let me walk you through the reasoning behind this.

As you may know, Muslim’s abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, Ramadan is approximately 10 days earlier each year. For the next several years, Ramadan will fall during the summer months, which means longer days, and longer fasts. I often hear how terrible this must be, “How can you do it? Aren’t you starving?” In reality, when done correctly, fasting cleanses your body of toxins and is an opportunity to revisit eating habits. When you are fasting, glucose is the main source of energy, which is stored in your liver and muscles. Once the glucose stores have been depleted, fat becomes the next source of energy. Because fasting is only one day, your body never turns to using protein for energy, which would indicate starvation. Nonetheless, it is imperative that you eat healthily when you break your fast in order to replenish any nutrients lost during the fast.

Now we get to what this has to do with khushaf. Based on the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims often break their fast with a date and fresh juice. Dates are an excellent source of fiber, sugar, potassium, and magnesium. The sugars found in dates, and similarly in other dried fruits, release slowly and help maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Now, khushaf if essentially a whole bunch of dried fruits and nuts, which all combine to give your fasting body a healthy boost of glucose and other essential nutrients.

You can be as creative as you like with this dish. Don’t have apricots? No problem. Want to use pistachios? Okay. You can really use whatever dried fruits you like, and whatever juices you like. In this particular recipe, I used coconut milk and mango juice for the liquid. Many people simply use water. Others use milk.  I have also started to add chia seeds for added health benefits.  The possibilities here are endless But seriously, have fun with it, and try it. You will never look at dried fruits the same after you have had khushaf!!

“Hawawshi? What the heck is that?” a friend once asked.  Now, I don’t blame her.  The name sounds like some kind of dance move, or the name of a strange character from television.  As one article put it: “[Hawashi] is a cross between a hamburger, a Mexican gordita and a South American empanada.”  In Egypt, they are made with baladi bread, which are small pita pockets.  You put the raw meat in the pita pocket, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Simple enough, right?

It is essentially quite similar to a kafta sandwich.  But it is WAY better. Why, you ask? Well, the flavor of the kafta gets baked into the dough of the bread.  The outside of the sandwich when brushed with butter gets delectably crispy.  This is just not the same as the kafta sandwiches we grew up eating on the beach in Egypt.  Those always seemed like an overcooked piece of beef shoved into a hotdog bun of sorts; hence, why I say hawawshi is way better.

I came across a forum discussing that with the bread crisis in Egypt, more restaurants and home cooks are making their own dough and baking hawawshi.  I have tried both fresh dough and using pita bread.  Both were delicious in their own way.  Nowadays, in an extreme bout of laziness, I have taken to purchasing fresh pita bread from the grocery store.  A package of 6 loaves of freshly baked pita in the UAE runs you maximum $1.5 AED, which is the equivalent of about 50 U.S. cents.  Sometimes, in the name of time, you have to sacrifice homemade food for store-bought versions.   Although I am about 90% gluten free, pita bread is one exception because my attempts at making a GF pita have turned out quite awful – more like a crusty saucer that would crack your tooth if you bit too hard. Sigh.

Anyway, back to hawashi. For those of you who have travelled to Turkey or eaten Lebanese food, you may have come across lahmajun/lahmacun or sfiha.  Both of these are traditional flatbreads topped with minced meat and then baked in an oven.  All are amazing, but nothing compares to the Egyptian “hot pocket” version. I think hawawshi comes out as the best, but the Egyptian in me may be a bit biased

A few different takes on this recipe include adding habenero peppers, using chili flakes, or using pre-purchased raw kafta. If you buy the premade kafta from your local butcher and then stuff it into pita, then you TRULY have a meal that can be prepared in less than 10 minutes (assuming you dont add green peppers or anything else to the mix).  Also, I really, really love the Simply Organic Spicy Steak seasoning, and I tend to bring three or four bottles back with me after every visit to the states.  I always use it in my hawawshi for an added kick, but feel free to omit.  Last important tip: make sure you brush each with butter or spray with olive oil before baking and wrap in parchment paper. This will prevent it from sticking and keep ’em crispy!

I have a really hard time following recipes.  I get distracted, I estimate, and I improvise. I came across this recipe for Moroccan Meatballs on Leites Culinaria. Nothing was going to stop me from making this dish. It looked and sounded delicious. I also have a slight obsession with using my tagine. I have made and shared quite a few recipes on midEATS, including Chicken with Preserved Lemons, Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes, and Shakshouka. Kafta is a main staple in Egyptian cooking, but this recipe called for an entirely new flavor profile that I had never added to my meat before.  And the saffron water? Amazing addition.

I promised myself I would follow Paula Wolfert’s recipe to the T.  She is after all, the expert on Moroccan cuisine.  Despite my pulling out my measuring spoons, and mixing bowls, I got distracted. And I mean super distracted.  I was making the kafta in the food processor and it wasn’t binding.  Instead, it was quite flaky. I added an egg yolk.  Awesome – problem solved.

Then, I was worried about poaching the meatballs with egg as a binder. Would the egg cook entirely? I don’t want my kids getting sick from my kafta. So I consulted Dr. Google.  What is this I found? A recipe using tomato sauce and peas in the tagine?!  The Egyptian in me could not resist. Tomato sauce cannot be added to enough dishes.  I wondered if I would mess up the flavor profile by adding tomato sauce. I found all sorts of kafta tagine recipes, many included adding eggs to the tomato sauce to simmer alongside the beef. STOP! I forced myself to stop the madness.  My simple Paula Wolfert meatball dish was quickly about to turn into a complicated dish that I wasn’t intending to make.

FOCUS.

I decided to only stray off her recipe by adding the tomato sauce and peas to the dish.  I figured dear Paula wouldn’t be too offended by these changes    The result: pure heaven. The house not only smelled amazing, but my kids couldn’t wait for them to cool off to eat them fast enough.  The meatballs were perfectly spiced, a little fiery, but nothing the family couldn’t handle.  The saffron water definitely elevated the dish from a simple tomato sauce to an exotic Moroccan dish.  And the peas – these didn’t hurt anyone but didn’t add anything to the dish-just basically a simple way to sneak some veggies into the dish.  Maybe baby new potatoes next time? with the eggs too? Will have to try this…There I go again…improvising!

Thank you, Morocco, for once again introducing me to an amazing spice combination that will surely become a staple in our house!

Here at midEATS, we like to bring you authentic Middle Eastern recipes directly from the kitchens of traditional home cooks and chefs all over the world. For today’s post, Eman, an Egyptian cook extraordinaire from Chicago, shares with us how to make a traditional beef pot roast, using sustainably raised meat. Eman loves making traditional meals for her family, and recently, she has been making conscious choices about her food sources. In this post, she shares a little bit about her love for Egyptian cooking, and links some thought-provoking articles about the importance of eating grass-fed meats.

– Heba of midEATS

Kabab Hallah and the Importance of Pastured Meats

By Eman Hassaballa

Kabab hallah literally means cubed meat made in a pot (kabab referring to the cubed meat, and hallah literally meaning ‘pot’ in Arabic). I guess the American version of this would be pot roast, and it’s fairly similar. In terms of comfort food, kabab hallah is definitely near the top of the list.  Growing up for us, kabab hallah was for ‘azayim (literally in Arabic this means ‘invites’, but in Egyptian colloquial, it means ‘parties’ usually in reference to big dinner parties).  And after making it today, I realize why it’s only saved for special occasions: it takes a long time to make! But it’s delicious and definitely something you will add to your repertoire of recipes.

Before I begin, I have to give a shout out to my in-laws for sharing such a simple and delicious recipe. I have big shoes and a big belly to fill. I usually make kabab hallah with chicken, because my husband doesn’t like red meat; but today for the first time, we used beef and this time, it was bit different: we used organic, pasture-fed beef.  I bought the meat from Thankful Harvest, a family farm in Iowa with stellar farming practices. Ever since I started the Recovering Fattict, I’ve been trying to boost my health, and eventually found myself reading the work of Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon Morell, Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat Lose Fat – and these resources really have changed my relationship with food forever.

Why is pastured (or grass-fed) meat better for you? Eating organic sometimes isn’t enough when it comes to meat and eggs. Cows were never meant to eat grain; their bodies are not designed for it, and they aren’t able to digest it properly. God designed cows as grazing animals, so they are naturally meant to eat grass. Until the turn of the century, evolution has worked in humans’ favor – cows ate grass, and when we ate beef, we also received the omega-3s abundantly present in their meat.  Over the past few decades when agribusiness became large-scale and industrialized, farmers started to feed cows grain (mainly corn and soy, and a lot of it being genetically modified), thereby affecting the nutritional content of the meat that we eat! When cows eat grain, the fat in the meat is the not the healthy fat that our body needs. Pasture-fed beef is lower in calories too. It’s also better for the environment.  And I am barely glossing the surface of why it is so beneficial to eat pasture-fed meats and eggs! If this topic has piqued your interest and you’d like to find out more, you can read more about it in this Time article titled “How Cows (Grass-Fed Only) Could Save the Planet”, on Dr. Mercola’s website, and in this Weston A. Price Foundation article about the importance of pastured poultry.

About the Cook

Eman Hassaballa Aly resides in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband, no kids and no pets. She loves to eat, eat, eat and cook (in that order). In addition to eating, she works in public health research and also works as a mental health counselor at The Heartspeak Institute. She’s been publicly tackling her issues with food and weight at The Recovering Fattict. She still aspires to become a pastry chef and marry her two passions by opening up a therapy cafe.  Her current culinary adventures include opening up a pizza restaurant, Eshticken Pizza, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

When most people think of kibbe, they think of the traditional lamb-shaped football, deep fried and stuffed with savory nuts and meat. However, when I first heard of a kibbe recipe using pumpkin, I was so excited! I realized not only are there so many recipes for meatless kibbe, but that it is not just some hippie-Western fad but indeed a Middle Eastern tradition. I found out that it is common in Lebanon to make meatless kibbe during Lent, which traditionally requires abstinence from meat.

The fall is the perfect season to make a pumpkin dish, as this is the season for them in the U.S. The bright orange color of pumpkins indicates that it is strong in beta-carotene. Research indicates that foods rich in beta carotene (which converts to Vitamin A in the body) may reduce the risk of certain cancers, particularly prostate cancer, and can protect against heart disease. Even the seeds have strong nutritional value. Although in the Middle East “Halloween” shaped pumpkins can be quite expensive, I have found some small local “pumpkins” that are very affordable. Pumpkin in Arabic is referred to as laqteen, la’teen, yaqteen, and probably a million other versions as well! 

Our midEATS guest blogger this week, Hiba Ghalib Jabri, shares a recipe she adapted from the site Taste of Beirut. She is a dear friend of mine, and I have known her since we were in elementary school. Also a lawyer, she has a beautiful family of 5, mashAllah. Although we live continents away, I am always inspired by Hiba’s amazing culinary talent, as she posts amazing pictures of her dishes on Facebook. I hope this is only the first of her guest posts on midEATS!

– Brenda of midEATS

Kibbe Laqteen (Pumpkin Kibbe)

Our family has been trying to reduce our red-meat consumption and increase our vegetable intake. I love experimenting with new vegetables and using old ones in new ways. I made this twice during Ramadan and took it to potluck iftaar dinners. Both times, it was a hit and nobody missed the meat! Even picky kids liked it! I would imagine if they were shaped into traditional kibbe spheres and fried then they may have been even more popular.

This pumpkin kibbe recipe is healthy, easy, and different, with a touch of traditional Middle Eastern flair. I was inspired by a version of pumpkin kibbe that I came across on the site Taste of Beirut. I made a few tweaks here and there, and it is delicious. But, here is the thing. There is the shortcut version, and then there is the better version. The shortcut uses canned pumpkin and frozen vegetables. The better version uses fresh ingredients but takes a bit of time. If you have access to the fresh ingredients and some spare time, it is definitely worth trying the original recipe and saving the cans and frozen veggies for when you’re in a real time crunch.

Also, one thing I’ve learned is I hate sticking to a recipe. And this is one that allows me that liberty of changing it up. Feel free to do the same. If you like garbanzo beans, by all means, add more. If you prefer butternut squash over pumpkin, why not? In other words, there are no rules. Get inspired by the essence of this recipe, then take it and make it yours!

About Hiba:

Hiba is an immigration attorney and partner of AMAL Law Group with offices in Chicago and Atlanta. She is active in her community of Atlanta, Georgia and enjoys entertaining, photography, and reading. However, one of Hiba’s favorite pastimes is baking and cooking, as it combines art, science, and the end result is a nutritious, tasty, serving of love. She loves to try new foods and gourmet ingredients.

While Hiba has always been a self-proclaimed “foodie”, it wasn’t until her Food Law class in graduate school, and subsequently having children of her own, that she began to take an interest in exploring the origins of different foods and healthy recipes that highlight them from all over the world. Hiba’s parents immigrated from Iraq in 1980, and while she grew up with mostly traditional Middle Eastern home cooking, there was always a flair of fusion with other cultures in their meals. Since Hiba’s husband is Syrian, she has also learned recipes from Syria and Turkey and continues to “marry” the different cultures on her family’s dinner table just as her mother did.

Hiba is passionate about healthy eating and doesn’t believe children are inherently picky eaters. Hiba likes to involve her young children in the preparation and cooking of their own meals, and finds that helps them not only feel proud and confident about their creation, but also encourages healthy eating habits at an early age. Lastly, Hiba believes there is no excuse to trash good food. If you plan ahead, and educate your family about the source of their meals as well as involve them in the preparation so they are not as picky, she believes we can greatly reduce our food waste as well as enjoy quality meals with our loved ones.

Guest Post: Jessica Moore, Bint Rhoda’s Kitchen

When my husband was compelled to start eating a gluten-free diet, there followed a period of days when we mourned the food that he would no longer be eating. No more freekeh, he said, as I thought of the giant sack of freekeh in my cupboard. No more fatayer, he mused, as we planned out the week’s meals. And then, a few days later, when my parents arrived from the West Bank, he had another panicky thought:  No more tabbouleh!

This was indeed a catastrophe.

My American husband has a deep and abiding passion for tabbouleh. Well, who wouldn’t? This quintessential Middle Eastern salad of parsley and bulgur, dressed brightly with lemon and olive oil, has quickly becoming an international darling. It is fresh and light, green and fragrant with herbs, and yet also a satisfying side, because of the bulgur. We love to make heaps of it, and pair it with grilled fish or chicken, or with just hummus and bread, to make a simple but filling meal.

No more tabbouleh, my husband mourned. But then my Palestinian mother came to visit, and, as she often does, she saved the day.  Don’t worry, my mother said, you can make tabbouleh with rice instead of bulgur.

Rice tabbouleh? Would that even be good? Or would this taste like some sort of nontraditional knock-off, an anemic substitute for our true love? My mother reassured me that she had it before, and that is was delicious–that this was actually just another traditional version of tabbouleh. With nothing to lose, we quickly put some leftover rice to good use, and had a beautiful pile of tabbouleh in no time.

Our verdict:  Rice tabbouleh is a revelation. Tangy, fresh, delicious. And easy. Really easy, if you have leftover rice in your refrigerator. This version is also a little lighter on the stomach than a bulgur-based tabbouleh, but just as satisfying. So the next time you are craving the lemon and parsley goodness of this salad, save yourself a trip to the store to buy bulgur, and try this version.  You are going to love it.

A Little Bit about This Tabbouleh

As with many traditional dishes, recipes for tabbouleh vary from region to region; this version stems from my mother’s sensibilities as a daughter of Nazareth. In the Galilee, tabbouleh is a very simple dish, often just prepared with parsley, bulgur, cucumber, and sometimes a little green onion or mint. Tomatoes are rarely added (though I do like tabbouleh with tomatoes). Most cooks serve tabbouleh on a bed of crunchy lettuce leafs, and guests use the lettuce leaves to scoop up the tabbouleh and eat it, like tabbouleh lettuce wraps. If you have never tried tabbouleh this way, give it a try. Crunchy, sweet lettuce leaves filled with this herby citrusy salad is a perfect way to ring in spring and summer.

If you are new to making tabbouleh, here are a few tips:

1. 1. 1. 1. Wash and dry your parsley very well before chopping it.  Trying to chop damp parsley is difficult, and will make your tabbouleh wet.
         2. Try to use as little of the stems of the parsley as possible.
         3. Chop the parsley by hand, as finely as you can. I don’t recommend using a food processor for this dish, because a food processor will bruise the delicate parsley leaves, instead of leaving the membranes intact.
         4. Wait to salt the salad until just before serving, and salt just what will be eaten.  Salt pulls moisture out of the parsley and vegetables, and will break down the salad over time.  Unsalted tabbouleh, however, keeps beautifully in the refrigerator for many days, making this a perfect salad for preparing ahead of time.