Breeka ( Tunisian )

A Tunisian Appetizer * I believe *, I have learned it from my lovely Tunisian friends..
The idea is simple : have a spring roll sheet ready and mainly stuff it with potatoes ( either boiled,fried,baked ) , eggs ( cooked or raw or both ) , cooked shrimp , tuna , parsley or cilantro and litlle spices to taste..plus cream cheese or shredded ( optional )
mostly when I have some leftover  cooked potatoes I make with it some BREEKA :)
The traditional shape is making a triangle, but you can do rolls too if you like , BREEK CIGARS ;)

Ingredients:

1. spring roll sheets ( thawed )
2. fried cubes of potato or boiled ( seasoned with little salt and pepper )
3. about 1/3 cup of chopped parsley or clinatro
4. half a can of tuna
5. few cooked shrimp ( optional )
6. eggs ( raw and boiled or just raw ) ( depending on your quantity , crack each egg at time and mix because you dont want the mixture to be too runny!! )
7. salt,black pepper,cumin,drops of lemon juice and hot chilli sauce to taste.

Method:

1. mix all the ingredients above in a bowel and as I mentioned above crack the eggs one at a time until the ingredients are well sticky together but yet not runny mixture!!
2. another way to do it is cracking only one egg on top of the mixture above in each triangle sheet of spring roll and seal the edges with water.
3. fry the triangles or rolls until golden brown..
4. Serve with a lemon wedge on the side..Enjoy...

Creamy Prawns

An Italian inspired dish..and as you may notice I like to serve almost everything with rice!! :p
But if you want to do it the Italian way mix this dish with penne pasta and cheese.

Ingredients: (2-3 servings )

1. 10-13 large or jumbo cooked shrimp
2. 1 small onion thinly sliced
3. 3 garlic cloves minced
4. 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced ( you can add red bell pepper too )
5. few Broccoli flowers ( optional )
6. 3-4 mushrooms sliced
7. 3/4 cup water
8. 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
9. salt,black pepper and cumin to taste
10. 1/2 tea.s flour
11. pinch of sugar (optional)

Method:

1. saute the onions in a large skillet until browned
2. add the mushrroms and some butter and brown them too
3. add the garlic wait until its golden then add the prawns and let it cook for few minutes
4. add the remaining vegetables
5. season with salt,pepper and cumin powder and mix
6. deglaze the pan with 3/4 cup of water and stir then gradually add the cream and cover for 10 minutes on low-meduim heat.
7. uncover and simmer for extra 10 minutes and add 1/2 tea.s of flour for a thicker sauce.
8. Go Italian: have a boiled penne pasta ready in a pot and pour the mixture on it and let it cook for few minutes then stir in the cheese and serve hot..Enjoy..

Beef Kofta

Beef Kofta can be served with rice or pasta in a heavy tomato sauce or mushroom sauce or just place them in a Sandwich!!

Ingredients: ( yields 10-12 kofta )

1. 1 cup ground beef
2. 1 small potato shreded
3. 1 egg
4. 2 minced garlic cloves
5. 1/2 small onion finely chopped
6. about a 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro or parsley
7. salt,cumin powder,garam masala to taste.

Method:

1. mix the above ingredients and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
2. shape into small balls ( I used an ice cream scoop to help ) and fry until fully cooked..
3. here I topped each kofta with tomato sauce and cheese and heat it until the cheese melted and served it with saffron rice..

Sweet & Salty Scoops!

Hello my dear viewers. I introduce today a traditional dish from KSA!
They mostly make it in the winter time and its almost like pancakes but Arabian Style hahaha..
Its called Mosabeeb which is something you scoop it down so I named it Scoops :) and it can be eaten either sweet or salty and you can even keep it in the fridge or freezer for later use.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup whole wheat flour
2. 1 cup all purpose flour
3. 1 egg
4. 1 tea.s yeast
5. 1 tea.s sugar
6. 1 tea.s baking powder
7. 1/4 cup milk
8. 2 cups warm water
9. 1/2 tea.s ground cardamom seeds (optional )

Method:

1. whisk the egg with the ground cardamom until fluffy
2. add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until everything well blend in.
3. cover with a clean cloth and let it sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.
4. heat up an electric griddle or on your stove griddle and brush lightly with oil.
5. with an ice cream scoop, scoop down the mixture forming a round disk.
6. wait until the surface bubbles and almost dries up then flip it to cook on the other side.
7. Serve Hot with butter and Honey or you can roll it up or make sandwiches with any kind of filling you like..Enjoy..

Cheesy Puffs

Simple treat for the whole family :-)

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all purpose flour
2. 1/4 cup milk
3. 1/4 cup oil
4. 1//2 cup softened cream cheese
5. 1 1/2 tea.s yeast
6. 1 tea.s baking powder
7. warm water for kneading

8. sesame seeds,Nigella sativa seeds for flavoring (optional)

Method:

1. mix the dry ingredients first
2. add the oil and mix then add the milk + cream cheese and knead..add warm water gradually to get a smoother elastic dough.
3.cover and let it rise in a warm place not more than 30 minutes.
4. with a rolling pin spread the dough no too thin or thick and start making desired shapes with cookie cutters..
5. for extra puffiness let the shapes rest for 10 mints or so..then deep fry on both sides..keep an eye on them because they take seconds to cook.
6.drizzle on top with honey or  any sugary syrup..Enjoy..

Homemade pitas

I love making my own pita bread because they taste so fresh and you can add some flavour each time you make them. For example a pinch of cumin, thyme,oregano,fennel seeds you name it..
You may notice in this recipe and any other pastry or bread recipe that I wrote I don't mention the exact amount of water used,that's because it depends on some factors that are different in each house. For example the room temperature,your water temperature if its a bit cold you will need more water and if its too hot you will need less.
I recommend in the winter season to keep your house very warm when making the bread and I heat my oven just for seconds and close it so its a warm place for my dough to rise in.

Ingredients: ( 8 medium pitas aprox)

1. 4 cups all purpose flour
2. 4 table.s sugar
3. 1 table.s+1 tea.s yeast
4. 1 tea.s baking powder
5. 1/4 tea.s salt
6. 1/4 cup milk
7. 1/2 cup oil
8. Warm water or room temperature

Method:

1. Mix in a bowl the dry ingredients first
2. Add the oil and mix . You will see the flour crumbles into small balls.
3. Add the milk plus 1 cup of warm water and knead..add water gradually while kneading until you get a non sticky elastic dough.
4. Cover with a cloth or a plastic wrap and keep it in a dark warm place. I always keep it in the oven. Let it rise for 1 hour or more.
5. After it doubled in size take the dough out and cut it into 8 balls less or more depending on the size of the pita desired.
6. Your oven should be on on the broiler with the oven rack placed just above the center line.
7. From a round pita and place it in the oven ( you can use a pizza stone or pan). It should take few minutes to rise and brown then flip it on the other side. Keep your eyes on the oven because some will be done in no time!
8. Enjoy...

Mandi Chicken ( Smoked rice & Chicken )

This is one of the easiest but yet tasty dish that you can fix for lunch or dinner.
You can make it with either chicken or lamb.

Ingredients: ( 2-3 servings )

1. half chicken
2. 2 cups of rice soaked for 15 minutes at least
3. few strings of saffron soaked in 2 table.s of rose water for 15 minutes at least the more the better,if you have a shot glass you can fill it. 
4. chicken stock : 1 bay leaf, 4-5 cardamom seeds,3 cloves,2-3 inches long cinnamon stick,dash of salt 
5. chicken topping : 1 heaping table.s yogurt, 1 tea.s tomato sauce(if u have a paste make it 1/4tea.s) , pinch of turmeric, garlic powder and curry powder and cumin, drops of the rose water with saffron and if u like add a little of clarified butter.
6. 1 quick lightning charcoal briquet

7. sauted onions and tomatoes for garnish

Method: 

1.mix the chicken topping ingredients mentioned and set aside in the fridge.

2. boil the chicken in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes or until its done with all the chicken stock spices mentioned above.

3. when its done cover it with the topping sauce made earlier and broil it in the oven until browned

4. mean while boil the rice in the chicken stock with 2 1/2 tea.s of salt ( remember each cup of rice takes 1 1/4 tea.s salt ). boil for 2-3 minutes on high then drain it. return it to the pot and add a pinch of turmeric and the rose water and some clarified butter if u like just fold it in gently to give a little color and cover and let it finish cooking on low heat.

5. when the rice is done make a whole in the center and surround it with the chicken.
light up the charcoal until red and have a tiny heat standing ceramic or glass cup or whatever you got filled half way with oil and placed in the center of the rice and chicken.
when the charcoal is heated carfuly place it in the cup and quickly close the pot so it will absorb the smoke.
leave it for 15-20 minutes then its ready to eat...Enjoy..