Turkish Fish Kebab

Yummy Turkish Fish Kebab dish. When most people think of kebabs, the image of beef or lamb and vegetables on a skewer come to mind. Fish, however, makes an excellent addition to any skewer. This recipe features an excellent fish marinade that really brings out the flavor of the fish, while still maintaing the "grilled" flavor. You should always remember the turkish Cuisine with plenty of delicious and tasty recipes.

Ingredients:

• Haddock or Salmon steak, cut in 16 piece chunks
• 1 white onion, divided into 8-10 pieces
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut in medium sized chunks
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut in medium sized chunks
• 8 cherry tomatoes
  

Marinade:

• 50 ml vinegar
• 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
  

Preparation:

• Arrange the fish, red pepper, green pepper, onion and tomatoes in order on the skewers. Make 2 skewers for 1 serving. Whisk marinade ingredients in a large shallow plate. Place the skewers in it and allow them to marinate for 1 hour in the fridge and make sure to turn the skewers over from time to time. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before cooking.

• Preheat your barbecue or oven (grill). Place the skewers on the rack. Make sure to turn the skewers frequently so that all sides of the fish are cooked equally for a total of 10 minutes. Every time you turn the skewers, brush the fish and vegetables with marinade.

• Place them on a plate and sprinkle some oregano all over. Serve Fish Kebab with lemon wedges, black olives and pide (pita) slices.

Makes 2 servings.

Tip: If you're using wooden skewers, soak in water for about 1/2 hour to prevent them from burning.

Adana Kebab

Adana Kebab or Adana Kebap (Adana kebabı in Turkish) is a long, charcoal grilled, minced meat brochette mounted on a wide skewer. It is named after Adana, the fifth largest city of Turkey, in the Mediterranean region. It is originally known as kıyma kebabı (minced meat kebab) or simply as kıyma in Adana.

500 gr lean ground mutton
100 gr fat from lamb tail, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped (use mixer) or 1 tbsp full red pepper paste
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt

Mix all the ingredients together with your hands. Make a fist-sized ball and skewer it. Squeeze it on the skewer so that it thins and lengthens to acquire the shape shown in the picture. Cook on a grill. You can also barbecue tomatoes and green peppers on the side.

Serve with pita bread. Adana Kebab will taste better if you prepare the meat in advance and keep it refrigerated overnight.

Adana on Video...

Beyti Kebab

Once again to the most famous cuisines in the middle east, the Turkish Cuisine with a yummy Beyti Kebab Recipe. Beyti kebab is a Turkish dish consisting of ground beef or lamb, grilled on a skewer and served wrapped in lavash and topped with tomato sauce and yogurt.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs (700 g) ground lamb (or a mix of ground lamb & veal)
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• dried hot red pepper flakes to taste
  

• olive oil
• one onion
• 1 tomato
• 1 can tomato sauce
  

• parsley
• yogurt
• very thin pita bread
  

Preparation:

• Mix ground lamb with the coriander, cumin, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Leave to sit in the fridge for about one hour.

• Form meat into patties 1 inch (3 cm) by 6 inches (15 cm). Preheat barbeque or grill, coat with some olive oil. Cook meat on a medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes. The meat is ready when it is springy. Turn the meat often.
  

• Prepare a tomato sauce: cooking the onion in olive oil. Add a sliced tomato, a can of tomato sauce and some pepper to taste.

• Wrap the meat patties two times round in thin pita bread. Cut the wraps into bite size pieces and arrange in a circle on a plate. Lightly drizzle the wrapped meat with the tomato sauce.
  

• Add yogurt, parsley, and a side dish (rice, couscous, bulgur) in the center of the circle.

Serving:

This kebab is quite tasty and filling. One of the highlights of this kebab is the set up of the plate, which provides and excellent balance of meat, side dish, garnish, and yogurt.

Lokum - Turkish delight

Turkish Delight - lokum, or loukoum is a confection made from starch and sugar. It is often flavored with rosewater and lemon, the former giving it a characteristic pale pink color. It has a soft, jelly-like and sometimes sticky consistency, and is often packaged and eaten in small cubes that are dusted with icing sugar or copra to prevent sticking. Some types contain small nut pieces, usually pistachio, hazelnut or walnuts. Other common types include flavors such as cinnamon or mint.

For a slice of Turkey, try these sweet treats flavored with rosewater. This easy Turkish Delight recipe will tempt you.

Makes 25 pieces

Olive oil spray
860g (4 cups) caster sugar
1L (4 cups) water
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
3 tbs gelatine powder
130g (1 cup) cornflour
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp rosewater essence
Red food colouring
300g (2 cups) icing sugar mixture

Spray a square 20cm (base measurement) cake pan with olive oil spray to grease. Line the base and side with non-stick baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.

Place the sugar and 500ml (2 cups) of the water in a large heavy-based saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Place a sugar thermometer in the pan. Increase heat to medium. Cook, without stirring, brushing down the side of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in water, for 25 minutes or until the sugar thermometer reaches 125°C. Stir in the lemon juice.

Meanwhile, place the gelatine, cornflour and cream of tartar in a large saucepan. Use a balloon whisk to whisk in a little of the remaining water to form a paste. Gradually whisk in the remaining water. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens.

Gradually pour the sugar syrup into the cornflour mixture, whisking constantly (if the mixture becomes lumpy, pour through a fine sieve into another saucepan).

Reduce heat to low. Place the sugar thermometer in the saucepan. Simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent the mixture sticking to the base of the pan, for 1 hour or until the mixture is light golden and sugar thermometer reaches 110°C. Add the rosewater and a few drops of the food colouring and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Set aside to cool to room temperature and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight until firm.

Pour the icing sugar mixture onto a large chopping board. Turn the lokum onto the icing sugar and use a lightly greased knife to cut into 3cm pieces. Toss the lokum in the icing sugar to coat. Serve.

Doner kebab

Doner kebab (Turkish döner kebap, literally "rotating roast"), is a Turkish national dish made of meat cooked on a vertical spit and sliced off to order. The meat may be lamb, mutton, beef, goat, or chicken. Alternative names include kebab, donair, döner, ντονερ, doner or donner. Döner Kebab is the origin of other similar Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes such as shawarma and gyros.

Homemade Style Doner kebab Recipe...

Ingredients:

• 500g lean lamb mince
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbs plain flour
• 2 tbs each olive oil and chopped parsley
• 2 tsp each ground cumin and cinnamon
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 1 egg, beaten
• Lemon, warmed pita, salad, natural yoghurt and mint, to serve
  

Preparation:

• Preheat grill to medium-high. Line base of a 28cm x 8cm lamington pan with baking paper and lightly grease. Combine lamb, garlic, flour, oil, parsley, spices, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Press into an even layer in the pan.

• Place pan under the grill for 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Drain off any liquid, then invert onto a board. Discard paper, then return meat to pan, sealed- side down, and grill for 2 minutes until cooked through. Slice meat into thin strips, squeeze over lemon, then pack into pita with salad, yoghurt and mint.

Video about Doner Kebab in New York (Turkish Hour TV 1230)...

Ayran

Foamy Ayran

Ayran or Airan from Turkish is a mixture of yogurt, water, and salt. It's the most common cold beverage, which may accompany almost all dishes in Turkey.

1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt

This is very straight-forward but tastes great:

Put all of the above in a blender. Mix for about 35-40 seconds. Pour into glasses. Also after blending, at the top, you will see bubbles and that’s the best part. Makes 4 portions. The drink shouldn’t be thick.

More about Ayran...
Ayran is so popular in Turkey that it rivals the sales of the juice and soda industries. International fast-food companies, such as McDonald's, include Ayran in their standard menu.

In rural areas of Turkey, ayran is offered as a standard drink to welcome guests.

Ayran is served cool, and is a common accompaniment to döner, kebab, banitsa, gözleme, or pastry. Some forms of fresh ayran are foamy as you can see in the picture.

Moroccan Mint Tea

How to make traditional Moroccan Mint Tea.

Moroccan mint tea is a very important part of Moroccan dining

The national drink is served in glasses at all times and everywhere. It has mint flavor, is very sweet and is sometimes seasoned with orange blossoms.

Ingredients:

1 bunch mint, and mint leaves for garnish
3 teaspoons green Moroccan tea
3 tablespoons sugar or honey

Preparation:

Water: Boil water. Pour a small amount in teapot and swish around to warm the pot. Put the tea in the tea pot, put a little boiled water and swish to rinse tea with boiling water discard water from the tea, Add the mint (reserve some for garnish) and sugar in the teapot, cover with boiling water and Bring to a boil again put it on a slow flame for 1 minute. Let tea brew, stirring the leaves once or twice. Cover pot; steep at least 5 minutes.

Pour a small amount of tea into the Moroccan tea glass; pour the tea back into the teapot. Repeat 3 times to blend ingredients; garnish each colorful Moroccan tea glass with springs of mint. Add a sprinkling of orange-blossom water. Serve very hot.

Use a nice serving brass tray and colorful tea glasses to make your tea party a feast for the eyes and by using different colors of tea glasses each guest will have a different color of his own.

karkadeh Tea - karkadeh Tea Recipe

Karkadeh, carkade or karkady teay is served hot or chilled with ice. It is very popular in some parts of the Middle East, and especially in North Africa. Karkadeh Hibiscus tea is the infusion made from the calyces (sepals) of the Hibiscus sabdariffa flower.

Serves 4 persons

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Karkadeh (Hibiscus) flowers
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup sugar

Preparation:

1. Wash Karkadeh flowers well, then place in a pot with 4 cups of water over medium heat.
2. Let boil for 5 minutes then let soak overnight.
3. Strain the Karkadeh flowers and pour the juice in a glass pitcher. Add sugar.
4. Stir well until all sugar dissolves.
5. Let cool in the fridge and serve chilled.

karkadeh (Hibiscus Plant)

karkadeh (Hibiscus Dried flowers)

More about karkadeh (Hibiscus) ...

Hibiscus flower extract has been used in many folk remedies for liver disorders and high blood pressure. The constituents of the flowers contain gossypetin, anthocyanin, and glucoside hibiscin, which may have diuretic and choleretic effects, decreasing the viscosity of the blood, reducing blood pressure and stimulating intestinal peristalsis.

The dried flower contains hibiscic acid. Root contains saponins and tartaric acid. Aspartic acid is the most common amino acid. Dried fruits also contain vitamin C and Ca oxalate; dry petals contain flavonol glucoside hibiscitrin

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Pomegranate molasses

Pomegranate molasses (in Arabic: dibas roman - دبس رمان ) is a thick syrup made from boiling down pomegranate juice. Very sweet and sour tasting.

Pomegranate molasses is a traditional ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking and can be used in a variety of dishes. You can also mix it with a little orange juice and club soda for a refreshing punch.

Pomegranate molasses can be found at Middle Eastern markets, or you can easily make some yourself with some pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon.

Pomegranate Molasses Recipe:


Ingredients:

• 4 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
  

Preparation:

1. In a large, uncovered saucepan, heat pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice on medium high until the sugar has dissolved and the juice simmers. Reduce heat just enough to maintain a simmer. Simmer for about an hour, or until the juice has a syrupy consistency, and has reduced to 1 to 1 1/4 cups.
   
2. Pour out into a jar. Let cool. Store chilled in the refrigerator.
3. If you want your pomegranate molasses to be sweeter, add more sugar to taste, while you are cooking it.

Pomegranate Molasses Video Recipe...

Lebanese Coooking Menu - Appetizers

A taste of Lebanon - I am sharing this post for all blogger friends.

In a Lebanese household, food is life and sharing it is one of the great joys of being alive. And even for simple dinners at home, there are a variety of dishes on the table, the meal starting with small portions known as mezze which centers around dips and salads.

As well as having great variety, Lebanese food is one of the freshest and most delicious on the planet. Lamb is the meat of choice and appears in many dishes including kafta in which minced lamb is rolled into sausage shapes and cooked on the barbecue or in the oven.

For this delicious food, an elegant and romantic atmosphere is needed. Enjoy and dive into them with a renewed appetite.

Lebanese Traditional Mezze

An array of twenty different mouth watering dishes

Hummus B'tahini
Mashed chickpeas and sesame paste with garlic & lemon (dip for bread)

Babaganouj
Mashed eggplant and sesame paste with garlic & lemon (dip for bread)

Foul Mudammas
Fava beans with garlic, lemon, and parsley

Falafel
Fried spiced vegetable ball, served with tahini sauce

Lebni
Yogurt spread with olive oil

Jibni Wa Zeitun
Cheese and olives

Spinach Pie
Stuffed with spinach, onions, and pomegranate nectar

Tripoli Maza
Combination appetizer plate consisting of hummus, babaganouj, cheese, olives, & falafel

Special Lebanese Kibbee Nayeh (Raw Kibbee)
Lean finely grounded leg of lamb mixed with cracked wheat, onions, and special Lebanese spices

Video About Lebanese Food

Katayef Bi Kashta

Very special and easy Arabic dessert dish. Katayef Bi Kashta (Pancakes with Cream) . If you love Pancakes this dessert is sure to put a smile on your face.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups atter (syrup)
• 1lb (1/2 kg) small Katayef store-bought
• 1lb (1/2 kg) kashta (homemade cream)
• 1/2 cup crystallized flowers store-bought
• 30 pancakes (depends on No. of People
  

Preparation:

• Fill each pancake with a tablespoon of Kashta.
• Pinch the edges together only half way, forming a cone-like shape.
• Garnish each pancake with a little amount of crystallized flowers.
• Arrange in a large serving dish.
• Serve with the atter (Syrup).
  

To prepare Atter (Syrup):

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  

Make a syrup by stirring the water, sugar, and lemon juice together in a saucepan over medium heat until thick; set aside to cool.

Laban Immo

Laban Immo is meat cooked with yogurt served with rice. It is an Arabic dish famous in Lebanon and Syria.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil
4 onions, sliced
500g lamb neck fillet cut into cubes
Pinch of mixed spices
2 cups water
2 MAGGI Chicken Stock cubes
5 cups yoghurt
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons cornflower mixed with 2 tbsp. water
1 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoons dried mint
2 tablespoons oil

Preparation:

1 Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion, and fry till soft.

2 Add meat and spices, fry for few minutes, then add the water and MAGGI Chicken Stock cubes.

3 Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour or till the meat is tender.

4 Place yoghurt in a big saucepan and mix with egg and cornflower. Bring to the boil, (stirring all the time) and lower the heat.

5 Add the cooked meat, with its sauce, to the yoghurt and simmer for 10 minutes.

6 Meanwhile, heat the butter in a pan, add garlic and mint, fry for 1 minute, and then pour over the yoghurt and meat mixture. Serve with rice.

Sayadieh

Sayadieh (Fish with Rice) is a delicious and robust lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian, Palestinian, and Jordanian style fish dish. Any firm, white fish, such as haddock or cod, can be used in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. oil, for deep-frying
• 2 tbsp. pine nuts
• 3 onions, sliced
• 2 cups American rice, rinsed
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. mixed spices
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 MAGGI Chicken Stock cubes(dissolved in 3 cups of hot water)
• 4 white fish fillets (Cod or Haddock)
• 3 tbsp. seasoned flour to coat the fish
  

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the pine nuts till brown. Remove nuts from the oil and keep aside.
2. Add the onions to the same pan and fry till brown.
3. Add the rice, turmeric, spices, salt and pepper and stir till the rice is well-coated with oil.
4. Add the MAGGI Chicken Stock, boil and then lower the heat. Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, coat the fish with the seasoned flour and deep fry.
6. When the rice is cooked, add the pine nuts and stir gently.
7. Empty the rice in a flat dish, and arrange the fish on top. Serve with mixed salad and Tarator (Tahini sauce).

Egyptian Katayef

Katayef was traditionally prepared by street vendors as well as households in the Levant and more recently has spread to Egypt. Qatayef is the general name of the dessert as a whole, but more specifically, the its batter. The result of the batter being poured into a round hot plate appears similar to pancakes, except only one side is cooked, then folded. The pastry is filled with either unsalted goat cheese or ground walnuts and cinnamon. It is then baked and served with a hot sugar-water syrup or sometimes honey.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  

• 1 (8 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
• 3 cups water
  

• 3 cups oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Make a syrup by stirring the water, sugar, and lemon juice together in a saucepan over medium heat until thick; set aside to cool.
2. Make a filling by combining the ricotta cheese and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Make the dough by mixing together the flour and the yeast. Stir the water into the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking to remove any lumps, until the mixture reaches a pourable consistency; allow to rest 1 hour.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Ladle 2 to 3 ounces of batter at a time into the center of the skillet into a round shape. Each katayef shell is finished when the top is dry and the bottom is slightly browned.
5. Fill each shell with an equal portion of the cheese mixture. Fold one end of the shell over the cheese mixture and seal into a semi-circle shape by pinching along the edges.
6. Heat the frying oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Fry the katayef in the oil until crispy and lightly browned; immerse in the syrup to coat.
   
7. Serve immediately.

Day life during Ramadan - Preparing Katayef

Katayef Recipe Video...

Kibbe

Fried Kibbe Recipe

Brown pine nuts in butter on medium heat until light brown. Set aside. Saute meat until brown. Add onions, salt, and spices and stir until mixture is tender. Remove from fire. Add sauteed pine nuts. Stuffing is now ready to use with the following Kibbe recipe.

Cut raw kibbe into walnut sized balls. Make a hole inside ball by pression one finger in Kibbe balls. Stuff each with 2 teaspoons stuffing and gently smooth over the open end to close it. Form the balls into an egg shape. Fry in hot deep oil for 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.

Makes approx 20 kibbe.

For the kibbe:
2 cups burghul
500g minced lamb
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tsp mixed spices
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp cumin powder
A pinch of chilli
1/2 glass water

For the filling:
200g minced lamb
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tbs pine nuts
1 tsp mixed spices
Salt & pepper
To make the kibbe: Place burghul in bowl, cover with cold water and stand for 15 mins. Drain burghul and squeeze in hands to soften. Place the lamb in food processor and mince to fine paste. Add the remainder of the ingredients (adding water a little at a time) to the blender and mix. Remove and keep aside.

To prepare the filling: Heat oil in pan, add onions and cook till soft. Add nuts, cook until lightly browned. Add lamb and spices, cook, stirring until lamb is browned.

Shape 1/4 cups of kibbe into balls using damp hands. Hollow out the centres using thumb, and place a rounded teaspoon (or more) of filling inside. Shape kibbeh into ovals. Now deep-fry the kibbe in hot oil (in batches) until browned all over and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve with mezze.


Baked Kibbe Recipe

Brush a medium sized baking dish with olive oil. Press a little less than half of the raw kibbe mixture onto the base of the dish, smoothing it with wet hands. Top with stuffing for kibbeh mixture spreading it evenly. Carefully press out the remaining raw kibbeh mixture evenly so that it stays in place. Smooth top.

Run a knife blade around edge of dish, then cut into diamond shapes. Press a pine nut into each diamond if desired. Pour melted butter ghee mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water over top, making sure some runs down between sides of dish and kibbeh.

Serves 4 - 6

For the kibbe:
2 cups burghul
500g minced lamb
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tsp mixed spices
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp cumin powder
A pinch of chilli
1/2 glass water

For the filling:
200g minced lamb
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tbs pine nuts
1 tsp mixed spices
Salt & pepper

Divide the kibbe into 2 equal portion. Flatten one portion on an oiled medium sized oven tray. Spread all the filling on top. Flatten the other portion of kibbe using wet hands and layer on top of the filling. Shape into diamond shapes using sharp knife. Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil with some small lumps of butter (equivelant in total to 1 tbs) over the top. Place in middle shelf of oven and bake on moderate heat for 40 - 50 minutes or until the top browns. Drain excess oil (optional).

Serve hot with salad.


Raw Kibbe Recipe

Remove all fat from meat and cut into cubes. Grind the meat finely twice. Grind onions once. Mix with ground meat and grind once more. Wash burghol and drain by cupping hands and squeezing out all water. Mix with meat and onion mixture and salt and pepper. Grind or knead mixture twice, adding water little by little until you get the kibbe dough soft and smooth. Cover with olive oil and serve with warm pita bread. If desired garnish with sauteed pine nuts.

Serves 4 - 6

1 cup burghul (crushed wheat)

(Lamb mixture)

1/2 kg lamb leg fillet

1/2 red chilli

1/4 medium red pepper, sliced

a pinch of salt

(Burghul mixture)

1/2 cup burghul

1 small onion, sliced

1/2 tsp. mixed spices

a pinch of cinnamon

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. dry basil

1/4 tsp. dry marjoram

1/2 red chilli

1/4 medium red pepper, sliced

Place the meat mixture in a food processor, and blend until you get a smooth paste. Remove the meat from the processor, and store in the fridge. Place the burghul mixture in the food processor, and blend very well to produce a fine texture. Place one cup of burghul in a medium bowl. Using cold water, wet the burghul and knead with your hands, until soft to touch. Then add the meat and burghul mixture to the bowl. Mix with your hands, adding more cold water if necessary, until it binds together. Put on a serving plate garnished with mint leaves, and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with warm pitta bread, spring onions an