ANN MOSES'
RECIPES
The following recipes are a typed and edited version
of hand-written recipes from my mother, for the sake of continuing the family
cooking tradition. They are here put online in her memory. Please use them and vary them as you want.
KOUBI/KIBBI: THE EASY WAY
Koubi, which is a Lebanese and Syrian national
dish, is in essentials a mixture of meat, crushed wheat or bourgle (as in
Tabouli), and 'Other Ingredients':
MEAT: 1 kilogram minced lean lamb or if
unavailable premium minced beef, with as little fat as possible. If mincing the meat yourself, get lamb by
preference and cut off all the fat.
BOURGLE: 1 cup (heaped), fine if possible. Soak in two cups of water for a few hours
before you start or if you remember overnight.
(Some Lebanese put more bourgle than this: it varies between families.)
OTHER INGREDIENTS: in this recipe include the
following:
3 medium Onions
1/3 Capiscum (optional)
1 red pepper or two 'bird's eyes' chilli's (some
members of the family put in more than this: vary to taste)
A few shallots
Mint, a small handful
'Markouch', a Lebanese herb like Marjorem, if
available
Some basil if you like
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon of salt or salt to taste. (Half and half Lite Salt seems to work out OK
also. Sea salt is probably best of all.)
Spice, pepper and salt are all to taste, and more
may be added later during the mixing stage.
Just remember: once it's in you can't take it out.
Vitemise all these 'other ingredients' together in
a blender.
MIXING AND KNEADING:
Pour vitemised 'other ingredients' over the
meat. Squeeze all the water out of the
bourgle a hand at a time and put the squeezed bourgle into the mixture. Mix together with one or two hands for ten
minutes, kneading as if with bread.
Taste for salt etc. and add if necessary.
COOKING KOUBI:
Koubi can be baked, grilled or fried. It can even be eaten raw like Filet Americain
with a little olive oil on it, some bread (lebanese or ordinary) and a
salad. Provided the mince was fresh, it
also freezes well and can be put away uncooked for cooking when needed. Once cooked it will keep in the ordinary
fridge for about a week.
Baking
Koubi:
Oil a baking tray.
Spread a pat in the tray about 1 inch thick. Cut in diagonal directions into eat-sized
squares. Add oil on top to cover meat
and a few teaspoons of margarine or butter to make it brown. If wanted, pat some pine nuts on top of koubi
before adding oil, alternatively slivered almonds. Then bake for at least one hour, depending on
how well you like it cooked. If you like
it well done, cook until all the oil has gone.
Grilling
Koubi:
For fat-conscious people: pat small pieces into
flattened rissoles and grill. Grill in a
container to catch the juices and use the latter for gravy. For a tasty alternative: pat a small section
of koubi which will resemble a small saucer.
Place a teaspoon of butter with pepper in the centre and cover with
another piece of koubi pattered. This is
called a Urice. These can be grilled also in a container to
catch the juices. They can also be
frozen for later cooking.
Frying
Koubi:
Pat small flat rissoles and fry in hot oil or
margarine. Serve with salad.
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LEBANESE
MEAT PIES
CONTENTS:
1/2 kg minced lamb if available, not real lean, or
beef (lamb is best)
2 medium sized onions finely cut
2 tablespoons of lemon juice/the juice of a lemon
pepper, salt and mixed spice
tablespoon of pine nuts fried in a little oil
(optional but helps)
Place meat, onions, pepper, salt and mixed spice
in a frypan and fry until onions blend with the mince. Add fried pine nuts and allow to cool. Add
the lemon juice.
PASTRY:
2 cups of self-raising flour
2 tablespoons of powdered skim milk
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Salt
Add cold water and mix until mixture resembles
scone mixture. Roll up into two
cylinders of about 6 inches long and 1 1/2 or 2 inches in diameter. Wrap with grease proofed paper or alfoil and
place in 'fridge for a few hours.
When you are ready to make them, cut off pieces
from the cylinders about 3/4 inches thick.
Roll small circular pieces one at a time sufficient to make a thin
circle of pastry five inches or so in diameter.
Make the pastry as thin as you can.
Place about one tablespoon full of contents
mixture on each piece of thin pastry.
Brush the very edges lightly with cold water to make them stick, or
dampen with fingers dipped in cold water.
Then fold the edges up, into triangles, pinching the edges firmly
together.
Deep fry in hot oil until golden. Fry on the side of the edges first, to stop
them breaking apart. As the pastry is
thin and the contents already cooked, they do not take long to fry. Serve while hot.
The pies can also be baked: paste with a little
oil first.
These pies can be successfully deep frozen before
cooking when needed.
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CABBAGE
ROLLS
1 firm cabbage
meat bones (if on hand)
garlic (according to taste)
1/2 kg coarse mince, or cut the meat, preferably
lamb, finely by hand
3/4 cup of rice
salt, pepper and mixed spice (to taste)
mint: to put between layers of rolls
2 tomatoes: to slice between layers of rolls
the juice of one lemon
Preparing
the Cabbage
Remove core from cabbage and cut in half. Wash and place in a large saucepan. So as to make them easier to roll: pour
boiling water over cabbage, bring to boil, remove cabbage.
Trim out the large central veins and cut the
cabbage leaves into suitable sizes to roll.
Preparing
the mixture:
Mix the mince or finely cut meat with the rice,
salt, pepper and mixed spice and add a little water to the mixture. Crush a little garlic if you want and add
that to the mixture.
To make the
rolls:
Take a cabbage leaf and place a large spoon of
stuffing in the centre. Fold over the
stuffing, then roll tightly to form the roll.
Cooking:
Place bones or a lamb chop or two at the bottom of
the saucepan and cut a few cloves of garlic.
Place a layer of rolls in the saucepan at a
time. Before putting the next one,
sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper and sliced tomato. Place a plate over the rolls and cover with
water. Bring to boil and simmer.
Do not add lemon until cabbage rolls are almost
cooked, and do not put too much water in the saucepan.
"Just hope for the best".
According to this recipe they should not be
overcooked: the cabbage should still be slightly firm and you should still be
able to taste it. Nanna Moses: "I
only cook for 30 minutes or less from when they come to the boil."
STUFFED
GRAPE VINE LEAVES (Mishi Warra Enib)
These are easier, in so far as the grape vine
leaves require no preparation - provided you can get the grape vine leaves.
3 or 4 dozen grape vine leaves, large but not too
old
1/2 kg minced lamb, not too lean, or beef if lamb
is not available
3/4 cup of rice
3 cloves of garlic
mint, fresh or dried
pepper and salt (to taste)
mixed spice
meat bones or chops for bottom of saucepan
Preparing
the mixture:
Mix the mince or finely cut meat with the rice,
salt, pepper and mixed spice and add a little water to the mixture. Crush a little garlic if you want and add
that to the mixture.
Making the
rolls:
Place the bones at the bottom of the saucepan for
taste. Take one grape leaf at a time,
put some stuffing in, fold bottom of leaf over stuffing, fold it in from each
side to the middle, roll tightly and place tight roll in saucepan.
Cooking the
rolls:
When all the rolls are in the saucepan, cover with
a (heatproof) plate upside down. Add
enough water to cover the rolls while plate is under hand pressure. Bring to boil and boil slowly. Squeeze lemon in the last thing before
turning off the heat. They should not be
overcooked.
Before serving, drain off most of the juice, and
leave enough of this to pour over them in serving plate.
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ZUDDRA: a Brown Lentil dish
2 cups brown lentils
3 large onions
3/4 cup rice
pepper and salt to taste
3/4 cup oil
6 to 8 cups of water
Boil the lentils until soft: until they can be
squashed between finger and thumb.
While waiting: slice onions and fry in oil until
very brown. Remove from pan and keep 1/4
for garnishing.
Put the rest of the onions in the lentils when
soft. Add rice and salt and pepper. Boil for 15 or 20 minutes more until rice is
cooked and most of the water is gone.
Place in serving dish and garnish with the rest of
the onions.
It is important that the lentils are cooked before
adding the rice.
Serve with tossed saled.
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STUFFED
ZUCCHINI
10 medium zucchini
1 kg minced lamb or beef if unavailable
3/4 cup rice
3 cloves garlic
salt, pepper and mixed spice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
a few tomatoes pealed and sliced or else tinned
whole tomatoes
mint, fresh or dried
1 large onion
a tablespoon margarine
Mix meat with rice, pepper, salt and mixed spice
and mint to season with a little cold water (to loosen mixture)
Wash each zucchini, cut off tops and small white
nob at the end. If long, cut in half and
scoop out the pulp: one end remains closed.
If fairly short, cut off one end and scoop out. Keep the pulp and put in the bottom of the
saucepan you will use to cook the zucchini.
Rince the zucchini and drain, then fill with the meat and rice stuffing,
3/4 full to allow for rice expansion. Place the zucchinis in the saucepan when
stuffed.
Lightly brown onion cut up in margarine and pour
over zucchini. Cover the zucchinis with
the tomatoes. Mix the tomato paste with
water and pour this over the zucchinis.
Add four or five cups of water.
Cover with lid, boil slowly. This
takes about 1 1/4 hours to cook.
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LEBANESE
GREEN BEANS
1/2 kg green beans or more
2 medium onions
hot pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
a clove of garlic
tomatoes pealed and chopped, or a tin of whole
tomatoes
(olive) oil
2 cups of water
Chop onions fine and fry in hot oil until they are
reddish. Mix in beans, salt and pepper,
fry for about twelve minutes. Stir in
water, add the tomatoes, cover and simmer slowly. Serve with rice and vermicelli.
LEBANESE
GREEN BEANS OR PEAS WITH MEAT
Cooking chops
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tin whole tomatoes
tomato puree
salt, pepper and mixed spice
1/2 kg beans or peas
Trim fat off chops and cut into smaller
pieces. Add onion, garlic and fry until
brown. Add tin of whole tomatoes and
tablespoon puree and a little water, and cook for about 3/4 hour. Lastly add beans or peas and simmer until
cooked.
Serve with vermicelli and rice.
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VERMICELLI
AND RICE
For about four people:
1 cup long grain rice
100 g vermicelli, crushed into small pieces
1 beef (or chicken) cube crushed
1 large tablespoon margarine
salt and pepper to taste
Place vermicelli in saucepan and fry until golden
brown. Add rice, stir for a few minutes
at low heat, and add pepper and salt.
Add boiling water, bring to boil and let simmer for about 15
minutes. For extra taste, crush the beef
cube in the boiling water before adding.
LEBANESE
BOILED LEMON CHICKEN AND RICE
1 chicken
1 pk chicken noodle soup
1 onion
1 stick of celery
bay leaf
a lemon
pepper and salt
Wash chicken thoroughly, place in saucepan of
water to cover chicken, add onion, celery, bay leaf and chicken noodle soup and
bring to boil. Remove chicken when
cooked.
To make rice: as for Vermicelli and Rice, only use
2 1/2 cups of the chicken soup instead of hot water.
Replace chicken in soup to keep warm.
To make lemon sauce, strain about two cups of
soup, add chicken cube and the juice of one lemon and bring to boil. Thicken slightly with cornflour and garnish
with parsley. You can add crushed garlic
to the sauce for extra flavour.
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STIR FRY
CHICKEN AND LEMON SAUCE
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
2 cloves of garlic
Chicken fillets chopped
500 g packet frozen vegetables
Ingredients for lemon sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
chicken cube, crushed
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons dry sherry or apple juice
½ teaspoon chilli sauce
1 teaspoon cornflour
¼ cup of water.
Heat oil in wok or pan, add garlic and chicken,
cook over high heat until lightly browned, and then remove chicken.
Add vegetables, cook for about 5 minutes or until
heated through, and then return chicken to wok or pan until heated through.
Lemon sauce: combine lemon juice, stock cube,
sugar, sherry and sauces in a pan, stir in blended cornflour and water, stir
until sauce boils and thickens.
FRIED
CHICKEN (not specifically lebanese)
Ingredients:
Pieces of chicken, skinned, salted and peppered
Half cup of cornflour
2 eggs beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon mixed herbs (optional)
oil
Put salt and pepper on each piece, coat with
cornflour, dip into beaten egg and roll in crumbs (mixed with the herbs). Set
aside for coating to set.
Preheat oil in deep fryer (hot), cook for 6 or 7
minutes, drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.
CRISP
BATTER (BEER) FOR FISH
Melt 1 generous tablespoon of butter, remove from heat, add two tablespoons self-raising flour and mix well. Add two tablespoons beer, season with salt and pepper, drop in the yoke of one egg an stir well. Set aside in the fridge or a cool place for one hour.
Just before using, wisk until stiff the white of one egg and stir through the batter.
Dip the fish into self-raising flour before dipping into the batter.
(Note: the beer need not be fresh.)
ANOTHER CRISP
BATTER FOR FISH
Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of oil
¼ pint tepid water
1 egg white
Sift flour and salt into basin. Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour
in oil and water and stir until mixed.
Then beat to a smooth batter. If
possible, stand before using for about an hour.
Just before using, fold in stiffly beaten egg
white.
For each cup of plain flour, ½ teaspoon
bicarbonate of soda, 1 tablespoon vinegar, salt to taste.
Mix to desired consistency with water.
Before dipping fish in batter, pieces must first
be floured.
Make oil hot.
Note: no egg is required.
HOUMMUS B'
TAHINI
1 1/2 cups chick peas: soak overnight
2 teaspoons salt
about 3 cloves garlic
3/4 cups tahini
juice of two large lemons
pinch cayenne pepper
chopped parsley to garnish.
Drain chick peas and place in saucepan. Cover to about three times as much water, add
salt and bring to boil for about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn heat down and simmer until peas are very
soft. Drain liquid off and reserve.
Puree the peas in blender. Add crushed garlic with a further teaspoon of
salt. Slowly beat in the tahini and
lemon juice a little at a time. Blend in
a little of the reserved liquid to make the mixture creamy. Check for salt and lemon juice to taste.
Serve (as a dip), with cheesy biscuits, lebanese
bread or thin papery toast.
BABA
GHANNOUG
1 medium size egg fruit
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 tablespoons tahini
2 large cloves garlic
2 small teaspoons salt
parsley
Place egg fruit under grill on in oven for about
20 minutes until soft and cooked through.
Allow to cool. Remove the skin
and mash the pulp thoroughly with a fork or place in blender. Beat in the lemon juice with tahini. Crush garlic with salt and add to
mixture. Check for salt.
Garnish with parsley.
Serve (as a dip) with lebanese bread etc.
PRESERVING OLIVES:
1. 'OLD
FASHIONED WAY' of preserving olives
Soak olives in cold water for 2 weeks, changing
the water every day.
Boil cooking salt in a saucepan of water, keep
adding salt until you can float an egg on the solution - about two cups for a
fairly large saucepan. Cool and strain.
Add to olives in jars, and sprinkle or slowly pour
a little olive oil on top.
This method will take about eight weeks before
they are ready.
2. AS PER
JUDY ATTALAH
Soak olives for two weeks, changing water every
day, adding a little salt each time.
For 1 1/2 pints boiled water, add 1/2 pint vinegar
and two heaped tablespoons of salt.
Dribble oil on top of olives.
3. NADA'S
SPANISH OLIVES
For garnishing green olives already preserved.
For every large tin or bottle of green olives
already preserved, add:
1/2 cup brown vinegar
1/4 cup salad oil
1 green capiscum chopped up
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon origano, or 1 leaf 5-in-1 herb.
Place olives and juice in bowl, add remaining
ingredients and marinate 3 or 4 days.
Will keep indefinitely in 'fridge.
SCONES, CAKES, SWEETS AND DESSERTS
Still to
come!