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 capsicum
(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 oregano, if available
Some basil if
you like (Aunty Freda: hubba hubba (= basil) goes well
with koubi)
1 teaspoon of
mixed spice
1 teaspoon of
freshly ground pepper
a few teaspoons
of salt or salt to taste.
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 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, does not need to be very 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. I sometimes
mix the olive oil and water rather than adding the olive
oil directly to make for
better distribution of the oil. 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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JUDRA or M'JUDRA: a Brown Lentil and Rice dish
2 cups brown
lentils
3 large onions
3/4 cup rice
(some families use more)
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
or all the water is absorbed. 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
� teaspoon
chilli sauce
1 teaspoon
cornflour
� 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
� 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, � 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