Plain Dishes (Sawadhij)

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Basaliyya By al-Mu’tamid: Cheek Meat with Onions and Pumpkin

Translation:

Take chunks of meat from ribs and thighs and slice them into finger-like strips. Soak the meat in cold water, as this will drain the blood and remove the dirt. Hot water, on the other hand, will lock them in.

Take the meat out of the cold water and put it in a pot with a fresh batch of water along with a lot of pounded tallow. You may add galangal and cassia.

Chop onion, the amount needed is to be equal to one third of the meat used. If gourd is in season, then go ahead and use it. However, cut it like you did with the meat. When the pot comes to a boil and the onion and gourd.

The amount of water you added first should not be much

Continue cooking the pot until the pot is dry. Add murri (Liquid fermented sauce) and dry spices like black pepper, cassia, coriander, and cumin. Add as well on ladleful of vinegar and a small amount of rue. (Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchen pp. 317)

Ingredients:

1 lb. meat

3 C. Pumpkin

½ lg onion

1 tsp galangal, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander

½ vinegar

Redaction:

Cut your beef into small pieces. Rinse the beef in cold water, put into a pot with ground galangal and cinnamon.

I used half a large onion cut thin(ish). I used a Cinderella pumpkin for the gourd, cutting the peeled chunks into small pieces.

I cut smaller than finger length as I don’t want to chew large bits of pumpkin. Add

When the pot boils add pumpkin and onions. When the meat is cooked to tenderize add the cumin, coriander, and vinegar. Originally, I forgot this part and ate the thick stew/porridge without.

It’s amazing! Next pass through the kitchen I added the missing, cumin, coriander, and vinegar. Even better!

On its own, it’s very good. I had it over riced for a touch more filling dish.

The cheek meat is either very tender or a touch chewy from the marbling on the inside.

February 11, 2022 | No comments

Tharida Shamiyya (of the Levant)

Spiced Honey Meat over Bread

Translation:

Take lamb and chicken. Alternatively, use young fowls or any other similar birds (instead of chicken). You also have the option of using either lamb or poultry. Cut the meat into medium pieces and clean them. Remove (and discard) the entrails of the chicken and discard the heads and necks.

Put the meat in a clean pot. Add the strained liquid of truffles, which have been washed and soaked in water over night. Put enough of the liquid to cover the meat. If the truffles are not available, boil some honey until it turns black then pour on it a small amount of ma’kamakh (murri, liquid fermented sauce), add it to the pot with a little chickpeas and salt. Light fire under the pot.

Tie into one bundle fresh rue, leeks – Either Rumi or Nabati – and cilantro. Add this bouquet to the pot. Then add ground spices such as coriander, cumin, caraway, and black pepper. Continue cooking the pot until the meat is done.

Break fine bread into pieces (in a big bowl) and add enough of the broth to submerge it. Put the meat pieces all over the bread and garnish the dish by arranging small sausages and tardin (thin meat patties) all around. (Nasrallah, pp. 337)

Substitutions and Why:

First thing we don’t have truffles in such quantities as to be cost effective. Luckily the recipe calls for browned honey with Murri. So make your own murri or use a mixture of soy sauce and honey (I haven’t done this one myself.

If you feel adventurous try making Murri at home or go with honey and soy sauce mixture. Do not use Rue. It’s a bit like eating poison ivy.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. chicken (thighs) cut into bite sized pieces

1.5 lbs. of lamb cut into bite sized pieces

Liquid of truffles or 2 cups of honey cooked to a dark color.

1.5 cups Murri

4 Leeks

Chopped cilantro

1 tsp each of coriander, cumin caraway and black pepper

1 tsp salt

15 oz garbanzo beans

Bread

Small sausages

Flattened meat patties

Redaction:

First if you have the strained liquid of truffles add that. I didn’t have truffles to strain liquid through. So, I cooked 2 cups of honey down and added 1.5 Cups of the murri sauce. I then added the chopped-up chicken and lamb.

Next came the leeks, cilantro, and garbanzo beans. Finally, the spices. I put the stove on a low temperature to cook the meat all the way through.

Next, I sliced up the bread and arranged this on platter.

I poured just enough of the cooking liquid to cover the bread.

After the sauce was over the bread, I added the meat, leaks and beans arranging them over the bread and sauce.

Finally, I added the thin meat patties to the main dish and served.

There was nothing bad about this dish. My favorite parts were dipping the bread into the sauce before dishing it out, and dipping the meat patties into the sauce before the dish was ready. It is sweet with amazing flavor. Lots of effort but well worth it!

August 15, 2021 | No comments

Spiced Meat Patties

Spiced Meat Patties

The original basis for this recipe was found in another recipe calling for meatballs and spices. For the link https://roxalanasredactions.com/raihaniyya-aromatic-herbs-wmeatballs/. I adlibbed the spicing and was more than pleased.

Ingredients:

½ tsp of ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 large pinch of saffron, rubbed between your fingers

Redaction:

Mix the meat and spices,

then form the balls.

The balls will be flattened out on the main dish. Cook the flattened balls for about 15 minutes at 350.

These are amazing. I highly recommend them if you need a fast protein dish for occasion!

August 15, 2021 | No comments

I haven’t worked with Taro root before so this was new. I love the almost potato like squish of the taro when I bit down. The spices can be…overwhelming. So keep that in mind when you go to cook this.

Mutawakkiliyya (The Caliph al-Mukatwakkil d. AD 861)
Meat with Taro

Translation:
A pound and a half of meat and a pound and a half of washed taro, caraway pepper Ceylon cinnamon, five bunches of green coriander, five green onions, five heads of garlic. The meat is
put in the pot and water to cover or less is put on it and you kindle (the fire) under it until it dries up. And when the water has evaporated, you throw the pepper and caraway , and you cut up
two bunches of green coriander and four green onions and pound the four heads (of garlic) mixed with three bunches of green coriander. You feed it with all the pepper and caraway and
throw everything into the pot with the meat. You can cut up the garlic. When it smells good, you put water on the pot as needed to cove the taro you have. Then you kindle (the fire) until
the taro smells good, and you make it settle and ladle it out. (Rodinson, pp. 340)

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs stew meat
1.5 cleaned taro root
2 tsp. ea. Long pepper (groud) and caraway
1 Tbs Chinese cinnamon
1 head of garlic
1 bunch cilantro (RINSED)
1 bunch green onions
Salt to taste

Redaction:
So reading through the recipe is a little bit confusing. The quantities change from 5 to 4 to 3 the further you go in. So I made a few judgement calls (after experiment). I tried 3 heads
of garlic with two full store bunches of cilantro and 4 green onions. WHOA! All I tasted was garlic. So I made a decision to embrace the right as a cook to change how much went into my
dish.

I used one (well rinsed) bunch of cilantro, 8 green onions (one store bought bunch), and one head of garlic. There is still a bite; however I can now taste the green onion and cilantro
instead of swearing I’ve turned into a vampire the garlic bit back so much.

I gathered all my items up. Per usual, I have cut the meat into bite sized pieces. I think that’s courteous to my quests to not have to chew one piece for ever while having the cheeks of a
chipmunk.

First thing to notice is that taro root looks like hairy roaches. I found when picking out the Taro, the box contained a lot of moldy roots. I went for the dense and firm roots without the
mold. I don’t need to rediscover penicillin. Rinse them well and peel off the outer layer.

The spices are some of the usual suspects. However, I am trying more long pepper than just regular pepper. I LOVE the smell of fresh long pepper. In the picture, you will see the long
pepper is whole. I ground mine up, so the full flavor could be enjoyed by all, not just the one person who bit down on a whole long pepper. However, I am trying more long pepper than just regular pepper. I LOVE the smell of fresh long pepper. In the picture, you will see the long pepper is whole. I ground mine up, so the full flavor could be enjoyed by all, not just the one person who bit down on a whole long pepper.

Put the meat into a pot with just enough water to cover.

Once the first round of water has evaporated, everything but the taro root goes into the pot.

Stir this around until fragrant. 2-3 minutes. Next add the taro root and enough water to cover. Cook until the taro root is tender. This is about 35-45 minutes.

Serve!

The taro root is nice. A good starch in place of potato for a beef stew. STRONG garlic taste even with the cinnamon. Not even the lovely fragrant long pepper could overcome so much garlic. When I do this dish again, I’ll probably go for ½ a head of garlic and maybe a smidge more cilantro and green onion. Otherwise pretty tasty.

December 8, 2019 | No comments

So when I started this project, I thought the worst thing was going to be to grind the fat. I was sooo wrong. That was actually one of the easiest. The second worst thing about making sausages is cleaning the equipment. Everything is stuck with ground meat that wants to cling…like an ex you just want to get rid of 2 weeks ago. The absolutely worst part? Getting the meat to get into the casing. It’s like stuffing an extra-large man into an extra small condom. It’s a real bitch and no one’s happy. The meat is yummy the sausages look horrible but are tasty. Not a complete loss but I’ll be taking my time doing this again.

Masir al-Dawwara (A Stuffed Sausage)

Translation:
Finely chop red meat (lean) and chop as much alya (sheep’s tail fat). Finely chop fresh herbs, onion, and rue. (add to the meat) then pound the meat mixture with a knife until it has the consistency of ointment. Add cassia, black pepper, caraway, ma kamakh (liquid fermented sauce), a little vinegar, and olive oil. Kneed the mixture very well and stuff it into a large intestine with the fat adhering to it. Also stuff with some small intestines. Cook them with whatever dish you prefer, God willing. (al-Warraq, pp. 187)

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground meat
1 lb. beef fat
1 tsp. ea. Ground cassia, black pepper, caraway
2 tbs. vinegar
1 tbs. fish sauce
1/4 C olive oil.
1 onion (chopped)
Redaction:
Warning now…this gets messy. Really messy! Grind up the fat and combine with the meat.

Chop your onion and add this to the meat. Do NOT add rue. Some people have a reaction to rue that most have to poison ivy. Baaaad juju! No rue!

Next add your spices and liquid ingredients.

Combine well. Set up your intestine and stuff.

Here I use lamb intestine (not pork for obvious reasons).

Start your stuffing and telling dirty jokes! This part really doesn’t have any good pictures just less dirty innuendo pictures.

This recipe seems to think the sausage can be served in a dish or as a side dish. Cook whichever way is good and serve.

These were eaten as is. I am going to suggest (as usual) playing with the recipe. I found these a little dry so would probably add more fat and/or liquid but not more fish sauce. Perhaps a good red wine but definitly more fat!

March 8, 2016 | No comments

So this one…is just a bit outside of my taste range. I’m sure it was an excellent and enjoyable treat. This dish is NOT your typical omelet. More like a savory sweet for the cook to show off their skill. Posting this as a “Hmmm…how creative/showing off do I really want to do here.”

Ujaj Mudawwarat

(Another Omelet)

Translation:

Take some eggs and spate the whites from the yolks. Add a little honey to the whites, beat them together, and add to them chopped rue, tarragon, mint and basil. Beat this mixture well, put it in a pot and light a fire underneath it until it sets and thickens. Sprinkle it with ta little cumin cassia, murrie and olive oil. Turn the egg white disc onto a platter and spread it on the egg yolk you have separated, sweetened with sugar and cooked until thickened and set. (al-Warraq’s, pp. 329)

Ingredients:

3 eggs (Separate the whites from the yolk)

1 tsp honey

1/8 tsp ground tarragon, mint and basil

1/2 tsp sugar

Topping:

Cumin, cinnamon, fish sauce, and olive oil

Redaction:

Separate your eggs, the whites from the yolks.

Mix the whites with the honey.

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased pan.

Once out of the pan sprinkle with cumin, cinnamon, fish sauce and olive oil (a few drops not too much). Put the finished whites on a plate.

Next take the yolk add the sugar and cook.

Add the yolks on top of the whites for a crowned omelet.

I know this is a bit of a messy picture. The omelet cooking in two parts was a bit of a messy project. Try this once just to say you have. This is a good learning experience with out taking to much time or to many costly ingredients.

October 23, 2015 | No comments

This dish did not turn out as expected. It was an experiment where a lot was learned and will be retried. So here is my mistake with my ideas on how to do it better next time!

Translation:

Take some fatty meat and cut it into thin slices, the thinner you can get them. Take some round onions and slice them thinly crosswise into discs like coins.

Now prepare a clean pot of soapstone. Spread its bottom with a layer of the meat; sprinkle it with black pepper, coriander, and caraway; and spread a layer of the onion slices. Put another layer of the meat and fat sprinkle it with spices and salt then another layer of onion.

Cover with round of bread. Cook the pot on a slow-burning fire until meat is cooked. Invert the pot onto a wide bowl and serve it, God willing. (Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, pp. 311)

Ingredients:1.5 lbs thin sliced meat i.e. tongue or brisket

1 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp caraway seed

1 onion sliced in rounds; if too big to cut into coin sized rounds cut the onion in half and thinly sliced half pieces

1 round of raw dough.

Redaction:

This recipe was made with tongue, a tough piece of fairly lean meat. I personally believe that a fatty piece of meat such as a brisket would have been a good choice as well.

The skin of the tongue was peeled,

then sliced it as thinly as possible. Some slices were thinner than others.

The spices were gathered together then mixed together.

The clay pot was oiled on the bottom before the meat was added.

The meat was added then spiced. Rounds of onions were scattered over the meat. I used dabs of butter for the fat as the tongue is very lean.

A second layer was added and the final round of spiced meat.

At this point a layer of dough should have been added over the meat; however as this was a first time dish not all of the directions were read. I have to say it was a good misfortune to have missed the dough. The dish came out very tasty but very moist, almost soupy, with all of the butter and juice from the tongue. Had a crust been added, it would have been soggy and nasty.

The meat came out of the oven a little too early. The very thin slices were perfect at 350 for an hour. The thicker slices were good but chewier and could have stood for another hour of cooking.

Over all the dish was tasty, even with missing the crust. I would probably suggest using a tough and fatty meat for next time such as brisket. The brisket would negate the necessity of butter while allowing for a non-soggy crust.

October 8, 2015 | No comments

So whats for dinner? Beef! I had a yen for a new dish and a bit of time on hand. This gem showcases different flavors in the best of way.

Tabahija with Honey (Slice Meat with Honey)

Translation:

In a green glazed bowl, mix to blend 1/4 ratl murri with 2 Tbs. honey. Strain the mix through a sieve. Add 3 grams coriander, 1 1/2 grams black pepper, 1 gram cinnamon, and 1 gram asafetida.

Slice 2 lbs. lamb and marinate it in the sauce. Set up a pot on the fire and add 2/3 C. sweet olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the sliced meat with the marinade along with 1 gram crushed salt.

Cook the meat until the sauce is greatly reduced. Let the pot settle for a while then serve the Tabajija garnished with chopped cilantro and rue. (Iban Sayyar al-Warraq. Pp. 358, 359)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. slice meat (beef or lamb)

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cinnamon

3 cloves minced garic

2/3 – 1 C. olive oil

Optional:

1 tsp sea salt

1 C. mead or sweet wine

Redaction:

I gathered the spices together and had to make a few changes (it’s cooking you’re allowed to change things a little). I know…cinnamon and garlic and cumin just sound weird but it works. Give it a try!

I used fish sauce mixed with soy sauce to mimic a good murri. Then I mixed this with honey but I did not strain before mixing.

There were neither vegetable matter nor bug parts from the murri or honey that needed to be strained out.

I sliced up the meat.

I had a hunk of beef brisket tip that needed a long slow cooking recipe, this was that recipe. The meat was sliced roughly 1/2 inch thick as this will cook down and I didn’t want paper thin strips without texture. You can if you want cut the meat paper thin; this is a texture/taste issue!

I mixed the meat with the marinade.

As you can tell the marinade just covers all the meat. Either I need more marinade or I can use a sweet liquid to help bolster the sauce. I decide the liquid route especially since I had a bottle of mead handy. Red or white sweet wine can be used instead if you desire to use the liquid route or you can make a lot more marinade if you have more meat than expected. It’s all good.

Once the meat was in the marinade, I poured the olive oil into a pot and let it get hot.

When the oil was hot, I slide the meat, piece by piece, into the oil.

The marinade liquid was poured on top after all the meat was in the oil. The heat was turned low to allow the meat to slow cook until tender.

I didn’t add any salt. I thought the fish sauce and soy sauce gave the dish a wonderful salty flavor complimented by the honey. Because I think the meat is well salted and flavored I would suggest serving over a savory or plain jasmine rice.

August 21, 2015 | No comments

So occasionally I find odd bits of meat pieces in the freezer. I know what they are and about when I put them there (no freezer burn please!) I just can’t remember what the ORIGINAL use was for, so I improvise. This improvisation came about during a “I want MEAT now!!!” phase and a few things from the cupboard. I’m rather please with how tasty it all turned out.

Murammala bi kam’a

(Beef Stew with Truffles and Garbanzos)

Translation:

Cut meat into small pieces, wash it, and put it in a pot. Add soaked chickpeas, zayt maghsul (washed olive oil), galangal and cassia, a piece of each, chopped onion, chopped fresh herbs, and a little salt.

Pour some water into the pot and let it boil, skimming the froth as it comes up. Add black truffles, chopped into small pieces like meat. If truffles are not available, substitute with carrots or gourd, also chopped like the meat. Add them to the pot along with black pepper, coriander seeds,…cumin, and a small amount of cheese and ground cassia.

Garnish the top with many poached eggs, and allow the stew to settle and rest for a while. Ladle and serve the dish, god willing. (Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, pp. 283)

Ingredients:

3 lbs. Stew meat

2 Tbsp. ea. Parsley and basil (dry if fresh is not available)

1 pinch saffron

1 Onion

1/2 C. Olive oil

1 16 oz. can garbanzo beans drained

1 Tsp ea. Ground cinnamon, black pepper, coriander, cumin, galingale

2 Tsp sea salt

3 Bruised bay leaves (fresh) or 3 whole dried to be pulled out at the end of cooking

2 C. Carrots

2 C. Water

3 or 4 eggs raw eggs or more

Cheese to taste (feta or manchago)

Redaction:

So the meat I used here is a bit of brisket with the fat trimmed. This is a tough chewy chunk of meat so needs a lot of slooooow cooking. A crock pot is really good for this or low and slow in the oven.

I cut up the beef (note the chunky quality?) This will cook down.

and onions (separately) then gathered all the herbs

carrots and garbanzo beans.

I was being a little lazy with the carrots (no truffles were on hand) and used baby carrots unchopped. If you have regular carrots and want to chop them by all means please do!

I poured roughly one half cup of olive oil into a crock pot then added the meat. Once the meat was in the crock pot, I added onions, spices, carrots and salt.

I also added about two cups of water and the garbanzo beans.

Give this a stir so that everything is well mixed and the water just a little under the ingredients.

Before serving crack 3 or 4 eggs over the stew to poach.

If you don’t feel comfortable with poaching the eggs in the broth, poach them prior then serve a poached egg per bowl over the stew.

This is what the poached egg in beef stew looks like. I was a little hesitant myself to do this as I was like “Really?! Poached eggs in a beef stew? Were they mad?!” Turns out this adds a really nice creamy flavor to the stew. I recommend this part highly!

When scooping out your stew make sure to get at least one poached egg to be broken in the bowl. Add cheese and server forth!

August 14, 2015 | No comments

In the tradition of spring and summer, when the hens are laying at their peak, out come the egg dishes…because damned if I don’t have eggs coming out of my ears! So here is the first in several egg ideas!

Ujja Bayda (White Omelet)

Translation:

Thoroughly wash a frying pan and pour into it 2 TBS sweet and mellow olive oil. Now take 10 eggs break them in a green glazed bowl and pour into them 1/3 cup milk. Add a handful of ground pistachio, almond and walnut, all ground. Beat the mixture very well and pour it into the frying pan.

When the bottom side is done, flip it to the the other side. Then take it away from the fire. It will taste like busr, remarkably excellent and delicious.

(al-Warraq’s, pp. 326)

Ingredients:

10 raw eggs

1/3 C. Milk (or 1/2 & 1/2)

1/4 C. ea ground pistachio, walnuts, and almonds

2 Tbs Olive oil

Redaction:

Grind your nuts to a nice flour but not nut butter. Then crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk. A green bowl is optional but does look lovely.

Mix the nuts into the whisked eggs.

Pour oil into the egg mixture.

Allow to cook then flip (or attempt to flip).

My flipping is not on par with a good chef but we try! Place flipped omelet onto plate.

I think this is a pretty good dish, but not as an “omelet” as we know it. This is almost like a blintz. Just needs a little sweet marzipan and an apricot jam to be the perfect brunch dessert!

June 29, 2015 | No comments

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