31
votes
Accepted
What was this pickled vegetable which I was served at a middle eastern restaurant?
I suspect that these will be pickled almonds. Almonds are a favorite ingredient in many middle-Eastern dishes. The green color and fuzz give it away, most other fruits like apricots and plums lack ...
- 13.9k
16
votes
Accepted
Iranian Sweet Dish consisting of Lamb Paste
As confirmed in comments, the dish is khoresht mast.
According to this recipe and this video, the main ingredients seem to be lamb or beef neck, yoghurt, sugar, saffron, rosewater, and garnishes of ...
- 1,739
12
votes
What was this pickled vegetable which I was served at a middle eastern restaurant?
It's probably green almonds like bob1 suggested. We eat them raw as a fruit or they can be pickled. They are called Oja in the Syrian region عوجا.
- 121
8
votes
Is allspice traditional in the Levant?
Allspice is, indeed, the only commonly used spice* native to North America. It is also very commonly used in various Arabic, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. It is a standard part of the ...
- 61.4k
7
votes
Can I still use a Tagine that was outside for a while?
If all the tagine was exposed to is water and dirt then you should be fine as long as you clean it off and bake it to drive out any water. Tagines are generally unglazed on one side so will absorb ...
- 75.4k
6
votes
How do I adjust the cooking time on a baked rice dish if I reduce the recipe by half?
The recipe calls for simmering 30 mins, baking 30 mins, resting 10 mins.
This isn't quite an accurate representation of the recipe. The recipe calls for baking cauliflower and eggplant for 20 minutes ...
- 9,047
5
votes
Accepted
Harissa powder to paste
I was just in Morocco and asked some of the owners selling the spice how to do it, the answer I got was:
Add 100 grams of Harissa powder
Add 1/2 cup water
Add 1/2 cup of EVOO
I would add that I have ...
- 166
5
votes
Accepted
What are some of the most important things to keep in mind, when making great falafels?
Some points in addition to rackandboneman's excellent advice:
Use soaked dried chickpeas, and not canned or cooked chickpeas. This eliminates the need for flour or other binders, as well as tasting ...
- 61.4k
5
votes
What is Balkan bread?
It's almost certainly a type of pogacha, or possibly kruh.
Originally, "pogacha" basically meant "bread baked on a hearth", or in other words, "bread" (when the word was ...
- 411
5
votes
Iranian Sweet Dish consisting of Lamb Paste
I disagree with the accepted answer, as the question states it was a dessert, which does not apply to Khoresht-e Mast. I am Iranian myself and to me, it sounds more like a local form of Haleem. It's a ...
- 151
4
votes
How to get falafel to hold together when pan-frying?
I used almond flour as an alternative and it worked pretty well. The perfect temperature is difficult at first but just keep trying....falafels are worth the efforts.
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Looking for advice on making halva w/ allulose - first attempt came out gummy and taffy-like w/ oil separation
It's really better to work in weight especially when cooking with different types of sugar. Trying to change the fineness of sugar, and the sugar chemistry, and then make up for it with adjusting ...
- 43.8k
4
votes
Is allspice traditional in the Levant?
Allspice is very widely used in the Levant, and it is from Central America originally, and it's not a contradiction. Corn, potato, tomato, bell pepper, chili pepper, vanilla, tobacco, beans, pumpkin, ...
- 75.4k
4
votes
Harissa powder to paste
Impossible to say.
Just mix and match.
When it becomes a paste, you're done.
There is no "The Harissa Paste Recipe" (although most share the main ingredients), so you'll just have to go by the ...
- 2,167
4
votes
Accepted
Common term for "roughly-grind Semolina" (as used to make couscous)
The question seems to confuse some terminology. Let's first clear some things up.
Bulgur is NOT a grind size. It is a process. "Bulgur wheat" (in English anyway) refers to whole or cracked or ...
- 32.1k
3
votes
Aleppo Pepper + Heat
Try it & see ;)
Aleppo isn't particularly hot; I haven't checked it on the Scoville scale, but just from experience, though it's got a little kick to it, & that kick can be quite variable ...
- 29.7k
3
votes
Accepted
Cold weather kofta?
There are plenty of parts of the Middle East where it gets pretty chilly, snowy etc. when it's wintertime. I suppose the citizens there must have options in their cuisine to cover all times of the ...
- 7,082
3
votes
What are some of the most important things to keep in mind, when making great falafels?
Keep some chickpea flour (sold inexpensively as gram flour at indian stores) handy, this can help binding and deal with excess water (especially if the kind of chopper/blender you use requires more ...
- 15.3k
3
votes
Are curd and sour cream typical middle-eastern food?
This looks like it's most likely labneh, a form of yogurt that's strained to remove some of its moisture. The texture can range from a thick sour-cream consistency to something like dense cream cheese,...
- 14.9k
3
votes
Stretchy Lebanese flatbread?
Well I am Lebanese, and there is few small steps to make a good authentic Lebanese bread that looks like that:
There is another type of bread called Saj Bread:
Here is a video about it.
Another ...
- 659
3
votes
Stretchy Lebanese flatbread?
In Melbourne, Australia, there are several types of flatbread termed Lebanese and one I know is stretchy-like. If you check out Australian chefs for recipes - Donna Hay, Greg Maloof and you'll need ...
- 31
3
votes
Accepted
Falafel vs onion baji
They're both fried, but they don't seem to be that similar in composition.
Falafel isn't veggies in flour, it's pretty much just a seasoned chickpea (or fava bean) paste. That paste is pretty thick, ...
- 58.2k
3
votes
How to get falafel to hold together when pan-frying?
I've also heard(haven't actually tried) that egg works as a good binder, like a meatball mixture, and that seems to make sense.
- 141
3
votes
Is it possible to create good hummus without a food processor?
Another idea: push the chick peas through a strainer with wooden spoon. You can probably get your hummus as smooth as you would with a blender. Worked for me.
- 31
3
votes
Troubleshooting a soggy baklava with torn sheets
Ripping Sheets of Filo: The sheets are still cold. The dough will tear near the center wrinkles when it's too cold. Room temp dough allows you to gently pull out all the wrinkles and the dough ...
- 31
3
votes
Common term for "roughly-grind Semolina" (as used to make couscous)
I speak European languages only, and have shopped in several European countries (although, I admit, in some of my vacation destinations, I didn't make it to the grains aisle).
In these languages and ...
- 137k
3
votes
Can I still use a Tagine that was outside for a while?
One additional piece of advice to GdD's excellent procedure: if the tagine is terracotta or other porous clay, you're going to want to get any absorbed grime out of the clay itself. This means ...
- 61.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Why do my falafels taste so boring?
From a different answer:
When you're looking at a recipe and it's too bland, the first thing to ask yourself is "what more". What flavor isn't coming through that you'd like to come through?...
- 26.9k
3
votes
Accepted
Why do falafels crack open when frying?
Fundamentally, the falafels crack open because the outside wants to shrink (due to dehydration) and the inside wants to expand (due to evaporation, gas expansion, and the action of the leavener). The ...
- 26.9k
3
votes
Why is asking for no white sauce on shawarma so controversial?
There is nothing mysterious; the sauce does not hold the food together or keep it warm or some other such magic. Instead, the reaction you are getting is some combination of:
The people serving know ...
- 11.9k
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