We at home just love Middle eastern cuisine. It was only after our relocation to this region I got to taste and discover my love for this cuisine.  Hubby introduced me to hummus, falafel in the initial days itself. Once I joined work, got to taste veg fatayers, different salads, dips, arabic sweets at my office parties. I craved for these foods during both my pregnancies and inspite of having severe morning sickness I used to rush to my office cafeteria to enjoy having these foods. No wonder kids jump with excitement at the sight of these foods and enjoy eating it till date.

Usually, its the takeaway option and we pick arabic foods (veg) from nearby restaurants. On a particular weekend, hubby came home with a plan to visit an arabic restaurant. He wanted us to taste this particular dish "Kusheri/Kosheri". Glad that he made the right plan because after this visit, one more dish got added to our favourite list. I loved the combination of rice cooked with brown lentils mixed with boiled macaroni, sauces finally garnished with caramlized onions

Back home, googled for its recipe. While doing so came across recipes for Mujaddara, a recipe similar to Kusheri but mujjadara does not have macaroni in it. A popular dish throughout the Arab world , this also consists of lentils either brown or green cooked with rice, garnished with sautéed onions and as a variation it can be seasoned with cumin, coriander or mint. I felt that this dish was a combination of our Indian khichadi + Mughlai Biryani and decided to give it a try instead of Kusheri. I chose this recipe from My Diverse Kitchen. Please note that this may not be the traditional/authentic recipe for this dish, but my family enjoyed having it. 


Ingredients

Whole green gram 1 cup [You can also use brown lentils]
Rice 1 and 1/2 cup [ Have used Basmati Rice]
Onions 4 medium sized
Ginger garlic paste 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Garam masala 1 tsp [optional]
Red chilly flakes 1/2 tsp
Mint leaves and Coriander leaves chopped for garnish
Lemon Juice 1 tbsp
Olive Oil + Ghee

Method:

Boil the whole green gram [ Note: I pressure cooked them for 2 whistles and then boiled it in a vessel for 5 minutes by adding salt] Try not to overcook the lentils [an important step for this recipe] and take care that they are cooked enough to be consumed. Cook rice separately by adding oil and salt. Once cooked separate by fork and allow it to cool. Keep it aside.

Now in a wok, heat olive oil+ ghee, add salt and put finely slice onions. Saute them on medium heat till they become soft and brownish/caramalized. {Note: Onions will reduce in quantity after this process so if you want to have more quantity you need to take more no of raw onions than mentioned above}. Drain them on a paper napkin and keep them aside.

In the same wok, add oil, gg paste, saute it for half a minute. Add cumin powder, cinnamon powder, red chilli powder, garam masala [optional] stir it. Add half of the fried onions. Toss it and add cooked rice and cooked lentils. Add red chilli flakes, chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt as per taste. Squeeze lemon juice, mix everything gently. Switch off the gas.

Transfer this to serving dish and sprinkle the remaining fried onions and chopped mint leaves. Serve it with plain/flavoured yoghurt or sauce.

Garlic Lemon Yoghurt
Yoghurt 1 cup  
Garlic cloves grated 4-5
Lemon juice 1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves + red chilli flakes

Combine all in a bowl and stir to mix the ingredients well. Serve it with main dish. You can cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Happy cooking !!! 

Note: Recipe for Kusheri will come asap.


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Hummus /Hummus bitahini, a popular middle eastern dish is served with khuboos or pita bread. This dish is popular around the globe and served as a dip or appetizer as part of an Arabic mezze. There are many different flavors that you can add to the basic hummus recipe such as avocado, roasted red pepper, roasted beet, squash, etc. 

Many recipes mention about mixing all the ingredients and blending it into smooth paste. I did it but somehow was not happy with the end result,,,it lacked the creamy texture as well as the taste. I googled to find more about ways to make a creamy hummus and the recipe at VegWeb was more convincing explaining the trick to make a creamy texture hummus. The clue was "Tahini" which adds flavor and texture to the hummus. The trick was emulsifying tahini with water based liquid or lemon juice before adding other ingredients. 


Chickpeas 1 can [400 gms]
Tahina paste 1/4 cup , I used store-bought [you can prepare the same at home by mixing roasted sesame seeds, olive oil and salt]
Lemon juice 2 tbsp
Water 2 tbsp
Garlic roasted  4 cloves - chopped
Olive oil 2 tbsp +more for drizzle
Chopped tomatoes for garnish
Chopped parsley for garnish
salt to taste



Method:

Mix tahini and lemon juice in a blender [step of emulsifying the tahini]. Blend it for about a minute or until tahini becomes fluffy and creamy. Add chopped garlic and puree until smooth. 

Open the can of chickpeas, drain and rinse them off in water. Peel the chickpeas and add them part by part in blender and continue to blend it to smooth puree. You can add little water if the mixture looks dry. Add olive oil and salt to taste. Blend it till you get the desired taste and texture for hummus. 

Spoon out the hummus on to the serving plate. Drizzle olive oil over it. Garnish with sliced olives, chopped tomatoes and parsley leaves. Sprinkle some cumin powder and red chilly powder/ paprika powder if you prefer spicier hummus. Serve it with pita bread, carrot cucumber sticks or chips. Optionally you can garnish it with toasted sesame seeds and whole chickpeas. 



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