I remember
going to a real Egyptian wedding in Australia when I was in my early
teens. It was the only one that stands
out in my memory for several reasons but one of them was that I got to go
to the reception and sit on a table with other young people and it was also the
time that I first came across pita chips made this way. I remember it distinctly because I couldn't stop
eating them and they were only the entrée!!!
They were presented on a platter with baba ghanoush dip and hummus and
probably some others I don't recall now.
Almost every day as a teen when I came home after school I would have the munchies and my favourite food was flat bread (which is known by many names, such as Pita chips, flat bread, aysh balady, Bread خبز, pita bread, Khubz, khoubz or khobz) that I
would butter and then grill until crunchy.
Sometimes I would add a slice of cheese and savor its melted stretchy goodness once it was cooked. I always thought this was the way
to make bread crunchy (either grilled or baked in the oven) but at this wedding, oh, I
was in heaven. (Yes, I dare say that I didn't
have a huge interest in much as a teen if one of my greatest joys was crunchy
buttered bread!).
Those pita
chips (as I call them now) at that wedding were perfect.
Lightly browned and salted and super crunchy and I never replicated this at home (didn't know
how) until this year when I happened to be planning the menu for a new cooking class. I wanted something different from what I
had done before since I knew that I would have people coming who had already
completed my 6 week course. As I
was thinking back to what I enjoyed eating the memory of these pita chips jumped into my mind. Straight away I thought yes,
I have to start with that!
It was only
then that it occurred to me that the bread must have been fried! All through my teens I had tried to replicate the bread at the wedding with the oven or grill. So, naturally I took
aysh balady from the freezer, thawed it out and tested my theory. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I saw
the bread turn the perfect colour and contort in various shapes as it dried in
the hot oil. I seasoned it lightly with
sea salt flakes and then… CRUNCH…mmmmmm delicious.
They are the simplest thing really but gee I love them.
I sat with the boys and had the bread with some home made Tzatziki سلطة زبادى (Salatat Zabadi) - you can watch the video at:
So we made
pita Chips with a couple of dips at the cooking class and as I suspected they were a
big hit so next time you are feeling peckish or want a really great accompaniment
to dips for a party platter then give these a go, you wont be disappointed!
You could also try making them with some melted cheese or some herbs sprinkled over them.
To watch the video click the picture below or follow the link to YouTube on:
Although I grew up predominantly eating Egyptian and Mediterranean foods now-a-days the dinner table (and the lunch and the breakfast table for that matter) have more variety than just the dishes I grew up with. So, to enjoy the fun (and cheeky!) side of cooking I thought I would start up a new YouTube Channel called Dyna's Delicious Dishes!
I hadn't made Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن for ages and one morning decided the boys might like it for breakfast so I set about making it and took a video of it in the process. Here it is for your viewing pleasure, just click on the image below.
My memories
of Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن are vague but I do remember mum in the kitchen making it and every
time there would be 6 bowls of it sitting on the bench. I feel like there was always too much,
probably because I was the one who ended up consuming 5 of the 6 bowls, and no,
they were not consumed in the one sitting.
But still, over several days it does add up so I don’t think I requested
rice pudding often but in winter I am sure it was featured once or twice. The other thing about rice pudding is that
since we didn't have dessert as such at home (mainly fresh fruit chopped up in
summer and nuts or the like in winter) this was the closest thing to dessert
for me. A bowl of creamy rice pudding
with my favourite flavour - vanilla!
Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن
It does
take time to make a creamy rice pudding from scratch, kind of like making a risotto
where you stand at the stove and stir for 20 to 30 minutes until all the liquid
has been absorbed. A creamy rice pudding
takes the same love and commitment. Stir
in a big dollop of butter, a generous amount of sugar and drizzle in vanilla
essence. You could of course use vanilla
from a vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds and throw in the pod while it is
cooking (heavenly) however it may prove to be too costly if you made rice
pudding a regular winter dessert.
Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن ingredients
Alternatively,
for those so inclined you could omit the vanilla and add in a few drops of your
favourite flavour such as cinnamon, coconut essence, almond essence or something like
that. Hmmm, I never really went for
anything other than vanilla but coconut or almond sound appealing to me right now.
(mental
note to self : try adding another flavour to rice pudding next time )
Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن
Rice
pudding is of course nice just like that but for a bit of texture and colour
add some chopped nuts, such as almonds or walnuts, or sultanas as a
garnish. Then curl up with your bowl of
rice pudding in front of the television with a blanket over your knees and
watch your favourite movie…for the ultimate in a relaxing night in.
Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن
Recipe
This
is the old fashioned type of rice pudding where you cook the rice with the
milk, rather than add pre-cooked rice to milk.
The result is a hearty, creamy dish.
We used to eat it at home for breakfast, or as a snack. Extra pudding can be place in bowls, covered
and kept in the fridge, just warm in the microwave with a little extra milk
before serving with chopped nuts, sultanas or cinnamon.
Serves: 4
4
cups / 1 L milk, plus 100ml extra, if required
175g
/ ¾ cup short grain white rice
65g
/ ¼ cup white sugar, or as desired
40
g butter
½
teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon,
sugar, sultanas or chopped almonds to garnish.
Bring
milk just to the boil in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add rice and reduce heat so that it cooks
uncovered at a simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until rice is tender. Stir the rice occasionally as the rice and
milk can burn. Stirring also stops a “skin” from forming on the surface.
Add
sugar and stir well. Add extra milk or
water if all liquid is absorbed and rice is still not cooked. Once cooked and creamy, take it off the heat
and stir in the butter and vanilla.
Transfer to serving bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon and extra sugar or
top with sultanas and chopped almonds, if desired.
Considering that over the last few months I have lived a sheltered life and barely stopped to notice the weather let alone follow current affairs or even family affairs for that matter, it was quite an achievement to go out for a family barbecue yesterday. But even more so because I made not just one sweet to take - but two! On top of that I even managed to make a video of the them!!!
Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة)
Well, there are no more daily trips to the hospital and no more sick kids to nurture through the day and night so even though I am seriously sleep deprived (my gorgeous bundle wakes me every hour and a half all night, most nights) I feel excited to have made a video. The first for a while and it was the video I had intended to make the day I went to hospital for some monitoring of the baby and ended up having an emergency caesarean and was out of action for over a month. That video was for Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة)
Check it out here:
Baklava (Baklawa بقلاوة ) is quite a well known Mediterranean sweet and can be found in Turkish, Lebanese and Greek restaurants but it has also become more mainstream in the last few years and available in many places. While there are many ways to flavour Baklava with the use of vanilla, rose water and orange blossom water, the syrup may also be made with honey which adds a very distinct flavour also. At home my mum made Baklava with vanilla and I too use vanilla whenever I make this dish, but then I absolutely love the flavour and aroma of vanilla so I cannot go past it for a flavouring in deserts or sweets. I personally find rose water too strong in many versions of Baklava so I stick with the vanilla. If you were to use rose or orange blossom water be sure to add a little to the syrup at a time and taste it as you go because it is always easier to add more than it is to try and tone down an overpowering flavour. Start with a teaspoon at a time would be my suggestion.
Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة)
Anyway, back to the barbecue, I took the Baklava to lunch and considering it was family (who I would have thought would be over traditional Mediterranean sweets by now) I didn't expect a big response to my dish but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was most of it gone by the time I bothered to look, my step mother (bless her heart) told me it was perfect!! Yay :)
So here it is, my perfect Baklava
Syrup:
2
cups/ 500g sugar
2
cups / 500ml water
½
lemon juiced
¼
teaspoon vanilla extract One quantity of syrup 2 cups / 225g pistachio, walnuts or
almonds, coarsely chopped
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,
½ teaspoon ground cloves,
375g / 1 packet Filo pastry at room temperature
250g ghee, melted (or unsalted butter if you really cant get hold of ghee, better still, buy the butter and watch my video of how to make Ghee and make some yourself . Check it out on YouTube here:
Make the syrup and leave to cool. Preheat oven to moderate 180°C (350°F/Gas
mark 4). Brush the base and sides of a
30 x 25 cm cake tin with melted butter.
In a bowl combine the chopped nuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves
powder. Remove a single sheet of Filo pastry at a time, fold each sheet
in half and place in tray. Brush the top with butter and fold in edges to
fit. Repeat using half the packet of
filo pastry making sure to brush with butter on each sheet, overlap and fold
the sides where necessary. Sprinkle the
nut mixture over pastry and then continue to layer the pastry with the
remaining sheets. Pour remaining butter
over the top. Cut into diamond or square
shapes, making sure to cut right through to the base. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the Baklava is puffed and lightly golden on top.
Remove Baklava from oven and pour the cooled syrup over the hot Baklava Leave to cool before cutting
along the diagonals again to remove from the tray.
Note : Cover remaining pastry with a
damp tea towel to keep from drying out. Baklava can be prepared days in advance, stored in the fridge
and baked on the day they are to be served.
They will also keep for several days after baking in a cool oven or air
tight container, but do not store in the fridge.
