Lentil soup عدس Aatz

Well, firstly apologies for the inconsistent blog posts, this year has been very busy to say the least.  As I am pregnant with baby number 3 it has been difficult to keep up with activities of daily life looking after 2 boys as well as maintain the blog, cooking videos and undertake the challenge of running cooking classes while being either vomiting from morning sickness or restricted due to illness etc.

While I have had to reduce the time spent on the various projects and neglected the blog while I was planning, preparing and running the cooking classes, with the remaining few weeks before this baby arrives I have put classes on hold and can devote more time to the videos and blog instead.

The cooking classes were very successful and I had wonderfully positive feedback from the participants so I do look forward to running some more in the future.  In the mean time I have begun working on a video course that will be structured the same as for the Egyptian Cooking banquet course that I ran as a class.  This will take me several weeks to complete with the aim of completing it and getting it uploaded to UDEMY before the baby arrives!! So keep an eye out for that.  I will of course let you know as soon as it goes up.

I know that I promised a blog and video on Koshery some time back before I got a cold I couldn’t shake.  It left me very fatigued and I just couldn’t manage it.  I have not forgotten about it and do hope to get around to that soon.

As it is winter now, down here in the Southern Hemisphere, I often look forward to soup to warm our bodies and one very classic and tasty soup that I grew up with at home is a red lentil soup called  عدس Aatz.  Its combination of cumin and lemon are wonderful with the lentils.  Lentils are not a particularly popular but I did make this during one of the cooking classes and found that while most people thought very little of this pulse before tasting the dish once it was served the oohs and aahs were flowing and there seemed to be almost a surprise to some that lentils could produce something that tasted nice.

My mums’ way of making this involved using a special strainer where you turn the handle and the soup gets pushed through tiny holes.  I don’t have one and I did try pushing the soup through a strainer using a spoon but soon realised that was a huge effort and messy too.  Instead my way was to blend the soup using a stick blender which I love since it produces a wonderfully smooth soup.  The same result with half the fuss.

Lentil soup  عدس Aatz

Serves 6

Lentil soup  عدس Aatz

1 ½ cups / 300g red lentils

1 - 1½ litres chicken stock (depending on the consistency desired)

1 tablespoon ghee or butter

1 medium onion, chopped

½ teaspoon salt (if using stock taste before adding salt)

2 teaspoons cumin powder, or to taste

2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste

To save on dishes I fry the onion in the same pot as I will cook the lentils in.  Melt the ghee or butter in the pot and add the chopped onion.  Fry on medium heat for 5 minutes or until browned. In the meantime wash the lentils and strain.  When the onion is cooked remove onto a plate and add the lentils and water to the pot. Bring it to the boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until cooked.  My parents put the soup through a hand strainer at home but I think it is far easier to use a stick blender and wiz it up until smooth.  Add cumin powder and lemon juice. Check for seasoning before adding salt.  Mix well then serve with the fried onion on top.

This can be served in a bowl as a soup with fresh Lebanese bread on the side for dipping, or several loaves of Lebanese bread can be dried, broken into small pieces and mixed with the soup.  To do this split the bread into halves, place in preheated moderately hot oven 200°C (400°F/Gas mark 6) for 10 -15 minutes or until bread is dry and lightly browned.  Break into small pieces in a large bowl and add the lentil soup over the top. Mix and serve.

Lentil soup  عدس Aatz

Meatballs in tomato sauce كفتة بالدمعة Kofta bil dema-a

I was looking through the massive amount of cooking footage I still have on the computer and discovered a gem.  While our second child was still a baby and not a toddler I made Meatballs in tomato sauce   كفتة بالدمعة  Kofta bil dema-a.

I have always enjoyed eating good tasting meatballs and Kofta  كفتة   is basically an Egyptian meatball.  Kofta can be made so many different ways and it can be fried, or barbecued  or cooked in a tomato based sauce and left to simmer away absorbing flavours on the stove (or this can be done in a slow cooker).  

The key, as with any type of meatball, is to make sure they are browned first as this seals the meatballs and stops them from falling apart in the cooking process.

When I went back and watched the footage I got to reminisce and enjoy those memories from when the kids where so little.  I think this must be one of my favourites, if not my favourite video.  Take a look and let me know what you think...oh, and the food too!

We always had Meatballs in tomato sauce   كفتة بالدمعة  Kofta bil dema-a with rice but I know that many people eat meatballs with pasta.  These could easily be eaten served over pasta if you like.  But at home it was rice.  I love the rice soaking up the sauce and I often used to mush up the meatballs and stir it all together through the rice.  I do that for the kids and they love it.  

As with most things feta cheese, olive and a green salad at the table and it is a complete meal.

Love to have your feedback so let me know how you go making this.

Kofta Barbecued

Fried Kofta

Meatballs in tomato sauce   كفتة بالدمعة  Kofta bil dema-a

Wheat and Meat loaf كبيبة Kobeba

Christmas is in the air.  We have had a very busy weekend catching up with friends and family and have now had two of our annual Christmas parties to attend.  I feel like I have been moving non stop for the last few days.  My contribution has been mainly desserts and sweets which included Christmas chocolates that I had in moulds and decorated with the boys as well as some very easy chocolate pudding lookalikes, and little reindeers.  All of those were a hit with the kids.  I might make another batch to take to the Kinder Christmas party this week.  If I get a chance I might even make a video and put it up for the “Cooking in your pyjamas” video collection on my cooking channel (DynasEgyptiancooking Channel on YouTube). 

I also made a dark and white chocolate cheesecake and a Danish custard pudding which was really tasty and I took along a main dish Sunday too - كبيبة  Kobeba.  My brother saw it and said “ I haven’t had kobeba for so long. This is one of my favourites!”.  I must file that away for future reference.  It is always great making food which people refer to as their favourite.    Truth be told كبيبة  Kobeba was always a welcome sight to me when my mother made it.  Delicious!  I didn’t have too much trouble getting it made on this occasion but it hasn’t always been the case.  Last time I made this I am sure I would have had my mother shaking her head in disapproval.

That time I decided to tackle making Kobeba- and by tackle I mean undertake a task that required significant lateral thinking.  كبيبة  Kobeba is basically wheat (burghul, bulgur) that is minced together with ground beef, onion and spices.  Growing up we had it as little cocoons that were stuffed and fried producing wonderfully crunchy shells which gave way to the meat filling.  Alternatively it was layered in a tray (wheat, meat, wheat) and baked.  The ideal way to make the bulgur mixture (and the way I always saw my mother make this) was to use a meat mincer attachment to a mixer and alternate the bulgur, meat and onions so that it is all very finely ground together and combines well.  I don’t have a standalone mincer or a mincer attachment for my mixer.  The alternative I thought of was to use a food processor and while I do have one of those it was broken and I gave it to my father in law in the hope that something could be done in the way of repairing it.  He lives about 4 hours away by car so popping over to get it was out of the question.  I really had nothing else to use except a hand / stick blender. 

Without any other options I set to work.  I blended the onions first since that they would produce a little liquid. I added some minced beef and a little more then transferred it to another bowl and tried to blend in some of the bulgur.  With quite a bit of patience and the need to produce a finished product with all the ingredients I had set out with, I persevered and actually ended up with a similar product to what I needed.  It was messy having bowls and containers of different sizes and with burghul and meat at different stages of mincing.

The smell of كبيبة  Kobeba is wonderfully comforting.  This is another dish I am particularly fond of and since I can no longer have my mother make it for me it really is up to me to try, try and try again until I produce something similar to what my mother used to make.  I really took in the smell and was determined to finish.  Time consuming but not a bad outcome considering my lack of vital equipment.  Finally I had all the mince, onion and bulgur used up and now all minced together in one bowl.  I added the spices and while I stood in the kitchen layering a baking dish to make the baked كبيبة  Kobeba or my family, I thought of my mum standing in her kitchen making this for her family.    I enjoyed that time of reflection.  I felt connected to her in a positive happy way.  I do miss her at times like this but at least now her food and cooking can live on.

(The photos are mostly of my mother putting this together in her kitchen. It is the only series of photos I have of her cooking and it happens to be one of my favourite dishes!)

500g / ½ kg fine, brown bulgur wheat

500g ½ kg lean ground beef

2-3 large onions cut into quarters

2 teaspoons cinnamon or mixed spice

1 ½ teaspoon nutmeg/mace/allspice

½ -1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Butter extra

Meat filling:

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

500g ½ kg lean beef mince

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon or mixed spice

1 teaspoon nutmeg/mace/allspice

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons pine nut, if desired.

To prepare the bulgur:

Place bulgur in a large bowl, cover with hot tap water for 1-2 hours, or until the water had been absorbed and the wheat is soft and has doubled in volume.

Bulgul / Burghul

Remove the excess water from the wheat by taking handfuls of wheat and squeezing the water out.  Place the dry wheat into a clean bowl.

Bulgul / Burghul

For the filling:

In a large pan, melt the butter and fry the onion for 2 minutes until golden. Add the meat and brown over medium heat.  Add the spices and season with salt to taste.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated.  Add the pine nuts and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add 1 to 2 cups water to cover the meat.  Bring to the boil on high heat, reduced heat and simmer until again until all the liquid has evaporated.

Frying onion for filling

Browning meat

Meat filling is cooking

Cooked meat filling ready for assembly

Using a meat mincer, mince together the meat, bulgur and onion quarters, alternatively.  Collect the combined mixture into a bowl then add the salt, pepper, mace and cinnamon to the mixture and mix to combine.  

Alternatively place the ground beef in food processor and mince to fine paste. Add the remainder of the ingredients (adding water a little at a time) to the blender and mix. Remove and keep aside.

Mince meat, Bulgul and onions ready for mincing

Alternate onions meat and bulgul in the mincer 

Using the plunger is better

catch the minced meat and wheat into a clean bowl 

The mincer does a great job of combining everything together

Use your hands for combining the ingredients with the spices

Preheat oven to moderate 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4).  Grease a 30cm x 25cm tray.  Place half the bulgur mixture into the tray and flatten using the palm of your hand.  Spread the cooked mince over the base.  Use the remaining bulgur mixture to cover the meat.  You may need to wet your hands to flatten the bulgur for the top layer.

Flatten half the mixture into the tray 

cover with dollops of butter before baking

Cut into squares.  Place a few small dollops of butter on top of the Kobeba before placing in the oven and baking for 75 - 90 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked all the way through. 

Bake until golden brown on top and cooked through

  

This was the original photo I had for this dish.  I made it in Canberra during the 4 year stint we had there for work. .  I am sure we can all find problems with it.

At the time I thought this was a great shot!

Here is the latest and greatest photographed version.

Wheat and Meat loaf كبيبة  Kobeba