Ros bil Laban (Rice pudding) ارز باللبن

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.

Delicious Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة )

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.

Baklava with vanilla syrup (Baklawa بقلاوة  )

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

Hummus bi Tahina حمص بالطحينة Hommus dip

Book 2 in the Egyptian Cooking series is now available from Lulu.  Click the Book shop tab at the top to link straight through.  The book is only $1.95 and I would love your feedback as always.

Well, the series of cooking classes came to an end last night.  I had a great time cooking and getting to know the ladies of the class.  The classes were interactive and fun with the ladies getting involved which was great. I hope that future classes will run as well and I look forward to even more Egyptian dishes becoming widely known.  I think that dips are fairly well known with a large number of dips being available in supermarkets and delicatessens.  Most of them are very easy to prepare at home and can be adjusted to suit your own tastes.

The dip Hummus bi Tahina   حمص بالطحينة  (Hommus dip) is great because it uses chickpeas which are a great source of calcium and vitamins E and B.  Serve it with fresh bread or crackers, batons of fresh vegetables or even use it as a spread for sandwiches.  This is quick to make and healthy too, what's not to like about that!

I have updated the Egyptian cooking videos so now you can click through to more videos through the menu at the top of the page.  The Hummus bi Tahina   حمص بالطحينة  (Hommus dip) is there too.

Hummus bi Tahina   حمص بالطحينة  Hommus dip

150g / ¾ cup / 5 oz. dried chickpeas

juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, crushed

salt, to taste

½ teaspoon ground cumin

ground paprika, to garnish

30 ml / 2 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons/ 60 ml tahini paste (150 ml/ 2/3 cup/ ¼ pint tahini paste)

Put chickpeas in a bowl and cover with cold water and leave overnight.

Drain chickpeas, place in a saucepan and cover with fresh water.  Bring to the boil and cook on high heat for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or until soft.  Drain.   Alternatively canned chickpeas can be used instead of dried.  Use 400 g and drain well.

Place chickpeas in a food processor and blend to a smooth consistency.  Add lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and tahini and blend until smooth. Taste and season as required.

Transfer to a bowl, garnish with paprika.

To watch the video click through below or jump onto Dyna's Egyptian cooking on YouTube.

Colcasia,Taro, قلقاس Ulass

I was in the Shopping Centre today with the boys and as we were making our way from one random location to another we passed a yoghurt stand which caught my attention.  I read a sign which read Taro and I really thought that was an unusual yoghurt flavour.  I naturally had to try it, and it was REALLY very nice.  Sweet popcorn like flavour.  It took me back to eating Taro at home.  Colcasia, also known as Taro, قلقاس Ulass, is a brown root that exudes a sticky sap when cut. However, when cooked right, it is a deliciously unique vegetable.

Colcasia, also known as Taro, قلقاس Ulass

In Egypt, taro is known as kolkas قلقاس and is larger than what would be found in North American or Australian supermarkets.  My mother would cook Ulass by peeling the taro completely and cutting it into small cubes.  It was then cooked in a broth, with fresh coriander and Silverbeet (Swiss chard).  My dad grew up having it differently.  He said it was cut into slices and cooked with minced meat and tomato sauce.  I don’t have any memory of my mother making it this way but in the broth it is lovely.

I recall mum buying already peeled, cubed and frozen Colcasia but having no idea where I could find it locally and wanting very much to make this from scratch I set out on a mission to find the tubers fresh.

I had rung a local grocer to find out if they stocked Taro and they said yes so I bundled the kids in the car and headed to the grocer.  I love fresh fruit and vegetables and seeing what is in season so I spent a little time looking around at all the wonderful vegetables before asking after Taro.  The man with the clipboard seemed like the right person to ask.  So, I did, although truth be told I was a little confused about the difference between Taro and Yam.  I thought they were different names for the same thing and since I only knew this dish by the Egyptian name I mistakenly asked him “Do you have any Yam?”.

“No we don’t stock it”.

“Well, I rang about it and was told you do”

“I am the produce manager and I know that we don’t stock it.”

Colcasia, also known as Taro, قلقاس Ulass

After a bit more to-ing and fro-ing I left, quite disappointed.  We then head to another market and we head in that direction, cutting it fine since it was close to lunch and nap time for the boys.  We find parking and as we do I notice an Asian greengrocer.  I decide to try in there too.  It was a wonderful store.  Full of beans, pastas, bottled goods, fruit and veg of a wonderful array – including globe artichokes!!!  (If you already read the artichoke saga you will understand my amazement at this).  Anyway I saw so many different vegies (not surprising in an Asian grocer) but there I found the yams I was after. 

Silverbeet, Swiss Chard

At $10 a kilo I thought the price was alright, but then I noticed that they were growing mould on them.  I found a lad and asked if he was going to get more in and when.  Eventually he said wait and disappeared.  On his return he was carrying a box with more of the same but …not mouldy.  I carefully chose 5 of them and moved on to the okra (also requiring a hunt for fresher product from out the back) and a few more items. 

When I get home I pull up the recipe that I have for Ulass and have a read.  For some reason, I feel the need to do a Google search on Yams and I can’t find a picture of the yams I bought.  I try Colcasia and Taro and get all confused.  In the end I get my husband to assist me in determining if what I have bought is a yam and if a yam is the same as Taro and /or Colcasia.  Turns out that Taro is the English name for Ulass and Colcasia.  I was hunting down Yams and I bought yams (so I thought) but what I actually bought was Taro and amazingly, Taro is what I needed, so… naturally relieved I start making Ulass, the way my mum made it.

Colcasia, also known as Taro, قلقاس Ulass

 I start peeling the Taro after my youngest is back in bed for his morning nap and his older brother is out working on his garden.  I decide to video as well and will see how it looks, hopefully it is good enough to upload to “Dynas Egyptian Cooking” Channel on YouTube but I needed to get a very dirty boy (having finished his gardening and come in) clean first.  He decided to help.  And helpful he was.  Peeling, washing, chopping and preparing the Taro, Silverbeet and the Chicken stock.  I just had to get a photo.

Colcasia, also known as Taro, قلقاس Ulass

Colcasia, also known as Taro, قلقاس Ulass

I put things on hold to make lunch and to get the boys to have a nap.  I took photos of the boiled chicken and cleaned up and then I took the boys to the park for a couple of hours before the mad dash to get dinner on the table.  My youngest is crawling all over me for food and resorts to a raw onion he finds and starts to eat it.  I have to hold him, feed him, cook rice, boil the stock, sauté the silverbeet and then blend it, fry the garlic and get the whole thing videoed at the same time.  Not too bad until the camera dies and I have to use a replacement – which has a flat battery and even the backup battery is flat!  I am clearly frazzled when my husband walks in home from work.  He finds a power cord and extension for the camera while I feed my youngest some rice and chicken.  My eldest starts eating rice and chicken too and within 5 minutes I have completed my task. Dinner finally ready !! But the photo first.  Then I finally got to eat and write up the blog, edit, upload and so…I left the clean up!

1 kg Colcasia/Taro

4 cups homemade chicken stock or broth (see page ?)

40 ml or ½ a lemon juiced.

½ bunch silverbeet/swiss chard greens/ kale, stems removed and roughly chopped.

½ bunch fresh coriander /cilantro leaves.

2 tablespoons Ghee or butter

3 teaspoons or 7 cloves crushed garlic

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

Serves 6

Peel and cut colcasia into cubes.

Heat broth in a deep pan and add colcasia and lemon juice then leave to boil about 25 minutes or until tender.

In a large fry pan add ½ cup water and the chopped silverbeet and coriander along with the salt and pepper.  Stir over high heat until the silverbeet has wilted.  Transfer to a blender and blend to a puree.

 Melt ghee or butter in a frying pan or skillet, add garlic and fry until beginning to brown.  Add the pureed greens and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the silverbeet mixture to the colcasia and bring to the boil.

Colcasia, also known as Taro, قلقاس Ulass

Serve hot along with rice and boiled chicken.

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