How to make delicious and healthy Tabouli (Tabbouleh, تبولة‎, tabouleh and tabbouli) salad

I suppose there were not a great variety of salads that we ate at home.  Usually we had a green salad with the evening meal and that was that.  However at a barbecue, party or family gathering we always had Tabouli too.  This salad is quite well known now, although it can be spelt in a few different ways e.g. Tabbouleh, تبولة‎, tabouleh and tabbouli.

Fresh Parsley 

To watch a video of my version of Tabouli click on the link below.  It is quite an easy salad once you have the ingredients and a great addition to a BBQ or variation to the typical green salad.  

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

And please like the video by hitting the 'thumbs up' underneath it on YouTube!

Ii is common in the deli of the supermarkets and on the menu at various restaurants where it seems to have moved beyond the realm of just being part of Mediterranean cuisine.  But being an old dish popular throughout the Mediterranean there are a commensurate number of variations of the dish.  

Ingredients

So with Tabouli I find that depending on where you get it or who has made it it can be quite different, from being almost entirely made up of parsley with a sprinkling of bulgur wheat, tomatoes and onion to being mostly made of Bulgur with a smattering of the other items and then whatever in between.  I myself sit more on the side where Bulgur wheat is the star and not the parsley but don’t get me wrong I still like it with plenty of parsley.  A fresh herb in a salad is always great and parsley is fantastic because not only does it add a lovely fresh flavour but it is a wonderfully high source of vitamin A. 

Tabouli (Tabbouleh, تبولة‎, tabouleh and tabbouli)

This refreshing salad has become well known and can be found in kebab shops, restaurants and even in the deli section of local supermarkets.  It can be eaten on its own or as a side dish.

                            

Serves: 6-8

250g/1 cup brown burghul (bulgur) wheat

500 ml/2 cups hot water

2 small onions or 4 spring onions, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, finely diced

½ cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

1-2 lemons, juiced

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste,

pepper, to taste

Place bulgur in a large bowl and cover with hot water.  Leave to stand for 1-2 hours (depends on grind of bulgur).

Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible with your hands, then spread out for a few minutes to dry further on a clean tea towel.

In a bowl combine the bulgur, onions, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil and lemon. Season to taste, adding more seasoning, lemon or oil as required.  This salad should be distinctly lemony.

Breakfast omelette the Mediterranean way (Eggah عجة)

Well, the past 2 months have been quite an experience and I am only now getting back to the things I was doing while I was pregnant.  Since it has been quite some time since I blogged or uploaded a video to YouTube I needed to reassess where I had left things. I had forgotten about this little treasure. It seems that one of the things I had planned was to write about a popular morning food - a breakfast omelette the Mediterranean way (Eggah عجة).  I had previously made a video which you can find on YouTube :

Breakfast omelette the Mediterranean way (Eggah عجة)

Typically eaten at breakfast this dish is akin to an omelette.  The parsley is the dominant fresh flavour and balances the egg and fried onion.  The beauty with this dish is the ease with which you can accommodate people.  The ingredients are simple and few so there is no difficulty in adjusting the quantities to suit the number of people eating.  This would be a great dish to keep in mind for a very quick and easy midweek dinner and could also be served sliced as part of a mezze platter which is great as it caters for vegetarians.

This breakfast omelette is a really healthy breakfast option.  It is high in protein from the eggs and in vitamin A from the parsley and you could easily replace the butter with cooking spray or use a non stick pan and omit it all together for a low fat option.  

Eggah takes me back to my childhood and breakfasts on a weekend morning when we were all home together.  Dad worked Saturdays so usually that was Sunday morning.  He would get up before everyone else and get together the most lavish breakfast compared to the working week breakfast options of toast or cereal.  On his breakfast banquet morning he would have Ful medames, Falafel, boiled eggs, fresh bread from the local bakery, along with an array of smaller plates containing, tomatoes, rocket leaves, feta cheese, sliced onions, olives and whatever else he could rustle up.  Sometimes he would stand in the kitchen and we could have eggs however we liked them.  Boiled, fried or like this a breakfast omelette was one of my mum's favourite egg dishes.

I had forgotten about it for years until one evening I was on the phone to my dad and he asked what was for dinner.  Too tired to think I said I had no idea and couldn't be bothered with much since there wasn't anything too exciting in the fridge but I still needed to get dinner on the table. He said "have you got eggs?", to which I said "yes there are eggs and not much else".  He said "have you got parsley?", to which I said there is some growing in a pot. He declared "Well, then you have eggah"!!

Breakfast omelette the Mediterranean way (Eggah عجة)

I made it that night for the boys and I was very pleased when they said they loved it.  I must remember to make this more often for them, or at least ring my dad on nights when I can't find anything much to cook so that he can remind me!!

I hope you like it too.

Serves: 3

5 eggs.

large bunch flat leaf parsley, washed and finely chopped.

1 onion, chopped.

Salt and pepper, to taste.

2 tablespoons butter.

1 tablespoon flour.

Melt half the butter in a fry pan over low heat, add onion and fry for 5 minutes until caramelized.

Add parsley and flour, and stir for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

In a bowl beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.  Add the onion and parsley mixture and stir well to combine.

Heat a little butter in a fry pan and pour in a third of the egg mixture.  Cook until the bottom is golden before flipping over to cook the other side. Repeat with the remaining egg mixture.

This is great served hot with feta cheese and fresh Lebanese bread.

Breakfast omelette the Mediterranean way (Eggah عجة)

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

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.