Egyptian Cuisine Basics: Rice with Vermicelli

One basic Egyptian dish you will find on almost any dinner table is rice with vermicelli (Roz bil shaareyya). This is considered the normal way to make rice, and you will find that most Egyptians make plain white rice only for specific dishes.

The browning of the vermicelli gives the rice a nice nutty taste. I love the contrast from the little brown flecks in between the white grains of rice.

As mentioned before, Egyptian dishes use short-grain rice, also known as Calrose rice. I have seen this been done with long grain rice, as well as Basmati, but I prefer the short grain. The rice is best eaten with stews or with Mousaka, instead of the traditional bread.

Ingredients:

2 cups white short-grain rice

2 ½ cups water

1 tsp salt

1tsp butter

1tsp oil (or just use 2 tsp of butter and omit the oil)

1/2 cup vermicelli

Preparation:

Wash the rice and set aside.

Heat the oil and the butter; add in the vermicelli and the salt. Allow the vermicelli to brown, while stirring. Be careful not to burn it.

Add in the washed rice, give it a stir, and then add in the water. The water should just cover the rice; you will need to adjust the water amounts based on the type of rice you are using.

Cover the rice. Allow to cook for 30 mins on low heat, without stirring. When done, mix with a wooden fork to prevent clumping.

Enjoy!

Are you a short-grain lover or do you prefer long-grain rice?

Easy Peasy Lemony Squeezy: Lemon Bars

Lemons are great and refreshing, that’s why in the summer I love to bake with them.

This summer, I am addicted to lemon bars, and after trying several recipes, I think I have tweaked and re-tweaked to perfect it to my liking. Not too sweet, and the filling is not too sticky, these bars are strong on flavor. I also love making this into pie rather than squares.

Play around with the flavors and mix in some of your favorite. Add in a couple of tablespoons of shredded coconut, and add on top to the cooked pie slices some more, and you turn this into a whole different palette of flavors.

Raspberry flavored whipped cream is a real treat to top it with, rather than the traditional powdered sugar.

Here is the basic recipe.

Lemon Pie with coconut on top.

Ingredients:

Crust:

This is a basic shortbread recipe.

1 cup flour

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 stick of butter (approx 100 gms or 1/2 cup)

Pinch of salt.

Filling:

3 eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ cup lemon juice OR 1 ½ tsp Lemon extract

1 Tbsp zest (optional)

3 Tbsp flour

Preparation 

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

First we need to prep the crust. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and add in gradually the powdered sugar and salt. Make sure they are creamed well, the butter is soft and fluffy, and then add in slowly the flour. Continue mixing until the mixture is soft and crumbly. Put the mixture into a greased pie pan or square 20 cm x 20 cm pan. Pat down until the crust is even, and make sure to push the crust up the side of the pan, to prevent the lemon mixture from sticking directly to the pan. Put in the oven for 20 mins, or until the sides start to brown lightly. It is important that the crust is cooked well, to prevent breaking and crumbling while serving.

Allow to cool while you prep the filling.

For the filling, beat the eggs and add in the sugar, lemon juice, and the flour. Beat until it’s nice and frothy. 

Pour into the pan with the baked crust.

Put in the oven for 20 – 25 mins, or until it’s is set completely. Be sure not to undercook the filling, or it will be too sticky, so make sure it isn't jiggling when you take it out.

Allow to cool, then dust with powdered sugar if desired.

What is your favorite lemon dessert?

Egyptian Eggplant Italianized: ‘Italian’ Mousaka

If you told me we were having eggplant for dinner when I was little, I would cringe my nose. Thankfully I grew out of that and now I love eggplant. It is amazing how filling eggplant is. This is definitely a good choice for a meatless Monday.

Mousaka is an Egyptian eggplant dish, that consists of fried eggplant, layered in a red sauce that is spiced with onion and green pepper. The red sauce has browned ground beef in it. It is then put in the oven to set. 

The best known Mousaka to the Western world is the Greek one. It is much thicker, with more layers of ground beef and eggplant, and is covered in a Béchamel sauce. Also, the spices are slightly different, the two times I had it; I don’t remember it having green pepper.

There is also the Turkish Mousaka which is similar in taste, but not made in a casserole dish like the Egyptian and the Greek ones. The eggplant is diced and mixed with a ground beef mixture. I had it with bread and a yogurt salad.

Of course, the one eggplant dish which is widely known, and loved, is the Italian eggplant parmesan. The eggplant is breaded and fried and smothered in marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese.

My dish is a family recipe which is a combination of the Egyptian mousaka and the Italian eggplant parmigiana. The eggplant isn't breaded though, but Italian spices are added to the sauce, and then mozzarella is added on the top.     

Ingredients:

- 1 large Eggplant

- 1 can of chopped tomatoes (or about ½ kilo fresh tomatoes pureed)

- 1 clove garlic minced

- 1 small Green pepper, sliced

- 2 Tbsp tomato paste

- 200gm Mozzarella cheese (about half a bag)

-  1 small onion sliced

- 1 Tbsp Oregano, 1 Tsp basil, salt and black pepper

- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

- Parmesan cheese

- Oil for frying

Preparation

Slice the eggplant in about 1 cm thick slices. Rub both sides with salt and lay on a towel for about 15 mins minimum. This is to allow the eggplant to ‘sweat’. Sweating the eggplant reduces the bitterness and also reduces the amount of oil it will absorb. Doing this first then prepping the rest of the dish gives it enough time to sweat without wasting time. It is recommended to wait 30 mins up to 1 hour, but 15 mins is sufficient if you do not have enough time. You should be able to see little droplets of moisture by then, if not then wait 5 more mins and then check.

In a sauce pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add in the garlic, onions and green pepper. Add in the salt, and lower the heat and allow the onions to ‘wilt’ and become translucent. Add in the crushed tomatoes, stir well. Allow to cook for 5 mins. Add in the tomato paste, oregano, basil and black pepper. Add in 1 cup of water if needed, it will depend on how juicy the tomatoes are. Cover and allow to simmer for 20 mins on low heat. We want to sauce to be thick, not watery, so if there is too much water, keep the cover open a crack.

Add oil in a frying pan and put on high heat.

By this time, your eggplants should be sweating. Rinse them off and dry them very well. It is important to make sure they are dry, so they don’t splatter in the hot oil. Put the eggplant in the hot oil. Do not overlap the slices in the oil.  You will need to flip each one over once. They are ready when they are golden-brown on each side. Be careful not to burn them, because once they start to take color, they will go black fast. After taking them out, place them on paper towel to absorb the oil. I also like to blot them, applying slight pressure to remove excess oil. Do not press too hard as not to puncture them.

In a pan, I prefer ovenproof glass as it always looks prettier on the table, add 1 ladleful of the sauce and rub around evenly. Add in the eggplant side by side to make one layer. If you will serve as an appetizer, one layer is enough. If it is a main dish, then you might like to add another layer of eggplant, after adding some more sauce.

Add parmesan cheese to the top, sprinkling lightly. Then add the mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and put in the oven for 30 min, uncovering for the last 10 to brown the top if desired.

Enjoy!

Which Eggplant dish from around the world is your favorite?