Arabic Style Fish Hara
Recipe from Hotel Amari
Ingredients:
1 white fish, scaled and cleaned, weighing about 3 pounds
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, stems discarded and leaves chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled (at least 12 cloves total)
1 cup of walnut halves (can add pine nuts or pistachios)
2 chili peppers such as jalapeño, or red chili pepper
3/4 cup of lemon juice
extra lemons
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground cardamom (or cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
1 cup (or more) tahini
1/2 cup (or more) of water
salt, pepper, to taste
1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed
Preparation:
Cooking The Fish
Rub the fish all over with a cut lemon. Pat dry. Heat the oven to 400F.
Mash the cloves of garlic with a pinch of salt and the sliced jalapeño peppers (can do it in a mini-processor), in order to obtain a paste. Add the chopped cilantro leaves. Pulse and when it is well mixed, divide the mixture in half, reserving one half for the sauce later. Add the cardamom (or cinnamon) , cumin, pepper, coriander, and mix it all together. Add about 1/4 cup of lemon juice and olive oil to the mixture.
Spread the paste evenly inside the fish and a bit on top. If using fish fillets, just rub it onto the fillets. Cut a few lemon slices and place them on top of the fish and all around. Cover the fish with foil and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is cooked.
Making The Sauce:
Take the garlic and jalapeño paste (the half that you have used already) along with the cilantro. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a skillet and add the paste, stirring. Do not let the garlic burn, so cook for only 3 minutes at the most until fragrant. Let cool.
Grind the walnuts until almost powdery and set aside.
Heat the tahini in a saucepan, adding 1/2 cup of the lemon juice and a bit of water to obtain a smooth sauce. Add the garlic and cilantro paste. When the sauce thickens and boils, remove from the heat.
Taste the sauce and add more lemon juice or salt to your liking. Add the walnuts and stir to mix.
Final Assembly Of The Dish:
Skin the fish and debone it as much as possible. Then put it back together on a serving platter.
Pour the sauce over the fish dabbing it with a spatula, leaving the head intact.
Garnish with parsley or cilantro leaves, pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts or walnuts and an olive to modestly cover the eye of the fish.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Kunafa
Recipe from Hotel Amari
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Katafi (shredded phyllo dough)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon rose water
1 tablespoon milk
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped fine
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped fine
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of allspice
Preparation:
In a small heavy bottomed pot bring the water, granulated sugar and lemon juice to a boil for 10 minutes or until the consistency is like a syrup.
Heat an oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, shake the katafi to loosen and coat in melted butter.
Grease a 9×11 baking dish and press 1/3 of the katafi into the bottom.
Mix the ricotta cheese with rose water and milk to make it creamier.
Sprinkle the katafi in the pan with clumps of the ricotta and top it with 1/3 katafi, pressing down.
In a small bowl mix together the nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice and sprinkle ¾ of the mix over the katafi,
Top and press the last 1/3 of katafi on top and bake for 30 minutes until golden.
As soon as the kunafa pan is out of the oven drizzle the whole thing with the lemon syrup and let it stand.
When the pan is entirely cooled, flip the kunafa out onto a platter and top with the remaining nut mixture.
Serve room temperature or slightly warm.
Chicken & Lamb Khabsa
Recipe from Hotel Amari
Ingredients:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups onions chopped
½ tsp ginger grated
600 gms chicken pieces with bones and skin
500-600 gms. mutton with bones
1 tbsp salt
½ tbsp ground pepper
½ tbsp cardamom powder
1 dried lime
½ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp clove powder
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups tomatoes finely chopped
1 ½ cup long grain rice like Basmati
2 cup carrots shredded
1/3 cup almonds blanched and halved
1/3 cup raisins
Preparation:
Wash and soak the rice in cold water for 45 minutes.
In a big pot, add the 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, chopped onion and ginger. Fry on medium heat until brown.
Add the chicken and brown it on both sides.
Add the mutton and fry for 5-10 minutes.
Add the cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, dried lime, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and mix well.
Add the tomato paste and the chopped tomatoes and cook until the oil rises to the top. Add 1 liter – 4 cups of water, cover and let the chicken cook for 25 minutes on medium-high heat.
In the meantime, fry the raisins until plump and brown in a little bit of oil, drain and keep them aside. Then do the same thing with the almonds. Keep aside.
Separate the mutton pieces from the gravy and keep aside.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and put it in a baking pan. Broil it in a hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Keep aside.
Drain the rice and put it in the pot from where you removed the chicken. Add the shredded carrots and mix well.
Cover with a clean tea towel and the cover with a lid (this will prevent the steam from evaporating too quickly). Cook the rice for 20-25 minutes on medium heat.
Serve the rice topped with the chicken, lamb and the roasted almonds and raisins.
Chicken Tangri Kebab
Recipe from Hotel InterContinental
Ingredients :
6 pieces chicken leg
1/3 rd cup yogurt
2 tea spoon ginger paste
1 tea spoon garlic paste
1 tea spoon garam masala powder
1/2 tea spoon cinnamon powder
1/2 tea spoon nutmeg powder
1 tea spoon green chili paste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tea spoon paprika
1/3rd cup oil
1 tbl spoon dry roasted chickpea powder or Besan
salt to taste ( around 1 and 1/2 tea spoon)
A pinch of yellow ( not orange or red) food color
( optional)
Other ingredients :
Coal to give smoke
oil for smoking
Procedure:
Make some slit on the chicken . These cut marks would help the marinade go inside the legs .
Pat dry the chicken legs with a kitchen towel before you marinate . Now Marinate with all the ingredients mentioned above . Give coal smoke . For giving coal smoke , take a burning coal in an aluminium foil cup and place it on the bowl of the chicken . Put some oil over the burning coal and cover the entire bowl with a lid . Keep it like this for 10 minutes . Marinate the chicken for at least 12 hours . The more , the better . I did almost 20 hours . Cover the bowls with cling film or plastic and keep in the refrigerator.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 FH and bake the chicken for 20 minutes . Then broil another 15-20 minutes.
Koobideh Kabab
Recipe from Hotel InterContinental
Ingredients:
For the koobideh
1 lb ground beef
1 onion , grated and drained
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon sumac
A few saffron threads
Salt
Pepper
4 tomatoes
2 onions
For the chelo (rice)
2 cups basmati rice
Sunflower oil
A few saffron threads
Salt
Procedure:
Koobideh
Dilute saffron in ½ cup of boiling water, cover and infuse for 10 minutes.
Mix the ground meat with the grated onion, then add the spices, salt and pepper. Stir for 2 minutes after each ingredient is added.
Finish with 3 tablespoons of infused saffron water and mix well again.
Place in a covered container in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
Make 8 koobideh kebabs by pressing the meat well to barbecue skewers.
Pinch the meat with your fingers regularly throughout the skewer every inch to give its characteristic shape.
Grill the skewers on a BBQ by placing them over the coals. Turn them regularly to ensure a perfectly even grilling for approximately 15 minutes.
Place the tomatoes and onions on the BBQ and turn regularly. They are served as an accompaniment to the skewers.
Muglai Lamb Shank
Recipe from Hotel InterContinental
Ingredients:
25g roughly chopped root ginger, (peeled weight)
8 large garlic cloves
100g plain yogurt
3 large tomatoes, washed and quartered
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 lamb shanks, (each about 400g-450g)
5 cloves
5 cm cinnamon stick
5 green cardamom pods
1 mace blade
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
3 small onions, thinly sliced
Salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, or to taste
2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 rounded teaspoons see method for ingredients, (fresh if possible)
11/2 tablespoons white poppy seeds, soaked in a little water
20 strands or so of julienned root ginger
Good handful chopped coriander, to serve
Roasted flaked almonds, to serve (optional)
Procedure:
Blend together the ginger and garlic with a little water until smooth. Set aside. In the same jug, blend the yogurt and tomatoes together.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the shanks and brown on all sides; this is not traditional, but I like to do it as I prepare all the other ingredients. Remove and place on a plate.
Add the whole spices and cook until they puff up a little. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook until they are soft and a good golden brown on the edges. Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook gently for 1–2 minutes or until the garlic smells cooked and is colouring. The onions should be a lovely colour now. Add the tomato-yogurt paste, the cumin, chilli powder, coriander and half the garam masala.
Cook, stirring every now and again, and more so as it thickens, until it releases oil back into the pan. Then stir-fry for a few more minutes. Add in the lamb and cook in the sauce for a few minutes. Add enough water to come one-third of the way up, bring to the boil, then cover and cook gently until the lamb is cooked and very tender. I like to stir the pot pretty often, maybe every 15 minutes or so, this helps to homogenize the sauce, and I top up the water whenever it looks low but I never add too much at any one time. It should take around 2 hours on a medium-low to medium heat, but can take longer if the heat is too low.
Meanwhile, grind the poppy seeds to a fine paste. Set aside.
When the lamb is tender, take off the cover. Remove the shanks and place on a plate. Cook off some of the excess liquid, then add the poppy seed paste and cook for a few minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, add the julienned ginger and the remaining garam masala, then return the shanks. Coat well in the creamy sauce, cook for a few minutes and serve sprinkled with coriander and almonds, if using.