Sultan's Kitchen

[mybackpages 0]

Where are the good restaurants ME in Houston??? thanks .....

can anyone help me...I am a beginner and never liked the food i saw in egypt..and so i kind of avoided the kitchen..but i want to suprise my husband when he comes home and make him something special....what is a good thing that is simple and hard to mess up that yall would recommend? I saw a few things in the middle eastern section at the store like couscous and grape leaves. I appreciate any input on a easy recipe.

Kristy

There is a restaurant called Fadi's, I LOVE it.

Fadi's is good. There is also a relatively new place that is fantastic called alladin's on the corner of Westheimer and Montrose. Order the Kababs!

I only went there once but I wanted to stand by the bread oven all day and just keep eating it!

If I ever win the lottery, the first thing going into my kitchen is a bread oven

[doodlebugg 10]

Whole Foods has the most awesomest green olives marinated in a little olive oil, sliced lemons and garlic BUT...........it's wicked expensive. I want to make this myself but I want pitted green olives, not the ones with the pits. Where do I buy unmarinated (so I can do it myself) pitted green olives that are fresh? I swear there's are so fresh they almost crunch when you eat them!!! I want to start marinating them soon since that's a staple that hubby wants for suhoor during Ramadan.

[Henia 11]

What isn't expensive at Whole Foods? Isn't why its called Whole Foods (whole prices?)

[RAKASA 0]

Whole Foods has the most awesomest green olives marinated in a little olive oil, sliced lemons and garlic BUT...........it's wicked expensive. I want to make this myself but I want pitted green olives, not the ones with the pits. Where do I buy unmarinated (so I can do it myself) pitted green olives that are fresh? I swear there's are so fresh they almost crunch when you eat them!!! I want to start marinating them soon since that's a staple that hubby wants for suhoor during Ramadan.

You could always just buy an olive/cherry pitter. I have one and it comes in quite handy. Then buy your olives and pit them yourself.

This isn't the one I have, but it's similar.

[amal 4]

do u have any idea how long it would take me to pit the amt of olives we go thru?? and how does it pit the olive without poking a hole in both ends?.....curious...

[Nasturtium 500]

Whole Foods has the most awesomest green olives marinated in a little olive oil, sliced lemons and garlic BUT...........it's wicked expensive. I want to make this myself but I want pitted green olives, not the ones with the pits. Where do I buy unmarinated (so I can do it myself) pitted green olives that are fresh? I swear there's are so fresh they almost crunch when you eat them!!! I want to start marinating them soon since that's a staple that hubby wants for suhoor during Ramadan.

You may be able to buy fresh green olives but somehow I doubt it. olives take processing to make them edible...

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Olives.html

No one eats raw olives. There are different varieties of olives which ripen into different colors... and are picked at different times in order to accomplish varying goals (oil versus eating).

So, if you can find someone who sells the variety of olive you want (my be best to contact the maker of the olives you liked and see which variety they are using-- there are thousands literally!!), see if you can obtain a source, brine and coure and marinate. Now, I can't quite remember but I think it takes weeks to brine olives. The reason the olives we think of are mushy has to do with the canning process used, not the brining process.

OK, I found this which may be the recipe you are looking for:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/fruitrecipes/r/blfruit37.htm

The above one I thought you may like does involve olives which are green when mature... and then you aren't canning which is what makes the mush factor.

here are some others:

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archi...curedolives.htm

[caybee 21]

CHICKEN RAFISA

dough for melwi (1/4 to 1/2 of M4E's recipe here is enough for a serving plate)

oil

3 medium onions

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 or 3 tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ras al hanout (optional)

3 T fenugreek seeds, rinsed and soaked overnight if possible

2 quarts water

Prepare melwi dough according to recipe. While dough is rising, slice onions and cook in a little oil on medium-high heat in a medum-sized stock pot. Add the chicken and cook until browned on the outside. Stir in the chopped tomatoes.

Add 3 C water, salt, pepper, ginger, turmeric, paprika, ras al hanout, and fenugreek seeds. Bring to a boil. Add the rest of the water, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken and fenugreek are tender (especially if the fenugreek wasn't soaked ahead of time).

While chicken is cooking, fold melwi dough in several layers according to recipe and fry it. While it is hot, pull layers apart and tear into small pieces. Pile on serving plate. Top with chicken and veggies in the center. Spoon broth over chicken and melwi, but don't get the melwi sopping wet.

NB: I like the smell of fenugreek, but the scent will come out through the pores of the skin up to a day or two later, so time important face-to-face meetings accordingly.

[Nothing1234 2]

One of my favorites!! Musakhkhan....This is a Palestinian dish...that I have seen prepared in varied ways...layering several layers or one single one...depends on the amount of people you are cooking for. You eat it with your hands...DIG IN! LOL SO Yummy

Musakhkhan

Yield: Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1-One cut up chicken into six pieces, or a combination of chicken legs and breasts. Or if you prefer just breasts of chicken...your choice. (Approx. 3 pounds)

2-One cup virgin Olive Oil

3-One pound or a bit more of large diced onions

4-Fried pine nuts for garnishing

5-One table spoon ground cardamom

6-Two table spoons Sumac

7-Salt and pepper to taste

8-Flat sheet bread, marquq or Taboon bread.

1. Cut the chicken into up into two breasts, two thighs, two legs, and two wings. Prepare it for cooking by washing, cleaning and drying. I add a little bit of lemon juice and olive oil to the chicken.

2. Sauté one medium diced onion, add the chicken, enough water to cover the chicken, cardamom, salt and pepper and boil over high heat and then let simmer until the chicken is done. I like it practically falling off the bone (if you use boned meat).

3. Add 1 cup olive oil to a casserole and cook the rest of the diced onions until translucent, this takes about 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sumac and cook for 2 minutes to mix. Do not over cook the onions, you do not want them burnt and you do not want them mushy.

4. While cooking the rest of the onions. Preheat the oven to 350F, remove the chicken from the pot, bake until golden brown.

5. Fry the pine nuts to a golden brown color. Make sure to watch them frying, they tend to burn quickly.

6. Cut up the bread or use it whole, and assemble in the serving platter. Add the first layer of the onion mix on top of the bread, add pine nuts. Repeat with another layer of bread, onions and pine nuts. It is up to you if you want to have one layer of bread and onions; I like to have two layers because the bread I use is very thin. At this point, add about half a cup of chicken stock if you feel that the bread is too dry.

7. Arrange the baked chicken on top and garnish with pine nuts. (A serving of bread, onions and pine nuts with each serving of chicken)

Toppings for each serving: Yogurt

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Nawal, I LOVE Msakhkhan, with lots of onions and sumak and the bread extra crispy...I dont even care about the chicken, I could eat the bread alone...Droooooling! I havent made it in about a year, last time I did i used waay too much olive oil and ruined it

[Nothing1234 2]

Nawal, I LOVE Msakhkhan, with lots of onions and sumak and the bread extra crispy...I dont even care about the chicken, I could eat the bread alone...Droooooling! I havent made it in about a year, last time I did i used waay too much olive oil and ruined it

I'm addicted to it! LOL My Aunt makes it the BEST (i get by...hehe)!! I miss Ramadan in Jordan A LOT!! Magloubeh, msakhkhan, mashi....omg...I'm drooling...hehe!

[Henia 11]

Curious to know from the NA members have you tried to learned or have been required to learn the "gateaux" preparation? Esp those whose SO's are already with them in the US? Ramadan is coming up ... gateaux making time LOL!

[RAKASA 0]

Curious to know from the NA members have you tried to learned or have been required to learn the "gateaux" preparation? Esp those whose SO's are already with them in the US? Ramadan is coming up ... gateaux making time LOL!

don't even know what this is... never heard of it!

[Henia 11]

Curious to know from the NA members have you tried to learned or have been required to learn the "gateaux" preparation? Esp those whose SO's are already with them in the US? Ramadan is coming up ... gateaux making time LOL!

don't even know what this is... never heard of it!

Gateaux - those fancy pretty looking cakes (that taste horrible in my opinion) that Algerians, Moroccans and Tunezians make/eat esp for the holidays.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

they dont even look appetizing, no offense..

[Henia 11]

No offense taken. Most of them are not appetizing ... many look nice fancy but taste horrible. Cultural thing in NA thou LOL!