Sultan's Kitchen

[sereia 0]

What about incorporating Arabic flavors in the stuffing? Like adding dried fruits and nuts (pistachios, cherries, apricot, dates) and spices?

And in the sides (whatever you plan to make) also mix things around. It could be fun to play around with it all!

[♥JP♥ 5]

Kelly, If I actually liked maftool or freekeh that would be a go but I can't stand either one!

My mom is insisting we still make the two spreads..... UGHGHGHGHGHHGHGHG

[RAKASA 0]

Courtesy of Zamouri Spices newsletter: *disclaimer - I have not tried these recipes!

Harissa Roasted Turkey

Thanks to Marlene P. of Tucson, Arizona for sharing this recipe.

One 6-7 pound turkey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 cup Harissa

Harissa Stuffing (see below for recipe)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle on all sides with salt and pepper. Stuff the garlic cloves, cinnamon sticks, and onion into the neck cavity, and seal it closed with a wooden skewer or toothpick. Generously rub the harissa over and under the skin.

Place the turkey breast skin side up on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and cover with foil. Roast, basting occasionally with the juices that accumulate in the bottom of the pan, until and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the breast reads 160 degrees and the juices run clear, about 1 1/2 hours. during the last 20 minutes of cooking remove the foil to brown the skin. Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

Harissa Stuffing

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 Tbsp. lightly crushed almonds

1/2 loaf white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 cups)

2 medium parsnips, peeled and cup into 1-inch cubes

2 cinnamon sticks

3 garlic cloves, cut in half

3 shallots, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 Tbsp. Harissa

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup orange juice

1 Tbsp. honey

2 tsp. chopped thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup raisins

1 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the almonds and bread crumbs and saute for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven or other large pot. Add the parsnips and cinnamon sticks and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, shallots, quinces, and harissa and saute until the garlic is golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, orange juice, and honey, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the thyme, salt raisins, and almonds and bread cubes and stir until well combined. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Stir in the chopped parsley.

If you need a recipe for harissa, just holla... I've got one (I think it's been posted here before).

[sereia 0]

Hey Noura that recipe sounds pretty good. Only problem I have with it is I like stuffing cooked inside the turkey. My whole family fights over the part that was inside the turkey and leftovers were what was cooked in a pan/slowcooker!

[Henia 11]

Here is my MENA Thanksgiving menu:

Baked dates in Rosemary-cheese patry(appetizer)

Feta baked Hoummous(appetizer pre-meal)

Pumpkin hummous(pre-meal appetizer)

Moroccan marinaded turkey stuffed with festive rice with sage and date syrup (main attraction)

Jeweled couscous stuffing (side dish)

Pearl coucous with roasted Fall vegetables (side dish)

Cranberry and toasted couscous (side dish)

Stuffed grape leaves( side dish)

Fresh Pomegranate-Apple chutney(instead of cranberry sauce)

Pumpkin baklava (dessert)

Sweet Potato cigares (dessert)

My recipes are availible upon request!

[RAKASA 0]

Here is my MENA Thanksgiving menu:

Baked dates in Rosemary-cheese patry(appetizer)

Feta baked Hoummous(appetizer pre-meal)

Pumpkin hummous(pre-meal appetizer)

Moroccan marinaded turkey stuffed with festive rice with sage and date syrup (main attraction)

Jeweled couscous stuffing (side dish)

Pearl coucous with roasted Fall vegetables (side dish)

Cranberry and toasted couscous (side dish)

Stuffed grape leaves( side dish)

Fresh Pomegranate-Apple chutney(instead of cranberry sauce)

Pumpkin baklava (dessert)

Sweet Potato cigares (dessert)

My recipes are availible upon request!

it all sounds delicious! what time should we be there? I'd love recipes for the bolded ones above. Thanks!

Noura

Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving - you certainly have much to be thankful for.

[sereia 0]

HENIA!! What a gorgeous menu. I hope you have some help handy with such a big feast! sage and date syrup - is this like a glaze over your turkey??? I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!

If you have the time I would like these recipes:

Baked dates in Rosemary-cheese patry(appetizer)

Feta baked Hoummous(appetizer pre-meal)

Fresh Pomegranate-Apple chutney(instead of cranberry sauce)

Pumpkin baklava (dessert)

Edited November 26, 2008 by Sheherazade

[Henia 11]

Yes elhamdullah Noura ... this year seem to have brought alot of blessings! And our Thanksgiving with our American and Algerians friends was wonderful ... food was tasty too! My friend and I worked for 2 days preparing buuuut oooo how worth it was machAllah! I hope everyone else enjoyed their holiday ... and enchallah the ones coming up! I so do love it when all 3 religions have their holidays close to each other ... Going to try your harissa recipes for New Year's Noura! They sound great!!!!

Recipes are as follows:

Moroccan spiced turkey and festive rice stuffing with sage and date syrup

salt

pepper

2 tablespoon fulls each of cinnamon and ginger (powder)

1 tablespoon full each of sweet paprika and caradmom

few threads of saffron (in water) ooor turmeric

handful finely chopped sage

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup date syrup ( or honey)

3/4 tablespoon butter

Oranges, lemons and limes cut to eighths;

quatered onions or shallots

minced garlic

1 cup pitted dried fruit (apricots, prunes, etc.) for garnish

Preheat oven

In mixing bowl, work spice mix and garlic into softened butter and olive oil. Liberally season inside of turkey with coarse salt and pepper. Massage turkey with spiced mixture inside and out, and between skin and flesh. Stuff the fruits and onion into the turkey.

Fill turkey with prepared rice and close cavity with toothpicks or needle and thread.

In a bowl, mix date syrup and wine. Place turkey in baking pan. Baste with some of the date/wine sauce. Cover well with aluminum foil and place in hot oven.

Cook turkey for 3 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. Remove foil and let brown for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.

Remove turkey from oven and let stand 20 minutes. Transfer juices from bottom of pan to small pot and reduce over medium flame. Add knob of margarine, if desired, to thicken. Simple, easy and tasty pan gravy for your Moroccan turkey.

Transfer turkey to serving dish. Pour gravy over turkey and garnish with citrus and dried fruits.

Festive Rice stuffing

2 medium onions, chopped

1/2 cup canola oil

3 carrots, julienned

1 handful each: sultanas; pine nuts; toasted almonds, peeled pistachio nuts

salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon saffron (or turmeric)

few preserved lemons chopped up

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

2 cups long grain rice, well rinsed

2 1/2 cups boiling water

Sauté onions in pan over medium-high heat until lightly golden brown. Add carrots and continue cooking for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients except rice and water; stir well. Fix seasoning to taste.

Add rice and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add boiling water; bring to a strong boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until all liquids are absorbed (rice will not be fully cooked). Cool.

Dates in Rosemary-Cheese pastry

1/2 cup butter, coldand cut into small pieces

3/4 cup grated cheese (like a mild cheddar ... here I used what they call Pizza fromage ... fake really fake Mozzorella)

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

1 1/3 cups flour

salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

48 pitted Medjoul dates Pulse butter, cheddar, rosemary, flour, salt, and cayenne in a robo until mixture resembles cornmeal.

Add vinegar and 2 tbsp. very cold water and pulse just until mixture holds together.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap on your work area and turn dough out onto it.

Form dough into a 6-in. square, cover with more plastic wrap, and chill at least 1 hour in frig.

Preheat oven.

Put chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a 12-in. square.

Cut square into 48 (about)1x3-in. strips.

Wrap each date with a pastry strip.

Place them on the baking sheets.

Bake until pastry is golden, 15m??

This is a hot appetizer

Looking back, I would have put a sliver of the cheese also in the center of the date ... not only in the pastry dough.

Feta baked Hummous

Your already prepared hummous ( about 3 cups)

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon ground cumim

olive oil to coat the baking dish (or better yet if we had it cooking spray)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Garnish: parsley sprigs, olives, more feta ... whatever you think is purty!

Preheat oven.

Combine your hummous, half the feta cheese, chopped fresh parsley, and cumin.

Pour mixture to an square baking dish (that you would serve it in) coated with olive oil/cooking spray.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese.

Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Garnish and serve hot with pita chips or bread.

Pomegrante Apple chutney

1/2 cup apple jelly (alternatively use another jelly but will be little different taste/look)

1/3 cup finely chopped green onions, including tops

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced fresh chili( like a jalapeño)

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper Put in jelly in a Pyrex measuring cup.

Heat in a microwave until softened, about 20 seconds.

Stir in green onions, pomegranate seeds, ginger, chili, coriander, and lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste.

Let stand about 15 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin baklava (with walnut-honey topping)

1 pumpkin, seeded, peeled and grated (you should have about 7 cups) - or use butternut squash (for canned I have no idea how big are the cans ... so just have it be around 7 cups of the canned stuff)

1/3 c brown sugar (we made our own here)

1 t cinnamon

about half a package of phyllo leaves, thawed

2 sticks butter, melted

1 c walnut, toasted in a dry skillet and chopped fine

1/2 c sultanas, soaked in almond essence 1/2 hour (you coud use liquor if your into that) or just omit if you like also all together

Topping:

1/2 c honey

1/2 c walnut meats, toasted in a dry skillet and chopped fine

Grate pumpkin (or squash) and toss with 1/2 t salt.

Place in a colander and let drain over the sink for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Toss every once in a while, and press down on pumpkin with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much moisture as possible.

Put drained pumpkin into a large bowl, add brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, and mix well.

Butter a baking pan, 13" x 9" works well.

Place a sheet of phyllo directly onto the pan; if it overlaps, let the edges hang over.

Brush phyllo with some melted butter, and repeat layering until 10-12 sheets of phyllo have been used. (If you are using a round pan, rotate each sheet of phyllo slightly, so that the overhanging edges are surrounding the pan).

Spread pumpkin mixture evenly on phyllo and sprinkle with drained raisins and walnuts. Place another sheet of phyllo on top, brush with butter, and repeat until another 10-12 sheets of pastry cover the filling. (if you were using a round pan, fold the overhanging edges over the top of the pastry and brush with a bit more butter).

With a knife, cut the baklava into diamond shapes or rectangles, to make a total of about 18 pieces.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake baklava for about 40 minutes, then lower the heat to 325 degrees and bake for another half an hour, or until the pastry is golden.

Put on a cooling rack.

For topping: warm honey in a small saucepan until liquid, then stir in walnuts. Drizzle over baklava, cool slightly, and serve (or keep at room temperature for up to 2 days)

Sweet potato cigares

For this I took the above recipe ... replaced the pumpkin with sweet potato,omited the sultanas and folded into cigares instead of flat baklava.

2-3 large sweet potatoes

cinnamon

sugar (about 1/2 cup or to taste)

half package of phyllo leaves, thawed (we used douel)

toasted walnuts (about 1/2 cup)

2TBS melted butter

1 cup of honey

Cook in the sweet potatoes in water, unsalted. When cooked, drain and set aside to cool.

When cooled, mix in the sugar and cinnamon. Taste it so see if it's your liking. Add more seasoning if you want.

Lay a sheet of phyllo dough on a clean dry work surface. Use a pastry brush to brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter. Fold the phyllo sheet in half lengthwise, resulting in a 12 by 8-inch rectangle. Brush the top of the phyllo with melted butter.

Place the mixture (about spoonful) at a narrow end of the phyllo rectangle, leaving 1-inch on each side. Carefully roll up the phyllo dough into a cigar shape starting. About half way through the rolling, tuck in the 1-inch ends of the phyllo dough, and continue rolling.

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet, seam side down, and brush the top with butter. Continue rolling the remaining cigars. Bake until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Since we used douel for the dish ... we did not brush them with any butter ... and rather then baking them we fried them striaght ... drained them on paper towel.

But for both ways ... when still hot drizzle hot honey on them ... then dip one end of the cigares into the toasted walnuts.

If baked they store well in an air-tight container for 3 days ... if fried eat very soon ... they aren't tasty once they are soggy.

Cranberry and toasted almond couscous

2 cups prepared couscous (rub, soak, drain,steam method)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (soaked in water or not if you like) We used dried cherries since there isn't cranberries here)

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds (and/or pinenuts)

few knobs of butter

salt and pepper

Mix all of the above with fork and serve. Very easy!

[sereia 0]

Thank you for taking the time to post those, Henia! But 48 medjool dates in the pastry?!?!!? I can see the bill for those 48 dates now. Probably $50! I made ma'amouls a few months ago and I think I spent $15 on just a pound of them if my memory serves me correctly!

Sounds absolutely yummy!

[catknit 144]

At Stardragon's party I mentioned making these this weekend for my Christmas cookie trays and a few people were curious how they came together...sooooo...

No Bake Orange Balls [so 1950s it's hysterical!]

12oz Vanilla Wafers [like Nabisco's Nilla wafers]

1 stick of butter or margarine, softened [1/2 cup]

2 cups powdered sugar

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate

Sweetened coconut flakes [abt 7 oz], chopped nuts, sprinkles - anything dry that you care to roll the balls around in....

Crush the vanilla wafers into medium sized crumbs [i like them rough - adds some interest to the balls if you eat them within the first couple of days, after that the crumbs mellow into a uniform consistency]. Mix together the wafer crumbs, softened butter, powder sugar, and orange juice concentrate. Roll into 1+" balls - you'll get about 40-48 balls. Then, roll the balls into the coating of you choice - traditionally it's the coconut but I like to experiment. Part of me really really really wants to try Tang powder then chocolate sprinkles but I don't know what else to do with the remaining Tang powder!

Refrigerate at least a couple of hours before eating - best if over night. Will live in the fridge about 2 weeks+ in airtight container.

Here, in NJ at least, frozen oj comes in 12 oz containers so use only half!

[Henia 11]

Hey Jenn ... each date is wrapped in the pastry ... like pigs in the blankets .... so it wouldn't be that expensive ... make more or less according to your need!

[Nothing1234 2]

Made this today...with some changes but OMG big hit with the family. Gone in less than 15 minutes!

Black Bean Hummus

1 clove garlic (I added more..love garlic)

1 (15 ounce) can black beans; drain and reserve liquid (didn't use the extra liquid I used Olive Oil YUMMY)

2 tablespoons lemon juice (I added double I LOVE lemon)

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

10 Greek olives

DIRECTIONS

Mince garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Add black beans, 2 tablespoons reserved liquid (I used Olive Oil), 2 tablespoons lemon juice (I doubled this..you can also use Lime), tahini, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add additional seasoning and liquid to taste. Garnish with paprika and Greek olives.

Enjoy with pita chips OR Tortilla chips are GREAT too!!

Next time I'm going to double this recipe. It was such a hit it was gone quickly.

[Henia 11]

Nice recipe Nawal ... love hummous made with cannellini beans and also carrots/cinnamon mmmm! Your ckids are cuties!

[Nothing1234 2]

Nice recipe Nawal ... love hummous made with cannellini beans and also carrots/cinnamon mmmm! Your ckids are cuties!

Thanks Henia!! They are a handful for sure! The recipe rocks...wow carrots/cinnamon sounds yummy too!

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I looooooooooove indian food, but the husband is not a big fan. Until now. I found the best cookbook ever at a used bookstore 2 weekends ago:

"The Varied Kitchens of India - Cuisines of the Anglo-Indians of Calcutta, Bengalis, Jews of Calcutta, Kashmiris, Parsis and Tibetans of Darjeeling" by Copeland Marks

I've made probably 7 things from it, and each has gotten a rave review from the husband. It's rare that he'll give unsolicited comments on my cooking, but the spiced potatoes I made this weekend got 2 thumbs waaaay up and a request for more ASAP.

I'm seriously contemplating starting at the beginning and working my way through the entire cookbook. I will be avoiding the recipes that call for brains and stomachs though.

Here's a fish curry recipe that I *heart*

Muchli ka Kari (Jewish fish curry)

5 medium sized onions, chopped fine

1/4 cup corn or peanut oil (I always use less oil in my indian cooking and it's still tasty. I'd probably use 2 T here instead of 1/4 c)

1 T crushed fresh gingerroot (I used powder)

2 t crushed fresh hot red chili (I used a shake of aleppo chili I have, which is less spicy)

1 t salt

1 t ground turmeric

1 c chopped ripe tomatoes, fresh or canned (I used a whole can)

1/2 c water

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pound whole fish (they recommend betki, sea bass, red snapper or flounder, but I used catfish fillets)

2 bay leaves

1. Fry the oinions in the oil in a pan over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Add the gingerroot, garlic, chili, salt and turmeric. Stir-fry the imxture for 5 minutes to develop a thick paste

2. Add the tomatoes and water and continue to stir and chop at the ingredients for 10 minutes

3. Cut the fish into 1 inch wide slices, including the head (yeah, my fish had no head, and I wouldn't use a fish head, bleck!). Add this to the curry and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Baste now and then. Finally, add the bay leaves, if used and cook for 5 minutes

Serve warm, over rice

Note - although shrimps or prawns are not considered kosher by the traditional calcutta jews, the preparation would be the same for a shrimp curry. Substitute 1 pound medium shrip, peeled, for the fish.