Sultan's Kitchen

[AngelK96 0]

[MrsAmera 41]

Haloumi cheese - anyone know where I might be able to find this? I've tried Arab groceries....no luck....

[sereia 0]

no arab groceries had it? what about any greek groceries? do they have those in DC? or a gourmet market? even whole foods should have it! if i can find it here in OC, you should be able to find it there! LOL!!!

[MrsAmera 41]

I'm going to try the Greek Grocery today. If I can't do that then Whole Foods I guess....hmm I should just call..

[Nothing1234 2]

Haloumi cheese - anyone know where I might be able to find this? I've tried Arab groceries....no luck....

Typically Costco and Whole foods carry it.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Ah, I found several recipes from my Varied Kitchens of India cookbook online

http://recipes.wuzzle.org/index.php/61

I've been going through the Tibetan section of the book and was surprised to see how much tamarind was being used. I always associate tamarind with the MENA and the Phillipines, but wasn't aware it was used in south/central asian cooking.

Another recipe online from the book is Chicken and Potato Curry (Murgi Aloo Kari) - at the bottom of the article.

It looks like it's available cheapest from a muslim bookstore - http://www.halalco.com/cookbook.html - although I didn't have a good experience when I ordered from halalco 6 years ago. Perhaps they've gotten better with time?

[MrsAmera 41]

LOL Halalco is down the street from me! I could pick it up and mail it to you!

[sweet_peach 0]

VP did you ever find that date syrup you were looking for?

I went to this arab food store and seen two kinds one from syria and one from iraq. One was in a can and one in a bottle and I thought about you and wondered if you ever found it????

Yes I did! Thank you for thinking of me

A VJ angel sent me two big jars and I've had aseeda rub twice since then This brand is from Lebanon and it's excellent I guess Lebanon has many great things to offer

Now in Egypt we bought it in a can not a jar and I didn't look at the can but I'm assuming it was Egyptian but I guess it's very possible it was imported from elsewhere.

The first time I made it here we had WAY too much because it's just me and my two kids and we all eat like birds. Well, my son is getting to a point where he's eating more than us... turning into a man doesn't he know he's supposed to stay my baby forever?????

Lebanon has lots of great things...

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Anyone else's spouse an okra fan? If so, I have an excellent recipe for beef and okra from my Varied Kitchens of India cookbook that I can type out and post here. The husband gives is

[Henia 11]

MrsAmera, where do u live? Maybe I can help.

My husband hates okra ... LOL good since I donnot like it really myself. One food I donnot have to cook LOL!

I started a food blog : http://fierypaprika.blogspot.com/ It's not much now ... new but will keep me busy.

[MrsAmera 41]

i live in washington dc (well just outside in northern va).

[Henia 11]

Ok let me see what I can find.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

From my favorite cookbook, Varied Kitchens of India

Piaju, Two-Lentil Fritters

1 cup yellow lentils/chana ka dal

1/2 cup red lentils/eygptian

1/2 t crushed fresh ginger root - I just used powder

1 small garlic clove, crushed to a paste - used garlic powder

1/2 t chopped fresh hot chili - don't keep chilis on hand, so used chili powder

1/2 t ground turmeric

1/2 t salt

2 medium onions, chopped (1 cup)

1 T fresh coriander - didn't have this, so I threw in some ground coriander seeds. Next time I may use parsley

1 c oil for frying - I used probably 1/3 c

1. Soak the yellow and red lentils separately in water for 4 hours. Drain. Crush them to a coarse paste in a processor.

2. Mix the lentils and the gingerroot, garlic, chili, turmeric, salt, onions and coriander together - I divided the lentils in half and put half the ingredients in with each half into the food processor

3. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over moderate heat. Take 1 heaping T of the lentil mixture and shape into a 2 inch fritter about 3/8 inch thick. Continue to shape firtters with the rest of the mixture. Brown them in oil for about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels

Serve warm with lemon wedges - I just squeezed lemon juice into a bowl. Mmm, tasty.

When I make these again, I'll only make up what we're going to eat just then. They're not as good reheated.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/baking/rec..._plum_tart.htmlEveryday Baking . Recipes . Rustic Plum Tart | Everyday Food | PBS

I couldn't find any plums at the store, so I substituted 1 16 oz package frozen peaches and 1/2 16 oz package frozen strawberries. This ended up making too much filling, so I baked some filling by itself, which was very tasty.

Mine doesn't look as pretty as the Martha Stewart picture, but it was delicious.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

And these are some appetizers I threw together recently. Belgian endives topped with home made hummus, tuna mixed with sweet curry powder and topped with a calamata olive. Don't use the first 4 or 5 leaves from the endives, as they're a bit too bitter