Fritters in Syrup: Lugmet El Qadi العوامــــــــــه او لقمت القاضي

Lugmet El Qadi, literally "The Judge's Mouthful," is a fried dessert made in much of the Arab world, known by many names including Zalabia and Awammeh. They are basically Arabic doughnuts, only bite-size. Once placed in oil, the batter puffs up into crisp golden balls.

When done, they should be soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside.  Before serving the fritters are doused in sugar syrup. To decorate, roll the fritters in confectioner's sugar, a blend of sugar and cinnamon, dessicated coconut, or ground pistachios.

Ingredients

Serves 6

Sugar Syrup 

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 tbspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon rose or orange blossom water

Batter 

4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 pack instant dry yeast + 1tbspoone sugar

2 2/3 cups water

Vegetable oil for frying

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Set aside in warm place until frothy, about 10 minutes.

Put flour and salt in a bowl and pour in the yeast mixture, and the rest of the water, stirring the liquid in. Process until the mixture is smooth.

It should be thick but gooey. If it is too thick, add more water. Cover, leave in a warm place for two hours. Meanwhile, make the sugar syrup. 

Place the sugar, water and lemon in a saucepan and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the rose or orange blossom water at the end. Set aside.

Dip a teaspoon in cold water, and shake all the water off. Scoop into batter and use to drop small balls of batter into hot oil. Fill the skillet and then move them around.

When golden brown, remove and place in a sieve or absorbent paper. 

Pour sugar syrup on top, so they are coated from all sides. 

Roll in confectioners sugar or dessicated coconut.

Serve immediately. 

Arabic Milk Pudding: Mahalabia محلبية

Mahalabiya is a sweet Arab dessert similar to blancmange, made of milk and sugar, and thickened with cornstarch then laced with rose water or orange blossom water. It is often eaten during Ramadan after iftar or for the dawn meal of suhor. The milk custard can be garnished with with ground pistachio and almonds or with cinnamon, raisins and shredded coconut depending on preference. 

Ingredients
Serves 6

6 cups whole milk
5 tbsp corn starch
5 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp rose water or orange blossom water

Garnish


Cinnamon
Raisins
Dessicated coconuts

In large sauce pan heat the milk and sugar, reserving 1 cup of milk.

Dissolve the corn starch in a cup of milk, pour it into the pan and whisk briskly.

Add the rose water and stir until the mixture thickens and small bubbles appear. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Pour into individual serving bowls and garnish. 

Refrigerate until the thickened milk sets, serve cold.

Ramadan Apricot Drink: Qamar Al Din قمر الدين

Qamar Ed-Din is a  thick, sweet apricot drink which is made during Ramadan. Qamar ed-din is apricot paste which is spread in sheets and sundried, and the sheets can be bought in most oriental shops.

Ingredients 
Serves 6

1/2 pack of qamar ed-din
3 cups of water
Sugar to taste
Optional Flavourings:
1 tablespoon Orange blossom water
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Cut into small pieces, put in a pot and pour about 3 cups of hot water on top, bring to boil  then turn of the heat. Allow to soak and dissolve for at least 1 hour. 

 Stir and strain through a sieve, or use a food processor to blend into a thick liquid.

Mix with water and sugar to suit your taste. Add Cinnamon or Orange blossom water if using.

Refrigerate, serve cool or chilled.

Libyan Soup with Lamb and Mint: Sharba Libiya شربة ليبية

As its name suggests Libyan Soup is our national dish, equally popular in all regions and summing up in a spoonful the flavours that dominate Libyan cuisine.  There is definately something addictive about this aromatic soup, it's made almost everyday during the fasting month of Ramadan and the only complaints are when another soup is made for variation. There are versions with chicken and fish, but this is the recipe for the classic Sharba Libiya with lamb and dried mint. You can omit the whole spices and still produce a delicious soup, but this is a recipe where more truly is more.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

200g lamb meat, chopped into small cubes

1 onion, chopped

1 finely chopped tomato 

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried mint
4  tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup lisan asfour (orzo or other soup pasta)

1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight then cooked or use canned (optional)

about 11/2 litres boiling water

1 heaped teaspoon each of: turmeric, black pepper, red paprika, mixed spice

1 level tablespoon salt

Whole Spices (optional)

1 cinnamon stick
5 cardamom pods, crushed
A few shaiba leaves (known as dagad phool in Indian cuisine)
3 bay leaves  

Pour the oil in a pot, add the chopped lamb and chopped onion, drop in any whole spices you are using, stir on medium heat for a few minutes until the oil is infused.

Add the ground spices, chickpeas,chopped tomato,  tomato paste and  cook for few minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionaly.

 Add 1/2 a litre of water and 2 tablespoons of parsley , then cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes. Once the lamb is cooked, remove the whole spices. Add a litre of boiling water, then add the parsley, and lisan asfour (orzo) cooking for further 15 minutes.



After turning off the heat rub a handful of dried mint between the palms of your hands straight into the pot, then give the soup a final stir.

Serve the soup with lemon wedges, tanoor bread and mbattan.

Eggs with Chard: Silq bil Dahi سلق بالدحي

Silq bil dahi is a breakfast or supper dish of sautéed chard with fried eggs drizzled with lemon juice and oilve oil. It's a simple quick meal making it  a popular choice for the pre-dawn suhoor in Ramadan.

Ingredients
3 eggs
10-15 chard leaves
Olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Wash the chard, lay the leaves on top of each other and chop width-ways into broad strips. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, add the chard and stir occasionally.

When the chard has cooked push aside to make spaces in the pan, then crack the eggs into the 'holes'.

Cook until the eggs have set, then turn off the heat and cover. Leave for a few minutes to finish cooking. 

Salt and pepper to taste , drizzle with olive oil and lots of lemon juice and serve with hot flat bread.

Arabic Savoury Pastries: Bureek Muwaraq بوريك مورق

This post is a reply to a request by Umm Obaidah for a bureek dough with a meat filling recipe. We hope you enjoy this recipe, let us know how it goes!

Börek in Turkey and the Balkans is a specific name for pastries made with  yufka dough. However in Libya Bureek is used interchangably with the Arabic word Fatayir as the generic term for savory pastries.

Any type of dough can be used to make Fatayir/Bureek, including ready made phyllo, spring-rolls or puff-pastry. Savoury pastry fillings include herbs, cheese, vegetables or meat; and the pastries are fried or baked.

Our Bureek recipe starts from scratch, creating thin layers from an unleavened dough. This dough recipe is relatively easy and incredibly versatile, so it has become a staple in the Libyan kitchen. As in puff pastry, the layers of flaky dough are created by repeatedly folding over the dough and rolling it out, but rather than being spread with solid fat, the dough here is rolled with starch and then soaked in oil. This dough only absorbs a little of this oil, so it is a healthy alternative to real puff-pastry. When made right, the bureek is light, with a fine flaky texture.

Makes about 20 pastries
Ingredients

The dough:
3 cups white flour
1 cup water
3 tbspoon melted butter/ghee
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 heaped teaspoon salt

Veg. oil to cover the rolls of dough
1 beaten egg for brushing
Starch (usually cornfour)

Filling Suggestions:

White cheese and dried mint
200g white salty cheese (e.g feta) cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons ground dried mint

Spinach and onion filling:
400g fresh spinach (or Chard) washed, well drained and chopped
2 medium size onions, cuts into thin wings
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon freshly grated whole nutmeg (optional)

Mince meat filling:
200g lamb/veal mince meat
1 large finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon mixed spices
Salt and paper to taste

9

Prepare the dough by combining all the dry ingredients. Mix and then add the liquid ingredients. Mix and knead until smooth, and cover with cling film. Leave to rest, while you prepare the filling

Filling Suggestions:

These fillings should be moist but without excess liquid. The amount mentioned above should be reduced appropriately if you want to use more than one of these fillings. 

 For the white cheese filling, just cut the cheese into small cubes and then mix it with the dried mint 

Prepare the spinach filling by melting the butter in a thick base pan. Add the onion wings and cook until soft. Add spinach, stir and cook on medium heat  for a few minutes, then add salt and pepper  to taste and nutmeg if using.

For the meat filling, melt the butter in a thick base pan and add the mince meat. Cook on medium heat, stir until the liquid has evaporated, then add the chopped onions and the spices. Mix well, cover and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.

Burek Dough: 

Divide the dough into 2 pieces, work with one and leave the other covered with the cling film. 

 Sprinkle the work surface with starch. Roll each piece into a rectangle about 20 cm  x 40 cm, then sprinkle generously with starch 

Roll the dough as in the picture above.

Cut the roll into small pieces about 2 cm width. Repeat the last three steps the same with the second half of the dough. 

Arrange the small rolls in a deep plate and cover with vegetable oil. Leave the rolls soaked in oil for at least one hour. After you have used up all the rolls pass the oil through a sieve then use as usual.

Remove one roll from the oil and place it on the work surface in this position , press the top with palm of your hand  to flatten it gently.

Now roll out with a rolling pin, until you have a thin strip about 40 cm long. 

Put one tablespoon of the filling at one end and fold the dough above the filling to make a triangle shape. Hold the filling with the dough and fold from one side to another to form a triangle as below.

 Cut the excess dough. 

Do the same for the other rolls, the triangle must be neat and with no filling leaking out. 

Arrange the triangles in the tray, brush with beaten egg and bake at 220 C degrees until golden.

When cut in half you can see the separate thin flaky layers of the pastry.

Serve warm in a flat plate.