Libyan Potato Fritters with Cumin and Coriander: Aqras Batata Mabshura أقراص بطاطا مبشورة

These fritters are easy to make and virtually fail-proof, unlike the more finicky hash browns. They are also very versatile: as a side dish, as part of a selection of finger-foods, or with a salad as the main meal. Harissa or yogurt dips (mild or spicy) are great sauces to serve alongside the fritters. This is the sort of recipe that is easily adapted to taste, or what you have in your store cupboard: vary the seasonings and herbs, add vegetables (e.g peas, paprika, leek, cauliflower) or use up leftovers (e.g chopped cooked chicken, cheese).

Makes about 30 fritters
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, grated
1 large onion finely chopped
2 red chili peppers, finely chopped (optional)
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
2 large garlic cloves grated

3 eggs beaten
3 heaped tablespoons flour
3 teaspoons cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Vegeable oil for frying

            

 Grate the potatoes using the largest holes of your grater, then combine with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix well.

Each fritter should use one heaped tablespoon of the mixture.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fit in as many fritters as you can at a time. Fry on medium heat until golden on each side.

Remove from oil and put on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

The fritters should be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and must be served warm. If you have not used the optional chilies in the recipe, or if you like extra-spicy food, serve with harissa. Otherwise, serve with yogurt dips: either mild cucumber and mint yogurt sauce or spicy garlic, chili and coriander yogurt sauce.

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. 

Fried Fish with Mashed Potato Filling: Mbatan Kawali سمك مقلي محشي بالبطاطا

Mbatan are uniquely Libyan, it means 'lining' two layers with stuffing.  Always fried, Mbatan are vegetables stuffed with a minced meat mixture, like Cauliflower Mbatan  and Potato Mbatan . Mbatan Kawali is the exception, small fish stuffed with potato, garlic and coriander.

The stuffed fried fish are usually served as an appetizer or side dish, and as with all seafood meals in Libya is accompanied with a tomato, garlic and cumin salad.                                                              

Serves 4-6 as Main, 8-12 as Side Dish 

Ingredients

12 Small fish fillets (ideally Kawali, Herring is a good substitute)

Vegetable oil for frying

Potato Garlic and Coriander Filling:

3 medium size potatoes

1 cup finely chopped fresh coriander 

3 large garlic cloves

1 hot chilli

salt and pepper to taste.

Fish coating

2 beaten eggs

1 cup fine bread crumbs

1 cup white flour 

Tomato Salad

4 tomatoes, sliced

2  finely grated garlic cloves

2 tbs vinegar

2 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs spoon salt

1 finely grated chilli 

1 cup finely chopped parsley

 Boil and peel the potatoes, cut into cubes, then mash with a fork.

Add the garlic and chilli mix, chopped coriander, spices and salt to the mashed potatoes.

Stuff the fish fillets with the potatoes and herb mixture.

                        
                                           Dip each fillet in the beaten eggs.

Coat each piece with flour and bread crumbs.

          Fry in hot oil, transfer to kitchen towels to absorb excess  oil.              

                                        

Set the fried stuffed fish aside, start to prepare the tomato salad. 

  Slice the tomatoes.

Blend garlic cloves and chillies in the mixer or chop finely.

Add lemon juice, vinager and cumin, mix all the ingredients together into a paste. Rub the paste into each tomato slice from both sides. sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.  

Serve the fish mbatan with the spicy tomato salad.  

Fried Cauliflower with a Cumin Batter and Minced-Meat Filling - Mbatan Kronb Alzahra مبطن كرنب الزهرة

Mbatan Kronb is a delicious side dish, with cumin flavoured batter and a minced meat filling lifting it above plain fried cauliflower. It is a traditional variation on the more famous Libyan recipe of meat-filled potato wedges which are referred to simply as Mbatan.

This type of Mbatan uses cauliflower florets instead of potatoes, and the minced meat and parsley filling is flavored with cumin. The stuffed cauliflower floret is dipped in a thick cumin batter and then fried until golden. This stuffed cauliflower Mbatan is also served as a Main meal with noodle rice: after frying the cauliflower florets place them in an oven proof dish, add tomato sauce and bake for 20 minutes.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower 
vegetable Oil for deep frying


Filling
500g minced lamb
1  cups parsley, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter/ samn ( clarified butter or ghee )
2tbspoon bread crumbs
2 tspoon spices mix
1 tspoon black pepper
1 tbspoon salt
1  egg
Batter mix
3 tbspoon plain flour
3 tbsp water
2 larg eggs
1 large garlic clove very finely grated  
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Prepare the stuffing. Put 2 tbs butter in the frying pan, add the minced meat and cook on medium heat. Do not cover and stir occasionally until it releases its own liquid, when the minced meat has dried add a cup of hot water half the amount of the chopped onion,all the spices cover and cook on  medium  heat until all the liquid is absorbed . Reduce the heat add the remaining amount of the onion and all the amount of parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, when it get cold, break in one egg and 2tbspoon bread crumbs and mix well.

Prepare the batter mix. Beat two eggs with  of flour, grated garlic cloves a pinch of salt , 2 tsp cumin, baking powder and the 4 table spoons of water to make a thick batter.

   

Using a sharp paring knife separate the cauliflower into florets. Select the large florets and parboil them (half cooked), then leave to cool. Make an incision in the middle of each compact floret, creating a place for the stuffing but leaving the base intact. You don't need to make a cut when you have several small florets loosely attached to a single stem, just fill the 'hollows'.

Stuff with the meat mixture, pressing firmly into place.

Dip 'head first' in a bowl of flour to cover just the filling, then place in the cumin batter and spoon it over the whole floret, ensuring that it is well coated. Lift up the floret with a spoon to hold the stuffing in place, and place in the hot oil.

Fry in batches.always start with the filling side downward then turn to fry all sides 

Remove the florets when golden brown, drain excess oil.

The meat filling inside.

Mbatan Kronb served as aside dish or you can put it in an oven proof dish, add tomato sauce and bake for 15 minutes and serve as a main with noodle rice

Fried Potato Wedges Stuffed with Minced Meat: Mbatan Batata مبطن بطاطا

Mubatan, or Mbattan which is also called Batata Mbatna, is a Libyan speciality which consists of potato wedges with a herb and minced meat filling, coated in breadcrumbs and egg and fried. They are especially popular in Ramadan.

This addictive appetizer is made by slicing a potato, keeping two slices joined together at the base to form a sandwich which is then filled with the parsley and minced meat mixture.

The art of making mubatan is all about the slicing of the potato. Once you master that, this easy and delicious Libyan dish is bound to become a favorite. An easier and healthier version for everyday is Mbattan in the oven.

Ingredients:
4 medium size potatoes
Vegetable oil for frying
Meat Stuffing:
5oog minced beef or lamb

1 finely chopped medium onion

2 cups finely chopped parsley
1 finely grated garlic cloves
1 finely chopped chilli pepper (optional)

1 tspoon each: black pepper ,cinnamon, ginger
1 tbspoon salt 
1 beaten egg
2 tbspoon breadcrumbs
2 tbspoon butter
1 cup boiling water

Coating:
4 tbspoon fine breadcrumbs
4 tbspoon white flour

2 large beaten eggs

Prepare the stuffing. Put 2 tbs butter in the frying pan, add the minced meat and cook on medium heat. Do not cover and stir occasionally until it releases its own liquid, when the minced meat has dried, add 1 cup of  boiling water, the chopped onion, all the spices and cook on  medium  heat for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat, add the chopped parsley. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes until the excess liquid evaporates.  Remove from the heat, add the beaten egg and 3 tbspoon breadcrumbs and set aside.

The most important stage in making mubattan is cutting the potato. Cut a thin slice widthways which stops three quarters of the way down. Then cut the second slice the whole way, so you end up with a potato slice which opens like a sandwich. Place the sliced potatoes in water while you work.  

         Mix breadcrumbs and  flour in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the two eggs and set aside. Open the wedge and fill it with the mixture, pressing in firmly with your finger along the exposed edges.There should be no gaps, and the sandwich should not be too full either.

Take the filled wedge, holding it from the joined end, and cover just the filling with the breadcrumbs and flour mix. 

Once you have dipped each mubattan piece in flour, set them aside on a plate until you are ready to fry them.

 Dip each one in egg just before placing it in the frying pan.

Place the mubattan in a deep frying pan, and fry on medium-high heat until golden brown. The filling is cooked so frying mbatan is like frying thick potato slices. Crowd as many pieces into the frying pan as possible to keep the oil from overheating so the potatoes have time to cook through.

Remove the mubattan when golden brown, place them on tissues and pat away excess oil. The wedges are now ready to eat.

 If your potatoes are sliced too thick, a trick is to fry them for colour and then cover the mubatan with foil to finish cooking in the oven. Some people pour a spicy tomato sauce over the mbattan before placing them in the oven, but I think they are lighter and crispier plain.