Shortbread Cookies with Cloves: Ghraiba bil qurunful الغريبة بالقرنفل

Ghraiba are delicious, easy to make and endlessly versatile, a simple recipe that allows for different flavorings.

These Arab shortbread biscuits are both a stand by for unexpected guests and ubiquitous on special occasions like Eid.

This version cuts the melt-in-the-mouth sweetness of Ghraiba with the sharp piquancy of cloves.

Ingredients

200g butter
60g powdered sugar
300 g flour (may vary depending on the type of flour used.)
1 tbs of finally grated cloves 
2 teaspoons vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Decoration
A handful  of  cloves
Powdered sugar (optional)

Mix the sugar, butter and flour into a smooth dough. 300g of flour (about 3 cups) should be enough, but depending on the kind of flour you use you may need more. Add as much flour as you need until the dough is firm enough to shape.

Grind the cloves into a rough powder.

Sprinkle the powder on the dough, add the vanilla and work in.

Divide the dough into small lumps.

Take a bit of dough and roll it into balls. Press it gently between the hollows of your palms to make a slightly convex shape: Press a clove in the centre of each ghraiba. Some people prefer to use slivered almonds even in clove ghraiba, but I think whole cloves are prettier. Being in the oven weakens their taste, and fills the kitchen with the aroma of cloves!

Bake in the over at 220°C degrees for about 10 minutes. Take them out of the oven when they are still pale or your buttery soft ghraiba will harden and become indistinguishable form sugar cookies. It is usual to cover Ghraiba in powdered sugar, which is best done when the cookies get cold. They are sweet enough as they are though.

Aubergine and Tomato Salad - Mtabal متبل

Mtabal is an aubergine dish originating from the Levant and popular throughout the Arab world. It is a quicker version of Baba Ghanouj, where the aubergine is roasted until smoky, peeled then blended into a paste with tahini thinned out with lemon. Mtabal on the other hand is chunkier, made by dicing the vegetable up rather than mashing it, and drizzling tahini and olive oil on top.

It is served as an appetizer or side dish, and is eaten as a dip with hot Arabic bread.

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine (or 2 medium)

2 firm tomatoes, pulp removed (optional)

1-2 Chili peppers (optional)

1 large garlic clove, grated

Salt to taste

Lemon juice to taste

3 tablespoons tahini paste

Generous drizzle of olive oil

Handful finely chopped parsley

Roast the aubergine over an open flame until the skin begins to crisp. Alternatively slice thickly, brush with oil and place in a hot tray in the oven until golden on both sides. Leave to cool, then dice and place in a bowl. Grate one garlic clove over the cut up aubergine, add the lemon juice, a pinch of salt then mix and adjust to your taste. For some extra flavor you can add diced tomatoes (flesh only) and/or finely chopped chili peppers, but both are optional.

Drizzle with lots of tahini and olive oil. Make sure the latter is the raw unmixed sesame seed paste, not a ready made dip. Stir well before pouring in, so you don't just take the oil which gathers at the top. Decorate the Mtabal with chopped parsley and serve (warm or cold) with hot fresh bread.

Morrocan Chicken and Almond Pie - Bastilla بسطيلة بالدجاج

Bastila is a sumptuous Morrocan pie with layers of crushed almonds, cinnamon, egg and fowl, a heavenly mix of sweet and savory flavors. It is a dish fit for a Caliph's court, and popular history has it that it was brought to Morocco by the Muslim refugees from Andalusia. Traditionally, this pie is made with pigeon, but this cheaper version (adapted from a modern Moroccan Cookbook) uses chicken and omits the saffron.The authentic pastry used should also be home-maded waraqa, but in this recipe phyllo pastry is used instead. This pie is so rich that it is served as a meal in itself

Serves 8

Ingredients
20-25 sheets of phyllo pastry 
Chicken Layer
1 1/2 kilo chicken
3  cup finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 cup finely chopped coriander (cilantro) 
8 large eggs
200g butter
2 tsp cinnamon   
1 tsp of each, freshly grated nutmeg, ground ginger, black pepper, turmeric, ground saffron (optional)
Almond Layer 
4 tsp sugar
2tbsp cinnamon
250 g almonds, 
Garnish:
Powdered sugar and Cinnamon 

10 halved almonds

                                   

Skin the chicken, wash and cut into pieces, sprinkle with about 2tbsp lemon juice or vinegar set aside for 15 minutes, then wash and drain. Chop the onion finely. Put the chicken in a pot with the onion, and add all the spices.

Add a 1/2 litre of water and 100g of butter, and the fresh parsley and cilantro. Bring to boil, reduce the heat and cook for 45 minutes.

Remove and debone the chicken, then shred to small pieces set aside.

Reduce the chicken broth over high heat until you have a thick sauce. Beat 7 eggs into the broth mix well until the eggs are cooked and absorb any remaining liquid and set aside. 

Fry the almonds in hot oil until golden, set 10 almonds aside for decoration and process the rest with all the sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon until the almonds are roughly crushed but not reduced to a powder.

Melt the remaining 100g of butter. Now begin working with the phyllo dough. Keep the dough wrapped in a  towel while you work so it doesn't dry out.

Preheat the oven to 220°C degrees and grease the bottom of an oven-proof dish, about 30 cm in diameter. Cover the bottom with about 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing the layers with the melted butter and overlapping so a little less than half of the sheets drape over the edge of the dish.

Sprinkle a third of the crushed almonds mix over the pastry, then cover with a sheet of phyllo followed by the egg mixture. Press down then cover with a sheet of phyllo, follow with the chicken, press down with the palms of your hands then cover with a sheet of phyllo, and then finally add the remaining almond mixture, dust with cinnamon. 

Now carefully fold in the edges of the phyllo dough towards the center, brushing each corner with egg yolk before overlapping. 

Cover with the remaining phyllo dough for a neat finish (about 4 sheets). Tuck the edges into and under the pie, lifting gently with a butter knife. Brush the top with melted butter.

Bake until lightly browned. Carefully turn upside down, then return to the oven until the top is also golden brown.

Sift confectioner's sugar over the top.

Decorate with cinnamon and the 10 browned and halved almonds. Let the pie rest before serving.

Serve warm.

Date Filled Semolina Cookies: Magroodh مقروض ليبي

Magroodh (or Magroud) is the quintessential Libyan biscuit, and is an important part of every Eid. Makroot is the fried variant made in the rest of North Africa, while the Libyan Magroud is baked. Magroodh is made mainly from semolia and has a soft crumbly texture, and the filling combines sesame, cinnamon, nutmeg and dates. The final step of coating the magroud with orange-blossom infused syrup keeps them moist and adds another layer of flavor. Traditionally olive oil is used instead of corn oil, and warm natural honey is used in stead of syrup

Ingredients:

3 cups semolina

1 cup flour

1 cup corn oil

11/2 tsp baking powder

1 tablespoon orange blossom water or rose water 
 added to about 1/2  litre warm water to knead the dough

Filling:

750g date paste

2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoons grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon oil

1/2 cup sesame seeds (lightly roasted)

Syrup:
4 cup boilling water

3 cups Sugar

1tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon slice
2 tbsp orange blossom water
Decoration:
1/2 cup sesame seeds (lightly roasted)

Prepare the syrup by simmering all the ingredients on moderate heat for approx. 30 min until they reaches a syrupy consistency.. Add orange blossom and set aside to cool. For a richer taste, add 1 tablespoons of honey while the syrup is still warm. Set aside.

Mix the semolina, flour, baking powder.

Add the oil and mix. Cover and leave it to rest for at least one hour

Cut the date paste into small pieces and knead. Add some olive oil if the paste is not soft enough to be kneaded. Add cinnamon, grated nutmeg, sesame and work them in.

Roll out the sesame date paste with your palm into 4 long ropes. 

Divide the dough into 4 portions, take one portion of the dough and add the orange blossom flavoured  warm water a little at a time. Knead well until the dough becomes smooth and easy to shape. The dough will also   become lighter in colour

  Form the dough into a furrow shape

Place on of the rolls in the bed.

Pinch closed and smoothen the dough over the date roll.

Cut the roll into small pieces, at a slight angle, forming a diamond shape.

Decorate.

Place in a preheated oven at 220°C until golden. It  takes about 12 minutes.

Pour the cold sugar syrup over the  warm magroudh.

Turn the magroodh every 15 minutes, leaving it to soak in the syrup from the front, back and on each side. Remove from the syrup and put in sieve to remove the excess syrup, sprinkle with pan-roasted sesame seeds, and leave to rest (preferably overnight) before serving.

 Serve with tea or Arabic coffee