As we look at the end of Ramadan, the heart is aching and there is a feeling of sadness. We always wait for the best 30 days of the year, but the way it goes is like sand in between your fingers. You don’t even realize how quickly it passes. Alhamdulillah, I am grateful to the Almighty for giving me a better Ramadan, when compared to last year, where I really struggled with everything, thanks to the hectic schedule in my last work place. At that time, I had decided that I wouldn’t be working this Ramadan anywhere, and before I knew it, Allah opened up the doors to keep me as free as possible for this Ramadan. As always, I am not sure if I have done good to do the most I can during this month. There is always a feeling of “not doing enough” while the month slips through your fingers. However the feeling is, let us make sincere dua that Allah accepts all the little things we do, knowingly and unknowingly, and give us the due reward, as we await our fate on the Day, when He assembles all of mankind from start to finish.

This is also the time to appreciate and be grateful for all the blessings He has showered us in our life, the small and the big, and make sincere duas for all the people going through hard times, those in private and those in public, thanks to the world that seems to be very unfair at the moment. But we as people of faith, know for sure that nothing lasts forever, and just like Firaun met the most unlikely death that he never expected and how Allah kept him for us as a reminder till the end of the world. all those who think that the world is theirs have already their fate sealed and ready, Bi’iznillah…

Even though mine is always a food blog, those who are consistent readers know for sure how I pour out my feelings and thoughts in this little space of mine. It has been a long time since I have literally done that in this space, thanks to writer’s block or whatever is called. But the mind is muddled and the heart aches immensely at the situation of the world. The feeling of helplessness just chews the inside and we are unable to do anything. Alhamdulillah ala kulli haal…

Meanwhile, something that I have been wanting to make for a really long time and never got around making is the Arayes. It is a shamelessly easy recipe, but I have always been worried about multiple things going wrong in this recipe. Sometimes, I really wonder when I will ever stop my overthinking. This quality of mine has taken away a lot of my precious time and space in my life and head, that sometimes I really want to beat myself. What do I say? After a huge level of procrastination, I made this recipe, and I was shocked beyond at how easy it is and how difficult it is to screw it up.

Arayes is a Middle Eastern appetizer which is made in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and other Levant countries with small variation. The pita can be thin or thick, the meat filling can be a couple of spices more or less, but nonetheless, the essense is the same – pita with a slice of meat mixture in it, toasted to perfection and enjoyed immediately. I have placed it as an “entree” but it can be an any-time meal basically – a lazy lunch or dinner, or as a snack, like we enjoyed it after our simple Iftar of fruits and tharikanji. Please don’t forget to pair it with the dip for a delicious layer on top.

I kept the filling thin in each pita, so that I wouldn’t be worried about the meat not cooking. But if your pita is the thick ones, it is better to keep the filling thick as well, and cook for a longer time till the filling is done. Otherwise, this is a no fuss recipe. The bottom may get a little soggy when you bake it, but toast it on a stove top to get it crisp. Hmm… I guess that are all the tips I can think. Let’s move to the recipe…

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Arayes | Middle Eastern Pita Meat Pockets

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Arab

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 500 gm beef mince
• 1 onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 bunch parsley around 50 gm
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp ground all spice optional
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses optional
• Salt to taste
• 4 pita bread meduim
• Olive oil as required

FOR DIP

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 tbsp yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic
• One squeeze of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp cold water
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking tray and brush with olive oil.
• Mince the onion, garlic and parsley in a processor.
• Add into the mince along with the rest of the ingredients except the pita and olive oil.
• Give a good mix. Divide into equal portions, for a total of eight.
• Cut each pita into half, making a total of 8 peices.
• Spread each portion of the meat into center of the pita. Spread as thin as possible.
• Repeat for all pita and set aside, arranging on the tray.
• Brush with some olive oil on the top.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, till the meat is cooked. Grill the top for 1 minutes to brown the top.
• Serve hot immediately with the dip.
• For making the dip, blend all the ingredients together till smooth. Add 2 tbsp water first and add more to make it as per your required consistency. Keep aside in the fridge till the time of serving.

Notes

I have used thin pita bread. If you are using the thick pita bread, please make the filling thicker. 

The post Arayes | Middle Eastern Pita Meat Pockets appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

When September started, I had noted down that I will do one post every Monday. That was the deal. Somehow, after posting the Iced Hibiscus Tea, that didn’t happen. My whole plans went derailed. A few things came over which took over and the blog had to wait. Alhamdulillah, unfortunately, whatever took my time didn’t work out. I felt sad initially, and then I thought to myself, it wasn’t meant for me. If it was, the Almighty has absolutely no reason to block it from me. In the same time, during the Quran class, we were taught for the following verse:

And do not crave what Allah has given some of you over others. Men will be rewarded according to their deeds and women ˹equally˺ according to theirs. Rather, ask Allah for His bounties. Surely Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things. (Surah An-Nisa:32)

SubhanAllah… He tells us to keep asking so that He can provide from His infinite bounties. What more is there to assure myself that things will turn out for good! In Sha Allah…

Meanwhile, trying to get back into posting with this delicious curry, which is synonymous to the north Kerala district of Kasargode. Kasargode is a very peculiar state. Though it belongs to Kerala, they don’t speak legit Malayalam. Their language is a mix of all languages that belong to the boundaries in proximity to them, like Tulu, Kannada, etc. It is actually nice to hear, if you ask me. D had a colleague from there and his wife’s language was always over the head for us. However, umma managed to understand and can still pull out a decent conversation with her, where both understand each other despite their different dialects.

OK, so coming back to the curry, it is said to be a specialty of Kasargode and normally served in masjids during festivals, called “nercha” along with ghee rice, or during Ramadan and/or Eid. I adapted this recipe from an online source. The main difference in this curry from the way I usually make, is that the meat is marinated in a mix of aromatic spices for some time, before adding it to the onion-tomato masala to get cooked. It makes the dish more spiced and aromatic. I kept the curry a little thick because we had it with porottas, but surely this is amazing with any type of rice as well. When you crave for something different to make with your beef, then go ahead and try this amazing recipe, that doesn’t take much time, unlike the list of ingredients that go in, which seems quite long. Off to the recipe…

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Beef Palli Curry | Kasargode Style Meat Curry

Course Main Course

Cuisine Malabar

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef with bones, meduim peices

SPICES TO ROAST

• 3 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp fennel powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/8 tsp clove powder
• Salt to taste

FOR GRAVY

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 meduim onions chopped
• 3 green chillies slit
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• Handful of chopped coriander leaves optional

FOR TEMPERING

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5-6 dried red chillies
• 2 sprigs curry leaves

Instructions

• Wash and drain the beef well.
• On a hot saucepan, on low heat, roast all the ingredients under "spices to roast" for a few minutes or till aromatic.
• Add onto the beef, sprinkle in salt and toss well to coat all over. Marinate for 15 minutes or as long as possible.
• In a pressure cooker, heat coconut oil. Fry the ginger garlic paste for a couple of minutes.
• Add the onions and green chillies and saute till wilted.
• Add the tomatoes and cook till all mashed up.
• Now add the marinated beef along with a glass of water (ideally the water cleaning up any residue marination in the bowl), add more salt if needed.
• Cook for 5-6 whistles or till the beef is nicely cooked.
• Once done, sprinkle in the garam masala and add the coriander leaves if using.
• Heat oil for tempering. Splutter the mustard seeds and fry the dry chillies and curry leaves. Add in to the curry, allow it to rest for five minutes.
• Serve hot with neychor or flatbread of choice.

The post Beef Palli Curry | Kasargode Style Meat Curry appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Sometimes I feel that writing a blog these days is like talking to a wall – in literal sense. With the advent of videos and even quicker videos in all forms of social media, writing and recording recipes have taken a back seat. I can’t tell you how much of a discouragement it is for somebody like me and many of my blogger friends who have been writing down their recipes and keeping it patiently on the WWW after paying under their nose. Don’t doubt, it is money to keep a blog running. It isn’t cheap at all – to ensure that all our posts stays without crashing or getting lost. Of late, I have been toying with the idea of not blogging anymore and just let the blog be. Or maybe do posts only as and when I feel. But I know if I do that, I would never come back to the blog. Hence, working more on a push strategy than pull in this case…

Anyway, enough of ranting… I am always looking at easy recipes, that can be done without much effort. As much as I love to cook, most of the time, I just want to get it done. While trying to figure out whether I had a pressure cooker biriyani recipe, I realized I had only for chicken and not for mutton. Hence, the quest began… I am so glad that I did try making this recipe. First of all, it is quite easy with all ingredients in our cupboard. There are no extra efforts you need to do. Except for frying the onion for the topping – which you can even use store bought fried onions to make it easier, the whole process is in one pressure cooker. Don’t you like recipes like that? I just made it last weekend and out of excitement, I am posting the recipe without any delay…

The first step is to marinate the mutton for some time, which can be done first and allowed to rest, while making the onion and tomato masala. Once you put the mutton to cook, you can soak the rice, so that it plumps up in time to cook. This also makes the cooking time reduced as well. I have used minimal oil in this recipe, but you can add more if you want. Do try it when you are not in a mood for something elaborate but still want a good meal for your afternoons. Even though some people may argue that biriyanis made in pressure cooker isn’t essentially a “biriyani”, but you can’t call it a pulao either because the spices used in a biriyani is all used in this recipe, with just the missing of the “dum” step. But I have always felt that it doesn’t matter much, since it is all going to be mixed up anyway. Hehe…

Somehow Fridays are always biriyani day, even though the pattern of the weekend shifted last year. I guess till I get back to work – I am really hoping something works out soon, InShaAllah… – that thought won’t go off my mind. I hope that if you do land up on this page courtesy of Google, you would try the recipe and share your feedback… I paired it with garlic pickle, my favorite chammanthi and plain yogurt, but make some onion raita – the aunt I mentioned in that post is no longer with us SubhanAllah… – if that is your thing.

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Easy Pressure Cooker Mutton Biriyani

An easy one pot biriyani with mutton, made in a pressure cooker...

Course Biriyani

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

FOR MARINATION

• 800-1000 gm mutton with bones cut into meduim peices
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup coriander and mint leaves chopped mixed

FOR MASALA

• 1-2 tbsp oil
• Mixed whole spices of choice I used cardamom, cloves, star anise, cinnamon and bay leaf
• 1 tsp black peppercorn
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 3-4 green chillies
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tomatoes

FOR REST

• 3 cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves loosely packed
• 1/4 cup mint leaves loosely packed
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp rose water optional
• More ghee as needed

Instructions

• First, combine all ingredients under "for marination" and set aside.
• In a large pressure cooker, heat the oil. Add the whole spices and saute for a minute. Saute the onions till translucent.
• Blend the tomatoes, garlic and green chillies together. Add into the wilted onions and cook till oil floats on the top.
• Add the meat along with its marination and give a good mix. Check for seasoning. Add around half a cup of water, preferably used to take off the extra marinade.
• Close the lid and pressure cook for two whistles on high and on low for around 15 minutes. Switch off and allow the pressure to go by itself.
• During this time, wash and soak the rice for at least 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the one tbsp ghee and fry the onions till browned. Set aside.
• Coarsely chop all the mint and coriander leaves.
• Open the pressure cooker and give a good mix. The mutton will be almost done. Switch on the flame, add in the drained rice. Make sure to adjust seasoning at this point, you will need a little more salt than usual.
• Pour water an inch above the level. Sprinkle the coriander and mint leaves, fried onion along with the ghee, garam masala and rose water if using. Top with more ghee if using.
• Close the lid and pressure cook for one whistle. Switch off and allow the pressure to go on its own.
• Open, give a light mix and enjoy hot with raita and chammanthi.

Notes

Try to use mutton that is young meat. They cook faster and is way more tastier. 

For adding water to cook the rice, it all depends upon the stock in the masala. Once you add the rice, add water that is enough to cook the rice. You can do the finger test by dipping to touch the top of the rice and pour water till it is half to 3/4 of your finger. 

 

The post Easy Pressure Cooker Mutton Biriyani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

It is the end of the month and usually, if I am participating, that means today’s post is a part of the Sshh Cooking Challenge. This month, the theme is “Soups” as suggested by Priya Iyer and how much apt that can be! As soon as I was assigned the ever-friendly Kalyani as my partner, I ended up getting a viral flu – no, no, not because of you, Kalyani… – and the time became perfect to try making some soup. After a little chat with her, she finalized on shallots and coriander seeds as my secret ingredients, while I gave her bay-leaf and nutmeg, with which she made this amazingly creamy looking soup.

I already have a soup recipe using mutton bones, which is Malabar style. However, this soup is more like rasam, mainly because of the ingredients that go into it, namely the shallots, garlic, cumin and black pepper. I decided not to spend too much time prepping for the soup, so I just crushed all the ingredients, put everything into a pressure cooker and let it cook till done. While serving, add more crushed pepper and some chopped coriander and mint leaves for extra flavoring, and you are good to go. After making this soup, HD enjoyed it on the first day and I ended up drinking it two days in a row as one of my meals. It really soothed my clogged throat and awakened my senses. Since now is flu season, there is nothing more to make you feel warm than a bowl of good soup and lots of sleep. Off to this simple recipe…

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Mutton Bone Soup | Easy Mutton Soup

Course Soup

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 5-8 shallots/ pearl onions peeled
• 4 cloves garlic peeled
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 500 gm mutton soup bones washed and drained
• 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Coriander and mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

• In a mortar and pestle, crush from shallots to coriander into rough paste.
• In a pressure cooker, heat oil. Saute the crushed mixture till raw smell is gone.
• Add the mutton bones, turmeric and salt and toss.
• Add four cups of water, adjust seasoning and pressure cook for 4-6 whistles.
• Switch off and allow the pressure to go on its own.
• Add more pepper as needed, garnish with coriander and mint leaves and enjoy hot.

The post Mutton Bone Soup | Easy Mutton Soup appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

For the “Select one cuisine and cook three dishes” theme for this week’s Blogging Marathon #139, I picked Parsi cuisine as I mentioned in my post yesterday and decided to cook something that identifies as the main course. Parsi cuisine is highly meat and fish centric. Vegetarian dishes are very limited; however it can be noticed that potatoes are used with almost everything that can be savory. For example, today’s dish, which is a Parsi version of Matar Kheema, has some aloo thrown in with good measure, making it very similar to Aloo Kheema yet different. Did I confuse you? I think it is better to say that it is an amalgamation of the two dishes, in a Parsi way…

At home, not everyone loves mutton. It is only HD who enjoys this meat. My girls are not fond and I like it only to a limit. Hence, you may notice that I have cooked this dish with just 250 gm of mutton mince and still there was some leftover for me to have the next day afternoon. I have adapted the recipe from here. Even though the recipe list is exhaustive, the spices used are what is available in our pantry and despite the use of it, all the spices sit well in a lovely way. It was like everyone just did their job in the dish. The recipe comes together easily, doesn’t take much time and is delicious to scoop up with roomali rotis or even some pavs. Even though mutton mince is used, you can use chicken mince for a leaner version of this recipe.

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Kheemo | Parsi Style Minced Meat (Kheema) Curry

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 250 gm mutton mince
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 1 large potato
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 small onion minced
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp frozen green peas add more if you like
• 2-4 tbsp chopped coriander and mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

• Wash and drain the mince. Add red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and salt and mix well. Set aside.
• Peel and chop the potatoes into small peices. Boil in water for around 10 minutes or till partially cooked. Drain and set aside.
• In a pan, heat oil. Add the onion and saute till wilted.
• Add the tomato and tomato paste and cook till the tomato is completely mashed.
• Add the marinated mince and mix it in well.
• Now add all the spice powders and give it a good mix. Cook on low flame till the mince is almost cooked. Add water if needed.
• Add the potato and green peas and cook till completely done.
• Add chopped coriander and mint leaves and adjust seasoning. Enjoy with rotis or rice.

Notes

This kheema is not spicy at all. Add more chilli powder or add pepper powder if needed.

The post Kheemo | Parsi Style Minced Meat (Kheema) Curry appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

If there is one thing I love about participating in the Blogging Marathon, that is discovering recipes that I would have never come across. The themes make you think a little wide and out of the box and either come up with your own ideas or find a treasure among the recipes around the world. Now for this week’s theme of “Travel to Africa” for the edition #136, yesterday’s Shakshouka and the recipe intended for tomorrow – InShaAllah – were already in my mind. The former was something I was trying for a long time but wasn’t exactly fitting into my taste buds and the latter was a recipe I had bookmarked ages ago. But I really didn’t know what to pick for a main course dish. After a few searches, trying to find a dish that my folks would eat, I finally landed on a stew called “Maafe”.

Maafe is a West African stew, mainly made of meat with some root vegetables, but the main addition to it is groundnuts, or as we like to call it, peanuts and tomatoes. The name of this stew is known by different names around Western African, but is called Maafe in Mali and Senegal. Wikipedia says that this dish is not only loved in Western Africa, but in Cameroon and France, where there is a sizeable African population. While reading through a few recipe, I figured that my folks may like it and hence decided to give it a go.

I used a mish mash of all the recipes that I could read up and came up with one, so I can’t claim my recipe is authentic. However, what I understand is that every home has their own versions of the Maafe, especially when it comes to the usage of spices and the meat. However, the one common factor among all the recipes was the peanut butter. After all, it is “peanut stew”. In fact, the nutty flavor of this dish reminded me of the Fesenjan, which has walnut as its base.

The gravy is quite simple to make. You can use any vegetables of choice. Many recipes I saw used capsicum in it, some used sweet potato as well. I used carrot and potato, which was readily available at home. As for the spices, I used Creole seasoning, which I had got from US last year, since I saw one recipe use it. Most of the recipes use cayenne or paprika, pepper and salt as their spices. Since the seasoning blend had all of it with the addition of garlic powder, I used it. Stock/ bouillon cubes are used for extra flavor, but you can skip it if you aren’t fond of it. It is a very forgiving recipe, however the end result is a very thick, subtly spiced gravy, that goes amazingly well with plain rice or any bread. We had it with bread for dinner and it was a totally winner. Off to the recipe…

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Maafe ~ West African Groundnut Meat Stew

Course Main Course

Cuisine African

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 500 gm meat I used beef with bones
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 1/2 tbsp Creole seasoning refer notes
• 2 meduim onions roughly chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 carrot peeled and chopped
• 2 small potatoes peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 bouillion cubes
• 1 cup water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Wash and drain the meat.
• In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and fry the bay leaves. Add the meat along with ginger garlic paste and little salt and saute for around five minutes.
• Now add the seasoning along with all the chopped vegetables and toss to coat well.
• Add the tomato paste, bouillioin cubes and water. Adjust seasoning.
• Close the lid and cook for 5-6 whistles till the meat is cooked.
• Serve hot with a side of rice or bread.

Notes

Cut the vegetables big so that they don't break their size when the meat is done.

Usually meat chunks are used, but I used meat with bones for more flavor.

You can use chicken or mutton, or even eggs. Cooking time will vary accordingly.

Instead of Creol seasoning, use 1 tsp or more of cayenne/ paprika, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder and black pepper as per spiciness. 

Since the seasoning and the cubes were already salted, I didn't have to add any additional salt. 

The post Maafe ~ West African Groundnut Meat Stew appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Alhamdulillah, this year unlike the past two years, there is a full fledge Hajj happening in Saudi Arabia. It feels very heartfelt to see a million of our own brothers and sisters, unitedly call out the name of Allah, go through the process that was demonstrated by our Nabi (PBUH) on the blessed land of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). There are so many lessons of dedication, steadfastness and gratitude in the history of this month. We already know it, but it is always better to revisit the history and remind ourselves about it. Since the main event of Eid-ul-Adha is the sacrifice of domestic animals like goat or lamb, most of them prepare their dishes from that meat. Many foodies may refer to this Eid as “meaty Eid”.

I have been wondering which recipe to share on this occasion. I wanted to try a new mutton biriyani recipe and was wondering which one I would. Naturally, my head was titled to trying a local recipe. I tried to search on Google and there was only one option available to even refer to. I checked my cutout folder and there were no recipes in it as well. I am a little surprised since meat is eaten more regularly than chicken in this part of the world. Another disappointing thing was that the option available was absolutely confusing as far as the steps were concerned. If someone is trying the recipe for the first time, they would definitely have a mess in hand. So I reworked on the entire recipe and cooked it. The use of spices is minimal and hence I was a little concerned about how it would taste. To my surprise, it tasted amazing. It actually reminded me of the rare mutton biriyani D used to get from the local restaurant near his office during Ramadan – rare, because umma was never fond of mutton. The bites of the chickpea lentils is the highlight, do not skip it – a very stark similarity to the Omani Mutton Kabouli. It actually lends an amazing deliciousness to this mild biriyani and something that HD really loved. If you have no plans set for the day but want to cook something simple, then I would say to target this biriyani. Just make a batch of the bezaar spice blend in advance and you are good to go!

If you are looking for some meaty ideas, go on and explore the meat section for all sorts of ideas. But if you want me to suggest something specific to make, then here are my go-tos:

Thalassery Mutton Biriyani

Malabar Erachi Biriyani

Harrison’s Mutton Biriyani

Safed Maas

Bedouin Meat Rice

Lahm Majboos if you have bezaar and want to make something else

I may not post much next week, even though I absolutely have no plans on. But at times, little breaks are good to then come and blast in some amazing recipes… Have a blessed Eid and stay tuned…

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Lahm Biryani | Emirati Meat Biriyani

Course Main Course

Cuisine Emirati

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 400 gm mutton pcs with bones
• 1/4 cup chickpea lentils
• 10-15 almonds blanched
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp bezaar spice blend
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• 1 tbsp ghee

FOR RICE

• 1 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 clove
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 cardamoms
• 5-9 black peppercorns

Instructions

• Pressure cook the mutton with salt and pepper and set aside along with its stock.
• Pressure cook the chickpea lentils till done. Drain and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, boil lots of water with the whole spices and salt. Add the rice and cook till 90% done. Drain and set aside.
• In a cooking pan, heat olive oil. Fry the almonds and then the raisins. Drain and set aside.
• Add the onion and saute till golden brown.
• Add the spice powders and cook for a minute. Add in the tomato and tomato paste along with some salt and cook till nicely mashed.
• Now add in the mutton with the stock and the drained chickpeas and give a good toss. Adjust the seasoning and cook on low flame for around five minutes for the flavor to mingle.
• Now keep the flavor to the minimum. Top with the prepared rice. Sprinkle the fried almonds, raisins and coriander leaves on top. Drop the ghee in a few spots.
• Cover with aluminum foil and close the lid tight. Cook for around 15-20 minutes. Switch off and allow to rest for another 10 minutes.
• To serve, slowly fluff up the rice and serve warm with sides of choice.

The post Lahm Biryani | Emirati Meat Biriyani appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I have to say that I have eaten the most amount of ribs when we were with my sister last year in US. I can’t believe that it is almost becoming a year now since we have gone! The meat over there is simply delicious and my BIL being a hardcore carnivore, he used to keep buying for us a lot. It explains the weight loss I had in that short period, that I am still struggling to get rid of. :/ Hehe… So when the Blogging Marathon #132 theme of “Fast dinners under 30 minutes” was declared, this draft came to my mind since the ribs are the easiest part to cook and goes with any side of choice…

The rib has usually a very thin meat layer on it, and hence gets done really fast. Moreover, it will ensure that you don’t end up eating too much meat too than required. Pair it up with a fresh salad like this Salad Shirazi, some hummus or mouttabal and khubz, and you have a full meal on your side, in hardly any time. I would love such a meal any time of the day. Only one word of caution – yogurt tends to burn quickly in the oven so keep an eye on it while placing it on the grill. Off to the recipe…

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Curried Mutton Ribs

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 500 gm mutton ribs washed and drained
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil as needed

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and brush a little olive oil on it.
• Whisk ingredients from yogurt to salt in a bowl. Generously coat on the washed mutton ribs and place onto the prepared pan.
• Spray or sprinkle a little olive oil on top as well and bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Switch on the grill and grill for just a minute.
• Take out and serve hot with sides of choice.

The post Curried Mutton Ribs | Easy Mutton Ribs appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I have been finding it extremely difficult to get to blogging. I have my parents around and it has been crazy busy, in a good way. They are here just for a few more days, and that is why I thought maybe I shouldn’t focus much on the blog. Yet, when I get some time in, here I am trying to post at least one recipe in some free time I get…

With a lot of sweet posts floating on the blog, let me break it a little with these awesome sandwiches. It is getting cold and the worst part is the constant hunger. Snacking has become the norm and laziness creeps in most of the time. It feels really cozy to sleep in especially in the mornings. That is when sandwiches come handy. Aren’t they anytime food? You can use them as a meal or just-in-between bites. I don’t have that many sandwich recipes on the blog, which is something I would like to improve on, but let us concentrate on today’s super delicious sandwiches…

I made them with cooked beef, that I had in my fridge. You can use leftover curried peices, that usually don’t get eaten, because it is just meat. Hehe… The sauces are out of your fridge and when used, give a slight tinge of sweetness and a delicious barbeque flavor that amazingly complements with the meat. The filling is ready in minutes, and then spread on warm toasted bread and dig in right away. I would have added minced onion, but I am not a fan of raw onion, and hence I skipped it. You can even zing up your filling with a couple of diced jalapenos too… Off to this super simple recipe…

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Pulled Beef Sandwich | Easy Shredded Meat Sandwich

Course Snacks

Cuisine South American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 150 gm cooked beef chunks
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup heaped
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 4 slices bread big
• Butter for toasting

Instructions

• Shred the cooked meat. Add all ingredients from tomato ketchup to salt.
• In a fry pan, cook the filling just till done. The sauce will turn sticky and brown. Switch off.
• Toast bread till done.
• Spread half the filling on one bread and top with another. Make the second sandwich.
• Dig in warm!

Notes

You can add one tablespoon each of minced onion and/or jalapenos, as per liking for more bite.

I didn't add salt, since the sauce was salty in itself. 

The post Pulled Beef Sandwich | Easy Shredded Meat Sandwich appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I have always made it a point to post an Emirati recipe every December 2, starting from the Khabeesa. This time, I was in a fix and was really not ready. To tell you the truth, I am very relieved that  I am able to post something on this day and that too a recipe that I love from the heart. I have already mentioned that my entire life has been in the UAE. The way the country pampers you is unparalelled anywhere in this world. I am sure that the multi-national expats in this country will really vouch for it. Even when we went to the US, my girls were constantly comparing it to how UAE is. Talking about it, even my sister after being there for almost 11 years, still can’t get the UAE out of her. It is a very complicated relationship. Once you are in this country and you have experienced the warmth, it stays with you, come what may…

This year, the UAE celebrates 50 years of being a shining example to the world of how a country should be. Without adding too many words to my emotions, I only wish and pray that the country becomes more resilient and helps its inhabitants grow and prosper in this difficult times, as always it has done in the past and become a world super powder in the making… Aameen…

Coming to the recipe for today, Thareed is one recipe I have been wanting to try and post, ever since I have tried the vegetarian version a few years ago for the redundant MENA Cooking Club. Like I had mentioned on that post, this recipe is not unique to the Emirates. The Thareed is widely eaten in Saudi, Qatari and Bahraini cuisine as well, and the recipe remains more or less the same. This food is said to have been Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s favorite dish. This article has some very interesting references towards this food and its goodness towards health.

The Thareed is a loose stew made with any form of meat, usually mutton and lots of vegetables, especially anything that comes into the gourd family, like squash, pumpkin, bottlegourd, etc. It is served on top of the local thin bread called “Regaag”. The regaag soaks up all the liquid in the stew and leaves a heap vegetables and meat on the top. This dish is usually served during Ramadan and unfortunately is not very frequently available in local outlets unlike the Harees, luqeimat and even Majboos. However, there is this outlet in Masafi which serves such amazing Thareed that they start sale at 4 pm on weekends and it finishes within an hour. The portion is huge and can be shared by at least 4 people. I hope you can track it down on your next long drive towards that area.

The recipe is quite straightfoward and not very complicated to make, though it takes the time the meat takes to cook. The level of water is totally dependent upon your liking, though the stew is supposed to have a lot of liquid. Since I couldn’t get regaag, I used saj bread to serve this curry, and it tasted delicious enough. Another option you could use is khubz or Lebanese bread as well. The thinner the bread, the tastier it would be…

I was wondering what is the difference between the Salona and the thareed as the recipes are very similar, and what I figured out is that the Salona is served on its own with rice or flatbread seperately, while the Thareed is served along with the flatbread in one bowl. Of course, have a bottle of the Bezaar blend always ready in your fridge, so that you can make all your spiced Emirati dishes whenever you wish for it. Off to this simple and wholesome recipe…

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Thareed Lahm | Tharid ~ Emirati Meat Stew

Course Main Course

Cuisine Emirati

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 500 gm meat chunks with some bones I have used mutton
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste heaped
• 2 tsp bezaar spice blend
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 ts cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp black pepper more for spiciness
• Salt to taste
• 1 big loomi crushed
• 150 gm pumpkin chunks
• 1 large carrot peeled and cut into roundrels
• 2 koosa peeld and cut into roundrels
• 1 potato peeled and cut into chunks
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• Regaag bread to serve can use saj or khubz

Instructions

• In a pressure cooker, add the ghee and oil. Add the garlic and sizzle.
• Add in the onions and saute on high flame till it turns golden brown and smells fried.
• Add the tomato and tomato paste and cook just till mashed.
• Add in all the spice powders and the loomi and give a good mix.
• Add the washed and drained mutton, add in the salt. Add a cup of water and close this lid.
• Pressure cook for 3-5 whistles, till the mutton is almost done. Allow the pressure to go by itself.
• Open the lid, add in the vegetable chunks. Adjust the seasoning. Close and cook for one whistle. Take off and allow the presure to go. By this time, the mutton should fall off its bone and the vegetables should be cooked but still in shape.
• Open the lid, and check the seasoning. Add the coriander leaves. Add more hot water if needed.
• To serve, layer dish with regaag or saj bread. Pour the stew only all over the bread for it to soak. Top with the mutton chunks and vegetable. Dig in.

Notes

Make sure to cut the vegetables based on its cooking time. I cut the potatoes, pumpkin and koosa into big chunks since they cook faster and the carrots into meduim roundrels so adjust the cooking. 

You can replace the mutton with chicken. In this case, cook everything together. 

The post Thareed Lahm | Tharid ~ Emirati Meat Stew appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.