Sesame Halva Recipe

Photo: Sesame Halva Recipe

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Sesame Halva recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Sesame Halva. 

Sesame halva is an indulgence for our sweet tooth straight from the heart of the Orient. Halva is a dense brick like confection which can be made from a number of ingredients like beans, nuts vegetables and sunflower seeds.

Sesame halva is one such edition among the wide range of halvas worldwide. Sesame halva is a much loved sweet among the inhabitants of Balkans, Middle East and Poland. Apart from sesame or tahini paste, this oriental delight gets its share of subtle sweetness from the brown sugar and honey.

Additional elements like pistachios, chocolate, fruit juice or vanilla turns it into an extravagant treat for our palate. Some versions have marshmallow roots and egg whites in them which impart a unique taste to sesame halva.

If you are planning to prepare sesame halve for your kid, don’t forget to add some nuts and chocolate in it. They will simply love the rich chocolaty flavors complimented by the playful crunch of the nuts. The best part of making sesame halva is that you can make loads of in one go, then store it in the freeze and pop a piece of into your mouth whenever your heart craves for something sweet. So prepare sesame halva and let its flavors excite you!

Ingredients

2/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
2/3 cup milk
2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup chopped nuts (pistachios and almonds)

Method

1. Boil a mixture of milk and sugar in a pan over medium heat until it reaches the soft-ball phase. 
2. Turn off the heat and add the remaining ingredients.
3. Don’t stir the mixture and leave it just like that for a couple of minutes.
4. Now whisk the mixture briefly and pour it into a previously greased mould.
5. Allow it to set before cutting it into pieces and taking pleasure in the lip-smacking sesame halva. 
 

More Recipes from the Hummus Blog: 

Eggplant Fatteh with Meat and Keshk
Best Baklava
Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha) 
Stuffed Grape Leaves    
Stuffed tomatoes with lamb mince, dill & rice
Couscous-Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce
 
Save and Share Sesame Halva Recipe recipe 

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.

Eggplant Fatteh with Meat and Keshk Recipe

Photo: Eggplant Fatteh with Meat and Keshk Recipe

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Eggplant Fatteh with Meat and Keshk recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Eggplant Fatteh with Meat and Keshk.

Cuisine: Lebanese
Category: Levant
Serves: 6 persons
Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium

Preparation time :     15 minutes
Cooking time :     50 minutes 

Ingredients

3 large eggplants or 750 g

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup vegetable oil, (for deep frying)

1 medium onion or 150 g, finely sliced

5 pieces pita bread or 150 g

1 tablespoon butter

100 g onions, chopped

400 g minced beef

7 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cubes MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon or 20 g

¼ cup water or 60 ml, hot

¼ cup liquid whey (jameed) or 50 ml

2 cups yoghurt or 500 g

3 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped 

Preparation

Cut each Eggplant in half (length-wise), with a small knife cut and scoop out flesh, and keep aside. Each eggplant should yield two shells with a 1cm thickness, plus the flesh from the inside. Salt eggplant shells, and flesh and allow the bitter juices to get drawn out.

In a deep frying pan heat up Vegetable Oil. Fry Onion slices until golden brown and set aside on kitchen paper for the excess oil to drain.

Cut flat bread into 2cm squares and fry on hot oil until golden brown and set aside on kitchen paper to drain excess oil.

In the same hot vegetable oil, deep fry eggplant shells until golden but not soft. About 2/3 cooked. Gently remove and arrange tightly in a single row in an oven proof dish.

In a separate pan, melt Butter, sauté Chopped Onions until translucent, add eggplant flesh and continue to fry until soft. remove and set aside.

In the same pan sauté Minced Meat until cooked. Add Garlic, MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon , Water, and the jameed. Add Onion and Eggplant mixture to the pan and cook together for an additional 5 minutes.

In a mixing bowl combine Yogurt and chopped Mint leaves and stir.

Spoon meat and eggplant mixture into the eggplant shells, top with fried bread pieces, pour over the yogurt and mint and spread over to cover the dish equally. Garnish with fried Onion Slices and bake in a preheated oven at 175c for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot with Salad or flat bread.

Nutritional Information

Energy :     505.00 Kcal
Protein :     27.00 g
Carbohydrate :     32.00 g
Fats :     33.00 g  

More Recipes from the Hummus Blog: 

Best Baklava
Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha)
Stuffed Grape Leaves   
Stuffed tomatoes with lamb mince, dill & rice
Couscous-Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce
Stuffed Baby Zucchini with Tomato Sauce
 
Save and Share Eggplant Fatteh with Meat and Keshk Recipe

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.

Best Baklava Recipe

Photo: Best Baklava Recipe

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Best Baklava recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Best Baklava. 

Move over cakes and puddings, baklava is here! Baklava, an Arabic pastry, is packed with dry fruits and nuts between layers of phyllo pastry. You might find our baklava recipes a bit too sweet but its amazing flavours will hardly keep you complaining.

A single bite on this Arabic pastry and you will pop a few into your mouth without much ado. The buttery crust and the nuts like pistachios and walnuts add a nice crunch to the dessert while a hint of cinnamon creates magic with the dried fruits.

To cut down the dryness, baklava is often served with thick syrup made of honey, sugar and water which is much less sweet than the baklava itself but adds to its amazing flavours.

Every oriental culture claim their share of fame as the inventor of baklava but its original roots still remains a dispute. Most believe that it is of Turkish origin and was given its contemporary form by the royal cooks of topkapi palace.

Different Middle Eastern countries love to relish their baklava in their own way. While the Turkish prefer their baklava loaded with pistachios, the people of Iran love it dried with a trace of rosy flavour.

Introduce your kids with the Middle Eastern flavors through a baklava and amaze them with its delightful flavours. If you think that making baklava is a laborious process, follow this authentic baklava recipe and you will be cooking it like a professional.

Ingredients

16 oz phyllo dough
1 cup butter
1 lb chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachios, cashew nuts)
1 cup white sugar
½ cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup water

Method

1. Warm your oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Grease a fairly large baking dish with butter and keep aside.
3. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of chopped nuts and toss well to mix.
4. Roll out the phyllo dough and cut it into half.
5. Spread out two dough sheets in the dish and butter; continue the process until you get 8 layers of phyllo dough sheets in your dish.
6. Spoon in some of the spiced nuts and spread evenly throughout the sheets.
7. Cover them with 2 more sheets, coat it with butter and top the sheets with another layer of nut mixture.
8. Continue the layering and until you have covered 2/3 rd of the depth of baking dish.
9. Top the layers up with final 6 phyllo sheets.
10. Cut it out in small squares with a sharp knife.
11. Bake for 50 minutes until the crust turns crisp and golden.
12. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt sugar in water over heat.
13. Pour in honey and vanilla and let it simmer for half an hour.
14. When your baklava is done, take it out of the oven, smother it with the sauce and serve. 

More Recipes from the Hummus Blog: 

Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha)
Stuffed Grape Leaves 
Stuffed tomatoes with lamb mince, dill & rice
Couscous-Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce
Stuffed Baby Zucchini with Tomato Sauce
Recipe for Hummus 

Save and Share Best Baklava Recipe

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.

Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha) Recipe - How to make Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha)

Photo: Sfiha Recipe

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha) recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha).  

Makes 18-20
Suitable for mezza

Speha are traditional savoury pastries that are excellent for mezza. While they are best served hot, they are surprisingly delicious when served at room temperature.

The juice of half a lemon may be used instead of pomegranate molasses. However do not add the juice at the same time as the spices and salt - add it along with the meat and tomato instead.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing
1/3 cup (50g) pine nuts
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground sumac
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
250g coarsely minced lean lamb
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 quantity Sambousik pastry

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly grease a baking tray.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the pine nuts for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove the pine nuts with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel, reserving the oil.

Place the onion in a bowl and rub in the spices, salt and pomegranate molasses. Add the meat and tomato, then the pine nuts and the reserved oil.

Roll out the pastry until 3-5 mm thick and cut it into twenty 9 cm rounds. Turn the rounds over (this helps the pastry corners stick together) and place 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre of each. Pinch the rounds together at the four 'corners', bringing up the sides to make walls around the filling but leaving the top open (see opposite). If the corners of the pastry will not stick, dip your fingers in water, then dab onto the pastry to dampen the edges.

Arrange the pies on the baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This recipe and others are included in Abla's book The Lebanese Kitchen, available from all good book stores, or by contacting Patricia at Present Company Included on +61 3 9387 4717.
   
More Recipes from the Hummus Blog:    

Stuffed Grape Leaves  
Stuffed tomatoes with lamb mince, dill & rice 
Couscous-Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce 
Stuffed Baby Zucchini with Tomato Sauce 
Recipe for Hummus
Spiced tomato & couscous soup 
 
Save and share Open meat and tomato pies (Sfiha) recipe 

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.

Felafel - How to make Felafel

Photo: Felafel Recipe

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Felafel Recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Felafel. 

Makes 10-12
Suitable for mezza

Although Egyptian in origin, felafel quickly found popularity in Lebanon as a healthy street food. Soon after my restaurant opened, I took a stall at the local Lygon Street Festa and served felafel and kafta. I thought I had made enough to last the day, but I couldn't keep up with demand. Only one girl worked with me, and the poor thing had to go back to the restaurant every hour or so for more supplies so I didn't run out.

Remember that you will need to start a day in advance because chickpeas and broad beans must be soaked overnight in water before cooking. You can use a utensil called an ol'eb felalfer to form evenly rounded felafels. This can be purchased from any Middle Eastern food store.

1 cup (200g) dried chickpeas, washed and drained
1 cup (180g) dried split broad beans, washed and drained
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 large onion, quartered
6 cloves garlic
1 cup coriander, washed (about 1 bunch)
3 bird's eye hot chillies (more or less as preferred)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
olive oil, for deep-frying
Pickled turnips, sliced tomato, lettuce and chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve (optional)

Sauce

1/2 cup (140g tahini)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice
1 small tomato, chopped
1 small Lebanese cucumber, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cover the chickpeas and broad beans with water, add 1 teaspoon of the bicarbonate of soda and soak overnight. Next day, drain, rinse and place them in a food processor with the onion, garlic, coriander and chillies. Blend until all the ingredients are well combined but still have texture. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in the salt and spices.

To make the sauce, place the tahini and salt in a bowl and slowly add the lemon juice and 1/4 cup (60 ml) water, stirring continuously. Add the tomato, cucumber and parsley and stir to combine.

When you're ready to cook the felafel, add the remaining bicarbonate of soda (this allows them to rise and become light and fluffy). Form tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and deep-fry in batches in a frying pan of very hot oil for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. (The felafel mixture does not have to be cooked immediately. To store, place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to a year.)

Serve hot with the sauce spooned over accompanied by sliced tomato, lettuce and pickled turnip and garnished with parsley.

This recipe and others are included in Abla's book The Lebanese Kitchen, available from all good book stores, or by contacting Patricia at Present Company Included on +61 3 9387 4717.  

More recipes from the hummus blog:

Easy Falafel
Recipe for Hummus
Spiced tomato & couscous soup
Authentic Moroccan Soup
Lentil Vegetable Soup
Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup 

Save and Share Felafel Recipe 

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.

Easy Falafel Recipe - How to make Falafel

Photo: Easy Falafel Recipe

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Easy Falafel. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Falafel. 

Falafel is vegetarians’ answer to meatballs. These deep-fried orbs made out of ground fava beans, chickpeas or both, are crunchy balls of pleasure from the land of Middle East.

These falafel balls packed within flatbreads like lafas or pitas make one of the most amazing comfort food that Middle Eastern cuisine has to offer.

Falafel smothered with tahini and hot sauce, along with yummy toppings of pickled vegetables and salads has the potential to make even a hardcore meat lover drool! So just imagine what it could to a vegetarian?

The Copts of Egypt deserves special thanks from all the falafel lovers, for discovering these yummy balls as a substitute for meat during the time of Lent.

Eventually, the culinary goodness of this dish spread throughout the rest of Middle East, and it slowly evolved as one of the most popular street food in this part of the world.

Apart from ruling the streets, falafel also makes its appearance in the daily meal or meze as well as in iftar or the dinner spread served to break fast during Ramadan

No matter when you have falafel, be prepared to be welcomed by a delightful contrast of crispy coating with soft, spicy and overtly delicious interiors.

So set the usual croquettes and fritters aside and enjoy a slice of Middle East with falafel.

Makes: 20 balls

Ingredients:

1 cup dry chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
6 tbsp all purpose flour
5 garlic cloves
1 small onion
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
½ cp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Oil for frying
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Dash of chilli flakes
1 tsp salt

Method:

Add the chickpeas to a food processor, along with garlic, onions, cilantro as well as parsley and pulse them into a mashed mixture.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the spices and salt, one after another.

Stir them all together and then add the flour as well as the baking powder.

Mix them thoroughly yet again, into a uniform mixture, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or more.

Take small portions of the mixture in your hands and shape them into small round balls.

Deep fry, making sure patties are cooked through and are golden brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  

More recipes from the hummus blog:

Recipe for Hummus
Spiced tomato & couscous soup
Authentic Moroccan Soup 
Lentil Vegetable Soup
Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup
Moroccan spiced lamb and couscous

Save and share Easy Falafel Recipe

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.

Recipe for Hummus

Photo: Recipe for Hummus

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Recipe for Hummus. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Hummus. 

Having your tortillas and nachos with tomato salsa or tartare sauce is old fashioned! Try our recipe for hummus – dip made of pureed chickpeas, tahini and olive oil flavored with garlic and lemon juice, straight from the heart of Middle East. Traditionally, it is a part of the meze platter or used as a spread in falafel.

A dollop of hummus within the pockets of pita bread is a food lover’s delight. A spoonful of creamy hummus with grilled eggplant, fish or chicken gives a new dimension to the dish and bestows a delicious Asian touch to your dish. If you are known to the taste of hummus, then let me tell you it is pure ecstasy. The mashed chickpeas leave a somewhat nutty aftertaste in your tongue and the spices turn it into a zesty gastronomic indulgence.

The rest of the flavours are in your hand! Some love to keep the garlicky tone strong in the dip while others adds lots of lemon juice for more tartness. Though tahini is a integral part of hummus, you can simply omit it while making hummus if it doesn’t suit your taste – your hummus will taste equally mind blowing. Hummus had remained a part of Middle Eastern culture for so long that we have actually lost the track of its roots.

The recipe of this ancient food started taking shape in Egypt during 13th century and finally took its contemporary form during late 19th century. In modern times, hummus has crossed the boundaries of Asia and taken the western world by storm. So next time you are planning a party, serve hummus dip to your guests to as a pleasant surprise.

Ingredients:
 
• 1 cup small chickpeas, washed and soaked overnight
• ½ cup tahini
• ½ tsp cumin
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• Olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Drain the chickpeas and throw them in a pot along with water and a dash of baking soda.
• Cook them for an hour or so until the chickpeas become extra soft.
• Strain the cooked chickpeas and blend it into a smooth puree in a food processor.
• Leave it in the fridge for some time before taking it out and blending it again in the food processor, this time along with tahini, lemon juice and spices until it turns into a creamy puree.
• Pour a generous helping of olive oil on it.
• Top it up with chopped parsley and serve with snacks. 

More recipes from the hummus blog:

Spiced tomato & couscous soup 
Authentic Moroccan Soup
Lentil Vegetable Soup
Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup
Moroccan spiced lamb and couscous
Moroccan meatballs with couscous 

Save and Share Recipe for Hummus

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.

Spiced tomato & couscous soup recipe

Photo: Spiced tomato & couscous soup recipe

The Hummus blog: The home of hummus dips and traditional Middle Eastern food invites you to try Spiced tomato & couscous soup Recipe. Enjoy the Middle Eastern cuisine and learn how to make Spiced tomato & couscous soup.

Couscous and harissa are a great pairing in this good-value soup

Easy
Serves 4
Prep 10 mins
Cook 40 mins
Vegetarian

Ingredients

olive oil
1 large onion , chopped
2 carrots , diced
3 stalks celery , diced
2-3 tbsp harissa paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
500ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
2 tbsp couscous
½ small bunch parsley , chopped

Method

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan and cook the onion, carrot and celery for a few minutes until softened. Add the harissa and cumin and stir. Tip in all the other ingredients except the couscous and stir well, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the couscous and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Stir in the parsley before serving.

Nutrition Per Serving

186 kcalories, protein 7.9g, carbohydrate 25.5g, fat 6.6 g, saturated fat 0.6g, fibre 6g, salt 1.99 g

Recipe from olive magazine, June 2010. 

More recipes from the hummus blog:

Authentic Moroccan Soup
Lentil Vegetable Soup
Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup
Moroccan spiced lamb and couscous
Moroccan meatballs with couscous
Marinated beef fillet rolled in fresh herbs 

Save and share spiced tomato & couscous soup recipe recipe 

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.