Arabic food or eggplant knowledge

9/24/2013 11:04:03 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
wolfyhp Bradley, CA 44, joined Apr. 2008	My best friend spent some time in Jordan, and had a dish they called "upside down ," which we discovered is more often called "maqlaba." It's a layered dish with rice, meat and eggplant. It is spiced similar to curry. I found a nice sounding recipe for it, but I've never cooked nor even eaten eggplant. I'm not sure if I will like it, but I'm willing to try it. Any suggestions for selecting a good one, peeling it, slicing it and frying it? Anyone ever make maqlaba? Any other favorite Arabic region dishes you eat or even cook? Falafel anyone? Meet singles at DateHookup.dating, we're 100% free! Join now!
9/26/2013 6:31:53 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	Yes I love eggplant and eat them regularly. I usually just bake them with some fresh sprigs of thyme and extra virgin olive oil. Something that is important whenever you bake eggplant is to extract the extra water from it first. What you want to do is halve it and do scores on both sides in a crisscrossing pattern. Then take some salt and get it inside those slices you made with the knife. This will draw out the water. You only need a few. Then let it set on a plate for about a half hour depending on how big they are. If they are the thinner, more elongated Italian variety, maybe not as long. Then once you've done that, come back and squeeze them gently over the sink to remove some of that extra water content. This will prevent them from becoming mushy in the oven.
9/26/2013 2:42:48 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	Speak of the devil. I had one in the fridge. Actually two about the same size.
9/26/2013 5:05:35 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
dawgsfan1968 Sparta, TN 48, joined Jan. 2013	I love egg plant breaded fried
10/3/2013 10:46:35 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
wolfyhp Bradley, CA 44, joined Apr. 2008	Thanks Asha. I still need to get a casserole dish, but I'll let y'all know when I make it. I'm a bit surprised more foodies here don't make Middle-Eastern food, or haven't replied.
10/4/2013 6:44:50 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	Quote from wolfyhp: Thanks Asha. I still need to get a casserole dish, but I'll let y'all know when I make it. I'm a bit surprised more foodies here don't make Middle-Eastern food, or haven't replied. Ive had Middle Eastern food just from restaurants before. There was a wonderful restaurant where I'm from owned by a Jordanian family. You would actually see the grandmother in the back cutting and doing prep work. She would roll the grape leaves by hand so you knew you were getting very authentic dishes. It's very nice because there are so many warm exotic spices that they use that usually in America we aren't accustomed to tasting. I actually had a dish over at a friend's house that his mother had made which was somewhat similar to what you are describing. She made it in a layered sort of casserole style but it was eggplants cut into strips with soft Jasmine rice, stewed tomatoes and very tender lamb. Nothing was deep fried but rather baked. I would say give this dish a try. Eggplant is very versatile so even if you don't like this particular dish, don't give up on it. I'm a little wary to deep fry eggplant because of its tendency to absorb any moisture like a sponge. It might come out a little greasy.
10/4/2013 5:18:56 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
wolfyhp Bradley, CA 44, joined Apr. 2008	Asha: that sounds like a version of maqlaba. I don't know if the eggplant is traditionally fried, that was something another friend suggested on Facebook. The closest I have to a nearby middle-eastern restaurant is a Moroccan restaurant a little more than an hour away. That's Mediterranean North African with some Middle-Eastern influences. Very good food though, just not Middle-Eastern.
10/5/2013 7:08:27 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	Quote from wolfyhp: Asha: that sounds like a version of maqlaba. I don't know if the eggplant is traditionally fried, that was something another friend suggested on Facebook. The closest I have to a nearby middle-eastern restaurant is a Moroccan restaurant a little more than an hour away. That's Mediterranean North African with some Middle-Eastern influences. Very good food though, just not Middle-Eastern. Yeah, Ive tried Moroccan but only one time at a restaurant. It was pretty good from what I can remember but I think my overall preference is Jordanian and Lebanese. The Moroccans had a good tea though made with rose water. It had a very nice exotic perfume to it.
10/6/2013 6:59:32 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	I have one of these also. I just keep it up in the windowsill for a kind of decorative exotic effect and never actually use it to prepare tea. It looks like one of those Moroccan tea pots. It's heavy also, perhaps made from brass. I should see if it polishes up perhaps.
10/6/2013 7:24:20 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
wolfyhp Bradley, CA 44, joined Apr. 2008	It's beautiful. Yes, it appears to be brass. Polishing it or not is personal taste. I polish new and relatively new brass, but never antique brass. Some people don't polish their newer brass because they like the antique look. Yes, I had several cups of tea at the Moroccan restaurant. It was excellent. Anyone make hummus?
10/9/2013 5:54:18 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	Yes Ive also made homemade hummus. It tastes fantastically fresh when you do it yourself but since it's also so readily available in packaged form, not necessary to do it from scratch. The nice thing about that is you can control the seasonings. For instance I go a little more garlic heavy and less cumin and Tahini since I love raw garlic much to the dismay of any would be suitors. It comes out in your pores literally. You can also add diced red peppers or pine nuts. Another snack that you might like is roasted Garbanzo beans (chickpeas). They are crunchy and satisfying. They can be seasoned to be either savory or sweet. You can also just seal them in a container and have them on hand to take the place of salad croutons.
10/10/2013 9:23:54 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
barstoolguru1 Dallas, TX 57, joined Oct. 2013	being Italian we make egg plant parmesan. instead of frying the egg plant; egg wash it roll it in bread crumbs and then bake it. a lot less calories. then layer it in a glass dish with sauce and parmesan cheese in between each layer. top with mozzarella and them bake at 350 for an hour
10/11/2013 6:14:59 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	That looks wonderful Jazzy. I've never tried to make Baba Ghanoush myself and just buy it prepackaged if I run across it. There aren't many specialty or ethnic markets in NH which is something I miss dearly about California because they were everywhere. We even had a one that had imported foods from Brazil and SA. Baba Ghanoush is a little more difficult to locate than hummus which is everywhere. I'm gonna give your recipe a try. I like those kinds of foods cause you can seal them in Tupperware and have them on hand.
10/12/2013 6:24:21 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	Yeah all the scoring and salting step does is remove most of the moisture before you put it in the oven so it retains a more firm texture and doesn't turn too terribly mushy. Some peolpe like it very mushy though so it's just your personal taste. I prefer it a tad bit firmer after I bake it. It also keeps it from soaking up a ton of oil because the flesh of an eggplant is very sponge like. When I bake, I'm brushing them with extra virgin olive oil.
10/13/2013 6:10:39 AM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	That sounds like a good marinade. Do you ever use lamb? I once had this chicken kabob in a hole in the wall Iranian restaurant in old town San Diego of all places. The only reason I went there was actually my Iranian cab driver left me off there because he ate there often on his breaks and we had been talking about food on the ride. Oh my god, I ordered this chicken kabob and it was yellow in color and it was so good it was almost surreal. I know they used saffron so while I cant remember exactly what they called the dish, this must be it because it looks identical and is Iranian. This would be one to make if you wanted to really impress a date, provided he wasn't a vegetarian or a racist. It's called "Jujeh kabab" in Farsi.
10/16/2013 7:31:26 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
sky_pilot42 Lexington, MI 63, joined Jun. 2012	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrtQ6c3uUkI
10/17/2013 12:23:56 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
xashax Union, NH 45, joined May. 2009	^^That was cute. Poor thing.
12/11/2013 12:53:10 PM	Arabic food or eggplant knowledge
eastfoot Bossier City, LA 61, joined Jul. 2012	I like to snack on chickpeas! --and xashax thanks for the scoring tip for preparing eggplant. (I spent this year learning to grow eggplant.) You can always tell when you meet someone that they like to cook because they light up when you start talking about food. Op, to me, Arabic food is Mediterranean. It's part of a vast area, amazingly diverse with cultures and languages! --Slavic, Greek, Turkey, Syrian. Yet, there's this unifying 'culinary spirit' (ha). Vegetable dishes are emphasized where meat is not the main focus, accompanied with grains 'n nuts ,,,and peppers. (Georgia's not on the Med, but the same common herbs and spices are used.) Paula Wolfert, quote: I was timid at first about traveling to Syria, but when an opportunity arose, I embraced it. Damascus was fascinating, and I adored the ruins of Palmyra, but when I finally reached Aleppa, in the North, I could tell by the aromas in the streets that I had found a culinary paradise,,, More Oriental than Damascus [in the south], its cooking is influenced by the rich traditions of its inhabitants---Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, and Turks. Though the food of Lebanon, Jordan, and the rest of Syria can be very good indeed, for me Aleppo will always be the Mecca of Middle Eastern cooking,,, I most particularly recommend muhammara, a delicious rust-colored dip of ground walnuts, tangy tart pomegranates, and hot fleshy peppers; ormuk, a wonderful pear-shaped meat dish in which ground meat encases baby eggplant that has been cooked until it reaches a state of pure creaminess; and a remarkable dessert called Syrian Cheese Rags, made of semolina, fresh moist cheese, and sugar syrup,,, My wonderlust took me to the Republic of Georgia in the mid-1980s, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. I had heard much about this little country, the size of Ireland, hovering beneath great Mother Russia, and clinging to the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the southern slopes of the Caucasus. Here, I was told, the markets were filled with the produce of abundant harvests, the wine and food were good, the climate and spirit were supremely Mediterranean. Everything I heard was true, but nothing prepared me for the superb quality of Georgian cuisine---its sophisticated spiciness and pungency, and the masterful, lavish use of herbs and spices by its cooks, often producing tastes so exotic they reminded me of Indian food,,, Pomegranates, lemons, unripened grapes, vinegars, sour plums, sour cherries, sumac, barberries, and yogurts are used as souring agents; cinnamon, coriander, pepper, fenugreek, caraway, and paprika are the main spices; parsley, coriander, dill, basil, tarragon, mint, and lovage are the principal herbs. I was constantly dazzled by the ingenious ways Georgian cooks combine these condiments, creating sensual, harmonious dishes. I will never forget a mountain preparation of trout cooked with pomegranate and eggplant, then strewn with basil, parsley, green coriander, and scallions, or a deep-tasting blackberry sauce flavored with garlic and coriander, and offered as an accompaniment to the famous Georgian specialty, Chicken Tabaka. Indeed, in Georgia one finds a whole new slant on eastern Mediterranean flavors. [end quote] Paula Wolfert has a book about Arab food, titled “Couscous and Other Good Foods from Morocco.”

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