Kubbat Halab (Iraqi style rice kibbeh stuffed with mushrooms, aubergine and chestnuts)

I have to admit, Iraqi cuisine is not something that I am too familiar with. While it shares some similarities with its neighbours, and the Middle East as a whole, with the exception of some of the food popular among the Iraqi Jewish diaspora such as amba (the ubiquitous mango and turmeric sauce found in many of Israel’s falafel and sabich shops), sabich – a pitta stuffed with fried aubergine, pickles and egg and slathered in the aforementioned amba sauce, and marak kubbeh adom or red kubbeh soup. A rich sweet, sour and spicy beetroot soup with bulgar wheat dumplings stuffed with usually meat, but sometimes a vegetarian mixture my knowledge is lacking.
There are some distinctly Iraqi specialities, one of which is kubbat halab or Aleppo kubba/kibbe. While named after the Syrian city, this dish is uniquely Iraqi. Traditionally a spicy meat filling encased in a turmeric coloured rice dough and then fried until crispy. 

My version is a vegetarian adaptation, I had originally planned to stuff the kubba with a mushroom mixture, however I didn’t have enough so added some aubergine and chopped chestnuts, ultimately you could probably stuff it with whatever takes your fancy. I often make these stuffed with cheese, which while totally non-traditional are unbelievably delicious. Crispy fried rice encircling melty oozy cheesy goodness. Mmmm
The ingredients below are enough to make 4 or 5 kubbeh, size-wise mine are around the size of a tennis ball, squashed slightly. Oh, that’s another thing. Shape – Sometimes these kubbeh are the more traditional kibbeh torpedo shape, other times they are ovals or like mine squashed spheres. It’s all personal choice, though if you’re shallow frying then you probably want something with a flatter base.

Note: Recipes for kubbat halab usually call for an egg to bind the rice together, and washing the rice prior to cooking to remove some of the starch. I omitted the egg and the washing stage, figuring the starch would help the mixture stick together. It did.

Ingredients
250g long grain or basmati rice
1 tsp turmeric
Pinch of saffron threads
Salt

Stuffing
2 cloves of garlic
Mushrooms*
Aubergine*
Chestnuts* (chopped – or any type of nut)
1 tablespoon Paprika
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Allspice
2 tablespoons sultanas

*I've not given quantities, but to fill 5 kubbeh, I used 6 small mushrooms, a handful of chestnuts, and a couple of slices of grilled aubergine (all leftovers scavenged when I realised I didn't have enough mushrooms!)

1. Add the rice to boiling water with the saffron, turmeric and salt. Rather than cooking by the absorption method I boiled the rice for around 12 minutes until it was just done and then drained.
2. To make the dough, traditionally leave the rice to cool enough to be handled, and then work it between your fingers breaking up the grains until you have a rough dough to which you add 1 egg. I used an immersion blender to puree the rice. You don’t want to do this too thoroughly, I left some of the rice whole to create texture. Taste the rice dough and add more salt if you think it needs it

3. For the stuffing, chop the vegetables finely and fry until soft and then add the spices. I haven’t gone into much detail, as basically you can use whatever you want!

4. Before assembling, it helps to have a bowl of water to dip your fingers in to keep the mixture from sticking.
5. Take a good sized handful of the rice dough (around the size of a tennis ball) and then flatten on the palm of your hand, add a spoonful of the filling and then fold the dough over the filling and shape the finished kubbeh. There are quite a few different methods of doing this, and I guess you make them how you’ve seen them being prepared! Some people take a ball of the kubbeh mixture, place a finger inside and flatten out the sides creating a rice dough ‘cup’ into which the filling is placed. The dough is quite pliable so either method works just as well. Once you’ve sealed the filling in the rice ball flatten is slightly

6. To prepare, shallow fry in oil until crispy and golden brown. I also oven baked some, while you don’t get the same delicious crispy rice crust, they are still tasty and obviously a slightly reduced calorie version

7. Lovely served with amba, or harissa, or any way you fancy!

Bamya (Egyptian style okra stew)

I love okra in all its forms, but none more so than in the hearty Egyptian stew bamya. As with a lot of Middle Eastern and North African foods, the recipes are shared throughout the region, but with subtle differences. Bamya in Egypt pretty much always contains meat of some sort, after much trialand error I found that rather than use  meat substitute, using grilled chunks of aubergine work perfectly. Especially when marinated in a sweet and sour vinegary marinade.
As with all my recipes, the amounts are approximations, use more or less liquid depending on how much okra you have.

Ingredients
300g okra
1 large onion 
1 aubergine 
Olive oil
8 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tablespoons of tomato paste 
200ml of passata 
Margarine or butter (a good sized dollop)

For the marinade
A splash of balsamic vinegar
A splash of regular vinegar
Olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin, coriander and caraway seeds
Salt
1 tsp smoked paprika 

1. Cut the aubergine into large cubes and grill on a griddle pan until done, I don't add any oil. If you prefer you could roast the aubergine slices in the oven. You want them to keep a bit of body, so don't overcook
2. While the aubergines are cooking dry roast the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds and then grind in a pestle and mortar or a coffee grinder. (As an aside, this spice combination is known as tabil and is Tunisian in origin, while not strictly used in the Egyptian version, Egyptian cuisine does use coriander and cumin heavily, so as I always have tabil ready made I tend to just use that)
3. Tip the still hot aubergine cubes into a container and add the balsamic vinegar, regular vinegar and spices. Leave for at least an hour
4. Grate the onions, and fry in olive oil with 4 cloves of crushed garlic until golden brown
5. Add the okra and sautee for a few minutes
6. Stir in the spices and tomato paste and then add the passata. Top up with some boiled water if the sauce needs thinning down
7. Bring to the boil, and then simmer on a low heat for around 30 minutes or until the okra is tender
8. Now add the aubergine chunks and cook for another 10 minutes
9. As the bamya simmers, crush the remainder of the garlic and fry with the dried coriander in butter or margarine until golden brown, this is called the takliya and is the finishing touch in many Egyptian dishes
10. Pour the takliya into the bamya taking care not to miss a drop (I usually pour a little of the tomato sauce into the pan that the garlic has been frying in just to catch all of that garlicky goodness)
11. Serve with white rice and a squeeze of lemon joice

Moussaka (Middle Eastern style)

I love aubergines, probably one of the finest and versatile vegetables that there is. I have to say though, thanks to various cookery programs and articles the British* seem to have some strange ideas about this vegetable. 

Even as recently as 10 years ago I remember watching Delia Smith salt the poor creature and then wring it out in a kitchen towel “to remove the bitter juices”. I am not sure where the fallacy that aubergines are bitter came from, quite possibly some early semi-feral variety. In my decades of aubergine eating I have only once come across one bitter little bugger and that was some teeny tiny baby aubergines I bought from an Asian grocery store.
So I say for the sake of the poor wee veggies, unless you are frying them in which case you want as much moisture drawn out of them as possible to stop them being a little fat-soaking-up sponge – don’t salt your aubergines, they really don’t need it!!!

This recipe is a halfway house between Lebanese style moussaka and Egyptian style moussaka (or mesakaa / messa’aa depending on the transliteration). Both sharing a name and perhaps a few similarities to the more widely known Greek dish. The Lebanese moussaka is vegetarian and contains chickpeas. It’s also usually a stew cooked on a stove top. The Egyptian moussaka may be vegetarian, though more often than not it contains lamb, especially when cooked at home. It also may or may not have a béchamel sauce like the Greek variety, and like the Greek variety it’s baked.

Ingredients
1 large aubergine
1 large tomato
200ml passata
1 large can of chickpeas
1 onion (thinly sliced)
4 cloves of garlic (crush 2 cloves, chop the remainder finely)
Bunch of coriander
Handful of ground walnuts (optional)
Handful of chopped black olives (optional)
Handful of grated halloumi
A splash of pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp ras el hanout (optional)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of harissa (or to taste)

1 Slice the aubergine into 1cm rounds and grill
2. While the aubergine is cooking, fry the sliced onion and crushed garlic in olive oil until softened
3. To the onion, add the spices, passata, chickpeas, pomegranate molasses, olives and ground walnuts (if using, I was clearing out the fridge and had a few odds and ends knocking around)
4. To assemble, get a large oven proof dish, spoon a little of the tomato mixture in the bottom and then layer on the aubergines. Sprinkle with some of the chopped garlic and halloumi and then add more sauce. Repeat until you run out of aubergine reserving a little sauce to add on top. Decorate with the sliced tomato, some chopped coriander and the remaining grated halloumi
5. Bake in a 250C oven for around 30 minutes or until bubbling. I’m not overly fond of over browned cheese so I covered the dish with tinfoil for the first 20 minutes
6. Eat! Delicious served with a salad and topped with a yoghurt tahini dressing, or if you want something a little more filling, a vermicelli rice pilaf

*Not just the British, at least half the recipes I see online that contain aubergine will somewhere mention in the article that salting is required to draw out the bitterness. Don’t believe me?! Have a nibble of a raw slice, go on – it wont kill ya! Sure it may not taste of much, but I guarantee it’s not going to taste bitter!!!

Besara (broad bean / fava bean dip)

I was prompted to upload this recipe after hearing my mother wax lyrical about the humble broad bean (fava bean) the other night. Her theory being that mother nature must have known just how special they were because unlike peas and their simple unadorned pod, broad beans are swaddled in a luxurious fur lined casing that befits their role as king of the beans.
Broad beans are a much maligned pulse in a lot of Western (or specifically Northern European) cooking, however head further south and they take on a much more important role. None more  so than in Egypt where in addition to being the star of the ultimate breakfast food fuul medames, they are also found in the Egyptian version of falafel (taameya) and fuul nabet (sprouted bean soup) to name just a few dishes. 

Egyptian bean dishes traditionally use the dried fava beans, I had fresh frozen, while the flavour is perhaps not as concentrated and rich as the slow cooked dried beans, I decided that I would try making the fava bean dip known as besara (or bessara, b'ssara etc depending on transliteration). While traditionally Egyptian it is also found in Morocco. If you want to go down the more traditional route then substitute the 500g fresh beans for dried. Soak them overnight and then cook according to your preference.

Ingredients
500g fresh broad beans (or frozen)
1 large bunch of coriander
1 large bunch of dill
1 large bunch of parsley
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
Salt and pepper to taste 

For the tasha (garlic and coriander seasoning):
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin

1. Add the beans to water and boil for around 10 minutes, drain (reserving a little of the cooking liquid) and once cool enough to handle, take off the skins. This is time consuming. Ideally for this part of the recipe it helps to have a mother who's idea of a good evening is watching antiques shows on TV whilst skinning broad beans :)
2. Once the beans are skinned (you don't have to be too obsessive about it, but really the taste and texture is so much better) add them to a blender with a good glug of olive oil, the fresh coriander, dill and parsley, crushed garlic and blend until smooth. If the resulting mixture is too thick then add a little of the cooking liquid until you have the desired consistency and season to taste
3. To make the tasha seasoning (so called because when you add the hot oil to the bean mixture it makes a "tssssha" sound) heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the remaining crushed garlic until it is lightly browned, add the coriander and cumin and cook for another few minutes then pour the hot oil and spice mixture into the pureed beans
4. To serve, transfer into a deep serving plate and top with some fried onions. Delicious! 

Omek houriya (North African carrot salad)

Carrots are pretty versatile vegetables turning themselves to just about anything sweet or savoury. Omek houriya (or omi/ommok houriya/houria depending on the transliteration) showcases them in their (almost) natural form, with the flavour enhanced by harissa, cumin, caraway and coriander seeds. This Tunisian recipe is usually served with a topping of tuna, egg and olives but works just as well without the fishyness (or egg, and in my case olives as I realised I had none in the house...). Simple and a perfect way to use up any carrots languishing at the back of your fridge.

Ingredients
Carrots (amount left to the cooks discretion)
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp caraway seeds
1 tablespoons harissa
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the carrots until done (~ 10 minutes or thereabouts. You don't want them to be too mushy
2. Drain and mash or blend to a puree. The texture varies, some cooks blend it to a smooth paste, others a more chunky texture
3. Add the crushed garlic, I like adding it when the carrots are still warm as the flavour infuses through the mixture
4. Dry roast the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds in a heavy based pan and then grind. You *could* use ready ground spices, but if at all possible try to grind the coriander yourself, it tastes totally different from the pre-ground stuff
5. Add to the carrot mixture and taste. Season and stir in a splash of olive oil
6. Now mix in the harissa, I have suggested a tablespoonful but it really depends on what brand you are using
7. Eat, traditionally it comes topped with tuna, hardboiled egg and olives
 

Salad Mechouia (North African roasted pepper salad)

I love the taste of vegetables cooked over an open flame, however having an electric oven and hob just doesn't get the same results. I took advantage of the long Bank Holiday weekend and decided to set up a barbeque (one of those disposable supermarket ones) and grill some veggies. Aubergines for baba ghanoush (oven cooked ones taste okay; however burned and charred skin takes it to another level of deliciousness entirely...) were my first choice, and as the charcoals were still white hot I decided to throw on some peppers without any clear idea on what to make with them.

Grilled salads are popular all over North Africa, and this one salad mechouia (or salad mashwiya /meshwiyya depending on the transliteration - meshwiya meaning grilled or roasted in Arabic) makes use of grilled red and green peppers, chillies, tomatoes, garlic and onion.  The salad is also found in Israel, brought over by the Moroccan immigrants and is known as matbucha, though the Israeli version is probably heavier on the tomatoes. 

It's a simple recipe and one that literally takes a couple of minutes to put together (assuming you already roasted the veggies)

Ingredients
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
1 green chilli
1 large red onion
2 tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic (unpeeled)
2 tsp capers (optional)
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Black olives (to garnish)

1. Put the veggies on the grill and cook until well done and slightly charred. Leave to cool and then peel
2. While the vegetables are grilling, dry roast the cumin, caraway and coriander seeds in a frying pan for a few minutes until the aroma is released. Grind in a pestle and mortar
3. Chop the peeled peppers into small cubes and toss them in a large bowl (some recipes call for all of the vegetables to be blended, however I prefer my salad chunky - each to their own...)
4. Roughly blend the onions, garlic, chilli and tomatoes together and then add to the chopped peppers. I add some capers at this point.
5. Stir in the ground spices and add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
6. You can eat immediately, but it tastes better after a few hours to allow the flavours to blend. Serve at room temperature decorated with black olives.

Gajar halwa (Carrot halwa)

I love eating Indian and Pakistani sweets, but have never really attempted making them, partly because I live near so many great sweet shops and partly because a lot of the recipes are quite time consuming. However today a friend gave me a recipe for carrot halwa (well, more of a list of ingredients - quantities are left to the discretion of the cook...) and having nothing better to do on a wet Saturday afternoon I decide to cook up a batch. The end result was pretty tasty, I didn't have any kewra essence that the recipe called for, neither did I have any condensed milk, but to compensate I was quite generous with the amount of milk I used and cooked it down for longer. With regards to the sugar content you can use more or less depending on how much of a sweet tooth you've got and how sweet the carrots are. Cooking times are approximate as are quantities, it's a very forgiving recipe...

Ingredients
1/2 kg carrots
400ml milk
100g sugar
50g margarine (or ghee)
1 pinch of saffron
2 cardamom pods (whole)
seeds from 2 cardamom pods (ground)
50g pistachios, almonds, pine nuts or other nuts of your choice
dried fruit (optional, I didn't have anything in the house!)

1. Grate the carrots finely
2. Pour the milk in a heavy bottomed pan, add the whole cardamom pods and carrots and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the milk has been absorbed and the carrots are soft. Takes around 45 minutes to an hour. Don't worry if it takes longer, it's all good! Fish out the cardamom pods at this stage if you don't want a nasty surprise of biting into one unawares...
3. Now add the margarine or ghee and turn up the heat. The idea is to fry the carrot mixture to give it some more flavour. Again, the time it takes may vary, you want to continue cooking until the mixture comes together in a lump (technical term)
4. Stir in the nuts (and dried fruit if using) and ground cardomom and cook for a few more minutes
5. Add the sugar, the mixture will suddenly start to look 'wet' don't worry, this is normal, now you need to continue stirring until the mixture starts to thicken and caramelise
6. Serve warm (best) or cold, with some additional nuts sprinkled over the top

Tirshi (Spicy North African pumpkin dip)

It's winter... cold dark days and cold dark nights. At least here in northern Europe. A time for soups, stews and other comforting foods. I have to say dips probably would not be at the forefront of my mind under normal circumstances. However, at work we were having a buffet where everyone was to bring in some dishes. I had a butternut squash in the house that I'd planned on roasting and turning into a soup (actually to tell the truth, my immediate plans involved thoughts of hibernating until next year and I'd probably find the squash sometime in January turned into a mysterious pool of nastiness at the back of the cupboard) but looking at it with fresh eyes, I thought why not go for Tirshi? It's a spicy North African pumpkin-based dip that is popular in Israel, and would make a change from my usual offerings of hummous and baba ghanoush. 

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash
1 small potato 
2 cloves of garlic crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons harissa (or to taste)
Olive oil

1. The butternut squash and potato can either be boiled or roasted, roasting will give a much better flavour and a drier dip, but it all depends on time. I made this in a last minute rush, so I peeled and cubed the squash and potato and boiled for 30 minutes. Drain well
2. Mash the squash and potato until well combined
3. Roast the caraway and cumin seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind
4. Add the crushed garlic, ground spices and salt and pepper to taste
5. Stir in the harissa, the brand I had was pretty mild so I put in a couple of tablespoons, if you want to amp up the heat (I was making it for work so thought I'd better play it safe) then some additional chilli or Aleppo pepper could be added
6. Add a splash of olive oil, et voila! 
7. Eat: Delicious with crusty French bread, or pitta. Or anything really...

Marak kubbeh adom (Vegetarian red kubbeh soup)

Soup season is upon us. Well it is if you're living in the far flung reaches of northern England. There's nothing like a bowl of steaming soup on a cold Autumn day.
I seem to be getting a reputation locally as a rehomer for unwanted vegetables, the latest offering being a bunch of beetroot from one of my mother's neighbours. And never let it be said that I would ever turn down free vegetables! So... what do do with them. Borscht was the first thing that sprung to mind, but borscht whilst lovely, is a bit predictable and the current cold weather called for something a little spicier. I'd had kubbeh on my mind for a couple of weeks following an online conversation, and suddenly the two came together: why not cook up a batch of marak kubbeh adom (red kubbeh soup) an Iraqi Jewish speciality and something that ticks the boxes as far as autumnal food goes.
Kubbeh (or kibbe, kibbeh, kebbah, kubbi) are ubiquitous all over the Middle East raising their heads in most of the cuisines, usually a combination of meat (typically minced lamb) and bulgar wheat sometimes made into croquettes, sometimes baked flat and pie-like. Probably the most common form of kubbeh is fashioned from a bulgar wheat shell stuffed with minced lamb.  In red kubbeh soup, the kubbeh are simmered in a spicy beetroot broth. I decided on a mushroom and black olive stuffing as a good veggie alternative to the lamb (inspired partly by my love of mushroom pierogi in borscht a speciality of a local Polish restaurant) and the end result was quite delicious – even if I say so myself! There's a lot written about kubbeh and at first glance they sound like something a bit too time consuming to make at home, but as with tamales, once you get into a rhythm it's actually quite relaxing.

Ingredients
For the filling
100g black olives
100g mushrooms
Black pepper
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
 
Kubbeh dough
200 g bulgar wheat
100 g semolina
2 tbs flour
1 tsp salt
Hot water for soaking

Soup
2 large beetroot cubed
1 large carrot cut into battons
1 onion chopped finely
2 cloves garlic
1 small bunch of coriander
1 small bunch parsley
1 sprig tarragon
1 tsp mixed herbs
2 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp sumac
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
800ml vegetable stock

For the filling
1. Fry the mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until soft, if they release a lot of liquid turn up the heat and boil rapidly until all the liquid evaporates. Grind in some fresh black pepper to taste
2. Stir in the chopped olives and leave to one side to cool

Soup
1. Fry the onion and garlic until softened, add the carrot battons and cubed beetroot and sauté for 5 minutes
2. Stir in the dried spices and add the stock and fresh herbs
3. Bring to the boil and simmer on a very low heat for around 1 hour

Kubbeh
While the soup is cooking prepare the kubbeh. 
1. Put the bulgar wheat into a large bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover by around 2cm. Some recipies call for use of different size bulgar. In the UK unless you go to specialist stores it's a case of "work with what you've got" I had a couple of bags from different supermarkets which happened to have different sized grains, so I mixed them. Using all one size should work just fine
2. Leave to soak for 40 minutes, keep topping up the water if necessary making sure it’s fully submerged
3. After 40 minutes drain the bulgar wheat and squeeze out the excess moisture
4. In a bowl mix the bulgar wheat with the semolina, flour and salt. At this point you will think something has gone wrong as it seems impossible that the crumbly mixture will come together to form a dough. Do not fear. It will.

5. Knead the dough for a few minutes until well combined. As an aside, the dough will crumble if not kept moist so keep a bowl of water handy to dip your fingers in as you make the kubbeh shells.
6. Take a golf ball sized piece of the dough and roll it into a ball. Placing your thumb in the centre of the ball squeeze the sides out so as to make a cup-shaped receptacle for the filling. If the dough starts to crack or split dip your hands into water to moisten it. Question: how thin should your kubbeh walls be? Answer: as thin as possible! 

7. Now pinch the sides together encasing the filling, don't worry if there's a bit of leakage, just take a little more dough and patch it up. Then roll the kubbeh between your hands until they are a ball once more. And repeat until either you have no dough left.
8. At this point you should have a mountain of kubbeh piled up, depending on the size of your pan you could either put them all into the soup or do as I did and freeze some of them for use at a later stage.
9. Drop the kubbeh gently into the soup and simmer for another 30 minutes.
10. Eat!