Many recipes in this section are so basic that they cross cultural borders and can be used in different applications in any number of cuisines from around the world Creamy Garlic Mayonnaise, one of the variations of Creamy Garlic Sauce (Toumieh) (below), which is an integral addition to Spiced Shawarma Chicken Wraps (Shawarma Dajaj) (page 92), can be used as you would use any other mayonnaise. Apple Vinegar (Khul Toofah) (page 26) not only has a whole host of applications, but is probably one of the tastiest vinegars you'll ever experience (more like a cross between apple cider and vinegar than anything else… it’s so much sweeter than you'd expect). The Spice Mixes (Baharat) (page 29) are also an indispensible resource; I like to keep a jar of Seven Spice Mix (page 29) in my pantry at all times; for a quick way to add a huge flavor punch, nothing beats a sprinkle of this mix on red meat, poultry, or fish before cooking.
Creamy Garlic Sauce TOUMIEH
Toumieh, which is commonly referred to as “Toum,” is a very potent garlic sauce that is ubiquitous in Middle Eastern kitchens. Toum is a difficult sauce to make and master, since in its authentic state it is just an emulsification of garlic and lemon juice in oil, made with a mortar and pestle. If the sauce breaks and the oil separates there is no recovering it, but it is possible to save it with a thickener (although at this point the sauce is no longer pure Toumieh). This sauce can be used as the base for soups, sauces, salad dressings, or dips; or as its own condiment eaten with plain bread, in sandwiches, on rice, or with other finished dishes.
The variation I give for this recipe is basically just a garlic mayonnaise. The egg acts as a stabilizer, making this sauce much easier to master and faster to make than original toumieh. Incidentally, this is the sauce that you will commonly find used in restaurants in the Middle East, particularly in foods like Spiced Shawarma Chicken wraps. This sauce can be made using two egg whites or one whole egg; however, using a whole egg yields a much creamier, richer tasting sauce. If you’re feeling adventurous, feel free to make the sauce the old-fashioned way with a mortar and pestle, otherwise, a blender works fine.
Yields about 1 cup (225 g)
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
1 head garlic, (12-15 cloves) peeled
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (200 ml) oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Optional Thickeners
½ cup (110 g) Yogurt Cheese (Labneh) (page 73)
Or
½ cup (110 g) mayonnaise
1 Crush the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle until it forms a smooth paste.
2 Add the oil, drop by drop, while mixing (after you’ve added 1 tablespoon of oil drop-by-drop, you can add the oil a little faster). Make sure the oil you add is fully incorporated before adding any more.
3 Once you’ve added ½ cup (125 ml) oil, alternate between adding the oil and lemon juice, and continue mixing until smooth and creamy.
4 At this point, if you want to thicken the garlic sauce, you can add the optional thickeners listed. If you choose to add a thickener, start by mixing in a little bit at a time and increase the amount until the sauce is as thick as you want it.
VARIATION
Garlic Mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle with ½ teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or
1 large egg 1 cup (250 ml) oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cold water
1 Crush the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle until it forms a smooth paste.
2 whisk together the garlic paste and egg until well blended.
3 Add the oil, drop-by-drop, while whisking (after you’ve added 1 tablespoon of oil drop-by-drop, you can add the oil a little faster). Make sure the oil you add is fully incorporated before adding any more.
4 Once you’ve added ½ cup (125 ml) oil, alternate between gradually adding the oil and lemon juice and continue mixing until fully incorporated.
5 Add the cold water and mix until smooth and creamy.
Traditionally, ishta is the cream that is skimmed off the top of whole milk as it cooks down; the cream thickens considerably as it cools and should be stored in the fridge. The process of cooking the milk and skimming of the ishta as it forms takes quite a while, and while the end result is delicious, these days a healthier cream substitute (made of milk and cornstarch) is often used, this substitute is still called ishta though!
This ishta recipe can be used in Middle Eastern Pancakes (Qatayef) (page 124) or as an alternative filling instead of cheese for Sweet Cheese Pastry (page 122). If you want to serve ishta as it is, you can give it a stir before chilling so it has a clotted-cream look to it, or you can leave it be without stirring before chilling so it can be unmolded like an italian Panna Cotta. Either way is lovely, especially with a drizzle of Scented Sugar Syrup (page 28), Apple Vinegar (page 26), or honey, along with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios.
Serves 2 to 3
Preparation Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 6 minutes, plus time for the cream to chill
2 cups (500 ml) milk, divided
6 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon rose water (optional)
½ teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)
1 whisk together ½ cup (125 ml) of milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.
2 Combine the remaining 1½ cups (375 ml) milk and sugar in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat; cook until it comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the boiling milk and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.
3 turn off the heat and stir in the rose water and orange blossom water, if using. Pour into individual serving dishes. Cool to room temperature, stir if you want a clotted cream look (don’t stir if you want to unmold it), and then refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Sesame Sauce
TARATOOR
This sauce is a flavorful condiment for fried vegetables, falafel, shawarma, or fish. Both variations keep very well for up to 5 days if refrigerated.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Yields about 1 cup (250 ml)
½ cup (120 g) tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup (125 ml) plus 2 tablespoons water
2 cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle with ½ teaspoon salt
1 whisk together the tahini and lemon juice in a medium bowl (the sauce will thicken).
2 whisk in the water drop-by-drop at first, and then in a thin drizzle (the sauce will thicken even more at first and then thin out).
3 Stir in the garlic and refrigerate until serving.
VARIATION
Sesame-Parsley Dip
BAQDOUNISIYEH
This version is a bit thicker; it’s commonly scooped up with flatbread and eaten as a dip, but it also makes a fantastic dressing for salads or fried vegetables.
½ cup (120 g) tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup (125 ml) water
2 cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle with ½ teaspoon salt
½ of a bunch of fresh parsley leaves, minced
1 whisk together the tahini and lemon juice in a medium bowl (the sauce will thicken).
2 whisk in the water drop-by-drop at first, and then in a thin drizzle (the sauce will thicken even more at first and then thin out).
3 Stir in the garlic and parsley and refrigerate until serving (it will thicken more as it sits).
When you’re making something with apples that requires peeling them, like Apple Preserves (page 126), this recipe is the perfect use for the leftover peels. Similar to commercial raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, this vinegar is murky and brownish with sediment at the bottom. However, its flavor is sweeter and much more palatable than commercial vinegar and it is a real treat in salad dressings.
Yields 3 to 4 pints (1.5 to 2 liters)
Preparation Time: 30 minutes, plus 2 to 6 months to ferment
4 cups (1 liter) warm water
1 cup (250 g) sugar
Apple skins and cores from 2 lb (1 kg) apples (about 3 cups, slightly pressed down)
1 apple, grated (including skin and core)
Two thin pieces fresh ginger, (optional)
1 teaspoon oil
1 Sterilize a 2-liter (2.11 qts) canning jar.
2 Combine the water and sugar in a large measuring cup with a pour spout; stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and then cool to room temperature.
3 Add the apple skins, cores, and grated apple to the sterile jar along with the ginger, if using. Pour in the sugar water.
4 Cover the jar and leave it to form vinegar, opening it to stir once every day and make sure the apple skins are completely submerged; you can add more apple skins/cores during this time if you want. (this process can take anywhere from 2 to 6 months, depending on the weather. The vinegar is done fermenting when a white skin forms on top).
5 Strain the vinegar through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, wringing out the cheesecloth to extract as much liquid as possible.
6 to store, pour the vinegar into a glass bottle along with the oil; store at room temperature.
VARIATION
Grape Vinegar KHUL AINAB
use 3 cups (450 to 500 g) of de-stemmed grapes (any kind you like) instead of apple skins, cores, and the grated apple; proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Basic Savory Flat Pie Dough
AJEEN FATAYER
Ajeen Fatayer, the basic dough used to make a variety of savory pies, is a true Middle Eastern staple. To this day there are communal ovens in Damascus, a tradition that dates back to a time when very few homes had ovens of their own. Each family brought the filling of their choice to the baker at the communal oven, who used his own dough to make pies out of the filling provided. The family paid for the dough that the baker used and went home with the finished pies. This tradition has endured despite the fact that most Damascene homes now have their own oven.
Yields This recipe makes enough dough to make one of the following recipes: Spiced Meat Flat Pies (page 35) Spinach Turnovers (page 36), or Thyme-Spiced Flat Pies (page 37).
Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus 1½ hours to let the dough rise
Cooking Time: See individual recipes
3½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1½ teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons warm water
3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1¼ teaspoons fine salt
¾ cup (185 ml) milk, at room temperature
1 Brush ½ tablespoon of oil on the inside of a large bowl and set aside.
2 Mix together the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl until the sugar is dissolved.
3 whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon to stir the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients, and then stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Gradually stir in enough milk to form “shaggy” dough (you may not need all the milk).
4 turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 5 minutes; the dough is done being kneaded when you press a finger into it and the indentation remains.
5 transfer the dough to the oiled bowl and roll it gently to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a slightly damp towel and let sit until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
6 use the dough to make savory pies, such as Spinach turnovers (page 36), thyme-Spiced Flat Pies (page 37), or Spiced Meat Flat Pies (page 35).
MEKHALLEL
These pickles are made through lactic acid fermentation (also called lacto fermentation), a pickling process that has been used for centuries across the world (German sauerkraut, Korean kimchi, and Mexican curtido are all made this way). Through this process, harmless bacteria are allowed to proliferate, causing the natural sugars in food to be used as cellular energy for the bacteria, thus creating the by-product lactic acid. Lactic acid not only preserves food (i.e., turns it into pickles), but also increases vitamin content, makes food more digestible, and provides a natural source of healthy probiotics.
These pickles also taste pretty delicious, and are often found on maza platters or in Spiced Shawarma Chicken wraps (page 92).
If you prefer a crunchier pickle, add one to two small, clean fresh grape leaves.
Yields 1 liter (1.06 qt) jar of pickles
Preparation Time: 10 minutes, plus up to 20 days for the pickles to ferment
1 cup (250 ml) hot water
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
7-10 Persian or Japanese cucumbers washed and ends slightly trimmed
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Purified water, to cover the cucumber
½ teaspoon oil
1 Combine the 1 cup (250 ml) hot water, salt, and sugar in a large measuring cup with a pour spout; stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved and then cool to room temperature.
2 Sterilize a 1-liter (1.06 qt) canning jar.
3 Cut the cucumbers into spears by cutting them in half lengthwise, and then cutting each half lengthwise into 3 equal pieces.
4 Put 1 clove of garlic in the bottom of the jar, add the cucumber spears, and then add the other clove of garlic on top.
5 Pour in the water/salt/sugar mixture, then add enough purified water so that the cucumbers are completely covered, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of free space at the top.
6 Let the jar sit at room temperature to form pickles. The pickles are ready to eat when the cucumber turns khaki green in color, and they smell faintly of vinegar. This will take about 5 to 7 days in hot weather and 15 to 20 days in colder weather.
7 Once the pickles are ready to eat, drizzle in the oil and store refrigerated.
This dressing is used to dress most Middle Eastern salads, including Middle Eastern Salad (page 47), Colorful Cabbage Salad with Lemony Salad Dressing (page 40), Roasted Eggplant Salad (page 44), and Vibrant Beet Salad (page 43).
Yields a little over ½ cup (125 ml)
Preparation Time: 2 minutes
1 clove garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle with ¼ teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
Whisk together the garlic/salt mixture and lemon juice; gradually whisk in the olive oil in a thin drizzle. Stir in the mint, if using.
VARIATION
Olive Oil Vinaigrette
use 2 tablespoons of Apple Vinegar (page 26), or any vinegar you like, instead of the lemon juice; proceed with the recipe.
Lemony mint salad dressing; Olive oil
Scented Sugar Syrup QATER
This syrup can be made either thin or thick; unless specified in a particular recipe, assume it refers to thin syrup. Qater should generally be cooled before using, since this allows the syrup to thicken. Also, when it’s used to sweeten a cake, such as Sweet Cheese Pastry (page 122) or Coconut Semolina Cake (page 130), the cake should be hot and the syrup should be cool so that the cake fully absorbs it.
Yields about 1 cup (250 ml) of thin syrup or ²/ ³ cup (160 ml) of thick syrup
Preparation Time: 1 minute
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
1 cup (225 g) sugar
½ cup (125 ml) water
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water
1 Add the sugar, water and lemon juice to a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat, giving the pan an occasional swirl and skimming off any foam on the surface.
2 turn heat down slightly and boil 2 minutes (if you want thin syrup) and up to 5 minutes (if you want thick syrup), swirling the pan occasionally. (the syrup will thicken more upon cooling.)
3 turn off heat and stir in the rose water or orange blossom water; cool to room temperature, then use.
Lamb and Rice Stuffing
Beef can be used instead of lamb in this stuffing. This recipe yields enough stuffing to make 1 batch of Stuffed Marrow Squash (page 107), or to stuff 2 lb/1 kg of baby eggplant, small bell peppers, or cabbage.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 7 minutes
1 cup (215 g) medium-grain white rice, rinsed
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions, finely diced
1¼ teaspoons salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle
¾ teaspoon Syrian Spice Mix (page 29) ½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ lb (250 g) ground lamb or beef
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 Soak the rice in tepid water for 10 minutes; drain.
2 heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion and salt and cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, Syrian Spice Mix, cumin, ground coriander, and black pepper, and sauté 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Let cool.
3 use your hands to mix together the drained rice, onion mixture, raw meat, and melted butter in a large bowl.
VARIATION
Meat Stuffing for Stuffed Grape Leaves
increase rice to 2 cups (430 g), increase oil to 4 tablespoons and add ¾ teaspoon turmeric when you add the other spices; proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
here are a few basic spice mixes used in Middle Eastern cooking. You may be able to find some of the mixes available commercially at Middle Eastern grocery stores, but others may be hard to locate and you’ll need to make your own. Additionally, making your own spice mix lets you customize it to suit your tastes. (typically, spice mixes vary from region to region and even family to family, so feel free to play with the components and measurements if you like.) thyme Spice Mix is perhaps the most commonly known Middle Eastern spice mix. It can be used in any number of recipes, such as thyme-Spiced Flat Pies (page 37) or Spiced Cheese Balls (page 69), but it is commonly served with olive oil and flatbread. To eat this dish (which is called Za’atar wa Zayt), a piece of flatbread is torn off, dipped in a dish of olive oil, and then dipped in a dish of Za’atar. this is a common breakfast dish, as the herbs in Za’atar are thought to improve memory and concentration; my husband remembers his grade school teacher in Syria telling his class to always eat Za’atar wa Zayt for breakfast, especially before an exam.
Mendy Spice Mix
3 bay leaves
3 dried limes (loomi)
One 3 in(7.5 cm) cinnamon stick, broken in half
1½ tablespoons whole green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole cloves
½ tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 whole nutmeg
One 1 in (25 mm) piece dried galangal (blue ginger) or ginger
Syrian Spice Mix
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
1¼ teaspoons ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Kebseh Spice Mix
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ tablespoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 pinch saffron threads or 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 batch Mendy Spice Mix
Meat Spice Mix
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 batch Nine Spice Mix
Chicken Spice Mix
½ teaspoon ground fennel
¼ teaspoon ground anise
1 batch Meat Spice Mix
Thyme Spice Mix
1½ tablespoons ground sumac
1½ tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1½ tablespoons dried thyme leaves
½ tablespoon ground thyme
2 teaspoons dried crushed oregano
2 teaspoons dried crushed savory (optional)
1 teaspoon ground marjoram
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Cake Spice Mix
½ teaspoon ground mahlab (Sour Black Cherry Pits, see page 23)
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground fennel
¼ teaspoon ground anise
1 batch Syrian Spice Mix
Four Spice Mix
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Nine Spice Mix
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 batch Seven Spice Mix
Seven Spice Mix
2 teaspoons ground sweet paprika
1½ teaspoons ground coriander
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 batch Four Spice Mix
1 For each mix, combine all spices in a small bowl.
2 if the mix has whole spices (such as the Mendy Spice Mix and Kebseh Spice Mix), grind them in a spice grinder and strain through a fine mesh sieve, if desired.
3 Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
