Baklava- Layered Sweet Pastry

Baklava is a rich sweet pastry, made with layers of thin sheets of pastry, filled with nuts and soaked in syrup.  It has been claimed by ethnic regions , some say it as Greek and some as Turkish....

   Wherever this sweet originated, this is just one amazing sweet.  Everytime when we buy a big box of baklavas, it disappears within a day.  Few times I failed in trying this baklava, however it's not a complete failure, I have to say a bit dry.  Still you can claim that as a type of baklava.  To me this one was perfect, completely soaked, perfectly cooked layers and the right amount of nuts.  If you are planning to make this sweet for your friends and family or any occasion , just make it a day ahead which will give enough time to soak in the syrup.  I made this last week , nothing has left now, still I'm dreaming about this delicious pastry.
So let's go to the recipe for my sweet little sweet.
Here is the link from which I followed the recipe with few variations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6mICkUdelQ

Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hr 15 minutes
Makes 15 squares

Ingredients:
Phyllo pastry- 500 g( 20 sheets)
Walnuts- 100 g
Almonds- 100 g
Pista- 100 g
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Brown sugar- 1 tbsp
Butter- 250 g
For the syrup:
Honey- 100 g
Brown sugar- 200 g
Lemon juice- 2 tsp
Cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch stick
Orange blossom water or rose water- 1 tsp

Method:
In a food processor , pulse the nuts along with cinnamon and sugar until looks coarse.
Next prepare the layers of pastry.  Open the pastry cover , place all the pastries in a wide flat surface, cover it with a damp cloth to avoid drying.
Take a 20 cm square tin.  Grease with butter and line with baking parchment paper.  Melt the butter completely until looks runny.
Take a sheet of pastry and lay it in the tin, brush with butter all over the pastry.  If the pastry sheet is hanging out of the tin, fold it over in the tin and brush with butter.  Repeat the same process until you get 8 layers of pastry.  Now spread the nut mixture on top of the pastry and press it with a back of the spoon.
Now again start layering the pastry in the same method as mentioned and finish with 4 layers of pastry.  Now again spread it with nuts and press with the back of the spoon.  Now again start layering the pastry  and finish with the remaining 8 layers of pastry.
Note:
Remember that when you are using a 20 cm square tin, you'll be able to fold each pastry into two layers and for each and every layer you have to brush the pastry sheet with butter.

Continuing...
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.  Make square shapes in the pastry using a sharp knife.  Make just insertions do not cut it out completely. Bake it in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you can see that the pastry will be light brown in colour, at this stage cover the tin tightly with aluminium foil.  Reduce the oven temperature to 160 degree Celsius and bake it for further 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes remove the foil, increase the temperature to 180 again and bake it for further 20 minutes until the top layer of pastry looks brown in colour.  At this stage take it out, pour the syrup all over the pastry little by little.  If the syrup looks floating on top, allow it absorb for few minutes and then pour the syrup again.  Now cut the squares and completely and let them sit in the tin and soak in syrup for minimum 5 to 6 hours. You can leave it in the tin until it gets finished or place them in a separate serving plate.

To make the syrup:
Add the honey, sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon juice along with 150 ml of water.  Bring it boil in medium heat.  Stir continually until the sugar gets completely dissolved.  Boil for 5 minutes until it looks syrupy.  Finally add the rose water to the syrup and take it off from heat.
You can prepare the syrup when the baklavas are baking in the oven.

This recipe goes to 17th Mediterranean Cooking event by Tobias Cooks, also sending this to best recipe of the month by Nancy.

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Greek Style Layered Dip

Probably last week I saw this recipe in Kevin's blog and the same week I tried it.  It's a very simple recipe with layers of hummus,tzatziki , chopped cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives.  Hummus is a very popular middle eastern dip almost everybody will be familiar with this.  Hummus is made with a blend of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic.  This is generally used as a dip for pitta bread, you can also serve  with fresh cut vegetables.
Tzatziki is again a Greek dip, made with strained yogurt, cucumber and fresh mint leaves. Actually the idea of making a perfect tzatziki I got it from my friend Schmetterling words.  She said to get a perfect tzatziki we have to squeeze out juice from the cucumber completely and a thick greek style yogurt.  Right let's see the ingredients for the layered dip...


Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Serves 2


Ingredients:
For Hummus:
Dried chickpeas- 100 g
Tahini- 1 tbsp
Garlic- 2 cloves
Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
Olive oil- 4 tbsp
Salt to taste
For Tzatziki:
Greek yogurt- 150 ml
Cucumber- 1(10 cm size)
Garlic- 2 cloves
Fresh mint leaves- 2 stalk finely chopped
Salt to taste
For the layers:
Cucumber- 1 ( 10 cm size)
Tomato- 1 medium sized( chopped into cubes)
Feta cheese- 75 g
Black olives- 7 to 8 chopped

Method:
Prepare the hummus:
Soak the dried chickpeas in water for 1 whole night.  The next day  add enough water to the chickpeas until it's completely immersed and pressure cook for upto 4 whistles. Add the cooked chickpeas, tahini, grated garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt to a food processor.  Grind it to a coarse paste. If it doesn't grind well add some more oil.  Take the hummus and keep it separately.

Prepare the Tzatziki:
Peel and grate the cucumber, press it through a sieve to squeeze out the juice from the cucumber completely. Grate the garlic and chop the mint leaves finely. Mix the yogurt, cucmber, mint, garlic and salt.

Note:
If you can't find Greek yogurt in your place.  Place the normal yogurt in muslin cloth and squeeze out the excess water.

Prepare the layers:
In a wide plate or bowl, first spread the hummus, then tzatziki.  And on top of that add the chopped cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives.

Serve the dip immediately with tortillas or pitta bread.  If you are planning for a party.  Prepare the hummus and tzatziki earlier and put it in your refrigerator.  Just before serving prepare the layers and serve.

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Potato Kibbeh

Kibbeh is a traditinal Levatine Cuisine,  it is also more popular in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran and in Arabian Peninsula.  Kibbeh is made with ground bulgur and ground meat stuffed with walnuts and cheese.  The most popular shape of this kibbeh is a croquette shape.  It can also made in other shapes like in a big pan and cut them into slices.
  For vegetarian option of  these kibbeh , we can also make these kibbeh with potato and stuffed with walnuts .  Serve these kibbeh warm with salad and salsa or with meat.

Also don't forget to check our bloggers in marathon  Priya Suresh,Jay, Gayathri, Monika, PJ, Priya Vaasu, Azeema, Reva,Veena, Usha , Srivalli; Soumya.

Recipe Source: Discover Lebanon
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 to 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Mashed potatoes- 1 cup
Bulgur wheat- 1/2 cup
Walnut- 2 tbsp
Onion- 1 small sized finely chopped
Garlic- 3 cloves finely grated
Olive oil- 2 tbsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Wash the bulgur wheat and blend it in a food processor.  Fry the onions and chopped walnuts in a pan separately.  Mix the bulgur, mashed potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper.  Grease a shallow baking dish.  Press half of the mixture all over the pan.  Spread the onion and walnut on top of that. Spread the remaining potato mixture on top of the walnuts to cover completely.  Score the top with diamond shape and pour the oil on top of it.
Bake it in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top looks golden brown in colour.   Serve warm with salad and meat or salsa.

This recipe goes to Veggie/ Fruit A Month- Potato hosted by Divya of Dil se originally started by Priya Mitharwal,  AWED- Iranian Cuisine hosted by Sweet Artichoke started by DK of Chef in you  and Winter Warmers by Veggie Hut

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Whole Wheat Porridge

This is more like a bowl of cereal, bit watery in  consistency.  I discovered this healthy glass of breakfast from Taste Of Beirut.  This is a Lebanese style of pudding enriched with whole wheat and nuts.  You can also substitute wheat with barley or quinoa also.  Also the original recipe suggested aniseed flavour, I used cardamom and nutmeg.  Try twisting the flavours and grains of your choice and have a healthy breakfast.

Recipe Source: Taste Of Beirut
Preparation Time: 3 to 4 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Whole wheat- 1/2 cup
Almonds and walnuts- 2 tbsp chopped
Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
Grated nutmeg- 1/4 tsp
Brown sugar or honey- 1 tbsp( adjust according to your taste)
Milk- 2 tbsp

Method:
Wash the wheat well and add 2 cups of water and flavouring.  Pressure cook for 6 to 7 whistles.  Then add the milk and nuts, pressure cook for 2 whistles.  Serve warm with honey or sugar.

Also don't forget to check our bloggers in the marathon   Srivalli, Reva, Monika, Priya Suresh, PJ, Priya Vaasu, Jay, Azeema , Soumya.and Gayathri.

This recipe goes to Any One Can Cook, Bookmarked recipes by Priya and Aipi,  Whole wheat for breakfast by Lite Bites

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Dates and Walnut Squares

I always adore the Middle Eastern Cuisine especially when it comes to desserts and sweets.  This is something very similar to mamoul cookies which I made earlier.  The thing which I love the most about these squares, it's mildly sweetened, it gets the natural sweetness from the dates and a crunchy bit of walnut in the middle will be perfect with a mint tea after dinner or even during evening tea.  I made a few alterations in the mamoul cookie which I made earlier, I absolutely enjoyed these squares a lot.  Hope you guys enjoy baking it too.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Makes 25 to 30 squares

Ingredients:
Fine semolina( semolina flour)- 150 g
Plain flour- 150 g
Baking Powder- 3/4 tsp
Butter-150 g
Icing sugar- 1/2 tbsp
Milk- 3 to 4 tbsp
Pitted dates- 500 g
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
Walnuts- 2 tbsp( finely chopped)

Method:
Prepare the filling first by steaming the dates in a steamer for 10 minutes.  Mash it well until it looks like a paste,  add cinnamon and cardamom powder mix it well.  Set it aside.
Prepare the pastry by sifting the flour, semolina, baking powder and icing sugar in a large bowl.  Add the butter and start working with your hands until it looks like bread crumbs.  Add cold milk little by little until the mixture looks crumbly, don't knead it like a dough.

 Grease a 20cm square cake tine, line with baking parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 180 degree celsius.  Divide the dough into half. Roll one half of the dough in the middle of two clingfilm.  Peel the top layer of cling film and carefully invert the pastry inside the cake tin and press it all around to fit the tin. Now roll the dates paste in the middle of two cling film and place it on top of the pastry and press it to spread all through the pastry. Spread the chopped walnuts on top of the dates paste.  Now roll the other half of the dough in the middle of two cling film and place it on top of the dates paste. Take a butter knife , with a blunt side of the knife score on top of the pastry, then with a sharp knife cut it into squares, don't cut it completely, just make an insertion.  Bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Take it out from the oven and allow it cool in the tin completely.  then cut it into squares and dust it with icing sugar and cinnamon powder.


Also don't forget to check our bloggers in the marathon   Srivalli, Reva, Monika, Priya Suresh, PJ, Priya Vaasu, Jay, Azeema , Soumya.and Gayathri.

This recipe goes to AWED- Iranian Cuisine hosted by Sweet Artichoke originally started by DK of Chef in You.

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Chicken Kebab - Mediterranean Style

These kebabs can be made in no time.  Don't think it would not taste good without spices, it gets the flavours from the herbs and pepper.
  If you can get readymade dried mixed herbs with pepper,  you can use that along with lemon juice for marination and then grill it  or follow the recipe below.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken- 1/2 kg
Garlic pods- 4 finely grated
Parsley- 2 stalk
Coriander leaves- 2 stalk
Green pepper- 1/4 of 1 whole pepper
Red pepper- 1/4 of 1 whole pepper
Black pepper- 1 tsp
Salt as required
Olive oil- 1/2 tbsp
Lemon juice- Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Method:
In a blender or a food processor add the green pepper, red pepper, parsley and coriander.  Grind it to coarse paste by adding little water.  Wash and cut the chicken into bite size pieces.  Marinate the chicken with the ground paste and other ingredients for minimum of 2 hours.
 You can also marinate the chicken the previous day you are going to make.  Preheat the oven to maximum.
Insert the chicken pieces in the skewer stick along with green pepper, red pepper and onion if you wish.  Grill the chicken in the hot oven for 15 minutes on each side.
To check the chicken is cooked or not, insert a skewer and if the juice from the chicken runs out clear then it's cooked.  If it comes out pink, leave it another couple of minutes.
Serve the kebabs warm with salad, bread and hummus.

Don't forget to  check out our bloggers in marathon   Srivalli, Reva, Monika, Priya Suresh, Priya Vaasu, Jay, PJ, Veena, Azeema and Sowmya.

This recipe goes to my own event Any One Can Cook: Series 11.

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Stuffed Vine Leaves

Stuffed Vine leaves is a popular appetizer all over Middle East .  It is also called as grape leaves.  They are generally stuffed with ground meat, rice and vegetables. If it is stuffed with meat they serve it warm, vegetarian stuffing can be served cold. Today I used bulgur wheat with vegetables as stuffing. I followed Arabic food for the recipe, the actual recipe is with meat and rice. I made a few changes from the original recipe.
Also check out my blogging buddies  Srivalli, Reva, Monika, Priya Suresh, Priya Vaasu, Jay, PJ, Veena, Azeema and Sowmya.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Grape leaves-  about 40 ready to use from the package
Bulgur wheat- 1 cup
Onion- 1 finely chopped
Red Pepper- 1/2 chopped
Carrot- 1 medium sized chopped finely
Garlic- 3 pods chopped finely
Tomato paste- 1 tsp
Vegetable stock cube- 1
Olive oil- 2 tsp
Tomato - 2 sliced
Onion- 1 sliced
Potato- 2 sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Prepare the stuffing first by heating the oil in a pan, add the finely chopped garlic, onions and saute well. Then add the pepper and carrot. Cover the pan and cook for 2 minutes.  Add 2 cups of water along with the stock cube. Add the bulgur, salt and pepper.  Keep the heat in medium to low.  Cover the pan and cook till the water is completely absorbed and the bulgur is cooked.  Switch off and keep it aside.

   To stuff the leaves.  Wash  the leaves well in warm water.  Keep the leaf  on the rough side and stem facing you.  Place a spoonfull of filling inside and wrap it up.  Repeat the same with 20 leaves.
   Take a heavy bottomed pan,  line the inside with vine leaves, on top of that arrange slices of onion, tomato and potato.  On top of it arrange the stuffed vine leaves.  Repeat the same with until all the vine leaves get over.  Fill the pan with water till the top of the leaves.  Keep a plate on the top layer and press it firmly.  Cover the pan with it's lid,  cook it in medium  heat  for 20 minutes.
Serve warm or cold with yogurt.

This recipe goes to   AWED- Iranian Cuisine hosted by Sweet Artichoke originally started by DK of Chef in you.

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Dates and Almond Truffles for Winning Manjula's Cooking Contest

Hi everyone,
  I'm in immense pleasure to announce that I won the cooking contest in Manjula's Kitchen for the month of December. Taking part in events and recipe contest is really a fun activity for me, that too if I win the contest, I get over excited. Probably this is the first time I won a cooking contest,  I'm really happy about that on top of all critical comments for my recipe .
Anyway my Orange and Almond Sponge is the winner, thank you Manjula madam for selecting my recipe as the winning recipe.

    Dates and Almond Truffles

I have seen many form of this dates balls in many blogs. This recipe I followed from Cooking With Alia in youtube. A very simple recipe which is so easy to make and sugar free. You can watch the video from here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-KxJeAGx4o&feature=channel

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Makes 20 balls

Ingredients:
Pitted dates- 1 cup
Blanched almonds- 3/4 cup
Honey- 1 tbsp
Ghee- 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 1 tsp
Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
Dessicated coconut- to roll the balls
Method:
Steam the dates in a steamer for 10 minutes. Mash it with a masher or fork while they are still warm. Roast the almonds for about 3 to 4 minutes. In a food processor combine all the ingredients except dessicated coconut and pulse it to smooth.
  Roll the mixture into small lemon size balls, then roll it in the dessicated coconut.

This recipe goes to Any One Can Cook, Heart and Soul  and Bookmarked recipes by Priya and Aipi.

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Arabic Desserts: Ataif bil ashta and Muhallebi

Ataif bil ashta and Muhallebi are Arabic desserts popular in Gulf countries. First we'll see the recipe for Ataif bil ashta and then to Muhallebi. I got these both desserts from Arabic Bites. Ataif bil ashta is something which I want to try for a long time, when I first saw in Arabic bites it was presented in a very attractive way, after that I came across this recipe in few other sites and also in You Tube.

  Ataif bil ashta is nothing but yeasted pancakes filled ashta and topped with nuts. Ashta is creamy filling made with milk, cornstarch and qaimar( Iraqi cream). I couldn't find this qaimar, the actual recipe suggested thick cream as the replacement for qaimar but I replaced it with ricotta  cheese which indeed tasted very good.
Makes about 20
Ingredients:
For the pancake:
Flour- 2 cups
Warm Water- 1 1/2 cups
Milk- 1 cup
Dried yeast- 3/ 4 tsp
Salt -1 tsp
Sugar- 2 tsp
For the ashta:
Milk- 1 cup
Sugar- 1 tbsp
Cornflour- 2 tsp mixed in 1 tbsp of milk
Ricotta cheese- 1 tbsp
Rosewater-1 tsp
For the topping
2 tbsp of finely chopped pistachios
To serve:
Sugar syrup, honey or maple syrup.
Method:
First prepare the ashta, mix all the ingredients in a pan, heat it in a medium to low heat. Keep stirring without burning at the bottom of the pan. The mixture will turn thick after sometime, now add the rosewater and  take it off from heat and allow it to cool completely.
Now for the pancake, mix all the pancake ingredients together in a bowl without any lumps. Cover the bowl with a cling film and let it rest for 1 hour or doubled in size.
Once the mixture is raised, heat a non stick pan, pour laddle full of batter in the pan and cook it in medium to low heat. Do not turn the pancakes. When you can see all holes on the top, and looks dry in the top, take it of from the pan, repeat with the remaining mixture.
Now fold the pancakes into half, then press the sides and seal the edges till halfway. Now it looks like a pocket in the middle.
Fill the ashta in a piping bag and pipe it into the pancake pockets. Finally dip it in the crushed pistachios and drizzle with syrup or honey.
Serve this with some Arabic tea.

Muhallebi
Muhallebi is again a Arabic dessert inspired from Arabic Bites. Muhallebi is a milk pudding made with qaimar( Iraqi cream), milk and eggs. I skipped the egg and qaimar, instead I used ricotta cheese.
 I made it almost same like ashta but adding a bit more sugar.

Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients:
Milk- 1 cup
Cornflour- 2 tsp mixed in 1 tbsp of milk
Ricotta cheese- 2 tbsp
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Rosewater- 1 tsp
Mixed crushed nuts to sprinkle on top
Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a pan leaving nuts and rosewater. Heat it in  a medium heat and stir constantly, when the mixture turns thick, add the rosewater and take it of from heat. Pour it in individual serving dish, sprinkle with nuts. Leave it to cool down completely  and allow it sit in the refrigerator for minimum 2 hours before serving.
This would be quite creamy in texture, to get a pudding texture, add 1 egg yolk when you are mixing all the ingredients and follow the same procedure.

These two desserts goes to AWED- Saudi Arabia hosted by Niloufer originally started by DK of Chef in you, Bookmarked Recipes-Every Tuesday by Priya Mitharwal and to the event Heart n Soul.
Also sending it to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

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