In Arabic cuisine, the culinary traditions of residents of several eastern states intertwine. The main place in it is occupied by dishes of rice, poultry, veal, goat, beef, vegetables, fresh and canned fruits. Muslims also enjoy eggs, dairy products and fish. From spices, they prefer cinnamon, garlic, black and red pepper. In today's article, you will find some interesting recipes for traditional Arabic treats.
Key Features
Arabic cuisine was formed taking into account the religious beliefs of the inhabitants of the region. Therefore, in the menu of the local population there are no pork dishes. Instead, beef, lamb and poultry are successfully used here. The meat is fried, boiled, stewed or baked in the oven.
Arabs love hearty and tasty food. Therefore, their traditional lunch consists of soups with rice, beans, noodles, peas or capers. Local chefs flavored their masterpieces with lots of spices. Especially popular among the Arabs is cinnamon, garlic, olives, onions, aromatic herbs and a mixture of ground peppers. As a second course, various pilafs, stews or grilled meats are served here. Most traditional Arabic recipes use hot sauce made from mustard, dried herbs and red pepper.
Heat treatment of products occurs with a minimal addition of fat. Often, Arab cooks fry meat in a dry, very hot pan. In this case, the proteins contained in it come into contact with the hot surface of the dishes and coagulate, forming a crust that prevents the leakage of juice.
The so-called burgul is especially popular among the local population. It is a corn or wheat porridge, sprinkled with sour milk. On holidays, burgul is covered with small pieces of meat or seasoned with fat.
Various fruits are no less in demand among the inhabitants of the Arab countries. The dates are especially popular with the Muslim population. They are valued in the East as well as cereals. They are not only eaten fresh, dried or dried. Of these fruits make a special paste, which is subsequently mixed with barley flour.
Busbus
This classic Arabian pastry is a cake made on the basis of semolina and soaked in sweet syrup. To create it you will need:
- 2 cups semolina.
- 1 tbsp. l vanilla sugar.
- 100 g of softened oil.
- ½ cup sugar and coconut.
- 1 tsp baking powder.
- 1 cup fresh kefir.
All this is necessary for kneading the dough. To make a sweet impregnation, you will need:
- 1 cup of filtered water.
- 1 tbsp. l lemon juice.
- ½ cup cane sugar.
- 1 tbsp. l rose water.
- Almonds (for decoration).
In a deep container combine semolina, coconut, baking powder, regular and vanilla sugar. All this is poured with kefir and melted butter, and then mixed thoroughly. The resulting dough is put into the refrigerator for two hours, and then laid out in a greased form, leveled. Cover with almonds and put in the oven. Bake the product at 150 degrees until fully cooked. The browned bassus is slightly cooled, watered with syrup, boiled from sugar, lemon juice, plain and pink water, and left to soak.
Omelet with meat
Fans of hearty breakfasts will surely enjoy the Arabic recipe described below. To repeat it at home, you will need:
- 4 selected eggs.
- 350 g of beef.
- 120 ml pasteurized milk.
- 100 g feather green onions.
- 40 g butter.
- 10 g of flour.
- Salt.
Washed beef is grinded twice in a meat grinder and combined with eggs, beaten with the addition of milk, salt, flour and chopped green onions. All this is poured into a pan greased with melted butter, and baked in a heated oven. As a side dish, such an omelet is usually served with french fries or stewed rice.
Shakshuka
A dish with such an intriguing name is nothing more than fried eggs cooked in an oriental way. Since shakshuki recipe involves the use of a specific set of components, check in advance whether you have at hand:
- 3 selected eggs.
- 4 tomatoes.
- Pod of green or red chili peppers.
- A clove of garlic.
- Salt, ground black pepper and olive oil.
The shakshuki recipe is extremely simple, so any novice cook can easily reproduce it. You need to start the process with processing spices. Garlic and chilli are ground in a mortar and sautéed in olive oil. As soon as they are browned, they add slices of tomatoes to them and continue to cook until the juice is completely evaporated. After a few minutes, it is all salted, peppered, poured with eggs, slightly mixed, covered with a lid and brought to full readiness.
Baklava
This is a traditional Arabian delicacy, which is very popular with large and small sweet tooth. To make a real Lebanese baklava, you will need:
- 10 sheets of filo.
- 50 g of brown sugar.
- 250 g chopped almonds.
- 100 g of melted butter (+ 2 tbsp. L to the filling).
- Liquid honey.
The sheets are smeared with melted butter and stacked on top of each other. The resulting workpiece is cut into squares with a side of about seven centimeters. Each of them is filled with a filling made of brown sugar, almonds and a couple of tablespoons of butter. The edges of the squares are neatly fastened together so that peculiar pyramids are formed from them. All this is transferred to a baking sheet and baked at 190 degrees to a golden hue. Hot browned baklava is poured with liquid honey.
Pilaf with lamb
This delicious and hearty dish is an interesting combination of rice, meat, spices, nuts and vegetables. It is ideal not only for a regular lunch, but also for a dinner party. To surprise your family and friends with a real Arab pilaf, you will need:
- 500 g basmati rice.
- 1 kg of lamb.
- 1.2 liters of standing water.
- 4 medium onions.
- 4 tomatoes.
- 50 g of pine nuts, raisins and roasted almonds.
- According to 1 tbsp. l ground cumin and tomato paste.
- 5 g of cinnamon.
- 1 tsp. chili peppers and ground cardamom.
- Salt and refined oil.
Washed meat is cut into cubes, put in a pan, poured with water and cooked under a lid over low heat. No earlier than an hour later, chopped onions, fried with tomatoes, spices and tomato paste, are added to the boiling broth. Almost immediately, washed and sorted rice is poured into a common pan. All this is languishing over low heat until the cereal is ready. Before serving, raisins and nuts are added to each portion of pilaf.
Spicy beef in tomato sauce
According to the method described below, a very tasty Arabic stew is obtained. It goes well with many cereal or pasta side dishes and is ideal for a family dinner. To prepare a spicy oriental goulash, you will need:
- 800 g of fresh beef tenderloin.
- 350 ml of natural yogurt.
- A glass of filtered water.
- 2 medium onions.
- 2 ripe tomatoes.
- According to 1 tbsp. l curry and tomato paste.
- 1 tsp hot ground red pepper.
- Salt, refined oil, parsley, cinnamon and cloves.
Washed and dried meat is cut into thin strips and fried in a greased skillet. After a few minutes, chopped onions, salt, tomatoes and spices are added there. Almost immediately, all this is mixed with tomato paste, poured with water and yogurt, and then brought to a boil and simmer over low heat until cooked.
Arabic Chicken
This gourmet dish follows the best traditions of oriental culinary. It has a pleasant, moderately pungent taste and delicate aroma. To serve one of the most popular dishes of Arabic cuisine for a family dinner, you will need:
- 500 g of white chicken meat.
- 50 g of wheat flour.
- 2 selected eggs.
- 3 medium onions.
- 60 g of oil.
- 1 tsp lemon juice.
- A clove of garlic.
- 200 ml of water.
- Salt, refined oil, herbs and spices.
The washed chicken fillet is cut into medium pieces and put in a deep bowl. Marinade made from water, salt, spices, lemon juice, crushed garlic and herbs is poured there. After a couple of hours, each piece of meat is rolled in flour, immersed in a batter, consisting of passivated onions and beaten, slightly salted eggs. Then the chicken is fried in a pan and transferred to a deep form. The remaining batter is poured on top. Bake the dish at 160 degrees for about fifteen minutes.
Arabic coffee
This drink is very popular among the inhabitants of the entire planet. It is cooked in special Turks. And fried grains ground in a mortar are used as raw materials. To brew a similar drink, you will need:
- 500 ml of boiled water.
- 4 tsp natural ground coffee.
- 4 tsp cane sugar.
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder.
- 2-3 boxes of cardamom.
- ½ tsp vanillin.
Sugar is poured into a slightly warmed Turk and brought to a brown tint. Then they add water to it and wait until it boils. A mixture of ground coffee, vanillin, cardamom and cinnamon is poured into a container with bubbling liquid. All this is heated, not allowing to boil, and removed from the stove.
Walnut Breaded Meat
Fans of unusual food combinations are advised to pay attention to the Arabic recipe described below. To play it in your own kitchen, you will need:
- 600 g of meat tenderloin.
- 2 selected chicken eggs.
- 20 g butter.
- 50 g of hard cheese.
- 100 g peeled walnuts.
- 200 ml of pasteurized milk.
- Lemon.
- Small onion.
- 2 cloves of garlic.
- Breadcrumbs, salt, refined oil and spices.
Washed and dried meat is cut into portions, beaten and put in a bowl. Then it is poured with marinade made from beaten eggs, milk, cheese chips, crushed garlic, lemon juice, butter and onion rings. Not earlier than a couple of hours, each piece is rolled in a mixture of breadcrumbs and chopped nuts, and then sent to a hot greased frying pan and sautéed over moderate heat.
Arabic lamb with prunes
This interesting dish is equally suitable for both adults and small gourmets. It goes well with boiled rice and can be a good option for a family dinner. To cook it, you will need:
- 700 grams of lamb.
- 150 g of prunes.
- Large onion.
- 1.5 tbsp. l soft butter.
- 1 tbsp. l wheat flour (without a hill).
- 1 tsp fine sugar.
- Cinnamon, water, salt and ground pepper.
Washed and dried meat is cut into not too thin strips and fried along with onion half rings. After some time, all this is crushed with flour, salted, sprinkled with spices and poured with hot water. Stew the lamb over low heat until soft. Shortly before the completion of the process, sugar and soaked pitted prunes are added to the common pan.
Dried Banana Pilaf
Arabic cuisine is very unusual and multifaceted. It contains a lot of interesting and delicious dishes, such as meat pilaf with dried bananas. To feed your family a similar dinner, you will need:
- 600 g of fresh veal.
- On a small bulb and red onion.
- 2 large carrots.
- A glass of rice.
- 100 g dried bananas.
- 2 glasses of water.
- 5 cloves of garlic.
- Refined oil, salt and seasonings.
Washed veal is cut into small pieces, marinated for a short time in spices and fried in a greased skillet. After some time, onion half rings, previously aged in a mixture of pink and white pepper, are added to it. Ten minutes later, carrots cut into strips are sent there. Following it, pour rice into a common bowl and pour it with water. All this is salted, supplemented with garlic and slices of dried banana, covered with a lid and simmer over low heat until cooked.
Cheese pies
Arabic cuisine is famous not only for meat and sweet dishes, but also for various pastries. Yeast pies with cheese filling are especially popular among the local population. To prepare them you will need:
- 3 cups of wheat flour.
- 1 tsp. baking powder and sugar.
- ¼ cup of vegetable oil and natural yogurt.
- 1 tbsp. l high-speed dry yeast.
- ½ cup warm water.
- 150 g of cheese and cheddar.
- 3 tbsp. l chopped greens.
- Egg (for greasing).
Yeast is dissolved in sweetened warm water and let it brew a little. After some time, they add yogurt, butter, baking powder and flour. The resulting dough is covered with a clean cloth and cleaned to the side. As soon as it doubles, small pieces are nibbled off of it, rolled out, filled with a filling consisting of two types of cheese and chopped greens, neat boats are formed and greased with a beaten egg. Bake products at 200 degrees until lightly browned.