Ramadhan with eggplant a la Middle East
Ramadhan with eggplant a la Middle East
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
To welcome Ramadhan, Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel has invited
the head chef of its sister hotel in Dubai to show how to prepare
Middle Eastern cuisine popular during the fasting month.
Chef Khalil Zakeen demonstrated the preparation of three
favorite cuisines: moutabel, Sheikh All Mahisy and katayef bil
achta, to several guests and journalists.
"The cuisines are very popular during Ramadhan in Middle
Eastern countries as a salad, main course and dessert
respectively," the Syrian-born chef said.
The main ingredients of moutabel and Sheikh All Mahisy are
eggplant, while katayef bil achta is similar to serabi (local
cake mixed with coconut milk).
The ingredients of moutabel are eggplant (1,000 grams) --
usually imported, as local ones tend to be too small -- tahini
paste (87.5g), salt (6.25g), lemon juice (37.5 ml), olive oil (50
milliliters), lemon salt (5g), garlic, sumac (mixed herbs) and
yogurt (optional).
To make moutabel: First, grill the eggplant and peel it, chop
it finely. Second, mash the eggplant and mix it with tahini,
lemon juice and garlic. Third, season with salt and white pepper.
Fourth, serve with olive oil and sumac as topping.
Zakeen said the dish was served like a cold salad and usually
eaten with toasted bread before the main item, Sheikh All Mahisy
(stuffed eggplant).
The ingredients of Sheik All Mahisy are small eggplants (12 of
them) and olive oil (250 ml).
For the meat filling, take the finely minced lamb (500g),
finely chopped onion (15g), finely chopped garlic (50g), finely
chopped pine nuts (100g), roasted, ground cinnamon (20g), ground
coriander (15g), parsley or coriander (100g), chopped, cubed
fresh tomato (250g), and tomato puree (50g).
The ingredients for the tomato sauce are tomatoes (0.5 kg),
onions (150g) and garlic (50g).
First, remove the stalks from the eggplant and peel in 1 cm
intervals to give a striped effect, cut deep slits along one side
of each eggplant. Second, heat the oil and fry the eggplant and
remove.
Heat the remaining oil then add the minced meat, onions and
garlic then add the spices, pine nut and fresh chopped tomato.
Add salt and pepper to taste, parsley and remove from the heat.
Fill the fried eggplant with cooked meat. Arrange in a baking
dish, pour tomato on top and season with salt and pepper. Bake in
a hot oven for 30 minutes.
Zakeen said the lamb could be substituted with beef and it
could also be served with rice.
Meanwhile, the ingredients of the dessert, katayef bil achta,
are divided into two parts: the katayef (pancake) and the achta
(filling).
For the katayef, it needs flour (three cups), yeast (0.5
teaspoon) and milk (three cups), while for achta, it needs milk
(3 cups), cornflour (0.25 cup), sugar (1 cup) and rose water (1
teaspoon).
For the katayef, mix all the ingredients together and make a
dough. Pour the mixture into a hot pan and cook one side only.
Keep the pancake at room temperature then stuff it with achta and
serve it with syrup.
For the achta, boil two cups of milk then add sugar. Dissolve
corn flour in the remaining cup of cold milk and add to the
boiling milk. Stir well until thick, finally adding the rose
water. Pour the mixture into a serving bowl and let it cool.
If the local serabi is served hot, the katayef bil achta is
served cold.
It is relatively easy to prepare Middle East cuisine. Even the
main ingredient, eggplant, is relatively easy to find and popular
here.