Richard, your post at the top reminded me of this. Green Herb Rice (Sabzi Polow) Persian Style

Egyptian Semolina Cake with Syrup (Basbusa)

2 cups fine semolina flour
1.5 cups sugar
2 tbls. ghee
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup whole milk plain joghurt
1 tsp. vanilla, stirred into the yogurt
2 tbls. tahina (sesame seed paste)
1/4 cup peeled almonds
2 cups syrup (recipe below)

Rub semolina, sugar, 1 tbls. ghee, and baking powder together in bowl. Mix in the vanilla flavored yoghurt.

Coat a flat rectangular cake pan (34x22cm or roughly a 13X9 pan) with 1 tbls ghee and tahini. Pour the cake batter into the pan and smooth to even surface. Cut into squares and place an almond in the center of each square.

Bake in 350F oven for 45 minutes until tops are lightly browned. Pour the warm syrup over the hot basbusa and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Cool and serve.

Syrup:
1.5 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
juice of 1 lime
1 strip of orange zest
1 strip of lemon zest
1 tsp. rosewater (optional) or vanilla

Combine ingredients in saucepan, bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to steep.

 
Egyptian Double Chocolate Baklava (Ba'lawa bil Chokolata)

24 servings
1 pound box phyllo, thawed
1 cup ghee, melted
1/2 pound milk chocolate (chips or small pieces)
1/2 pound dark chocolate (60% or higher)
2 tbls confectioners sugar

350F oven
Butter a 13x9 baking pan.

Trim phyllo to fit pan. Layer phyllo sheets, brushing with ghee, using half the phyllo.

Sprinkle chocolate bits evenly over the top. Optional: at this point you can also sprinkle pistachios, raisins, coconut, chopped almonds, etc. over the chocolate for different variations.

Continue layering phyllo and brushing with ghee to use the rest of the phyllo. Brush top well with ghee.

With a long sharp knife, score phyllo 3/4 of the way through into 24 squares. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden. Rotating pan every 20 minutes to insure even browning.

Remove and cool on rack. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

 
Egyptian Chicken & Spinach Matzo Pie with Hot Sauce (Mayeena)

2 pounds chicken thighs
1/2 cup corn oil
2 yellow onions, diced
12 cloves of garlic, minced
2 pounds frozen spinach, thawed and drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp each of ground allspice, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, and crushed red chili flakes
1/2 cup each of Italian parsley and cilantro
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup chicken stock, reserved from cooking the chicken thighs)
1 package of whole wheat matzo sheets
2 cups tomato puree
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fenugreek
1-2 tsp. crushed red chili flakes
3 tbls white vinegar

Place chicken in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Skim off scum from top and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Drain and reserve broth.

Preheat oven to 375F.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred it.

Heat 2 tbls oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add half of the onions and saute until tender and translucent. Stir in half of the garlic and cook uncovered for 1 minute.

Add spinach to the skillet; cook 1 minute, uncovered. Stir the chicken in and continue cooking another minute or two. Season with salt and pepper and the spices. Lower the heat and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Stir in chopped parsley and cilantro.

Carefully pour the beaten eggs into the skillet, stirring vigorously, so that the eggs do no curdle and the mixture is coated with the egg. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat.

Oil a 13 x 9 baking pan with 1 tbls corn oil. Pour the chicken stock into a shallow bowl. Dip a matzo sheet into the broth so that it is saturated and softened, yet still intact, and then lay in bottom of the pan. Continue until the bottom is covered completely. Break matzo into pieces to fill any gaps. Overlapping is fine.

Spread half of the chicken mixture evenly over the top. Pour 1/4 cup chicken stock over the chicken. Place another layer of wet matzo over the top of the chicken. Pour 1/4 cup of broth over the matzo. Repeat with remaining chicken and cover with another layer of wet matzo. Pour another 1/4 cup of broth over the top, evenly to moisten.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Egyptian Hot Sauce
While the casserole is baking, heat 1 tablespoon corn oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add remaning half of the onions and saute untll soft and starting to brown. Add remaining half of garlic and saute until it begins to brown. Add tomato puree, stir, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cumin, fenugreek, and chili flakes, stirring to combine, cover, and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Add vinegar and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat and keep covered until serving.

Cut the pie into squares and serve the hot sauce in a bowl next to the casserole for each person to nap their pie as they desire.

 
A treasure trove! Thank you's to Richard and Marg smileys/wink.gif

I went ahead and printed out a single sheet of the recipe titles suggested on this thread for reference. Colleen

 
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