Happy Ramadan

The Mezquita or Mosque in Cordoba, Spain

Ramadan is a special month for muslims in terms of its religious importance, social importance, and culinary importance. Every country has its own set of customs centered around the family and activities in ramadan. The most important event in the day amongst other religious rituals is breaking fast. Usually the food is heavy and extremely tasy, with enough energy to keep you running for a whole day.

This month I will explore typical ramadan dishes through posts of different nature. For now I will start with a not so typical Ramadan dish before I delve deeper in the labyrinths of cuisine.

Lamb Machboos

This is a dish that is my most favorite by far. It is a typical north Gulf dish that is mostly associated with Gulf areas. However the recipe is very different from one country to another. In bahrain it is more similar to the indian biryani. It is a very simple rice and meat dish, yet is capable to metamorphize from one country to another, from one fireej (neighborhood) to another, and from one family to another. Once you understand it, you easily appreciate how such a simple dish gives you such a spectrum of wonderful flavor bursts. It is hard to identify the origin of machboos, but one can speculate that it is the product of many nations. The use of indian spices, along with the use of persian saffron in the Kuwaiti version, and cooking styles along with the milder taste buds of the indigenous arab cooks all contributed to this fantastic dish.

I remember the first time I cooked machboos I had invited a bunch of friends to come over for the feast. If my friends were cannibals, I would assume they would've had me as the feast instead. It was a complete disaster. That was my start in the world of cooking. Maybe if some of the amateur readers follow this track, they might end up as star chefs! So here is my own version of Lamb Machboos.

Ingredients:

For rice:

3 kg. Lamb Shanks
4 cups basmati rice
6 cups water
2 tbs. finely chopped onion
2 tbs. ghee or vegetable oil
2 sticks cinnamon
8 cardamom pods
8 cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tbs. saffron strands
1/4 cup rose water
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbs. salt

For Hashoo (onion garnish)

1 large onion chopped
1/2 cup cooked yellow split pea lentils
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tbs. Mixed kuwaiti spices (Garam masala acceptable)
1 tbs. ghee or vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt

For Dakous (tomato sauce)

5 tomatoes chopped
5 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs. tomato paste
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp paprika

Method:

Soak rice in water for 1 hour minimum, wash gently and drain to dry. Meanwhile wash lamb shank carefully and rub with turmeric powder and a bit of salt. Marinate for 30 minutes, then wash again. Heat oil in deeps dish. Fry onion, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves, and bay leaf quickly and then add lamb. Stir until browned completely and cover for 10 minutes. Add 6 cups boiling water, bring to a boil. Lower heat and leave to simmer for 2 hours. Make sure the water doesnt dry out. It is ok if you have less water to cover the meat, it will still cook the meat well after occassionally stirring. You can then dillute later. The key to good rice shape is not to stir alot. When done remove lamb from broth.

In a small cup add heated rose weater, saffron and cardamom powder.

Meanwhile fry the hashoo mix in a a pan over a low heat until the onion becomes deep brown and set aside. For the dakous, in a small sauce pan heat oil and quickly fry garlic and mix in the tomatoes. Simmer and cover for 10 minutes. Mix in tomato paste, paprika and salt and simmer for a further 10 minutes. I like my dakkous thick, but you can thin it with water. Keep warm.

In another deep pot, heat oil and add the washed and soaked basmati rice. Fry for 3 minutes until oil is fully dispersed on rice. Pour the lamb broth on rice. Make sure the broth is approximately an inch above the rice level, if not just add water. If the water is too little it will become dry, if the water is too much it will become soggy. Add 2 tbs. oil and 1 1/2 tbs. salt. Stir gently, bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Fry lamb again with vegetable oil and kuwaiti spices for 3 minutes.

When rice is done, pour the rose water and saffron mixture, add the lamb shanks, and hashoo on the side. Cover and let to rest on very low heat for atleast 30 minutes (yetsakar). This will allow all the flavor to mingle and develop.

Serve rice, lamb shank and hashoo together and top it with a little bit of dakkous or as per your liking.

Optional: granish with maabooch (chilli mixture) and an assortment of kuwaiti pickles, my favorite would be thoom yebal (mountain garlic pickle).