Middle Eastern Recipes for Christmas

This holiday season may be a good excuse to enjoy the delicious and aromatic flavors from Middle Eastern dishes that besides being highly nutritious are an option that gives an original touch to the conventional dishes this time. If you want to surprise your guests, do not let this opportunity and delight their palates with these great recipes.

Chicken with fruit glaze

Ingredients

• 2 tsp of vegetable oil
• 4 Half chicken breasts boned, skinned and diced
• 2 tablespoons of packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 / 2 tsp of crushed red pepper
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 2-1/4 cups of water
• 2 cups of long grain rice
• 1 / 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1 / 4 tsp of ground cardamom or ginger
• 1 / 2 tsp of ground coriander
• Mix 1 package thinly sliced fruit
• 1 / 2 cup of green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 / 2 cup of chopped parsley

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large pan or oven with large, deep skillet (with lid) over high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned. Lower the heat to medium. Add brown sugar, soy sauce and crushed red pepper, and mix until the chicken is glazed and fully cooked. Remove chicken from the roasting pan and place it in a bowl to serve; away.
2. Pour 2 1 / 4 cups of water and chicken broth in skillet, add rice, cinnamon, cardamom and coriander. Cover and simmer. Lower the heat and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and mix with chicken, fruit, green onions and parsley. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Arabic butter rice

Ingredients

• 1 and 1 / 2 cups of rice
• 1 / 2 cup of angel hair pasta
• 1 / 2 cup of raisins blondes
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon of curry
• pepper
• Garlic Powder
• salt

Preparation

1. In a pan fry the rice with butter and a touch of garlic powder.
2. Add angel hair until a blond tone.
3. Stir in the curry and then to plot boiling water for rice (3 cups of water), stir.
4. Once boiling, cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

Frattau (Arab bread)

Ingredients

• 4 units of type Arabic or pita bread
• 100 g of goat cheese
• Eggs, 4 units
• apple vinegar, 1 tablespoon
• concentrated tomato sauce, 8 tbsp
• Salt and pepper

Procedure

1. Dip one second disc of bread in very hot water, then drain and put one in each individual dish. Relish with tomato concentrate and grated pecorino. Then in a pot, bring to boil water acidulated with apple vinegar, bringing it almost to a boil.
2. With the water to boil, put in an egg without shel, trying not to sink. As the white begins to set, wrap around the yolk with a fork and cook the egg for about 3 minutes. Out of the water with a slotted spoon and keep it in another pot with hot water to keep cool.
3. Do the same with the other eggs and, when all are cooked, put them in the middle of each plate, on the previously seasoned bread, season lightly and serve immediately.

Marinated olives

Ingredients

• black olives 1 / 2 kg
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of ground thyme
• White pepper 1 tsp
• 4 tablespoons of lemon juice
• Olive oil

Procedure

1. Mix olive oil with lemon juice, salt, red pepper, cumin, thyme and pepper.
2. Season olives and place in suitable bottles, ready to serve.

Baklawa (Arabic dessert with nuts)

Ingredients

• Edge dough 1 / 2 kg (use puff pastry for dessert if you don’t find the other)
• 300g butter
• Nuts 300g peeled
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• Syrup

Procedure

1. Grease a Pyrex baking sheet and arrange dough sheet at row sprinkling it with melted butter. At half the height scatter the chopped nuts mixed with sugar.
2. Place the remaining dough the same way that the bottom layer. With a good sharp knife to score in diamonds and sprinkle with remaining butter.
3. Cook in a hot oven for 20 minutes, then reduce to moderate oven and cook for 30 minutes until the top takes a golden hue.
4. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes. Add lukewarm verging on cold syrup. Allow to cool.

Lettuce in vinegar

Ingredients

• Lettuce ½ Kilo
• White vinegar ½ liter
• 2 tablespoons of red pepper
• Salt 2 tablespoons

Procedure

1. Separate the leaves and wash the inside.
2. Mix the vinegar, salt and red pepper in a large bottle.
3. Immerse the hearts of lettuce and let rest for two days. This dish goes well with rice.

Kofta (the original recipe is with lamb)

Ingredients

• Minced Chicken Meat, 500 grams
• Red pepper, 1 unit
• Chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon
• Pepper, to taste
• Onion grated, 1 unit
• Lemon, 1 unit
• Sea salt to taste
• Spices, to taste

Preparation

1. Mix meat with all ingredients except pepper and knead. Shape the meat into finger-shaped meatballs and skewer or on skewers, alternating with the peppers cut into squares.
2. Grill over charcoal or fire, you can also put the meatballs on a plate and place in oven. Serve hot and garnish with salad or to taste.

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