Dried Fruit Compote Drink
Dried fruit compote drink, known in the Middle East as Khoshaf, is often enjoyed during Ramadan as a nutritious and naturally sweet way to break the fast.
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Barbequed Leg of Lamb
Barbecued Leg of Lamb This recipe for Barbequed Leg of Lamb is phenomenal; perfect for a special barbecue or as an exciting alternative to the traditional Sunday roast. The blend of aromatic spices and the tenderising yoghurt marinade results in melt-in-the-mouth lamb with deep, smoky …
Anise Biscuits
Anise Biscuits Recipe – A Unique and Delicious Treat
If you’re looking for a biscuit recipe that’s both unique and incredibly delicious, these homemade anise biscuits are a must-try. They have a warm, aromatic aniseed flavour paired with a rich, sweet, toffee-like date filling, making them an absolute delight. These biscuits are not only a treat for yourself but also a great homemade gift for family and friends.
Why You’ll Love These Anise Biscuits
- Unique flavour: The combination of ground and whole anise seeds gives these biscuits a distinct, slightly liquorice-like taste that surprises and delights.
- Perfect texture: A crisp, golden-brown biscuit wrapped around a soft, chewy date filling.
- Great for gifting: These biscuits keep well for a few days, making them ideal for sharing.
Ingredients
Anise Biscuit Dough:
- 250g plain flour
- 100g sugar
- 30g ground anise seeds
- 20g whole anise seeds
- 200ml vegetable oil
- 80ml water
- 80g sesame seeds (for coating)
Date Filling:
- 300g soft dates (pitted)
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Dough
- Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Sift the plain flour into a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in the sugar, ground anise seeds, and whole anise seeds.
- Gradually add the vegetable oil, mixing as you go.
- Slowly add water, just enough to form a dough that holds together.
Step 2: Make the Filling
- In a food processor, blend the dates, vegetable oil, and cinnamon until a smooth paste forms.
- Roll the date mixture into long, thin sausages, approximately 3cm in diameter.
Step 3: Assemble the Biscuits
- Roll out the dough into a 1cm thick rectangle and cut it into 10cm-wide strips.
- Place a date filling sausage along the length of each strip.
- Wrap the dough over the filling and roll into a sausage shape, about 2cm in diameter.
Step 4: Coat with Sesame Seeds
- Spread the sesame seeds on a clean surface.
- Roll each dough log in the sesame seeds, ensuring even coverage.
Step 5: Shape and Bake
- Cut each roll diagonally into 6cm-long biscuits.
- Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking tray.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool before serving.
Storage Tips
Store your anise biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Perfect Pairing
These biscuits pair beautifully with a cup of tea, coffee, or even a spiced chai latte. Their warm aniseed flavour makes them a perfect companion for cosy moments.
Enjoy these delightful homemade anise biscuits, and be sure to share them with loved ones!
Za’atar with olive oil
Za’atar with Olive Oil; learn how to make this flavourful dipp in seconds. This authentic Middle Eastern recipe is perfect for mezze, dipping or seasoning.
Serve with warm flat bread!
Mahshi Rice Stuffing
Mahshi Rice Stuffing
Making good mahshi rice stuffing is the starting point to making perfect Mahshi; Egyptian stuffed vegetables.
Making Mahshi is a true labour of love. Those who present Mahshi for their guests show real hospitality because it can take many hours of preparation. The cooks making it love it though. They love showing their skills and they love being hospitable and generous. As I said, it really is labour of love. And that love and that hospitality can turn a meal into a real celebration and the hard work is always appreciated.
When Egyptians make mahshi they make mountains of it. It’s so moreish, people just can’t stop coming back for “Just one more”.
Because of the amount of work involved you frequently find groups of ladies working together to prepare the glorious feast. I say ladies because it is still very much the ladies that do the cooking in Egypt, but things are gradually changing – I know my youngest son has become quite skilled in the art of mahshi making since he got married.
This mahshi rice stuffing is used for cabbage, aubergine, peppers, courgettes, vine leaves and even lettuce.
The rice mix is put into the vegetables raw.
I have given the instructions on how to prepare these vegetables in a separate recipe.
The preparation of the vegetables for your mahshi varies according to what you’ve chosen. See the link at the bottom of the page.
You would generally serve a selection of at least 3 different vegetables. Whichever vegetables you choose to make I’m told that you should always have a few peppers included in the pan as this enhances the flavour.
This quantity of stuffing should be enough for 4 or 5 people.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 2 large onions – very finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves – grated
- 6 large ripe tomatoes – finely chopped
- 4 stock cubes – finely grated
- 3 bay leaves
- seeds from 4 cardamom pods – crushed
- 2 cups Egyptian rice or long grain rice
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander – finely chopped
- 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley – finely chopped
- 2 cups good quality stock for cooking
Let’s make Mahshi Rice Stuffing
First brown the onions
Heat the oil in a large pan
Add the chopped onions and fry them over a medium flame until they become translucent and begin to take on a little colour.
Next, in goes the tomatoes and spices
Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, grated stock cubes, bay leaves and crushed cardamom seeds.
Simmer until it thickens
Add abut ¼ cup of water and simmer until the mix breaks down into almost a puree. This will take about 20 minutes.
Carry on cooking until the mix reduces to a thick paste with the consistency of tomato puree.
Remove from the heat.
Remove the 3 bay leaves from the mix – they’ve done their job.
Add the rice
Add the rice and mix well.
Next add the herbs
Add the chopped herbs and mix again. * This will seem like far too much herbs and you may think you’ve mis-read the recipe but trust me and carry on.
Time for a taste test
Now taste the mix – don’t eat it because raw rice can give you horrible stomach-ache. Just check the seasoning.
It will taste far too salty – at least that’s how it should taste, if it doesn’t then add a bit more salt or grate in another stock cube.
It should also taste intensely tomatoey & packed with herbs.
Your Mahshi Rice Stuffing is ready
So now it’s time to fill all your wonderful vegetables. Your Mahshi rice stuffing is now ready.
For this quantity of rice you will need 2 cups of good quality stock poured over the vegetables as they cook. Remember, the better the quality of stock the better your mahshi will be.
I do hope you’ll try making mahshi –
As it takes a while to prepare preparing can be a very social task as you can enlist a group of friends or family members to join in the fun.
Let me know how you get on
I look forward to hearing from you
Mahshi
Mahshi is the quintessential feasting food of Egypt. Vegetables stuffed with wonderfully seasoned rice and then braised in delicious stock.
Roasted Red Peppers
Roasted Red Peppers Roasted Red Peppers is a great tasting side dish capturing the fantastic sweetness of the beautiful ripe bell pepper. The flavours are concentrated in the roasting process Roasting concentrates the flavours which are then accentuated by their seasoning. They’re brilliant as part …
Lambs Liver
Lambs Liver cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes
Lambs liver cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes is incredibly popular in Egypt. So much so, that it’s one of Egypt’s favourite street foods, packed into a pita bread pocket and drizzled with tahini.
The liver is cut very small. This means that it cooks in a very short time. It also means that the surface area of the liver is increased considerably and more of the wonderful spiced marinade can be absorbed.
The size of the liver is very important. It needs to cut to the size of short, skinny French Frys. About 0.5cm thick, 0.5cm deep and about 3 or 4cm long. When I first started making this dish, I mistakenly cut the liver to the size you might have in a stir fry. This caused real commotion amongst the Egyptian friends I was cooking for. They were convinced that this must be a Foreign dish because the size of the liver was all wrong. My husband is Egyptian and I love my Egyptian family and friends, but they are incredibly set in their ways when it comes to exactly how food should be prepared.
- My advise is to get your butcher to cut the liver for you. They have very sharp knives and can complete this task in a matter of seconds, whereas it takes us mere mortals considerably longer.
Ingredients
- 500g lambs Liver
For the Marinade
- 1 onion – grated
- the zest and juice of 2 large lemons
- 3 garlic cloves – grated
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- a pinch of dried chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Additional Ingredients
- 2 onions – finely sliced
- 2 peppers – 1 red & 1 green – de-seeded and finely sliced
- 4 ripe tomatoes – chopped
- 1 stock cube – grated
- 1 red chilli – finely sliced into rings (optional)
- a handful of fresh coriander leaves – finely chopped
- a little cooking oil for frying
To serve Lambs Liver in a Sandwich – Egyptian Street Food Style
- wedges of lemon
- warm pitta bread
- a little salad
- tahini sauce
Method
Remember – Size really matters!
First, the liver needs to be cut.
Cut it into 0.5cm slices first.
Then lay each slice out and cut them into 0.5cm strips.
These then need to be cut to about 3 or 4cm long.
Prepare the Marinade ready for the Lambs Liver
Put all the ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
Add the prepared liver to the marinade. Turn the liver over, several times in the marinade to make sure that it’s all thoroughly coated & none of the liver has stuck together.
Cover the bowl with cling film or a lid of some sort and put it in the fridge for at least half an hour. You could leave it in there over-night if you wished.
When you’re ready to start cooking…
Heat a large frying pan over a high flame.
When it’s hot, add a couple of spoonfuls of cooking oil and allow that to really heat up.
Brown the onions & peppers first
Add the peppers and onions and cook until the onions begin to brown and the pepper softens.
Empty the onions and peppers into a bowl and set to one side
Then cook the lambs liver
Remove the liver from its marinade and drain thoroughly.
Return the pan to the heat and add a little more oil.
When the oil begins to sizzle add the liver to the pan. Spread it out as much as possible and just have a single layer. Initially, don’t move it around too much because you want it to brown.
*If you stir it, it will create steam and your liver will start to stew and turn grey. This is not what you’re looking for.
Provided your pan is hot enough, it should only take a couple of minutes for your liver to brown .
Once your liver is browned all over, add the chopped tomatoes to your pan and continue frying until they too brown slightly.
Sprinkle in the grated stock cube and mix well
Add the chilli (if you chose to add it).
Then return the fried onions and peppers to the pan and mix well.
Taste test time!
Check your seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Just before serving….
The fresh, chopped coriander leaves are added to the liver just before serving.
How to serve Lambs Liver with onions, peppers and tomatoes
In Egypt the favourite way to eat Lambs Liver is in a sandwich. The sandwich is made with warm pita bread and the liver is placed inside, along with a little fresh salad. Tahini dressing is then drizzled over highlighting all the glorious flavours. Wedges of lemon are then offered to add a wonderful citrus zing.
Street Food not you thing?
Alternatively Lambs Liver with Onions, Peppers and Tomatoes is delicious with rice or couscous, if you prefer.
Let me know what you think. I love hearing from you all.
Liver in breadcrumbs
Liver in Breadcrumbs : Learn the recipe here. Thin slices of liver are marinated in spices, coated in breadcrumbs and the fried. Delicious!