 THE PETRA KITCHEN
RECIPE PAGE
This month on TRAVEL 2007 we visit the PETRA KITCHEN, which gives visitors a great opportunity to learn more about Jordanian food. It's a very hands on approach - you eat what you've prepared. Wendy Botham, the owner, was kind enough to pass on some of the most popular recipes to us:
Green Wheat Soup (Shourbat Freekeh)
1 cup freekeh (green unhulled wheat)
3 onions finely chopped
1 teaspoon each salt and powdered cardamom
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
10 cups water
1 teaspoon flour
Preparation
Pick over, wash and drain the freekeh. Place in pressure cooker. Add the powdered cardamom; cover the pressure cooker and place over medium heat until the whistle starts turning. Reduce the heat and let cook for 1 hour.
Dissolve flour in half a cup of water and add to the soup, stirring constantly.
Add salt and let cook for 4 minutes. Sprinkle soup with chopped parsley for garnish.
Arabic Salad
2 large tomatoes
1 green pepper
1 cup finely chopped mint
2 medium size cucumbers
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup lemon juice
Preparation
Chop the vegetables finely and mix them. Add lemon juice and salt.
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Cucumber and Tomato Salad (Fatoush)
1 Ib (½ kg) cucumber
½ loaf Arabic bread, toasted or dried
10 small radishes
5 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons vinegar
½ cup fresh mint leaves
1 medium-size lettuce
1 IB (½ kg) tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
juice of one lemon
¼ cup olive oil
1 onion
½ cup each chopped parsley and purslane
Preparation
Break the bread into small pieces and toast it. Chop the vegetables finely. Crush garlic with salt and stir in lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar. Add the garlic mixture to the vegetables and stir well. Sprinkle a little sumac on the salad for colour and flavour and serve with the toasted bread on top.
Tabbouleh
1 cup burghul (cracked wheat)
3 ¾ cups finely chopped parsley
3 ¾ cups finelt chopped mint leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1 Ib (½ kg) tomatoes
2 large onions
½ cup olive oil
Juice of 4 lemons
Preparation
Remove any stones you might find in the cracked wheat, then wash and drain it well by squeezing it with your hands. Set the cracked wheat aside. Chop the tomatoes very finely and sprinkle them with salt. Combine all ingredients with the cracked wheat. Add lemon juice and stir in olive oil. Serve on bed of lettuce or cabbage leaves and garnish.
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Cucumber and Yoghurt Salad (Salatat Khyar)
1 Ib (½ kg) cucumber
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Ib (1 kg) yoghurt
1 tablespoon salt
a dash of dried mint
Preparation
Peel the cucumbers and slice them into thin circles. Crush the garlic with salt and dried mint, then stir in the yoghurt. Add cucumber to the yoghurt mixture and stir well.
Falafel
2 cups dried fava beans
3 whole garlic bulbs
½ cup green coriander, finely chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chickpeas
3 onions
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon powdered hot chilli
½ teaspoon powdered cumin
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
5 cups vegetable oil for frying
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Preparation
Soak both the fava beans and chickpeas in water overnight. Drain the fava beans and chickpeas. Peel the garlic and onions and chop finely. Mix all ingredients except the seasonings and put them through a meat grinder twice. Add the seasoning, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder to the above mixture and knead well. Leave the kneaded mixture aside for 1 ½ hours, then knead again. Wet the hands a little and take tablespoon-size pieces of the mixture – one at a time – and shape into small round patties 1 ¼ inches (3cm) in diameter. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Serve hot, with cucumber salad and tahinah sauce.
Galaya Bandura
1 Ib (½ kg) tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
¼ cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Sauté the pine nuts in the oil until light brown, then remove from the oil. Chop the tomato finely. Cut the garlic into cloves and sauté in the oil until light brown, then add the chopped tomatoes and salt and cook them for 5 minutes at a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour in shallow serving dish and garnish with pine nuts.
Upside-Down (Magloubet)
3 Ib (1 ½ kg) large round eggplants
3 Ib (1 ½ kg) cauliflower
1 Ib (½ kg) stewing meat, cubed
1 ½ cups long grain rice
¼ cup ghee or butter, to brown the pine nuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups vegetable oil
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup pine nuts
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon saffron
Preparation
Pare and cut the eggplants and cauliflower lengthwise into ½ inch thich slices. Fry the eggplant and cauliflower slices in hot oil until golden brown. Drain. Wash the meat cubes. Place in a pot and add the required amount of water. When the water boils, remove the scum and season. Cook, covered, over low heat for 40 minutes. Wash the rice several times. Drain. Remove the meat cubes from the pot. Strain the meat broth (stock). In large saucepan, sprinkle 2 teaspoons uncooked rice and place the meat cubes over the rice. Arrange the eggplant and cauliflower slices over meat cubes and along the sides of the saucepan. Add the remaining amount of rice over the eggplant and cauliflower slices. Pour the hot meat broth onto the rice without disturbing the arrangement. Cover and cook over low heat for 40 minutes. Invert the saucepan over a large serving dish. Remove the saucepan carefully. Serve hot, garnished with pine nuts.
For more information about Petra Kitchen visit www.petrakitchen.com
For more information about Jordan visit www.visitjordan.com
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