A Lebanese feast – Foul Mudamas, Hummus, Baba Ghanouj and Mohalabiya

I have been in that rut again – weeks of travel, adventurous eating, travel bellies – in that particular order – has me battling an ominous backlog of posts and pictures. And just looking at the volume has me wondering where to begin. I’ve had this happen to me before and this is typically how the vicious cycle starts and persists.

I’ve tried a few tactics in the past to get me out of this rut – for one the food events and “We Knead to Bake” deadlines have been an inspiration, but then again, I can’t always use those as crutches – that’s not why I started blogging. The idea was to be more of an daily blog – a somewhat live commentary of my experiments with food. At times I wish I treated this more like a Tumblog, just capturing those key instant moments in time and the food visuals as and when I enjoy them. But somewhere along the way, just like everything else, I get caught up with trying to make it perfect – articulate that story behind that recipe or capture that perfect picture in the right amount of daylight, only to lose sight of the moment and muddle along, getting buried in loads of stories and pictures – somewhat like the mind and the gazillion thoughts that eventually distract me from everything.

And just like that – I feel the need to snap back into the present – time to dust off the baggage and get into more “mindful blogging”. Which does not mean that I will push aside those travelogs and recipes from the past month. It’s just that I will need to learn to start somewhere, catch up and hopefully be more “in the present” with my blogging – and living in general:)

To reminisce the origins of this recipe or this Lebanese feast, flashback to our visit to Bangkok this past May where we visited a popular Lebanese restaurant, Beirut with some friends. This was a mixed bag of sorts – I was meeting a good friend after almost 2 decades, catching up with another relatively new but very good friend and her family and meeting a new acquaintance/friend – all at this dinner:) I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive on how we would pull this off and ensure that everyone had a good time and was comfortable. Thankfully the food was awesome to break the ice and so was the company. We hit it off like we had known each other for ages.

Thanks M and family – it felt like old times – so happy to reconnect even after all these years, thanks B and family for making it a super fun evening and lastly to our new friends – G & F, great to meet and know you and a big thank you for sharing these cherished and authentic Lebanese recipes from your kitchen.

I tried these recipes as soon as I got home for the next dinner event at our home and they turned out perfect. I had tried hummus and baba ghanouj several times before and the hummus almost always needed something, some oomph:) This was just the right texture, the perfect spice and taste. I made the foul and the mohalabiya for the first time and was quite proud of the results. For those wondering (since this was a mezze platter of sorts), I did try to make the falafels as well and they didn’t turn out just as perfect this time around, so in case you do want to try making falafels along with these dips, you could use this recipe from my previous posts.

RECIPE FOR TAHINI SAUCE

Ingredients

1 Cup tahinI paste (I used store bought but you can make your own with 2 tbsp fresh white sesame seeds, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 cup tepid water and blend to a paste)

1/2 Cup water

3 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

3 Small Garlic cloves, crushed

Method

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Process until smooth.

RECIPE FOR HUMMUS (CHICKPEA DIP)

Ingredients

1 Cup cooked chickpeas (To cook the chickpeas you need to soak the chickpeas overnight in water and pinch of bicarbonate of soda. The water should be triple the size of the chickpeas or more. Next day, wash them with pure water and drain them very well. Now they are ready to be cooked. Just boil them with water until they are soft).

1/2 cupTahini paste

3-5 Small garlic cloves, crushed

Juice of 2 lemons

3-4 tbsp water

For garnish

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tbsp paprika

Method

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process to make a smooth paste.

Spoon the mixture into a shallow dish. Make a dent in the middle and pour the olive oil into it. Garnish with chopped parsley and paprika.

Tip: You can use canned chickpeas. Drain and rinse under cold water before processing.

BABA GHANOUJ

Ingredients

3 Large eggplants

2-4 Small garlic cloves, crushed

4 tbsp tahini paste

Juice of 2 lemons

I also added about 3-4 green chilies for a little spice but this is optional

Salt

For garnish

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

½ tsp paprika

Method

Preheat the oven. Slit the skins of the eggplants, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the skins begin to split. You can also roast them on an open flame until the skin begins to char and the flesh becomes soft. Keep turning the eggplant on the flame so it is evenly charred.

Place the eggplant on a chopping board and cool slightly. Carefully peel away the skins from the eggplant.

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse to keep it slightly chunky or blend to make a smooth paste.

Spoon the mixture into a shallow dish. Make a dent in the middle and pour the olive oil into it. Garnish with chopped parsley and paprika.

FOUL MUDAMMAS

Ingredients

1 Cup Fava beans

Pinch of bicarbonate of soda

5 Cups of water

3 Cups of water

½ Cup lemon juice

5 Garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp salt

½ Cup olive oil

1 Big tomato (diced)

½ Bunch of Parsley, finely chopped

Method

Put the first 3 ingredients together and soak overnight.

In the morning, wash the beans with pure water and drain them. Then put them in a pot with 3 cups of water and boil. When it starts to boil, cover the pot with its lid and reduce the heat.

When the beans are soft enough to be eaten (it takes about 1 ½ hrs), mix with lemon juice, crushed garlic, and salt.

Now put them in a plate, pour the oil over them, and cover them with parsley and tomato.

If you want to spice this up a bit you may also add a pinch of rajma masala.

MOHALABIYA

Ingredients
Serves 6

6 cups whole milk
5 tbsp corn starch
5 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp rose water or orange blossom water ( I used rose water as I didn’t have the orange blossom. According to G, this tastes best with an equal mixture of both. And of course get the purest form of rose water and orange blossom available in Middle eastern stores)

Garnish
Crushed pistachios or other dry fruits and nuts

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the milk and sugar, reserving 1 cup of milk.

2. Dissolve the corn starch in a cup of milk, whisk to blend and pour in a saucepan.

3. Cook on a medium flame until small bubbles begin to appear in the milk and it thickens. Keep stirring till it becomes thick with a sauce like consistency.

4. Now add the rose water and orange blossom mixture. I added according to taste as you do need to get the taste of the rose water/orange blossom. This is what adds the flavor to this dessert.

5. Pour into individual bowls, garnish with chopped nuts and refrigerate for a few hours until serving. The finished dessert has a pudding like consistency.

And since I finally got my act together before the month ended, submitting this post to My Legume Love Affair (MLLA), an event started by Susan of the Well-Seasoned Cook and being carried forward now by Lisa of Lisa’s Kitchen. This edition of MLLA is being hosted by Aparna Balasubramanian of My Diverse Kitchen.