Makhouda D’Aubergine
December 19, 2006 | Filed Under Vegetables, African Cuisine, Cuisines | 1 Comment
Ever since I’d seen this Makhouda D’Aubergine recipe on The Traveller’s Lunchbox, I was interested in trying it. By the way what does ‘Makhouda’ mean? Can anyone tell me? Months after I’d first seen the recipe, I became even more excited about it because I’ve discovered that I really like eggplants/aubergines. Yum!
This recipe of eggplants, eggs, red pepper, onions, garlic, gruyère cheese, and fresh herbs was another hit in my house. I made it with the intention of saving some for lunch the next day. Well, that didn’t happen because they finished in record time.
The instructions were really straightforward and I had all the ingredients except for one – rosewater. I like that the recipe gave suggestions to replace unavailable ingredients – like using black pepper if you didn’t have the Tunisian spice blend bharat, or cayenne pepper as a replacement for North African hot pepper paste, harissa.
I didn’t have bharat or harissa but I did have their substitutes and they worked out well for me.
The photo isn’t too appealing. While the food baked, I worked on the computer and watched The Lord of the Rings (I and II) on T.V. Caught up in multitasking, I left the Makhouda in the oven a tad bit too long. As a result, the top became a little too dark, but it didn’t mar the taste. Served with salad, the Makhouda D’Aubergine was delicious and very filling.
The Flying Apple made this dish as well and like her, I plan on making it again (and again and again.) It was that good. 
Thanks, Melissa for this recipe. And congrats on your doctorate degree! Yippee!
Paz
Makhouda D’Aubergine
North Africa: The Vegetarian Table
Serves: 4-6 Notes: Serve this as a side dish with sweet or savory tagines, or as a light main course with a fresh green salad. Tunisians also apparently love to stick slices of it inside crusty bread spread with a little harissa and eat it as a sandwich.
1 large globe eggplant
salt for sprinkling
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and diced
8 large eggs
a handful (about 1/2 cup packed) chopped fresh parsley or coriander/cilantro leaves, or a mixture
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz (225g) gruyère cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 teaspoon bharat (Tunisian spice blend; you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon rosewater)
3/4 teaspoon salt
harissa (North African hot pepper paste) or cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
lemon wedges
Peel and cut the eggplant into 1/4-inch dice. Sprinkle lightly with salt and place the cubes in a colander to drain for about 20 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and cook the eggplant, onion, and pepper, stirring occasionally until golden and soft, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a colander to drain off as much of the oil as possible.
In a medium bowl, mix the eggs and add the herbs, garlic, cheese and bread crumbs. Add the eggplant mixture. Season with the bharat, salt, and a small spoonful of the optional harissa or cayenne pepper.
Grease a 2-quart soufflé dish. Pour the egg mixture into the dish and bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown and puffed in the center, 40-45 minutes (a knife inserted into the center should come out clean). Let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a serving platter (you can also just leave it in the dish). Cut into wedges or squares to serve. Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.
Mawuena’s Spinach Stew
October 11, 2006 | Filed Under Vegetables, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment
Click on photo for a larger image
In my childhood food memories meme, I mentioned a spinach stew that my mother used to make. I set out to see if I could recreate it. In The Butterfly Effect meme, I wrote how my efforts were very successful.
Well, here is the spinach stew. There is no written recipe for it. I jotted down some notes as I prepared it. However, I lost them. To give a somewhat proper recipe, I’d have to make the dish again and write down everything.
So, for now, I just give you the ingredients: Frozen spinach, shrimps, canned salmon, tomatoes, tomato paste (I think), onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, hot pepper. That’s about it.
Paz
Click on photo for larger image
Click on photo for larger image
Click on photo for larger image
Algerian Spicy Tripe
December 22, 2005 | Filed Under Soup/Chowder/Gumbo, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment
There are many foods I never cared for until I started cooking. Soups are one of them. Now, I enjoy the different soups that I make (like the one here). My latest soup comes from a recipe of Chef Farid — Algerian Spicy Tripe.The ingredients were easy to obtain and prepare — tripe, tomatoes, onions, hot green chilies, garlic, caraway seeds, paprika, spice blend, salt and pepper. For my spice blend, I put together 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp coriander. It wasn’t bad at all. The tripe turned out soft and almost buttery tasting. I added chick peas to the soup and when it was ready, topped it off with cilantro. What a good soup to have on a cold day.
Sauteed onions with the rest of the vegetables
Ingredients covered with water and seasoned with salt and pepper 
Boiled tripe You can find the recipe for this body warming soup here. Best, Paz
Lamb with Herbs
October 23, 2005 | Filed Under Lamb, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment
I finally made one of Farid Zadi’s Algerian dishes – Lamb with Herbs. First, I went grocery shopping for lamb, onions, cilantro, parsley, green pepper, and lemon. The recipe calls for marinating all the ingredients along with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Then everything is cooked in a Dutch oven over medium heat for 1 ½ - 2 hours.
I’m not sure what the Lamb with Herbs is served with in an Algerian household, but I served it with rice. No one complained.
Paz
Tunisian Chicken Chorba
October 15, 2005 | Filed Under Soup/Chowder/Gumbo, Poultry, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment
Tunisian Chicken Chorba almost ready in the pot
It had been raining non-stop for the past couple of days and I decided it was a good day to make something warm to eat, after being drenched by the weather.
I made Tunisian Chicken Chorba, which Anis Toumi contributed to the Ya Rayi Our Ray blog. He explained that ‘chorba’ means ‘soup,’ and the Tunisian Chicken Chorba is one variation of Tunisian chorbas.
Anis continued to enlighten the reader that “a Tunisian chorba should have the robust flavors of garlic, peppers and spices…. Tunisians will usually agree that most dishes should be hot. A wife who does not love her husband makes him mild dishes.”
That’s certainly one way to show some love. I like it! Like many people, I like spicy and hot dishes. However, if I cook the chorba for someone not used to hot food, I know that I have the liberty to cut back on the spices (and it won’t mean that I love them any less.).
According to the instructions, I first sautéed onions and added the garlic. Next, I added the carrots, celery, then tomato paste, chicken pieces (the recipe calls for a whole chicken), chick peas, potatoes and last, the pasta. The recipe called for vermicelli, but I used Angel Hair pasta, as that is what I had available.
In addition to salt, I used the spices cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper. The chicken chorba is a good meal to have. I think especially during the upcoming winter season.
Paz
Chorba cooking in pot
The finished product
Chicken Tagine with Green Olives and Preserved Lemons
October 10, 2005 | Filed Under Poultry, African Cuisine | 1 Comment
I made a scrumptious Moroccan dish that Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in the movie Casablanca would have eaten and smacked his lips afterwards – Chicken tagine with green olives and preserved lemons, served alongside couscous with apricots. This is a recipe from Tyler Florence’s Food 911 show.
I’d seen the show over a month earlier and made the preserved lemons. A relatively simple procedure, I cut lemons, inserted Kosher salt in the cuts, squeeze the lemons into a glass jar. I had to fight the lemons to squeeze them into the jar. Luckily I won the fight, but not without squirting juice from the jar all over the kitchen and on my clothing. I added more salt to cover the lemons completely, and then put the lemons into the fridge for one month. I understand that the preserved lemon will keep for one year.
Preserved lemons
The meal was relatively easy to make once I completed the food preparation – I made a spice from scratch for the chicken – cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes and cloves. Note to self: Buy a spice grinder. Preparing the spice would have been much easier if I had a grinder.
I marinated the chicken overnight with the spices, garlic, ginger, cilantro, bay leaves, saffron and olive oil.
The easy part came when the chicken was first browned in olive oil. I loved the way the kitchen became filled with the aroma of the spices and the chicken. It smelled really good. Even my dogs become excited. They knew something good was cooking. Both kept hovering by the kitchen door and staring at me. They waited for some food to fall on the ground and their eyes would go from the stove to me and then back to the stove again.
I added the onions, preserved lemon, marinade, crushed olives, and chicken stock. Thirty minutes later the tagine was ready.
I flavored the couscous with chicken stock, dried apricots, scallions, fresh juice from an orange, extra virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. The couscous complimented the chicken tagine perfectly!
The specially prepared lemons brought out the flavor in the stew and the chicken. The couscous made an excellent paring with the juicy, flavored seasoned chicken covered in the juices from the stew.
I’m sure if Rick from Casablanca tasted my meal, he’d say, “Cook it again, Paz.”
Paz
Chicken tagine with green olives and preserved lemons
Spaghetti with Seafood Tunisian Style
October 8, 2005 | Filed Under Pasta, Seafood, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment
Ya Rayi Our Rai is a blog by Farid Zadi with different contributors. It, along with his second blog Algerian Cuisine features enticing North African recipes.
Recently, I tried a recipe for Spaghetti with Seafood Tunisian Style by Anis Toumis. I’m happy to write that I did a decent job.
The ingredients include spaghetti, shrimp, cuttle fish, clams, tomatoes, green chilis, tomato paste, saffron, onions, garlic and a choice of parsley or cilantro.
I once made the comment about not being able to cook until I had all the ingredients that the recipe called for and Anis replied, “Think like a North African when you’re preparing North African dishes. We do not worry about [what] we do not have. We take care with what we do have.”
Well, this was the perfect time for me to follow Anis’ advice, as I didn’t have all the ingredients. With the Spaghetti with Seafood Tunisian Style recipe, I made a few ingredient substitutions and in some cases, omissions.
I don’t know what cuttle fish is and couldn’t find it. I meant to substitute it with another type of fish, but forgot to buy the fish and ended up leaving it out of my recipe, altogether. In any event, I was satisfied to include shrimp and clams alone in the meal.
I couldn’t find green chilis and ended up using cayenne pepper. I didn’t have anymore saffron because I’d used it, earlier, for my paella recipe. As a result, I substituted it with tumeric, instead.
The ingredients also include tabil spice mix – a blend of coriander, caraway, garlic and cayenne pepper. I couldn’t find caraway in the store. So, I left it out. What is caraway, anyway? I have to look it up and see what it looks like.
Following the instructions, I made my spaghetti (Angel Hair pasta) in a separate pot, and made the sauce in another. I sautéed the onions, which took a shorter time than the instructions to turn golden, and added the tomato paste, tomatoes, and spices. Then I added the shrimp and clams. In a short time my meal was prepared.
Angel Hair pasta
Onions, garlic, tomato paste, spices
My only problem was that none of the clams opened, indicating that they weren’t good. I ended up discarding them, unfortunately. As a result, my seafood ingredient was reduced to a list of one – the shrimps.
Fresh tomatoes, shrimp and clams (which never opened)
However, this did not take away from the success of my dish. I garnished it with cilantro and it tasted delicious. Best of all, I liked the spices, which I think made the difference in the recipe.
This is a meal that I plan on making again. Perhaps, the next time around, I’ll find all the ingredients and my clams will open up. If not, that’s okay, too. It’s good to think like a North African when preparing North African dishes.
Paz
Chicken Peanut Curry
September 22, 2005 | Filed Under Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces, Poultry, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment
Checking out the Simply Recipes blog for the first time the other day, I came across a recipe called Chicken Peanut Curry based on a West African meal. The recipe brought back another childhood food memory, which I didn’t mention in my meme.
I found it interesting because although I’d never cooked the food before, I did remember that the ingredients listed in the Chicken Peanut Curry recipe were totally different than the one used in the dish I ate as a child in Africa.
Not only were the ingredients different, the name, Chicken Peanut Curry, was also different from the one used in Africa. Here are the differences:
Current recipe:
Name: Chicken Peanut Curry
Ingredients: Curry powder, scallions, Serrano chili peppers, coriander seeds, mint and cilantro
Childhood recipe:
Name: Groundnut soup (but in the U.S. we call it Peanut Butter Soup because we use peanut butter)
Ingredients: Peanuts – roasted and finely ground, fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, shrimp powder, goat meat, fresh fish, smoked fish, or chicken
We hadn’t had this dish in a very long time – a couple of years, in fact. So, I decided to surprise my mother with the meal and see her reaction.
With the exception of one of the main ingredients – green onions – I found everything easily at the supermarket. I saw Spanish onions, red onions, white onions, yellow onions but no “green onions.” Nope, I couldn’t find them.
I returned home from grocery shopping and mentioned my dilemma to my sister who said she thought that green onions were scallions, but wasn’t sure. So, I looked it up on the Internet. She was right.
I couldn’t find “green onions.” You know why? Because there are no green-looking onions, that’s why! Silly me! Green onions are also known as SCALLIONS! Why don’t people just say scallions? At least, I know what those are. And why does it have two names? I know: Just to confuse me, that’s why. I made a second trip back to the grocery store to pick up my scallions/green onions.
After obtaining all the ingredients, the rest of the cooking process was uneventful. I prepared the meal according to the instructions. Even as I stirred in the peanut butter into the pot, I didn’t think it would taste like the groundnut soup of my childhood days. Finally trying the Chicken Peanut Curry, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted like the soup I remembered.
When my mother first tasted the food, she exclaimed in surprise, “This tastes like Peanut Butter Soup!” She went on to finish her meal. I didn’t have to ask her how it tasted because when she finished, she decreed the meal as, “Very good.” I think I pleasantly surprised her.
I told her the ingredients I used and she confirmed that she normally wouldn’t prepare the Groundnut Soup that way, but we agreed that the end results were the same – the Chicken Peanut Curry tasted similar and good. That’s what counts.
Paz
Chicken Peanut Curry
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken pieces, cut into 1 1/2 inch wide chunks or strips 1/2 cup flour 4 Tbsp curry powder 2 teaspoons Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground peppercorns 1/2 cup olive oil 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced 2 Tbsp garlic, minced 2 serrano chili peppers, seeded, de-veined, minced 4 cups chicken broth 1/2 cup peanut butter (if using freshly ground peanuts, add 2 teaspoons of sugar) 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds 8 green onions, chopped, greens included 1/3 cup each finely chopped mint and cilantro 2 limes cut into wedges
1 - Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a small sturdy paper bag, combine the flour, curry powder, salt and pepper. Shake well. Add the chicken pieces and shake to coat well.
2 - Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat. Add chicken pieces. Cook 5-10 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces) tossing occasionally to cook chicken evenly. Add the ginger, garlic, chili pepper and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the saucepan. Cook for 3 minutes, scraping the pan with a spatula and stirring to combine everything well.
3 - Add the peanut butter, stirring quickly to incorporate it with the chicken. Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of broth slowly, stirring continuously to maintain an even texture. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Right before serving, add the coriander and green onions. Salt to taste.
4 - Serve with rice. Top each serving with fresh cilantro and mint. Squeeze a little lime juice over it as well.
Serves 6-8.
