Abu Dhabi GP food

lostkat · 01-11-2009, 22:59

The last of my GP themed meals

Boooo!!!

I was in a bit of a quandary over what to cook for this GP as I couldn't find a huge amount on the food of the United Arab Emirates. They don't really have their own unique national cuisine; it's more a blend of Middle Eastern & Asian cuisines. They don't really eat much veg because of the lack of places to grow it (veg doesn't do too well in the desert), so their diet consists mainly of meat, cereals & dairy.

Anyway, I had a look around and decided to cook Kibbeh, Kafta & Khubz'arabi (which is pita bread

) and serve it with some yoghurt and slices of tomato just for a bit of non-animal goodness.

Kibbeh is an Arab dish consisting of a crispy outer coating of bulgar wheat, minced lamb, onion & spices. It has a filling of more lamb, onion, toasted pine nuts and some other spices. It's sort of like their version of our scotch egg... only with more meat in the middle instead of egg

They are very crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Really quite easy to make and very yummy indeed!!!

The outer coating, having been whizzed in the food processor to form a dough:

The filling being fried off:

The outer coating dough is shaped into a ball. A hole is then made with your finger to make room for the filling. The filling is spooned in and the dough closed up around it before shaping into a rugby ball.

These are then fried in the deep fat fryer for around 6 mins until crispy on the outside and hot in the middle

Yum!

Next the kafta, which is just another name for kofta (it has dozens of spellings depending upon where you eat it). It's minced lamb, finely chopped onions, parsley, mint, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & seasoning. You squeeze it together to make a lovely doughy lump and then you roll it into sausages and skewer it on some wooden skewers before grilling (or even better, BBQ'ing). Absolutely delicious!

The pitas were fairly easy, but the dough needs a fairly long time to rise before you cook them for 10 mins or so in the oven

And the finished result??

YUM!

Knipples · 01-11-2009, 23:02

Looks fab as usual Kate, especially the Kibbeh.

lostkat · 01-11-2009, 23:03

the kibbeh was loveleh!

Will · 01-11-2009, 23:07

I love Kibbeh - one of my favourite snacks in that part of the world. Looks like you gave it credit too!

The greek version is called koubes - the lebanese do a similar thing too. There are lots of variations of kibbeh as it's usually 2 words, "kibbeh <something>". Kibbeh neyyeh being one of my favourite dishes in the world.

Those of kofta look fantastic too!

Man I miss your cooking!

lostkat · 01-11-2009, 23:10

I miss your BBQ and Cyprus lamb. I normally get freshly minced, but they only had the packet stuff

Can't beat the flavour of a kofta cooked on the BBQ!!

Leon's had kibbeh before in the Dom Rep (iirc) and he said mine were pretty good

Burble · 01-11-2009, 23:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will

The greek version is called koubes

I can never remember the greek name for them but my they do taste good!

Fantastic looking food as usual Kate!

Jonny69 · 02-11-2009, 13:31

Yum. There's a Lebanese cookbook in the library which I'm tempted to take out. It was a bit too big to carry and I haven't been cooking much recently so I was a bit meh about it at the weekend. Maybe you've inspired me

Belmit · 02-11-2009, 19:36

As always, looks ****ing amazing. You may find me coincidentally dropping round to yours all next year on particular Sundays.

Knipples · 02-11-2009, 21:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belmit

As always, looks ****ing amazing. You may find me coincidentally dropping round to yours all next year on particular Sundays.

BD pile round to Kates house for F1 and foooooooood!

lostkat · 02-11-2009, 21:53

Wouldn't mind that actually. I'm always having to cut down the portion sizes because they always serve 4-6 and still end up making far too much anyway

01-11-2009, 22:59	#1
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Abu Dhabi GP food The last of my GP themed meals Boooo!!! I was in a bit of a quandary over what to cook for this GP as I couldn't find a huge amount on the food of the United Arab Emirates. They don't really have their own unique national cuisine; it's more a blend of Middle Eastern & Asian cuisines. They don't really eat much veg because of the lack of places to grow it (veg doesn't do too well in the desert), so their diet consists mainly of meat, cereals & dairy. Anyway, I had a look around and decided to cook Kibbeh, Kafta & Khubz'arabi (which is pita bread ) and serve it with some yoghurt and slices of tomato just for a bit of non-animal goodness. Kibbeh is an Arab dish consisting of a crispy outer coating of bulgar wheat, minced lamb, onion & spices. It has a filling of more lamb, onion, toasted pine nuts and some other spices. It's sort of like their version of our scotch egg... only with more meat in the middle instead of egg They are very crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Really quite easy to make and very yummy indeed!!! The outer coating, having been whizzed in the food processor to form a dough: The filling being fried off: The outer coating dough is shaped into a ball. A hole is then made with your finger to make room for the filling. The filling is spooned in and the dough closed up around it before shaping into a rugby ball. These are then fried in the deep fat fryer for around 6 mins until crispy on the outside and hot in the middle Yum! Next the kafta, which is just another name for kofta (it has dozens of spellings depending upon where you eat it). It's minced lamb, finely chopped onions, parsley, mint, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & seasoning. You squeeze it together to make a lovely doughy lump and then you roll it into sausages and skewer it on some wooden skewers before grilling (or even better, BBQ'ing). Absolutely delicious! The pitas were fairly easy, but the dough needs a fairly long time to rise before you cook them for 10 mins or so in the oven And the finished result?? YUM! __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

01-11-2009, 23:03	#3
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	the kibbeh was loveleh! __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

01-11-2009, 23:07	#4
Will BBx woz 'ere :P Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 2,147,487,208	I love Kibbeh - one of my favourite snacks in that part of the world. Looks like you gave it credit too! The greek version is called koubes - the lebanese do a similar thing too. There are lots of variations of kibbeh as it's usually 2 words, "kibbeh <something>". Kibbeh neyyeh being one of my favourite dishes in the world. Those of kofta look fantastic too! Man I miss your cooking! __________________ *No No!*

01-11-2009, 23:10	#5
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	I miss your BBQ and Cyprus lamb. I normally get freshly minced, but they only had the packet stuff Can't beat the flavour of a kofta cooked on the BBQ!! Leon's had kibbeh before in the Dom Rep (iirc) and he said mine were pretty good __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

02-11-2009, 13:31	#7
Jonny69 Noob Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Socialist Republik of Kent Posts: 5,032	Yum. There's a Lebanese cookbook in the library which I'm tempted to take out. It was a bit too big to carry and I haven't been cooking much recently so I was a bit meh about it at the weekend. Maybe you've inspired me __________________

02-11-2009, 19:36	#8
Belmit The Mouse King of Denmark Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The Winchester Posts: 6,476	As always, looks ****ing amazing. You may find me coincidentally dropping round to yours all next year on particular Sundays. __________________

02-11-2009, 21:53	#10
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Wouldn't mind that actually. I'm always having to cut down the portion sizes because they always serve 4-6 and still end up making far too much anyway __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?