Shorbat adass

There are 3 versions of this humble soup that blew my mind. The first was at my great Tete Munawar’s house (Teta or Tete is the Levantine word for Grandma) when Swiss chard or as we say in Arabic sileq was in season, the second was after a 2 week juice fast in Istanbul, and the third was at Tawasol, an Emirati restaurant in Dubai that was the result of Bangladeshi cooks working in Emirati homes and subliminally infusing the soup with their spice mix

Tete Munuwar’s Shorbat adass

The swiss chard offers this lemony flavour and fibrous texture to the soup. If it’s not available, then it will have to do without it. It was nice to come across it when it was available.

Please note that the measurements below are only approximated. I rarely use tools and weights to measure, and have learnt through trial and error. I will however, say this. Lentils multiply in a way that’s explosive. I know this because, once a friend and I in university wanted to cook daal for 2. We assumed that that only meant that we would naturally need 2.5 cups of lentils. It didn’t. I took home a large tupperware of this delicious daal, and ate it for a week. 

Please assume that the measurements below indicate feeding 1-2 people.

You’ll need:

1 cup Lentils (red works best)

1 Onion- chopped

2-3 cloves Garlic- chopped

3 pinches of Cumin

3 pinches of Seven spice

2 cups Meat or vegetable broth - this can be a cube dissolved in 2 cups of water

1 bunch Swiss chard chopped

1 Lemon- juiced

Bonus:Throwing in Kibbeh

Saute the onions and garlic until golden, add the lentils and cover in the onion/garlic paste. Pour broth or water and add cumin and seven spice. If you like your soup smooth, feel free to hand blend it, or put it through a sieve. Roughly chop the Swiss chard and add to the mixture. 

Cook on low for an hour. Serve with lemon, black pepper, croutons or kibbeh.

The Istanbul Shorbat adass

A 2 week juice fast in Bodrum, and this was the first main meal that we had. I’ll never ever forget that soup. Nor will my parents. We left the restaurant with an epiphany- lentil soup had changed forever. 

You’ll need:

1 cup Lentils

1 Onion- chopped

2-3 cloves Garlic- chopped

3 pinches of Cumin

3 pinches of Seven spice

2 cups Meat or vegetable broth - this can be a cube dissolved in 2 cups of water

1 bunch Swiss chard chopped

1 Lemon- juiced

1 Tomato chopped

3-4 Carrots- chopped

1/2 Barley or oats

1 fist of Dill- chopped

1 fist of Parsley- chopped

Sauté  the onions and garlic until golden, add the lentils and cover in the onion/garlic paste. Add the rest of the vegetables. Pour broth or water and add cumin and seven spice. If you like your soup smooth, feel free to hand blend it, or put it through a sieve. Break freshly baked kaak bread, or a brioche on top of it. Sprinkle with black pepper, squeeze more lemon if need be.

Miss Maitha’s Shorbat adass

On our tour with Frying Pan Adventures, the lentil soup offered at Al Tawasol restaurant was central in explaining the cross pollination of flavours melded together from the Gulf and the Sub-Continent.

You’ll need:

1 cup Lentils

1 Onion- chopped

2-3 cloves Garlic- chopped

2-3 pinches of bzaar (the Gara Masala of the Khaleej)

2 cups Meat or vegetable broth - this can be a cube dissolved in 2 cups of water

1 Dried lime- pierced with a fork

1-2 Chillies- chopped

Puncture the dried lime. Saute the onions and garlic until golden, add the lentils and cover in the onion/garlic paste. Add the Bzaar, dried lime and pour the broth/water. If you like your soup smooth, feel free to hand blend it, or put it through a sieve.

Serve with chillies and lemon on the side.

Hara usbaoحراق اصبعو ravioli

 I once asked my grandmother to describe to me how she made this dish. This was a big mistake, because I walked away feeling overwhelmed, and quite lost. Grandmother’s have this way of describing recipes like stories, but paying no attention to the technical details one is desperate to hold on to. I learnt for the first time as well, that she made pasta- like an Italian nonna!

That was impressive. She took the time to describe how you had to hand make pasta, and both boil a batch and deep fry a batch- this was really the glue of Hara2 Usbao, it would not be the same without those two elements. 

I did grow up to become far more patient, and this is a recipe that I invented based on combining ravioli with a filling of lentils, coriander, garlic, pomegranate molasses and lemon.

You’ll need:

1 cup Flour

A pinch of Salt

1/2 cup Water

1 cup Vegetable broth

1 cup Black lentils

1 bunch Coriander

Lemon juice- unlimited if you’re like me and love lemons

2-3 cloves Garlic- chopped

1 Onion- chopped

Pomegranate molasses- unlimited if you’re like me and love lemons

1 fist Fried onions

Optional:

1/2 cup Beetroot juice (instead of water)

1 fist Pomegranates

For the dough:

Combine flour, a pinch of salt and water into a dough. Let it rest.

Bonus:

Dye the dough with beetroot juice, for a deep magenta colour

Use a maamoul mould for imprints or design them with a fork. 

For the filling:

Saute onions, garlic, lentils, coriander. Add lemon, cumin and drizzle of pomegranate molasses. Optional to throw in pomegranates. Cook with water until lentils are soft but not mushy.

Roll out dough, and using a cup or cookie cutter, cut out disk shaped dough pieces. Fill with a teaspoon of mixture and seal however you would like to, you can even imprint into mamoul mould.

Boil in a salty water until they float to the top.

For the sauce

Blitz coriander with lemon juice and pomegranate molasses to make a paste. Fold the ravioli into the paste, decorate with fried onions and serve lukewarm.

Mama’s Mujaddarah salad

My mother is the lioness who disrupted the peaceful and routine ways of my father’s Syrian family. She cooks with such an unapologetic and playful approach to ingredients. We co-hosted a supperclub in Dubai earlier in the year. To my dismay and utter jealousy, the salad was the start of the dinner.

This recipe is a 2-in-1, you can prepare the Mujaddarrah a day in advance and enjoy it. The supersalad is a great way to repurpose leftover Mujaddarah.

Please note that the measurements below are only approximated. I rarely use tools and weights to measure, and have learnt through trial and error. I will however, say this. Lentils multiply in a way that’s explosive. I know this because, once a friend and I in university wanted to cook daal for 2. We assumed that that only meant that we would naturally need 2.5 cups of lentils. It didn’t. I took home a large tupperware of this delicious daal, and ate it for a week.

Please assume that the measurements below indicate feeding 1-2 people.

For Mujaddarah you’ll need:

1 cup Puy Lentils

1 Onion- chopped

2-3 cloves Garlic- chopped

1 cup Short grain Egyptian rice

3 pinches of Cumin

3 pinches of Seven spice

2 cups Meat or vegetable broth - this can be a cube dissolved in 2 cups of water

1 fist Crispy fried onions

Sauté garlic and onions in a pot with olive oil. Rinse lentils and add along with rice and spices to the pot. Essentially you want to coat and toast the mixture in the oil. Add vegetable or meat broth and cook until lentils and rice are soft but still have bite.

For the salad you’ll need:

2 cups Leftover Mujaddarah 

Pomegranates- unlimited if you’re like me and love pomegranates

1 bunch parsley- chopped

1 bunch scallions - chopped

1 bunch mint- chopped

2-3 Cucumbers - diced

2-3 Tomatoes - diced

1 Eggplant – Grilled and cut into slices

Dressing:

Lemon juice 

Salt and pepper to taste

Pomegranate molasses 

Olive oil 

There are no ratios for this- its up to you. 

Optional:

Zereshk berries sautéed in oil/butter- unlimited because I love them

Toasted pine nuts- unlimited because I love them

1 fist Crispy fried onions

1 fist dill- chopped

The idea is to turn your leftovers into a healthy refreshing salad packed with nutrients, but ultimately you can be very flexible about what you put into it.