Your Dreams Coming True In The Kitchen

S udan is the largest country in Africa. Lately there was a quarrel between the North and South (Juba). The reason: Oil. Chevron and other Petroleum companies found lots of Oil reserves in the South and so the fight started. I personally visited the village of Bentu, in the South during one of my visits to Chevron Oil Company in the South. As all countries, the Sudan also has its local foods. A very popular one is Molokhia which grows only in summer. Bamia, in Arabic, lady's fingers or internationally known as Okra can be readily found all year round. Bamia Mafroukeh is a delicious food eaten with the Sudanese bread called Kisra. The term Mafroukeh is act of breaking down the bamia when it well cooked to turn it into a thick, soup. There is special wooden utensil the Sudanese use. Ingredients: - 1 kg bamia Lady's fingers or Okra. - 1 kg beef or lamb bone free. - 1/2 kg fresh tomatoes cut in quarters. - 1 big onion roughly cut. - 6 cloves of garlic finely cut. - ...

G reek Easter is a matter of cooking lamb on the spit by using a motor to slowly rotate a whole lamb of about 10-20 kg well attached to a long skewer...

F or us the week end is for special food.  Roast lamb with potatoes is one of our favorites! So got out our "tsoukali" as we would say it in Greek which is basically an earth ware clay casserole which holds the marks of decades of cooking . All people around the world have such earth ware which is a sign that in pre- historic days, after the invention of the wheel, people knew what they were doing. I personally love to cook in this casserole. I just throw everything in there and let it cook slowly for hours adding a little water every once in a while so that the food does not get too dehydrated. So...back to our lamb...

Kokoretsi Courtesy Of Google F ifty days ago was Easter Sunday. Today is  Pentecost .  I propose something completely Greek which is eaten in what the Greeks call P s i s t a r i é s, taverns where everything is cooked on charcoal (lamb, pork, beef, kebabs, chicken etc.). Kokoretsi  can be eaten anytime of the year. However, during the Easter period (Spring) when lambs are young, Kokoretsi is very good and lean. Basically I eat it once or maximum twice a year during Easter. Lots of charcoal needs 1½ hours to properly light, becomes grey...not too hot.  Only then you can either start grilling or barbecuing. Kokoretsi is a typical Greek appetizer. It is not to be eaten as the main course. The following video will show you, in Greek, how to make a Kokoretsi, courtesy of You Tube, on Google. Some of you who do not know Greek will enjoy the pictures and maybe the music. It comes from the north west of Greece, Epiros...typica...

Courtesy of Google Maps Simple Raïta (not spiced) And Hussaini Kabab T he Moguls invaded the territory of India in the 16th century and ruled for almost 300 years. During their journey to India, through present day Pakistan, the Moguls came across the much admired Persian style of cooking, which they adapted and introduced to Pakistan and India.  This has become known as the Muglai Cuisine . Today I would like to share with you a typical Mughal dish originally prepared by the Master Chef Sajid Hussain Qureshi himself and author of the cook book in English Language "Art of Mughal Cuisine" ILM-O-IRFAN PUBLISHERS, published by Gullfraz Ahmad, 1rst Edition January 2004 which I am presently using. The name of the dish is Hussaini Kabab.  We had it for lunch and it was excellent. Due to health reasons a change was made to the topping sauce. Instead of the milk/butter/cream almond paste mix we prepared a Raïta instead ...

The Skewer Needs To Be Flat About One Centimeter Wide So The Resulting Kofta Is Flat And Cookes Easier.  K ofta Kebab is very oriental, very Arab, and deliciously Egyptian.

S pringtime is the time for baby lamb in Greece.

A rnaki Kleftiko means the Robber's way of cooking lamb.

                                               Lamb Curry Cooked in a Karahi                                                         Lamb Shoulder is one the most tender parts of the lamb.

B aby lamb in my opinion is not only tasteless but a pity to eat when  so young. Older lamb has more taste and more meat. The best lamb is immediately after it stops feeding on its mother's milk.  When buying a lamb shoulder, sometimes the whole rack of cutlets is also included.  Therefore it is possible to separate the cutlets from the shoulder and use each to make a different dish. In this recipe we shall use the rack of cutlets.  I used the shoulder to make a Lamb Curry.

T his is a very tasty rice usually eaten with lamb on the spit during various feasts. The origin is North African, East Mediterranean, can be also Greek.