Qatari Meal

As the only country with the letter Q I was a little worried about finding recipes from this country to make a full meal. But as with Oman, Qatari recipes use a lot of ingredients in their dishes so it is possible to use substitutes to make a non vegetarian dish vegetarian.

A lot of the dishes from Qatar are Arabic in origin and are eaten with regional variations all over the middle east. Machboos is a one dish meal which I have made vegetarian with the use of paneer. For a side I made Fatayer Sabanek, a spinach filled pastry. Fatayer is also made with a cheese filling. The cheese is usually salty in taste. I had a little leftover cotija cheese that I mixed into the spinach filling to give it added taste. For dessert I made Basbousa, a simple dessert similar to sheera or halwa. Baking the semolina mixture gives it a lovely cake like consistency and taste. This was a very tasty meal and we loved all three dishes very much.

No new ingredients were used in this meal but I enjoyed making the Machboos. Now even though the Machboos is filling I wanted to try Fatayer Sabanek. I just knew it would be delicious by reading the recipe and I was right.

Here are the recipe for the dishes on the menu

• Vegetarian Machboos 
• Fatayer Sabanek 

And for dessert

• Basbousa

Fatayer Sabanek (Spinach Pastry)

Spinach stuffed pastry or Fatayer Sabanek can be eaten as a snack by itself or as a side in a meal. I have made Greek spinach pie spanakopita and we all loved it. When I found this recipe here I knew my family would love it.

The origins of fatayer is disputed as a lot of countries lay claim to it. It means pastry in Arabic and you will find it in a lot of the countries in the Middle East.

Fatayer is made using leavened dough. I had a little sourdough starter handy and decided to use it. Before commercial yeast became available all leavened dough was made using wild yeast starter. The resultant pastry was crunchy but soft on the inside.

When I made this as part of the meal I did not have the time to let the dough rise overnight so I used a scant half teaspoon of commercial instant yeast to help speed up the process on one batch of the dough. This batch I stuffed with spinach and flavored it with onion and a little salty cheese. The second batch of dough I left overnight in the refrigerator and made fatayer as a snack the next day. I did not add commercial yeast to this batch and I stuffed it with cheese and a sprinkle of cilantro.

You will need
For the dough
1/2 cup sourdough starter 78% hydration (increase flour by 1/2 cup if you want to skip this)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur whole white wheat)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup yogurt
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. instant dry yeast (if you skip the sourdough use 1 tsp. yeast)
1/2 tsp. sugar
Up to 1/2 cup warm water

For the spinach filling
1 bunch spinach
2 tbsp. onion
3 tbsp. cotija cheese, shredded
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

For the cheese filling
1/4 cup cotija cheese, shredded
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4-5 sprigs of cilantro, minced

Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl. Add the oil and yogurt and combine with the flour. If you are not using sourdough starter you will need a half cup of water. If you are using sourdough starter use half the water and if needed add more, a little at a time, until you have a soft dough. Knead well and keep aside covered until it doubles in volume. If using sourdough you can keep it overnight in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to develop.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare the cheese filling by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Keep aside. Blanch the spinach and drain. Heat the blanched spinach in a pan until all the water evaporates. Cool. Combine with the other ingredients and keep aside until needed.

Transfer the risen dough to a working surface and cut into lime sized portions. Roll one portion to form a disc. Place the filling in the center.

Bring up two sides as shown in the picture below.

Pull up the bottom to form a triangle.

Pinch the seams to seal them. If the dough is dry use a little water to seal the seam shut. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Continue with the remaining portions. I made some with spinach filling and others with cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Broil for one minute.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Paneer Machboos

A one dish meal made with rice that is now a family favorite. Machboos is a classic Arabic dish. I used paneer to make it vegetarian. Though machboos is usually cooked on the stove top I found this baked version that tastes just like the original. This spicy rice filled my kitchen with a lovely aroma. One word to describe its taste - delicious. The leftovers the next day were just as good.

My daughter loves anything with paneer. So when I was wondering whether to use potato or paneer to make this dish vegetarian she made the choice easy. The amount of spice used is a little too much by my usual standards, I usually use spices sparingly while cooking. In fact when I was making machboos I was sure it was not going to be edible. But then I realized rice and paneer are bland. No other vegetable is used. The flavor of the spices absorbed by the rice and paneer makes the dish. Don't skimp on the spices.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need for three servings
8 oz. paneer
2 cups of vegetable stock
3-4 strands saffron
1 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. bezar powder (recipe below)
1 cup basmati rice (I used brown basmati)
salt to taste

To make bezar powder roast separately equal portions of whole cumin, fennel, coriander and pepper corn, a half inch stick of cinnamon and one red chilli pepper. When cool grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container in your pantry.

Mix all the spices, cinnamon powder, turmeric powder, paprika and bezar powder together. Reserve half for later, use half to spice up the paneer.

Preheat oven 400 F. Wash the rice and drain. Keep aside. Make paneer or use store bought. Cut it into large rectangles and sprinkle one side with half of the remaining spice powders. Heat oil in a pan. Place the paneer in the oil spiced side down. Sprinkle remaining spices on the other side. When brown flip and brown other side. Remove and place on paper towel.

Add saffron to the stock in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 2 minutes or until heated through. Keep warm. Chop the onion and saute the onion in the same pan as the paneer was cooked. Meanwhile mince the garlic and chop the tomato separately. When the onions are tender add the garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add the reserved spices. Combine well and add tomato. When heated through turn off the heat. Add the rice and mix together to coat the rice with onion tomato mixture.

Transfer to a casserole. Cut the paneer into cubes and place over the rice.

Pour the stock over the rice.

Cover with aluminium foil. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour. Take a peek. If the water is not all absorbed keep for another 10-15 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

Take it out of the oven and keep covered for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Basbousa

This is a really simple baked dessert. It is very similar to sheera or halwa in taste as it is basically sweetened semolina. However, baking the dish gives it a lovely moist cake like texture.

I used almonds but you can use cashews or pistachios to decorate the top.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
3/4 cup semolina
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. yogurt
1/2 cup milk

Almonds for garnish

For the syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
a squeeze of lemon juice

In a mixing bowl combine the semolina, all purpose flour, baking powder and sugar. Add the vanilla extract, melted butter and oil. Mix until crumbly. Add the yogurt and milk and whisk into a thick batter. Pour batter into a round 7" pan greased with a little oil. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 300 F.

In the meantime boil the syrup ingredients until the sugar dissolves. Turn off heat and let the syrup cool. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and score the top in the shape of diamonds.

Press an almond in the center of each diamond. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Pour the syrup over the top and bake for another 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and cut along scored lines to form diamonds. Tastes great hot or chilled.

Enjoy!