Amarante
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 Sat, Dec 03 2016, 8:40 pm
I have no basis of comparing to other versions but I liked this very much. I am including the recipe for the Syrian rice as it was a very nice pilau recipe. I might even attempt the crusty version which I have had at friends’ homes. It was a nice dish to have going in a rainy Los Angeles day.
The cookbook is written by a Syrian Jewish American woman and is an interesting read for me since I'm not super familiar with the style although I've had some of the basic Persian, Moroccan recipes that one encounters at restaurants or simchas.
Chuderah fil Meh'leh (SWEET-AND-SOUR VEGETABLE STEW IN A POT)
Excerpt From: Jennifer Felicia Abadi - A Fistful of Lentils
When Grandma Fritzie came to America, sweet potatoes became one of her favorite new treats. She recalled saving up her pennies to buy this "fast food" hot from a peddler on the street. Two cents for the cooler ones on the top of the cart, five cents for the hotter, bigger ones buried at the bottom. Here is a vegetarian version of the traditional meat dish lah'meh fil meh'leh (Layered Sweet-and-Sour Beef Stew in the Pot, enhanced by the unforgettable sweet potato.
If you are used to the sweet Ashkenazic tsimmis served on the New Year, try this Syrian cousin. Before cooking, this dish starts out as a multilayered casserole of various textures, flavors, and colors. At the end of three hours of cooking, the sweetness of the prunes has run into the tartness of the tamarind and tomato paste, creating a wonderful gravy. The potatoes, although very soft, are full of flavor and still maintain most of their original shape, while the eggplant has lost all of its sponginess, almost becoming part of the rich sauce itself. dish is often better if prepared a day in advance and reheated in the oven before serving. It is filling, so just serve it with a salad and white rice on the side.
SERVES 6 TO 8
LAYERS
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 large white baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
¾ cup tightly packed pitted prunes (about 20)
2 cups cubed black eggplant
1 cup canned unsalted crushed tomatoes
SAUCE
1 6-ounce can unsalted tomato paste
2 cups cold water
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (preferably Lea & Perrins, or another brand that lists tamarind as an ingredient)
1 tablespoon tamarind paste or Easy Tamarind Sauce optional)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (omit if using Easy Tamarind Sauce)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground allspice
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 recipes Basic Syrian Rice
Prepare the layers. Pour the oil into a 6-quart heatproof casserole, tilting it to spread the oil evenly along the bottom.
In the following order, proceed to layer only half of each “ingredient at a time into the casserole: onions, sweet and white potatoes (together), prunes, eggplant, and tomato pieces. Press each layer down firmly as you go. Continue to layer with the remaining ingredients in the same order. (Depending on the diameter of the casserole, there may not be enough of a certain ingredient to fully cover each layer. In this case, combine the vegetables to equal one layer.)
Prepare the sauce. In a medium-size bowl, dissolve the tomato paste in the water. Add the remaining ingredients, except the rice, and blend well. Pour the tomato sauce evenly over the top of the casserole. Cover and simmer over low to medium-low heat for 1 hour, checking after 30 minutes to make sure the dish isn't scorching.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Taste the sauce to see if it has a sweet-sour taste. Correct the seasonings, adding a bit more brown sugar if the sauce is too tart or lemon juice if it is too sweet.
Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 1½ to 2 hours.
Serve hot, accompanied by the rice.
Riz (BASIC SYRIAN RICE)
A simple, moist long-grain white rice cooked with oil, onions, and salt, riz is the most basic dish served at any Syrian meal. Piping hot on a platter with browned pine nuts sprinkled on top, riz is one of the most important dishes served during most any meal. Like bread to the French, rice is a staple without which no Syrian meal would be complete. It goes with all dishes, especially tomato-based sauces containing apricots. Because it is made with oil and not butter, it is parve (neither meat nor dairy) and can be served with fish, meat, chicken, vegetarian, or dairy dishes. When my friends taste this rice dish, they are surprised that white rice can taste so good. Indeed, with lots of onions, oil, and salt, how could it be bad? Basic it is, plain it is not.
SERVES 4 TO 5 (2⅓ CUPS)
1 cup long-grain white rice
6 cups cold water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup finely chopped yellow onions
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons warm water
PINE NUT GARNISH (OPTIONAL)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
VERMICELLI GARNISH (OPTIONAL)
½ cup vermicelli or thin soup noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¾ cup boiling water
Place the rice in a medium-size bowl, add 4 cups of the cold water, and let soak for 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a medium-size, heavy-bottomed saucepan for about a minute over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add the onions and cook, stirring, until wilted and golden, 3 to 4 minutes; do not allow to brown or burn.
Add the remaining 2 cups cold water and the salt to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain the rice in a fine mesh strainer and add to the boiling water. Stir once gently and continue to boil briskly, uncovered, until the water is cooked down to the surface level of the rice, about 5 minutes.
Cover tightly, reduce the heat as low as it will go, and steam until all the water is fully absorbed and the rice is tender but not mushy, 10 to 20 minutes.
Fold the rice over very gently with a soup spoon. Sprinkle the top with the warm water to moisten. Serve hot, with the pine nut or vermicelli garnish, if desired.
If using the optional pine nut garnish, just before serving the rice, heat the oil in a small, heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and stir constantly until the nuts are brown, about 2 minutes. (Watch carefully so that they don't burn.) Put the rice in a serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with the hot nuts. Serve immediately.
If using the optional vermicelli garnish, break the noodles into small pieces, about ½ inch long. Heat the oil in a small, heavy frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is very hot, add the noodles and stir constantly until the pieces are brown. Add the water, stir, and cook until the noodles are soft, about 8 minutes. Mix half of the noodles into the rice. Place the rice in a serving bowl or platter and garnish with the remaining hot noodles. Serve immediately.
MAKING A'HATA: If you want to make the traditional "crusty rice" mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, follow the recipe for riz, sauteing the onions in an additional 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Once the rice is fully cooked through (10 to 20 minutes), continue to cook, covered, for an additional 50 minutes to 1 hour over low heat, checking every 10 minutes to make sure that the bottom of the rice is browning, but not burning. Remove from the heat. Scoop out the soft part of the rice and place in a bowl. Scrape out the crunchy brown rice (the a'hata) and serve either on the side in a separate small bowl or sprinkled on top of the soft rice.
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