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Baba Ghannouj (Eggplant Dip)

Cook the eggplant in a hot oven or on a fork over the flame of a gas stove. When it is well cooked through and the skin is blackened, douse with cold water, peel and chop into small pieces. Mash two or three cloves of garlic to a paste with about the same volume of salt. Add eggplant, mash to a smooth consistency and blend the tahina and lemon juice to make the Arab version of this dish; omit the tahina for the Turkish version. Serve in a bowl with little olive oil on top and garnish chopped parsley, red pepper slices and a dusting of red pepper. Serves five.

Red Pepper Hummus

With processor running, drop garlic through feed tube and mince. Scrape down sides of work bowl. Add chick-peas, tahini and lemon juice; process until mixture is smooth. Add roasted peppers; process until peppers are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer hummus to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Makes about 2 cups.

Hummus

• 1 lb. 1 1/2 oz. chickpeas, soaked
• 10 oz. tahini (sesame oil)
• 7 oz. lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
• 1 clove garlic mashed with salt
• 5 tbs. cold water (not quite 2 oz.)
• chopped parsley and paprika for garnish

Mash garlic with salt until fine. Drain chickpeas from water and stir into the mashed garlic. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a food processor. When it is well mashed, add tahini. Gradually add lemon juice. Run the entire mixture through the food processor until desired consistency in reached. Garnish with chopped parsley and paprika.

Falafel

• 1 lb. 10 oz. soaked foul
• 10 1/2 oz. soaked chickpeas
• 1 lb. red onions and green onions (all chopped together making 1 lb.)
• 4 bunches parsley
• 3 bunches green coriander
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 pod hot green pepper
• 4 tbs. salt
• 1/2 tbs. white & black pepper
• 6 tbs. flour
• 1 pot frying oil
  Directions:

  Chop fine all the ingredients mentioned above by running them through a food chopper. Rub them with salt, pepper and flour and allow to rest for two hours. About a half hour before they are to be served, make into small patties and fry in hot oil. Arrange on a platter when fried and garnish with chopped parsley.

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Fattouche

• 1/2 lb. pita bread toasted and broken into small pieces
• 2 1/5 lbs. chopped cucumbers
• 10 oz. onions finely chopped
• 2 lbs. tomatoes, cut into tiny pieces
• 6 oz. olive oil
• 8 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic mashed with salt
• 2 tbs. salt

Toast and break bread into small pieces. Sprinkle cold water over it. Chop all the vegetables and add them to the bread. Mix well. Add mashed garlic, lemon juice and oil, and toss well.

Kibbi Nayye

• 2 1/5 lbs. lamb pure lean and completely free of all fat
• 8 1/2 oz. burghul (ground wheat)
• 4 oz. onions
• 2 1/2 tbs. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

Grind meat and onions coarsely in a food chopper. Then put this mixture into a "Cutter" and add salt and pepper. Blend in "Cutter" for about 10 minutes. As cutter turns, add small cubes of ice to be ground with the mixture. This helps give the meat more consistency. At the end of ten minutes start adding the burghul. Continue blending ten minutes longer after all burghul has been added. Put mixture into a bowl and garnish. Serve cold.

Lahme be Ajin

Sift flour, melt yeast in water and add salt. Pour the yeast mixture gradually on the flour kneading all the while. Allow dough to rest 3 hours. Melt butter and work it into the risen dough. Form dough into small balls.

Prepare filling: Fry chopped onions in butter until it is a golden brown. Add meat, spices and snobar and stir occasionally. After a few minutes add vinegar and let cook a little longer. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Roll out balls of dough with one finger (in order to remain round). Put some of the filling on the flattened pieces of dough and arrange in a baking pan. Bake in hot oven for a few minutes. Serve hot with yogurt.

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Saudi Samboosak

• 3 cups flour
• 2 grated onions
• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon bread spices(yeast, fennel, poppy seed)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• oil for frying
• water
• 1 lb. ground beef or lamb

Directions:

Put the flour in a deep bowl, add the bread spices and salt. Add the oil and rub with fingertips. Add water and a pinch of salt a little at a time, mixing thoroughly until dough is binding. Divide into small pieces, place on a tray and put in a warm place for one hour. Put ground meat, onion, salt, pepper and cumin in a frying pan and cook over low heat. Cool. Roll each piece of dough into a round, about 1/16 inch thick. Place a tablespoon of meat in the center of each round and seal then twist the edges. Heat the oil and deep fry the samboosak on both sides. Serve hot. Serves 8-10 persons.

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