Mish Recipe

My grandmother - may her soul rest in peace - was the greatest cooker you could ever meet! As a kid, I have fond memories of her and the family gatherings at her house. I especially have warm memories of my grandmother’s kitchen and the tasty food that she used to prepare for us.

I can still remember my excitement once the summer break started because I knew I would spend longer periods at her house! As soon as school finished, I used to rush home to pack my clothes and head to her house! During the summer, all the family will meet at my grandparents house on Thursday evenings. My uncles and aunts with their husbands, all my cousins! The house will be filled with the smell of lovely food, loud laughter’s and the voice of us kids running all over the house.

I remember that as soon as we entered the house, we would kiss my grandmother and head straight towards the kitchen in pursuit of the Mish Jar! For us, the kids, Mish was the optimum prize… Mish sprinkled with some olive oil and dipped with toasted pita bread!!! It wouldn’t matter if we were hungry or full, the calling of the Mish was irresistible.

Mish is a dish that hails from Jaffa in Palestine. Jaffa is the hometown of my grandmother and the place where she learnt how to prepare Mish from her mother, who in turn learned how to prepare it from her mother. My mother will tell me that in the old days, her mother prepared mish using homemade white cheese soaked in milk and homemade green chili sauce. On special occasions my grandmother would prepare her entirely homemade version if Mish. It tasted amazing, the homemade cheese had a special unbeatable flavor!

Just like my grandmother learned to prepare Mish from her mother and grandmother, she taught us – the grandchildren - how to prepare Mish. One day I will teach my children how to prepare this very old traditional dish passed down through generations.

The portion below is large, so halve the ingredients for a smaller portion.  

Tips: How to get Crispy French Fries

Is there a kid, or an adult, out there who doesn’t enjoy a plate of crispy golden French fries sprinkled with salt and dipped in katchup? 

It is funny that French Fries, considered by many to be among the most popular foods in the world, is quite a recent dish. For the popularity of potatoes didn’t spread until the last two centuries! Some stories even say that many parts of the western world, up until 300 years ago, didn’t consider potatoes to be edible.  

Even though frying potatoes is quite easy, many people find it difficult to prepare crispy potatoes - or French fries as we call them - from fresh potatoes, so they buy ready-made frozen potato fries which probably contain unhealthy additives! 

Preparing crispy French fries at home is not difficult, just follow these few steps and tips to get crispy French fries every time.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipe

I recently received a request from a fan of my Arabic blog (www.fattoush.me) asking for the recipe of sweetened condensed milk.

I personally use sweetened condensed milk a lot. One of the things that bother me the most when I am cooking or baking is finding I ran out of stock of an ingredient I need or that it is expired. I hate having to rush to the nearest supermarket to fetch it! So years ago, I did some research, and luckily found that there are quite some items that you can substitute or do yourself at home. Sweetened condensed milk, is one of the ingredients that you can easily prepare.  

The recipe for preparing sweetened condensed milk is quite basic and easy. It takes no more than five minutes, meaning faster that rushing to the supermarket (YEAY). Plus, the cost for preparing Sweetened Condensed Milk it at home is cheaper than buying it.

The recipe below yields about 11/3 cup of sweetened condensed milk, about the same quantity as is in one can.

Note: if you are using the sweetened condensed milk to sweeten your tea, you can opt to reduce the fat content by reducing the butter called for in the recipe. However, if you are using the condensed milk for preparing a dessert, examine the recipe you want to prepare before deciding if you want to reduce the butter or not.

Hummus recipe

Hummus is probably the most well known Arabic appetizers! The fame of this popular Middle Eastern dish has spread all over the globe. It’s famous to the point that if you do a simple google search, you will see all sorts of adaptations to this dish, from adding roasted red peppers to curry!

Most of these international recipes call for using canned chickpeas. However, the traditional way for preparing hummus uses dried chickpeas.  Today, I would like to share with you the traditional way for preparing this cosmopolitan dish, the way our grandmothers and before them their grandmothers prepared it! Besides being much cheaper, using dried chickpeas is much healthier as you avoid all the harmful chemical additives!

Hummus is delicious for breakfast along with falafel and foul mudamas and pickled green olives (click for recipe). Hummus is also yummy with grilled meat and chicken.  In addition to it’s great taste, Hummus is rich in zinc, phosphorus, iron and copper. It strengthens the immune system, our memory, bones and teeth. It also contributes to the building of heart, brain, muscle, and kidney tissue cells. Hummus prevents the buildup of cholesterol in the blood vessels, regulates blood sugar levels, and is a great antioxidant. It is also useful for those who suffer from the formation of kidney stones.

Falafel Recipe

Anyone out there who doesn’t love falafel?

Falafel is very common across all Arab and Middle East countries, it is even found in the Turkish cuisine. People disagree about the origins of falafel, some say it dates back to the Pharos, others insist it is an Arabic dish, and some say it is a Hebrew one. Each of these cuisines add their touch to the popular falafel dish and call it their own. While they have their differences in preparing it, in all versions legumes is the main ingredient!

In Egypt they use dried broad beans (fave beans) to prepare falafel. Falafel burgers are then shaped manually. In Egypt, the common falafel burgers are large and stuffed with dried coriander.

In the Levant region, dried chickpeas alone or mixed with broad beans are used as a base, and a mixture of vegetables and spices are added to it. Falafel burgers are usually small and are shaped using a brass hand machine.

Falafel is served with hummus, foul mudamas, pickles, sliced ​​tomatoes and tahini (sesame paste) sauce. A falafel meal has high nutritional value. Studies conducted by the National Nutritional Institute in Cairo, show that falafel has a high iron content.

When I prepare falafel and its smell fills the house, my mind overfills with sweet childhood memories of Friday morning breakfasts when the whole family gathers around the dining table filled with falafel, hummus,foul mudamas, pickles, sliced tomatoes. I can still hear the clattering and laughter. As a child, I remember waking up very early on Friday so that we can go to one Amman’s famous hummus and falafel restaurants and avoid standing in long queues!

You can easily prepare a falafel sandwiches by adding pickles and tahini salad to the falafel, some also add hummus and hot sauce. If you want to learn how to prepare yummy falafel Levantine style, follow these easy steps to prepare the tastiest homemade falafel!