Last Sunday we attacked our night with the fervor of war. As the start of the movie indicated, "War is a drug." Our nights have become a drug and we welcome each and every moment we can assemble our little community.
Zatar is made up of basil, oregano, savory and thyme. It's a delicious snack.
RECIPES
Timman Z'affaran (Iraqi Saffron Rice With Meat)
SERVES 5 -6
Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon saffron thread
2 tablespoons rose water
1/3 cup oil (or ghee)
1/4 cup blanched split almonds (don't leave these out please)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
275 g ground lamb or beef
3/4 teaspoon Baharat mixed spice (Baharat Aka Middle East Mixed Spices - the Real Mix)
salt
1/4 cup raisins
3 cups chicken stock
Directions:
1.Wash rice until water runs clear.
2.Cover with cold water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
3.Pound saffron threads, place in a small bowl and add the rose water, leaving to steep until required.
4.Heat half the oil or ghee in a frying pan (this part tastes better with ghee or butter), add the almonds and fry until becoming golden making sure not to burn them by watching them until done.
Toasted Almonds
5.Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon and reserve.
6.Add onion to pan and fry gently until transparent.
7.Increase heat, add meat and cook, stirring often to make meat crumbly. Fry until the juices evaporate, add Baharat, 1/2 tsp salt and raisins and fry for 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat, cover and leave aside.
8.Heat remaining oil or ghee in a deep large bottomed pot and add 2 tsp of the saffron-rosewater mixture and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil.
9.Drain the rice and add it to the boiling stock with salt to taste. Stir occasionally until rice returns to a boil.
10.Reduce heat to low and cover pan tightly. Simmer gently until rice is done.
11.Fold the meat mixture gently through the rice, cover rim of the pan with two paper towels and set lid on tightly. Leave on low heat for 5 minutes or longer if necessary. Rice should not spoil, though this depends on its quality.
12.Pile rice in serving dish or platter and sprinkle with browned almonds and the rest of the saffron-rosewater.
Timman Z'affaran
Note on the Timman Z'affaran:
We doubled the recipe to accommodate the 9 people we were expecting for the meal. As it turns out, we ended up being 12 people and were still able to fill everyone's belly! We tripled the amount of meat and it was just enough. We also used ghee, to try to adhere to the authenticity of the dish. Due to our inability to find Baharat Aka, we decided to make it from scratch. Below, the recipe for this wonderfully fragrant mixed spice.
We added Shish Taouk (store bought) as a side to the rice dish, just in case we were short on food. Such was not the case, but it was delicious nonetheless.
Shish Taouk
BAHARAT AKA
Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole black peppercorn
1/4 cup whole coriander seed
1/4 cup cassia or cinnamon bark
1/4 cup whole cloves
1/3 cup cumin seed
2 teaspoons whole cardamom seeds
4 whole whole nutmegs
1/2 cup ground paprika
Directions:
1.Basically, just place all the spices except the paprika and nutmeg in a blender or adequate grinder and process until it becomes a powder.
2.If necessary you can grind 1/2 cup at a time.
3.Grate the nutmeg and blend this with the paprika into the spices.
4.Store in an airtight jar.
5.Generally in some areas, they lightly toast the spices in an oven to bring out more flavor.
6.You can gain this also by putting the amount you're going to use, on a hot dry frying pan and toast it for a few seconds before using.
7.This not only makes the kitchen smell good, but brings out a richer flavor of any spice.
8.*Note* You can also use ground spices, but using them whole is the authentic way.
9.Four nutmegs come to about 1/4 cup ground.
10.Be careful how much nutmeg you use; it's toxic in large doses.
Note about the Baharat Aka:
We halved the recipe and still had tons of spice left! We weren't able to find everything in its whole form. Cumin was used in its powder form, and the coriander, cut up, but not powdered. We used a coffee grinder to grind up the spices. It worked beautifully, but we had to break up the cinnamon sticks into smaller pieces in order for them to be ground properly. People were wondering if I had put some incense in the apartment because the whole place smelled like an exotic incense stick from India was burning. Not so! It was the spices! We also went all out and toasted the spices for that extra bit of fragrance before adding them to the Timman Z'affaran.
IRAQI 'SUMMAG' SALAD- SUMAC SALAD
This is a recipe for a very tasty salad using the Middle Eastern spice Sumac / Sumaq. In Iraq, it is known as Summag - hence the name Summag salad. It is easy to make.
SERVES 4 -6
Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers
1 large tomato
1/4 medium onion
1 tablespoon sumac
salt
olive oil
1.Peel the cucumbers in stripes. Slice the cucumbers in half, length-wise. Slice these halves into semi-circles, each no more than 1-2 mm thick. Put the cucumbers in the salad bowl.
The biggest cucumbers I've ever seen!
2.Chop the tomato into 'salad size' pieces- not too large and not too small. Add to the cucumber.
3.Slice the onion into long, pieces and add to the tomato and cucumber.
4.Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the salad and add the sumac and salt to taste. Mix well. Enjoy.
Summag Salad
Note about the Summag Salad:
We doubled the recipe. It was light and a nice contrast to the rice dish, though some thought it didn't have much flavor. Decidedly, the sumac has a subtle taste. I would add some lemon and freshly ground pepper for the next time, or some kind of vinegar.
HOLWAH TAMAR (IRAQI DATE SWEETMEAT)
SERVES 20 , 20 pieces
Ingredients:
1 lb dates, dried and pitted
1/4 cup ghee
2 cups walnut pieces
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Directions:
Dates "fresh" out of the box
1.Chop dates roughly and place in a heavy pan with the ghee.
2.Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until dates soften, and are combined with the ghee.
3.Spread half the date mixture in a 9 in (23 cm) square pan.
4.Sprinkle walnut pieces over the dates, pressing them in lightly. Place remaining date mixture on top, spreading it evenly.
5.Sprinkle evenly with toasted sesame seeds, pressing them on lightly.
6.Leave until cool and cut into small squares or diamond shapes.
7.Store in a sealed container and serve as a sweetmeat.
Holwah Tamar
Note about the Holwah Tamar:
We stuck to the recipe here because we knew it would be sweet and that most people would have only one or two pieces. No sugar is added because dates are incredibly sweet all on their own! It was very sticky, but quite tasty. I would add more walnuts next time. We didn't use nearly as many walnuts as the recipe suggested. Successful dessert!
The complete meal!
AN ASIDE:
We had quite the discussion with regards to the difference between ground meat and minced meat and what sweetmeats actually are. A very complex thing...
From WiseGeek: "The term sweetmeats usually refers to candy or sweet confections. It has often been shortened simply to sweets, as in “Sweets to the Sweet.” Sweetmeats likely first began as a way of preserving fruit and/or nuts with sugar. Since sugars act as a preservative, the process of making candied fruit or nuts might aid in keeping some food items past the point when they would naturally decay."
From Wikipedia: Ground meat is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder. It is called mince or mince(d) meat outside North America.
From Wikipedia: Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and sometimes beef suet, beef, or venison. Originally, mincemeat always contained meat.[1] Many modern recipes contain beef suet, though vegetable shortening is sometimes used in its place. Variants of mincemeat are found in the UK, Ireland, Brittany, northern Europe, the United States and Canada. In some countries the term mincemeat refers to minced or ground meat.
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS ON THE MOVIE "THE HURT LOCKER":
- There were two camps that were clearly delineated that night. Some loved the movie, others thought it was far from a "great movie" and certainly not worth the Oscar
- Many thought some of the scenes were decidedly unrealistic and very Hollywood
- Several people expressed disappointment because the opening sequence of the film was very well done and the rest of the movie fell short, was very standard
- Some asked why the director chose to purposefully add Hollywood elements to the movie when it didn’t help the plot
- Some of the Hollywood elements/clichés we noticed include the following:
o The main character as a red-neck “hero”
o The music was, at times, very Hollywood, with the intention of creating drama
o The scene in the grocery store has been done, most notably, in "Heaven and Earth"
o The scene in the car when one of the soldiers talks about wanting a son
- There was mention that the movie had the elements of a western
- One of our members has experienced "war" and was very much affected by the movie; he thought the grocery store scene was very realistic, The quote “war is a drug” is true, according to him
- Some believed that movies can very effectively take a series of cliches and still make a good movie; this one's use of cliches was unsuccessful
- Some felt there was a distinct lack of character development, that we were not privy to the motivations behind their actions, that the characters were one-dimensional; others felt the characters were sufficiently developed and were not bothered by the lack of context
- There was the feeling that to see a redeeming quality in the main character was actually disappointing
- Others felt the movie took a “Reality Show” kind of approach which is very hard to judge
- Many people felt that the director took scenes from a lot of other war movies and cut and pasted them into this one; there was little originality
- People were split on the idea of what constituted a successful movie: was it its artistic/aesthetic quality, or how one reacted to it emotionally? There was some disappointment as to the artistic choices within the movie
- There was a heated debate concerning realism vs. accuracy and the fact that though it may be an accurate movie, it had unrealistic characters
- The night scene when they split up hunting for the bombers was unrealistic and in reality, the man would have been taken out of the field and sent back home for violating protocol so blatantly
- Some were wondering what the point of the horseplay scene in the barracks was about; it was very Hollywood and added nothing to the movie
- As we wrapped up the discussion, one of our members mentioned that the question as to what constitutes a good movie is “Are any of us going to remember this movie a year from now?”Most felt they wouldn't.
Final Rating: 6.6/10
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