Kuwaiti Katayef

Well these are my absolute favourites and if anything is going to get me fat over Ramadan, it’s these- cheese filled pancakes served with a sugary syrup…………….dream on.

  

3 cups of flour

½ cup of cream of wheat

½ tsp instant yeast

1 and half to 2 cups warm water

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

Dash of baking soda

Read more: http://middleeasterncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/katayef_recipe#ixzz0OrlHeQFr

 

Inside, I usually put cream cheese, but some people put cream and others walnuts.

1. In blender, add water, cream of wheat, instant yeast and sugar. Blend.
2. Slowly add flour and blend. Add baking powder and baking soda. Blend well. Cover and let rise until small bubbles form on the surface.
3. Heat griddle on high heat. Blend mixture one more time before you cook on griddle. Pour mix onto griddle into medium circles.
4. Once the cake is golden brown on the bottom, remove from griddle – do not flip over.
5. Let cool on rack.
6. Take medium katayef pancake, place one tbsp of stuffing of walnut or cheese stuffing.
7. Fold over katayef, pressing the edges of the dough together in a pirogue shape.

Read more: http://middleeasterncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/katayef_recipe#ixzz0Orlp51JH

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line the katayef in a baking tray. Brush each one with cooking oil.

Place in oven for 10 to 15 minutes, then flip over to brown other side for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove and let cool.

Read more: http://middleeasterncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/katayef_recipe#ixzz0OrlybeH8

Or you can fry them ( hint, VERY unhealthy!)…..

Then dip them in a sugary syrup and eat while hot.

Chicken paprika

Might try this tomorrow night.

2 chicken breasts, halved
4 second joints or thighs
4 drum sticks
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. turmeric
Paprika
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. scallions, sliced
1 c. chicken broth (13 3/4 oz.)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. plain yogurt

 

Remove skin from chicken parts, rinse and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and turmeric. Sprinkle generously with paprika. Heat butter in large pan until it foams. Add chicken, 1/2 at a time, and brown on both sides. Remove pieces from pan as they brown.Pour all butter from pan. Add scallions. Saute 1-2 minutes. Return chicken to pan. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove lid. Continue to simmer until broth is reduced by half.

Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons broth. Remove chicken from pan. Keep warm. Stir cornstarch into broth, cook stirring until thick and clear. Stir in yogurt. Serve sauce with chicken. Serve over cooked rice.

Baked figs and goats cheese

A good dish to start with?

Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Unless the baking sheet is non stick, line it with foil, then brush the foil lightly with oil.

Cut the figs into quarters, from the top almost to the base, and arrange on the foil. Slice the goat’s cheese and arrange in the centre of the figs. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and tinged brown.

Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients with some seasoning. Put a couple of good radicchio leaves on each serving plate. Remove the figs from the oven and place on the radicchio leaves. Scatter the walnuts on top. Drizzle with the dressing and serve warm or at room temperature.

6 figs

200g soft goat’s cheese

1 head radicchio

85g walnut pieces

FOR THE DRESSING

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

And that’s why we hate the French

A great parody by Rowan Atkinson from the 1980s explains why the British ( and how everyone else should ) hate the French- and here’s another reason why………….what if someone was suffering from a pigment disorder and couldn’t have any sun on their skin at all? The French wouldn’t allow them to swim? or if someone was scarred from head to toe in burns? Their embarassment wouldn’t count for anything?

A Muslim woman who tried to go swimming in a head-to-toe “burquini” has been banned from her local pool in the latest tussle between religious practices and secular authority in France.
Officials on Wednesday insisted they banned the woman’s use of the Islam-friendly swimsuit because of France’s unusually strict hygiene standards in pools – not because of official hostility to wearing overtly Muslim garb.
Under the policy, swimmers are prevented from wearing any street-compatible or baggy clothing, such as Bermuda shorts, in favour of figure-hugging suits.
The woman, a 35-year-old convert to Islam identified only as Carole, complained of religious discrimination after trying to go swimming in her burquini in the Paris suburb of Emerainville.
She was quoted as telling the daily Le Parisien newspaper that she had bought the burquini after deciding “it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing too much of myself, as Islam recommends.”

“For me this is nothing but segregation,” she added.

Link- top 10 misconceptions about Islam

This is a great post. A really must read- for Muslims and non Muslims alike.

http://listverse.com/2009/07/10/top-10-misconceptions-about-islam/#comment-189402