Arabic Food Made Easy

Fattoush [Arabic Salad]

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Arabic Food Made Easy, Posts, Recipes, Salads

 

 

Fattoush has become my Tayta’s favorite salad in recent days. I don’t blame her. It’s a pretty simple salad with tons of flavor. At my parent’s house, we’d usually have Fattoush everyday in Ramadan preceded by lentil soup. I could seriously make a meal out of Fattoush. They two key ingredients: Garlic and Pita Bread. Yes, pita bread. They serve as Arabic-style croutons with much less fat.

The original recipe calls for frying up the pita bread. However, my mother, and Tayta both have been baking their pita bread for Fattoush since as long as I can remember. We’d only get the fried ones for a special treat, namely when my mom hosted her dinner parties.

Fattoush Recipe

Ingredients

1 Large Pita Bread, cut into 1-inch squares
3 Green Onions, chopped
Romaine Lettuce
1 large Tomato
1 Cucumber
Vinegar, to taste (I’d say a couple tablespoons, if not more)
4 cloves Garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon Sumac
1-2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Sea Salt, to taste
 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place pita bread pieces on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, until hardened.
Mix together the vegetables.
Then add the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and sumac.
Top the salad off with the pita bread.

 

Servings: 4

Nutrition Information: Cals 95. Carbs 11. Fat 5. Protein 2g. Sodium 108mg. Sugar 2g.

 

 

Chicken Shawirma

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Arabic Food Made Easy, Chicken, Posts, Recipes

Chcken-Shawirma

 

The best chicken shawirma I’ve ever had was in Amman, Jordan. Back when we used to spend our summer vacation abroad, my sister and I would make our way to our then favorite spot Al-Daya’a (I’m sure there are newer places that have set up shop). It was amazing – 4 or 5 years ago. Tender chicken, wrapped in warm pita bread stuffed with turnips and garlic sauce. The garlic sauce is something I won’t forget. But it wasn’t special to Al-Daya’a. Every shawirma and Kabob place had this magical sauce – a sauce that goes with all meat and perfect for dipping your fries. Well, I found a really easy way to create that same garlic sauce taste.

Chcken-Shawirma

All of a sudden, I was craving some chicken shawirma. And while Washington, DC is not short of shawirma shops like Shwarma King, Shawarma Spot, and DC Shawarma Food Truck, I wanted to make it at home and in enjoy it in the comfort of my warm home without having to battle city traffic.

Adapted from Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen

 

Print
Chicken Shawirma

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb -1.5lbs of thinly cut skinless boneless Chicken Breast
  • 1/4 cup of Lemon Juice
  • ¼ -1/2 teaspoon of crushed Thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Paprika
  • 2 tablespoons of Plain Nonfat Yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons of Vinegar
  • 4 crushed Garlic Cloves
  • 1 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon of Salt

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients together and marinate the chicken overnight in the fridge.
  2. Using a Panini grill, grill the marinated chicken for 15 minutes, or until done.
  3. Serve rolled in pita bread with pickled turnips and Garlic Sauce.
    4. Easy Garlic Sauce Recipe: Mix together 3 cloves Garlic, smashed, 1/2 cup Nonfat Plain Yogurt, and Sea Salt to taste.

Notes

Nutrition Information: (With ½ Large White Pita Bread) Cals 388. Carbs 24g. Fat 10g. Protein 50g. Sodium 754mg. Sugar 5g.

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Sabanekh w Roz [Spinach and Rice Stew]

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Arabic Food Made Easy, Posts, Recipes, Stews, Vegetables & Sides

Since I was a kid, I remember weeknight meals at our household consisting of a variation of stews with a side of white rice. Since my mom worked full time, it was easiest for her to just through together one of these super easy stews, simmer while she helped us with our homework, and end up with a delicious, healthy meals.

I never understood how kids don’t  like vegetables. For us, these stews consist of primarily vegetables and sometimes beef or lamb. Vegetables were delicious. It wasn’t until late elementary school that I realized I had been eating okra, green beans, peas, eggplant, zucchini and spinach and loving it. I can’t say the same for kids these days- they cringe at the thought of broccoli.

I had a couple packages of frozen spinach and stew meat that needed to be used up.

I’ve been having a serious issue with rice – it’s always either overcooked or undercooked. I’m not really sure what’s going on. I followed my grandmother’s recipe exactly. I guess I’ll just have to keep practicing.

 

 

 

Sabanekh w Roz [Spinach and Rice Stew]

Ingredients

3 10 oz. packages of Frozen Chopped Spinach
1 lb. cubed Beef Stew Meat
1 medium Onion, chopped
3 tbsp. Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Allspice
Lemon Juice, to taste
5 cups of water

 

For rice: 1 cup Jasmine Rice, 1 ½ cups Water 20-30 minutes.
 

Directions

Heat olive oil and sauté onion until brown.
Add the meat and brown.
Add water and spices to taste. I didn’t specify the spice measurements since I didn’t really measure them.
Boil until the meat is tender, then add the spinach.
Once it boils, add lemon juice and summer for 25 minutes.

 

For the rice:
Add 1 ½ cups water to 1 cup jasmine rice, once it boils, turn to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes.  [I suggest you start the rice as the spinach is simmering so that they’re done at about the same time].
 

 

Servings: 6

Nutrition Information [without rice]: Cals 181. Carbs 9g. Fat 4g. Protein 20g. Sodium 272mg. Sugar 2g.