Shakshouka | Eggs in spicy Tomato Sauce

Habits are quite situational! I hate waking up early mornings although I know that's the best part of the day and would love to inculcate the habit of waking up early. Having said that, do not mistake me to be a person who wakes up at 9 am! I am up before 7!Ain't that good enough :P However, I surprise myself on trips, I become an early riser. I love those early morning walks and that peace it gives! The part of Dubai I stay in has a serious dearth of such good and peaceful places for a morning walk which makes me think would the presence of such a place in the neighborhood make me an early riser (**thinking**)

The next best thing that could happen in the morning is an amazing breakfast. Eggs form an integral component of the breakfast table. When you can have a wholesome egg dish with just a slice of bread to wipe away the final gravy - yumm! Mornings are made!

That is Shakshouka to me - it makes an amazing dinner too! Its a dish popular in the Middle east and African region - debate is still on for the country of origin.
Here is the recipe -

Ingredients

1. Eggs - 3
2. Onions ( purple or white) - 1 large finely chopped
3. Garlic - 2 tbsp finely chopped
4. Tomato - 4 large
5. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
6. Chilly powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
7. Pickled jalapeno - 1 to 2 tbsp chopped ( optional)
8. Capsicum - 1/4 cup chopped
9. Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp
10. Coriander leaf - 1/4 cup chopped loosely packed
11. Bread crumbs - 2 tbsp ( optional)
12. Salt to taste
13. Olive oil

Method

• Roughly chop the tomatoes and blend them.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the chopped onions and garlic. Cook until it wilts.
• Add cumin powder and chilly powder. Cook them well.
• Add the tomato puree along with salt. Cook it covered until the tomato is well cooked and begins to reduce slightly. This may take about 10 minutes on low flame.
• Pour in tomato sauce and add the capsicum and jalapeno. Cook for another minute or two before adding the chopped coriander leaf, save some for garnish.
• Break open eggs into bowls and slowly drop them into the tomato sauce spacing them well.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs over this and cook it covered till a white layer forms over the egg yolk. The egg yolk needs to remain slightly runny.
• Garnish with corriander leaf.
• Serve immediately with toasted bread!

You may also note - 

• In case you do not intend to serve immediately. Make only the gravy and add the eggs just 5 minutes before serving.
• The egg tends to cook and harden in the heat if left for too long before serving

Koshari - a popular dish from Egypt

With the MENA cooking club giving a free reign to cook something traditional to any of the MENA countries, the ball was completely in our court this month! I kept mulling on it for a few days and then my husband decided to ask one of his Egyptian friend from office - he gave us a list of popular items that included Kousa mahshi, Cabbage mahshi, Koshari and Hamam Mahshi which were popular during Ramadan. The same friend had once suggested a restaurant to try out the Egyptian cuisine. We had feasted on Koshari, Fattayer and kebabs that day. So when this came about, we only thought it was fitting to try out Koshari - an Egyptian dish; as traditional as it can get!

Koshari is a popular Egyptian folk food and a look at the dish will definitely reveal the way it has come. Koshari comprises of lentils, rice, pasta, chickpea, crispy fried onions and a tomato based sauce. The influence of rice and lentils is believed to be from Indian cuisine. The pasta and the sauce reflect Italian influence as well.It was a popular food cart dish before it made its way into the restaurants. The dish is usually vegetarian but sometimes comes topped with chicken. This dish although comprises of various components is easy to make and assembled only while serving.

Here we go -

Ingredients

1. Brown lentils - 1/2 cup
2. Basmati rice - 1 cup
3. Macaroni - 1 cup ( you could use any type of pasta)
4. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
6. Chickpea - 1 cup boiled
7. Onions - 2 thinly sliced
8. Vegetable oil
9. Salt to taste

For the sauce

1. Garlic - 1 tbsp chopped
2. Tomato sauce - 1 cup
3. Onions - 2 tbsp fried
4. Vinegar - 1 tsp
5. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
6. Sugar - 1/2 tsp
7. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Paprika - 1/2 tsp

Method

• Soak the lentils in water for 2 hours and the rice for about 1/2 an hour. Rinse and clean until water runs clean.
• Take oil in a pan and once hot, add the finely sliced onions. Fry them until brown and crisp. Set aside on kitchen towel to drain excess oil.
•  Into the same pan add the cinnamon and cumin powder. Add the rice along with lentils and let the rice crackle. Pour in 3 cups of hot water to this, add salt and let the rice cook covered.
• Cook the pasta separately until al-dente. Take off heat, drain the hot water and run it through cold water. Sprinkle salt , 1 tsp of oil and give it a good mix.
• For the sauce: Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic. Cook until the raw smell disappears. Add the onions, cumin powder, pepper powder and paprika, Stir for a minute before adding the tomato sauce along with vinegar. Finally add the sugar and bring it to a boil before turning it off.
• Serving - Layer the bottom of the plate with the rice and lentil mix. Top that with pasta. Drizzle the sauce over this. Top it with chickpea and finally the fried onions goes on top. End it with a cup of hot black tea!

You may also note - 

• Make sure not to overcook the rice. Once the rice is done, transfer to an open plate and fluff using a fork help it release the heat, making sure that the heat does not cook it further,
• Coat the onions with a 1/2 a tsp of corn flour to help it get real crisp.

An InLinkz Link-up

Zaatar Manakish - Middle eastern flat bread

The fun part of staying in a place like Dubai is the possible avenues for trying out different cuisines and if you have a foodie in you the rest is history. I had a hidden foodie in me and marriage brought out the foodie. The reason being - I got married to a person who loves food, eats anything on his plate, who never wastes food and if he does trust me the food is beyond edible. Name any food program on television and he has watched it and if not, he will make sure he watches it . That got me addicted as well  - Food Network is the most popular channel at our place now:) So let us just say we bonded over food and food shows!!

Shibin used to get these flat breads for breakfast from Spinneys - sometimes with zaatar topping, sometimes with cheese or else a combination of both. It is only recently I learnt the name and I had the desire to make it myself. On the first try I got it a little crispier and the second time round I managed to get the texture right. 

I have used zaatar as the topping - you could replace this with cheese, meat or as your creativity clicks. Here is the recipe - 

Ingredients

1. All Purpose Flour - 2 and 1/2 cup
2. Olive oil
3. Dry Yeast - 1 tsp
4. Warm water - 3/4 cup
5. Sugar - 1 tsp
6. Olive oil - 1/4  cup + more for greasing
7. salt to taste

For the topping -

1. Zaatar - 6 tbsp ( a spice and herb blend from the middle east)
2. Olive oil - 12 tbsp

Method

• Soak the yeast in half a cup of luke warm water along with sugar till it is frothy.
• Take a bowl with the flour and add salt to this. Pour in the soaked dry yeast and knead the dough. Incorporate olive oil to further combine the dough till it becomes elastic. Knead for about 5 minutes.
• Place the dough covered with cling film in bowl smeared with oil for an hour. Let it rise.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degree centigrade.
• After an hour, make 6 smaller balls out of the dough.
• Flatten out using a roller and dust more flour to prevent this from sticking to your roller.
• Brush the surface with olive oil and transfer to a baking pan.
• Meanwhile, combine the zaatar and olive oil to form a paste.
• Apply this onto the rolled out dough evenly.
• Bake it for 6-7 minutes at 180 degree centigrade or until the bottom just begins to brown

You may also note -

1. Baking for about 7 minutes makes it soft and fluffy, if you need it crisp you could bake it for 9 minutes.
2. For those who are curious about what zaatar is - it is a spice blend of thyme, toasted sesame seeds, ground sumac and salt.