Me'ikeh - Speciality of Maghdouche - Salt kjeks fra Maghdouche

I have never eaten "Me'ikeh" or "M3ikeh" outside Maghdouche. Correct me if I am wrong, but for me, it is a Maghdouche speciality by default. "Me'ikeh" as a snack has the exotic smell of "El Wa3r" and the taste of "Nab3et el7ommar" (These are local area names).

Ingredients:

1 kilo wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup roasted sesame seeds
½ cup wild pine seeds “7abb ereish” (optional)
2 cups fresh thymes (Zaatar) washed and chopped (out of season I use dried Zaatar flowers)
2 cups vegetable oil
2 – 4 glasses water

Oppskriften på norsk:

1 kg. hvetemel

1 ts. bakepulver

1/2 ts. salt

1 kopp ristede sesamfrø

1/2 kopp furufrø ( ut og plukk, for de norske frøene smaker vidunderlig godt)

2 kopper frisk timian eller tørket med blomster

2 kopper god olje

2- 4 glass vann (deigen skal være tørr, men henge sammen)

Preparation:
1) Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sesame seeds, wild pine seeds and timian
2) Add oil

3) With both your hands, crumble the mixture and oil until the oil is absorbed equally
4) Add half of the water and mix
5) Add the rest of the water little by little and stop when nothing of the flour is left in the bowl

6) Divide dough into handful pieces
7) Shape each piece into a ball and let rest for 15 minutes
8) Roll each ball to a flat round
9) Place onto oven trays and bake ,approx. 175 degree, until the rounds get a golden colour (I love them well roasted)
10) Serve when cold

Mabroomeh - Mabroumeh

It has been 15 years, I haven't had "Mabroomeh". People of Maghdouche prepare it once a year at the week preceding the catholic fast (last week), and it never happens that I am there... and for somebody born and raised in Maghdouche, this is a big deprivation.

These "modern days", the filling varies from sweetened cheese to pistachio, almond, cashew nuts, pine seeds... etc. etc... but originally, "Mabroumeh" is filled with minced walnuts, sugar, orange blossom water and rose water. The mixture is laid on a vermicelli dough and then rolled in a kind of giant cigars, baked in trays and watered with cold sugar sirop "atr" immediately after being out of the oven. Yummm !

Khibz Kmej - Pita Bread - Pita brød

Pita bread is served at just about every meal in Lebanon. It can be used for dipping, or to make delicious sandwiches.
Pita brød serveres til nesten alle måltider i Libanon. Man dypper det i supper eller sauser og man bruker det til smørbrød.

Ingredients for 6 breads:
6-7 dl of flour
2 1/2 dl water
30 gram of yeast (use 50gr. if you want to double the ingredients)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Oppskrift til 6 brød
6- 7 dl. hvetemel

2 1/2 dl. lunkent vann
30 gr. gjær (50 gr. hvis du dobbler oppskriften)
1 1/2 ts salt

1 ts sukker

2 ss olje

Preparations:

Mix all ingredients together.Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or use a Kenwood mixing machine. When the dough is no longer stick and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.
Bland alt sammen, spar litt på melet, deigen skal være jevn og smidig, ikke tørr.

Allow to sit in a warm place for about 1 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
La den heve minst 1 time.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 6 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 275- 300 degree.
Del deigen i 6 og trill dem til boller, legg bollene på et linhånkle eller frottehåndlke.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick. Bake each circle for 3-4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2-3 minutes. Remove each pita from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.
Dryss litt mel på bollene og kjevle de forsiktig ut til 1/4 cm. tykke, la dem etterheve på håndkle i 45 minutter.

Vipp brødene forsiktig over på stekeplate (husk bakepapir på plata), dryss over et tynt lag mel.

Stekes midt i ovnen på 275- 300 grader i 3-4 minutter, deretter vend dem forsiktig og stek videre i 2- 3 minutter. Tro det eller ei hvis du kjevler tynt nok og har varm nok ove så vil de blåse seg opp og bli hule invendig.

Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a bread box, and up to a month in the freezer.

Pita brød kan du lagre i brødboksen intil en uke, og intil en måned i fryseren.

Koussa bi Tahineh - Squash in Tahineh

(Squash is also known for zucchini or courgette)

Ingredients:
2 big norwegian squashes (6 to 8 lebanese small squashes)

1 large clove garlic
1⁄4 cup tahineh (sesame paste or sesame cream)
1⁄4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp. salt
3 tbsp. olive oil
few minth leaves for decoration or 1 tbsp. chopped parsley

Preparation:
Boil the squashes in water until they are done.
Remove squashes from water and allow to cool enough to handle.
When they have cooled sufficiently, remove the stems and slice them (if you are using the big squash) let them drain for 10 minutes more.

Place the garlic and the salt in a food processor and process until the garlic is thin.

Add the squash and process.

Add tahineh and lemon juice and process until mixture thickens.
Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Serve in a plate, garnished with fresh minth leaves or shopped parsley in the middle.
Pour olive oil arround the minth.

Laban Wou Khyar - Cucumber in Yoghurt - Agurk i yoghurt

Ingredients/ du trenger:
4 peeled lebanese cucumbers (or 1 big norwegian cucumber)
1 stor slangeagurk
2 glasses plain yogurt - 2 glass yoghurt naturell eller kesam
1 teaspoons salt - 1 teskjed salt
1 tablespoon dried mint - 1 spiseskje tørket mynte
1 clove garlic - 1 hvitløk kløft

Preparation/ Slik gjør du
Crush garlic and mash together with salt. Knus hvitløken og bland i salt

Quarter cucumbers lengthwise and then chopp into thin slices (as shown in the photo).

Del agurken i fire på langs og skjer skiver ( se foto)

Add yogurt and mint on top of the garlic and cucumbers.
Stir well.

Tilsett yoghurt, strø over mynte, bland det hele godt
You can serve in one big bowl or 4 small bowls.

Server i posjonsskåler eller i en stor bolle
Add fresh mint as a garnish to the top.

Legg på noen blader av frisk mynte på toppen, hvis du har.

White Coffee or do you prefer the black.....?

A blog about Maghdouche without a white coffee recipe??? that is not possible.

Like it or hate it, but once you visit Maghdouche you have to try it.

White coffee ingredients:
5 cups of water
1 cup orange flower water (mazaher)
3 teaspoons sugar

Preparation:

1.Boil the water (in the rakweh)

2. Add the orange flower water and the sugar and boil

3. Keep boiling for 2 minutes
Serve instead of a black coffee in the evening as it is recommended as a relaxing bedtime drink

På norsk:

5 små kopper vann (mokka)

1 kopp appelsinblomst vann (fåes kanskje i de tyrkiske dalgigvare butikkene)

3 ts. sukker

Hvordan lager du "Hvit kaffe"?

Kok vannet

Tilsett appelsinblomstvannet og sukkeret, kok opp

Kokes i 2 minutter

Server "Hvit kaffe" om kvelden istedenfor vanlig sort kaffe, "Hvit kaffe" er anbefalt som en avslappende drikk om kvelden

Appelsinblomstvann: Hver vår plukker innbyggerne i Maghdouche appelsinblomster fra trærne. Disse blomstene kommer ikke fra spiseappelsin treet. Blomstene blir dampet slik vi lager saft i dampkjele, og ut kommer appelsinblomstvannet.

Fattouche - Brødsalat

1 hvit loff skjert i skiver og tørket eller i brødrister
1/4 salathode, finrevet
1-2 agurker, skrelt og skjært i små biter
2-3 middels store tomater skjært i små biter

1/2 løk, fin skjæres
1/2 kopp finsnittet persille
1/4 kopp finsnittet mynte eller en ss tørket mynte
1/2 kopp presset sitronsaft eller 1 ss sumak ( kan fåes i tyrkiske mat butikker)
1/2 kopp oliven olje
Salt & pepper
1 grønn paprika, skjært i små biter

Bryt det tørkede brødet i mindre biter. Riv salat i små stykker i en salatbolle. Tilsett de finskjærte grønnsakene og mynten, tilsett salt, pepper, sitron saft og olje, bland godt, til slutt has i det tørkede brødet og bland godt. Nok til 4- 6 personer
God apetitt