Pita / Flat Bread ( Whole wheat)

I confess...I am bread lover!! I think my passion and love for baking began with breads than desserts. I have always love bread of any kind or style and a home made one is even better so its not surprising that I love to make these pitas at home just because they are so tasty and so easy to bake...what more can I say!

So lets learn a little bit about Pita bread...as far as I know Pitta Bread is consumed in many Arab and countries and most countries that have the Arab influence such as Algeria, Morocco as well and the Balkan countries although they may differ a bit in preparations. It is also widely consume in Turkey as welll and as per Wikipedia the following are their findings  ;

The word has been borrowed by Turkish as pide,^[9] and appears in the Balkan languages as Serbo-Croatian pita, Romanian pită, Albanian pite, Bulgarian pitka. InArabic, the phrase "خبز البيتا" (pita bread) is sometimes used; other names are simply "خبز" 'bread', "الخبز العربي" 'Arab bread' and "خبز لبناني" 'Lebanese bread

Well there's nothing much to be stressed about this simple yet delicious bread I have it in my home almost every day its perfect for sandwiches, pita pockets , you can toast and make pita chips etc.

Recipe:

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tspn yeast

1 1/2 tspn salt

2 tspn sugar

1/1/4 cup warm water

2 Tbls olive oil

Method:

In a mixing bowl , place all the dry ingredients then add the water and olive oil and knead (dough attachment)  for about 5 mins. ( If you are not using a you can the same result, after the mixture is well combined, you will knead for about 5 mins)

After kneading place the dough in a bowl that has been rubbed with olive oil or any oil to allow the dough to rise without sticking in the bowl. Cover it and let it rise for about an hour or double the size

Once it has risen. punch it down and divide and cut into 6 to 8 portions depending on the size you like.

Shape into small balls and keep it in a tray cover it and let it rise for the second time

Heat the oven to 450F

Sprinke some flour on the flat surface and place one ball (dough) and roll into a medium size cirlce , with about 1/8cm thickness

Place the bread into a baking tray and bake it for about 5/6 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

If you have any left overs , put it in freezer bag tightly closed. 

Garlic Sauce /Thom ( Condiment)

What can I tell you about this unsung hero called Toum ( Arabic) means Garlic. Garlic sauce is one condiment that one cannot go without in any Lebanese meal. And YES you can eat it and kiss your partner !!. I have not found much information on how this beautiful sauce came about so I will just relay on my memories which sometimes fail me especially in desperate moments.

I was introduced to this sauce obviously during my stay in United Arab Emirates my then home away from home. Its practically served in almost everything and I had with Falafel ( Chick Peas & Fava Bean patty) I fell in love instantly. I never really bothered to learn how to make it because it was easily available in large super markets. 

I became crazy about this sauce when I had it with grilled fish from a small restaurant in Sharjah near the beach and ever since I would order the grilled fish on every chance I had. When I was pregnant with my first child, I think all I ate was the grilled fish, I would order from work on my way home almost everyday, am not sure it was the fish or the sauce that I was after.

As soon as I knew that I would be migrating to US , I started looking for the recipe, at one time I saw it was featured in one of the weekly magazines but I was put off as soon as I saw there was an egg white in the list of ingredients. I really had no idea who to ask except of this young man who was a colleague of mine whose father owned a restaurant, but everytime asked for recipe he would bring me a big container of the ready garlic sauce...:( 

During the first few months of my stay here in Texas I started to explore the market but it was all in vain so I turned to MR YOUTUBE and there I found few recipes but there was only one that really convinced me to give it a try ; this recipe is by Dedemed and the credit goes to her. She is very clear and explains so well. Having said that, this recipes is an adaption not a replica because I have changed the quantities to what works best for me and you can do the same.

Words cannot express how incredible and tasty this sauce is when used as dip and even more great when used for marinating any kind of meat, fish, chicken for a grill! 

This is a very simple recipe it requires PATIENCE that all!!

You can do a lesser amount, I make alot coz I use alot its as simple as that!

Lets get moving to make this garlic sauce did I mention that its very addictive especially with fries or potato wedges.

Ingredients:

Fresh Garlic - 2 cups

Conola Oil - 4 1/2 cups or ( more/less) depends how strong or light you want

Lemon Juice 3/4 Cup

Salt 1 1/2 tspn

Method:

Place the the fresh garlic in a food processor ( you could use a blender, if you have strong one) start with a table spoon of lemon juice alternating with the lemon juice slowy. Once you have finished with the 1st cup of oil you can increase the oil to about 2 tbls or so but keep the lemon juice same.

P.S - if you rush into this you will end up with a very thin runny sauce, what I normally do is add some more garlic to it and start all over again...hope you will not have to do that.

Umm Ali/Oum Ali ( Dessert)

Umm Ali ( Mother of Ali) is a heavenly Egyptian dessert made of pastries , particularly croissants, puff pastry or philo pastry and layered with varieties of nuts, soaked in milk and baked. Umm Ali is very much compared to the bread pudding , it has some similarities but to me the taste so much different. After I did the video I decided to research the story behind this beautiful dessert , I found a few versions and frankly very interesting and now I am not sure which one is better the story behind it or the dessert.

I have selected the most common which goes as follows:

"As the legend goes, Umm Ali was the first wife the sultan Ezz El Din Aybek, whose rule began in 1250.  When the sultan died it was expected that the throne would pass onto the first wife’s first son – Ali.  However, the second wife also wanted her son to be the sultan. So Umm Ali arranged to pave the way to the throne for her son, Ali in a rather unique way.  She bribed wife number two’s handmaids and got them to beat her to death with slippers while she was having a bath!

It is said that Umm Ali then made this dessert to celebrate her victory and her son, Ali’s ascension to the throne".

Now you may be wondering why the mother of Ali is not known by her actual name, in many Arab and African countries the women with children are addressed as UMM in Arabic and Mama in Kiswahili which means "Mother" along with the name of their first child irrespective of the gender. This is a form of respect and its also convenient for women (mothers) to be addressed in public even amongst their own family and friends. It's also easy when you are not sure how to address an acquaintance without offending them in any way. It is very very common in many families ; my father addresses me as "mama Alisha" and some of my friends prefer "Umm Alisha" which means the the same in two different languages.

During my stay in UAE and around the Middle East I had never tried Umm Ali, although it was served as dessert in each and every restaurant and almost every Arab home....you may wonder why!!! Because , when I was served Umm Ali the first time I asked what it was and the answer was "its just a bread pudding" and so I never bothered and I did not see why it was such a big deal!!! . Its not that I did not like bread pudding, its just that I preferred to try something more exotic , fancy or something totally new , unique etc.

My perception of Umm Ali changed when I visited Egypt. Being a guest , my host took the liberty of ordering everything on the menu for me to try the Egyptian fine cuisine and of course it goes without saying" Umm Ali" was very much there. I tried every dish and when I got to the dessert I almost hesitated because there was only one choice so I went ahead and tried it....Boy I was glad I did it!!

And you know I had to ask for recipe!!,( No..not from the restaurant)  For years I tried to prepare Umm Ali with various nuts and dried fruits and I have come up with my own combination that I enjoy and love. Do not be afraid to experiment and you can start with mine ;)

For this dessert, make sure the croissants are crunchy , it is advisable to use stale or a day old croissants which is very difficult for me ( every time I buy or bake they disappear the same day!) make sure they are toasted as well as the nuts to prevent them becoming too soft, you want them crunchy.

Make sure the heavy whipping cream is cold and the bowl and whisk are cold as well.If you are using vanilla extract, you can combine it with the hot milk 

Ingredients:

4 large Croissants ( preferably a day old)
2 1/4 Cups Milk
3 Tbls granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Heavy whipping cream ( 2/3 Tbl sugar optional)
2 Cups mixed chopped nuts
1/2 Cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes
1 tspn rose water, 1 tspn orange blossom water or vanilla
2/3 Tbls Powdered sugar


Method: 

Preheat oven to 350F

Toasted the Croissants for about 10 min ( if you are using fresh)

Bring the milk to a boil, add sugar and ( Vanilla ) . Stir to ensure sugar is completely dissolved.

Whip the heavy whipping cream to thick and fluffy ( like clouds) , do not over whip 


Layering

Cut 2 croissants into medium size pieces and place them in  a medium size baking dish or 9" round cake pan. Layer 1/2 the quantity of the mixed chopped nuts and coconut shreds if you are using them.

Add another layer of the croissants pieces and layer the rest of the nuts. Sprinkle some rose/orange blossom water .

Pour the milk over the croissants , make sure they are well soaked ( add more if you need to) 

Spread a thick layer of whipped cream, dust some powdered sugar

Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown.

Serve hot/warm add some chopped nuts if you wish or even better with Ice cream!