Egyptian "Ful Medames" & Baba Ganoush

Have you ever been to Egypt? If the answer is NO, then you will know one of its most popular dishes in it, and if the answer is YES, that means you know the most popular breakfast for sure, which is "Ful & Falafel", it's known for its delicious taste and nutritional value, today you will know how to make it, Egyptian "Ful" or beans has many ways to be done with, but I'm going to show you the simplest one because it's the best with "Baba Ganoush". Egyptian beans is a legume which is cooked for a long time in a special beans pot which is wide in the bottom and so narrow in the top of it, and that's because when the beans are uncovered to the air it becomes black and dry and not well cooked, so that special pot minimize the amount of beans on top.

 In addition to beans, I will talk about Baba Ghanoush which is also a famous Egyptian dish, it's usually been eaten with Egyptian beans or Egyptian roasted fish "Samak Mashwy" and grilled meat in general, or as an appetizer at lunch or dinner, the main ingredient in Baba Ganoush is roasted eggplant, and it's really appetizing.

Recipe Tips:

1 - You must not use a blender or food processor to mix Baba Ganoush ingredients, It causes changes in the taste of Baba ghanoush and get the water out of the eggplant, while using the mortar and pestle gives it a really good taste and texture.

2 - Instead of using canned beans, you can cook your own at home if you have the special pot, beans are cooked over night with the same amount of water on low heat, and if it needs water only hot water could be added to not get dried, you can also add a tomato, garlic, and 1 tbsp of lentil to enhance flavor and also because tomato helps to cook beans well.

Recommendation: This dish is wonderful with boiled eggs.

Serves: 2 people

Prep. time: 3 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 can Egyptian beans (Americana or California Garden) 

3 medium to small eggplants or 1 big eggplant

3 tbsp Tahini

3 garlic cloves, minced.

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tbsp vinegar

Salt, pepper to taste

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tomato, sliced

1 boiled egg

 Directions:

1- Heat the oven 250C.

2-Place the eggplants in a backing tray and put in into the oven for  40 minutes.

3- Make sure the eggplant is done by putting a knife into it and feel its tenderness (like a paste), then take it out of the oven.

4- While roasting eggplant, strain the beans and place it in a pan on meduim heat, add the water and mash 2 third of the beans.

 5- Add salt and pepper, and when boil add olive oil and turn off the heat.

6- Mash the eggplant with mortar and pestle and place it in a smal bowl, then place the garlic in the mortar and mash it with salt, pepper, and cumin.

7- Place the eggplant again in the mortar mix it with garlic then back in the bowl and using a fork mix it with the vinegar and Tahini, then prepare the serving dish like so.

8- Place Baba Ganoush in the meddle.

9- Place Ful around and sprinkle with the vegetable oil, remove the mold and garnish with tomato and boiled egg, Serve with Egyptian bread and... Bon Apetit :)

Heart Shaped Pancakes (Romantic Dessert)

This recipe is my favorite for breakfast or dessert, also it's so suitable for romantic dinners or special occasions. A pancake is a thin, flat cake prepared from a batter and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side. Depending on the region, pancakes may be served at any time, with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, chocolate chips, fruit, syrup or even meat.

English pancakes have three key ingredients: plain flour, eggs, and milk. The batter is runny and forms a thin layer on the bottom of the frying pan when the pan is tilted. It may form some bubbles during cooking, which results in a pale pancake with dark spots where the bubbles were, but the pancake does not rise. English pancakes are similar to French crêpes. American  pancakes (sometimes called hotcakes) are pancakes which contain a raising agent such as baking powder; proportions of eggs, flour, and milk or buttermilk create a thick batter. In India the Pooda (sometimes called Cheela) is a pancake. They can be made either sweet or salty and are of different thicknesses in different places. In South Africa pancakes refer to crepes, they are traditionally prepared by the Afrikaans community on gas stoves, and called a pannekoek in Afrikaans, eaten on wet and cold days. Pannekoeke are served with cinnamon-flavored sugar (and sometimes lemon juice), the sugar may be left to dissolve onto the pancake, if eaten immediately the pancake is crispy. In Kenya pancakes are eaten for breakfast as an alternative to bread. They are served plain with the sugar already added to the batter to sweeten them.

Recipe tips:

1- It's better to use a whisk to mix ingredients, it helps mixing the flour will with milk, you can also use food processor.

2- You can add vanilla as you like, I just find it better without it so I didn't add it.

3- I used heart mold, you can make pancakes without it.

4- When placing the batter inside the mold make sure you add half of it so it doen't go out of it.

5- If the batter leak outsite the mold it's OK you can remove it after cooked on one side.

6- It's better to use nonstick molds, or else you can grese them with butter.

*How can I make heart shaped pancakes without a mold?!

- If you don't have these molds you can cut it heart shape after cooking:

1- Draw a heart on a parchment paper.

2- Cut the paper with scissors .

3- Put it on the cooked pancakes and cut them :)

Makes: 5 pancakes

Prep. time:   3 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Fettuccine with Sausage & Olives

This recipe is one of the easiest and quickest home made recipes, it doesn't take more than 15 to 18 minutes to be done, as you all know I'm a pasta addict, so hope you all enjoy my pasta dishes specially this one.

Preparing time: 3 minutes.

Cooking time: 15 minutes.

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

200 gm fettuccine 

2 1/2 cup water

4 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup sausage slices

3/4 cup olive pickle slices

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded "Kraft" cheddar

4 tbsp olive oil
1 cucumber cut into slices.

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1- Place sausage slices with 2 tbsp olive oil onto a pan on high heat, stir-fry for 3 minutes.

2-Add the chopped tomato and stir for 2 minutes.

3- Remove sausage from the pan and place 2 tbsp olive oil and pasta in the same pan on medium high heat and stir, then add water and tomato paste and stir to mix them well till boil, then add salt & pepper and cover on low heat for 7 minutes.

4- After 7 minutes Uncover the pasta and change the heat to medium and add sausage and stir for 1 minute (you can add a bit of water if needed).

5-Add olive and mix then turn off the heat.

6- Serve with shredded Kraft cheddar and cucumber, and Bon Appetit :)