Top 5 Reasons to Try Middle Eastern Food

People can sometimes be anxious about trying a new food, like Middle Eastern cuisine. It's different, has ingredients that may be very different from the norm. Some ingredients you may have never heard of!

There are many benefits to eating Middle Eastern food. You just have to take the leap, open your mouth and your sense, and taste your way through tradition and history to what is called Middle Eastern cuisine.

1. Middle Eastern Food is Healthy!

You won't find a lot of fat like butter and lard in Middle Eastern cooking or food preparation. Many recipes use only olive oil, and in very small quantities. Very few dishes are fried, also. You will find many foods are grilled and baked.

3. Eating a New Food Starts Your Journey to Learn More.2. Middle Eastern Food is a Vegetarian's Paradise.

Middle Eastern food is a natural choice for vegetarians. Veggie only kebobs, appetizers likehummus and baba ghannouj, and meatless soups and stews give vegetarians so many options. Middle eastern salads are filling and served with many types of veggies and spices.

In college, I had a friend who had never eaten any type of ethnic cuisine. I took him to a Middle Eastern restaurant and although he was wary of trying something new, he did and loved it. Today, my friend speaks enough Arabic to carry on a conversation and has visited the Middle East three times. All because of a little kibbeh...

4. A New Food Can Bring Your Family Closer Together.

Don't believe me? Try it. So much can be said and learned over a 45 minute meal. Learning about a new culture can be such a family building exercise. Each week, one of my children cooks a meal from another country. Under my supervision, they chop vegetables, set the table and serve the meal. This time allows me, as a father, to interact with my children productively.

5. Cooking Middle Eastern Food Requires Very Little Skill.

You don't need a degree from the Cordon Bleu to cook up some kebabs or tabouleh. Middle Eastern cooking is about improvisation, using whatever cooking skills you have. Veggies and meats don't have to be perfectly sliced or served a certain way. It's all about what you know how to do!

By Saad Fayed, About.com Guide

What is Baba Ghanoush?

Baba ghanoush is a Levantine dish of eggplant (aubergine) mashed and mixed with virgin olive oil and various seasonings. The Arabic term means "father of coquetry", which has been interpreted to suggest that it was invented by a member of a harem, although "ghanoush" may be a personal name.^[2]

A popular preparation method is for the eggplant to be baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a smoky taste.^[3] Often, it is eaten as a dip with khubz or pita bread, and is sometimes added to other dishes. It is usually of an earthy light-brown color. It is popular in the Levant (area covering Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Kurdistan, Egypt, and Israel).^[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_ghanoush

What is filet mignon?

Filet mignon is an expensive tender cut of beef

Answer: Filet mignon is considered the king of steaks because of its tender, melt in the mouth texture. A prime filet mignon can literally be cut with a fork. This beef cut can be quite expensive when dining out, but much more reasonable to make at home, especially if you purchase a whole tenderloin.

Filet mignon is French, of course, with filet meaning "thick slice" and mignon meaning "dainty." It first appears in American print in 1899. Filet mignon comes from the small end of the tenderloin (called the short loin) which is found on the back rib cage of the animal. This area of the animal is not weight-bearing, thus the connective tissue is not toughened by exercise resulting in extremely tender meat.

The tenderloin term (also erroneously called chateaubriand) applies to the entire strip of tenderloin meat, whereas slices of the tenderloin are termed filet mignon. Filet mignon slices found in the market are generally 1 to 2 inches thick and 2 to 3 inches in diameter, but true mignons are no more than 1 inch in diameter and are taken from the tail end. Although this cut is very tender, the beef flavor is proportionately lessened. As such, it is often served with an accompanying sauce incorporating the pan juices.

Kefta

In the Middle East, kefta is a food which is made by grinding meat and mixing it with an assortment of spices. The resulting seasoned meat can be shaped into meatballs or cylinders of meat which can be cooked in a wide variety of ways. Variations on kefta are common street foods in the Middle East, and they may also be served as appetizers or as a more central part of a meal. It is easy to make kefta at home, and many cooks enjoy making this simple dish at home since it allows them to adjust the spices as desired.
Beef and lamb are two common choices of meat for kefta, since cheap cuts of these meats can be readily obtained. Lean meat is preferred so that the kefta do not become too oily. Spices such as garlic, onions, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, and harissa may be added to kefta to make them savory, spicy, or even slightly sweet, depending on the region and the taste of the cook. Some cooks also make their kefta lighter by blending the meat with rice, vegetables, or bulgur wheat.

Once the meat mixture is made, it can be formed as desired and grilled, roasted, baked, broiled, boiled, fried, steamed, or poached. The cooked kefta are served with a wide variety of sauces ranging from cool yogurt and cucumber sauce to spicy sauces which are intended to burn a fiery trail into the consumer's stomach. Sides such as breads and vegetables often accompany kefta, which may be molded on sticks so that they can be eaten easily, or wrapped into various breads to make sandwiches.
There are a number of alternate names for kefta, including kofta, kufta, kafteh, keftes, cuftah, and kyuftah. This common Middle Eastern food can be found from Greece to India, as far south as Morocco and up through Eastern European countries like Romania. Ingredients beyond beef and lamb can be found as well, including seafood, eggs, goat, and vegetables like cabbage. As a street food, kefta tends to be generally dry with mild sauce, while restaurants may serve platters of kefta in a rich, liquid sauces which need to be sopped up with bread of rice.

Making kefta at home is very easy. Ground meats can be found at many markets and butchers, as can Middle Eastern spice mixes. Small kefta make great appetizers for Middle Eastern themed meals, and you can also make larger varieties to use as entrees, perhaps wrapped in a Middle Eastern bread or served on rice or lentils.

What is Tagine?

Tagine is a North African dish that is prepared in a special cooking pot, also known by the same name. These dishes are incredibly diverse, as one might imagine since they are consumed all over North Africa, and they are often on offer at North African restaurants abroad. Tagine can also be made at home; acquiring a cooking pot for the purpose of making the dish is highly recommended, as tagines are specifically designed for the cooking of this famous and beloved food.
The cooking pot known as a tagine comes in two pieces of thick stoneware. The bottom piece is essentially a large, flat-bottomed bowl. The top piece is domed or fluted, and it is designed to nest inside the bottom piece, creating a seal. Together, the two pieces make a sort of clay oven that would have traditionally been placed into an open fire for cooking. Modern cooks generally prepare their tagine in the oven, and in some cases on the stovetop.
The design of the pot is intended to concentrate moisture in the dish, as well as promoting a very high temperature inside. The retention of moisture ensures that the resulting meal does not dry out, because the ingredients are essentially steamed. The high temperatures help to caramelize the ingredients and the liquids they cook in, concentrating the flavor and creating a very rich final product.

History Of ‘Kebabs’ or ‘Shawarma’

A LITTLE HISTORY OF KEBABS    

In the Middle East, ‘DONER KEBABS’ is referred to by its Arabic name, ‘SHAWARMA’, and has become relatively common in major cities, especially the Middle East. Now it has is known worldwide even in an island called “SINGAPORE”…delicious mouth watering “KEBABS”
Shawarma is usually beef (never minced) or chicken, and, extremely rarely, lamb (rather expensive in this country).
Typically, along with the meat, a salad consisting of chopped lettuce, cabbage, onions, cucumber, and tomatoes is offered, as well as a choice of sauces. The filling is served in thick flatbread that is usually toasted or warmed. There are different variations on the Döner Kebab.”
Or
It is wrapped in a smallish pita , rolled up, and smothered in an oil-based garlic sauce and a hot chilli sauce, together with chopped lettuce, onions and tomato. Recipes vary wildly, well marinade in spices. Shawarma can also be served with rice. The best shawarma is in the Middle East mainly where it is originated.
The packaging of the Döner itself in Singapore is typically a wax paper sleeve with an image of a male cook sharpening a knife in front of a large spit.