# Lebanese Recipes



## Bangbang (Sep 16, 2004)

My wife is half lebanese and I cook many lebanese foods. I leraned from her family but then went off on my own. Again....I don't measure anything unless trying something the first time. This is a great dish from this site.  I added 2 cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon of cumin powder.

Don't be afraid to make some of the recipes on this site. It is the best lebabanese site I have found.


http://www.lebaneserecipes.f9.co.uk/Lebanese.htm

Moujadara Safra

Serves 2 - 3

1 cup red lentils (rinsed a few times) 
1/4 cup rice 
2 tbs cooking oil 
1 onion chopped 
1/4 tsp cumin powder 
3 1/2 cups water 
Salt & pepper 

 ** Important **

When using fresh vegetables and herbs, make sure they are washed thoroughly and drained.


Heat the oil in a deep pan. Fry the onion until soft and a little coloured. Add lentils and rice, salt, pepper, cumin & stir to coat with the oil. Then add the water, boil for a few minutes then lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stiring occasionally to stop it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Check and taste if the lentils are cooked, adjust seasoning to taste. If too liquidy, uncover and leave to cook for 10 more minutes stiring it a few times. Serve hot or cold


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## doctorfood (Sep 18, 2004)

*Lebanese food*

Got a good recipe for Kibbeh?


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## Bangbang (Sep 23, 2004)

Baked Kibbe


Filling #1

2 lbs round steak (or lamb), trimmed of fat and ground twice
1 cup bulgar wheat, medium grind
1/2 onion, grated
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Soak the bulgar wheat in water for 1/2 hour, drain well and add the meat. Mix very well. .


Filling #2

1/2 pound ground sirloin
1/2 cup grated onions
1/2 cup pignola nuts
dash cinnamon or allspice



In a frying pan, saute the beef with the onions. Salt and pepper to taste; add a dash of either cinnamon or allspice.

In a separate frying pan, saute the pignola nuts is a small amount of olive oil. When finished, combine the pignola nuts with the beef/onion and mix well.



Now, take a baking pan and make three layers of the above fillings. Make the bottom layer 1/4" to 1/2" thick using Filling #1. Then make a middle layer 1/4"-1/2" thick using Filling #2. Finally make a top layer 1/4" - 1/2" thick using Filling #1. 

Cut into 1" x 1" squares while still in the pan. Brush the top of the kibbe with butter (optional). Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. If you choose , you can brown the top at higher heat during the last 10 minutes of baking.

Note. My mother inlaw likes to add a small amount of cumin to the onion mixture.

The Lamb Mixture can be eatin raw with sliced oions,olive oil,and warm pita bread. We usually make a large amount of the raw mixture and use the rest in the baked kibbe recipe.


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## aruzinsky (Oct 1, 2004)

Thank you for the link.  I can't seem to find any sweet pastry or cookie recipes there.  Am I missing something?


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## Bangbang (Oct 5, 2004)

http://www.ummah.com/family/recipes.html

Just scroll down for the sweets.


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## aruzinsky (Oct 5, 2004)

Bangbang said:
			
		

> http://www.ummah.com/family/recipes.html
> 
> Just scroll down for the sweets.



Thank you Bangbang, but I was specifically looking for traditional Lebanese cookie and pastry recipies.  I already have a good collection from other Arab countries, but none from Lebanon.

Incidentally, I have a recipe for a "Man'as Sama," which, according to my cookbook, is the most popular confection of Baghdad.  The principal ingredient is called "Manna," an exudite on the leaves of tamarisk trees.  It is believed to be mentioned in the Bible. Do you or your wife know anything about this?  Maybe it is known by another name in other Arab countries?  I wish I could get some manna to try the recipe.


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## Darkstream (Oct 5, 2004)

Have you tried this link?

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/ashmn075.html


You can try writing to the middle east embassies in your country to see if it is available anywhere.


How about posting your links to other middle east recipe sites?


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## aruzinsky (Oct 6, 2004)

Darkstream said:
			
		

> Have you tried this link?
> 
> http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/ashmn075.html
> 
> ...


Thank you.  This excerpt appears to be it:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A report issued in 1927 by an expedition of entomologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem declares that Manna is not an exudation from the Tamarisk tree, as is popularly supposed, but an excretion from the bodies of the coccid insects themselves. Clear, syrup-like drops (the report states) come from the abdomen of the insects and fall to the ground, where they form grains of sugar, ranging from the size of a pinhead to that of a pea. The amount varies with the abundance or scarcity of the winter rains and the Bedouins assert that during a good season a man can collect nearly 3 1/2 lb. in a day. The expedition, which was led by Dr. Fritz Bodenheimer of the Zionist experimental agricultural station, observed Manna deposits throughout the long stretch of country which was covered by its journey. The report goes on to state that 'modern science, it seems, was equally ignorant of the true nature of manna till now, and it has been revealed by descendants of those wanderers in the wilderness.' 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I find it hard to believe that this would go into the most popular confection in Baghdad.  I think the book's author may have been playing a joke on Americans.  I better get the lowdown on this "Man'as Sama" confection first.  I only get one useless Google hit on this.


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## Bangbang (Oct 6, 2004)

Purchase one of these syrups and mix with some tahini. Dip flatbread in it and eat. Keep in mind that the "original recipes" were very simple. The best ones still are. Its when you come to the USA that people have more ingrdients to play with and alter recipes to their tastes. Its done over there too. There must be as many ways to make lentil soup as there are muslims in the world. Lebanon has a very strong influence coming from Syria regarding food.

http://www.shamra.com/food/foodsearch.asp?subcat=syrups & molasses


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## aruzinsky (Oct 7, 2004)

Good link for some things.  They have 12 brands of halvah.  Have you tried any of these brands?  I like Joyva brand which I buy locally at $3.99/lb.  My local Jewels had it in the cheese department because they thought it was cheese.


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## Darkstream (Oct 7, 2004)

Bangbang:

Are you saying that you flavour tahina with a sweet syrup for an appetiser?

Or is it used for beakfast, like thick yoghurt and honey/nuts on pitta?


It gave me another idea. Can you flavour humous with other juices than lemon? EG I was thinking of trying humous and say orange juice and zest with chopped/ground black olives.

Would that be traditional? Does your wife know?

But you are quite right about how western cultures debase foreign foods.


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## Darkstream (Oct 7, 2004)

Just found this:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?&act=ST&f=108&t=28480

You probably already know all this stuff Bangbang


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## Bangbang (Oct 8, 2004)

Darkstream said:
			
		

> Bangbang:
> 
> Are you saying that you flavour tahina with a sweet syrup for an appetiser?
> 
> ...



It can be eatin any time you like.


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## Bangbang (Oct 8, 2004)

aruzinsky said:
			
		

> Good link for some things.  They have 12 brands of halvah.  Have you tried any of these brands?  I like Joyva brand which I buy locally at $3.99/lb.  My local Jewels had it in the cheese department because they thought it was cheese.



I have never had Halva. I think I will try some today. See ya later. On my way to the Halva Store.


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