Part 26 (1/2)

Repeat with the remaining ball of dough and the other half of the filling.

For the yogurt sauce, beat the yogurt with the garlic.

To make the garnish, heat the b.u.t.ter, and when it sizzles, add the mint or chili flakes.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil (or use 2 pans so as not to crowd the manti) manti). Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the manti manti are tender, then drain. are tender, then drain.

Serve hot with yogurt poured over each serving and a dribble of melted b.u.t.ter and mint or chili flakes on top.

Variations Use chicken broth (page 143) instead of water, or add 2-3 bouillon cubes to the cooking water.

A fresh tomato sauce may be used as a topping instead of the melted b.u.t.ter and mint or chili flakes. Saute 1 chopped clove garlic very briefly in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, add 1 pound peeled and chopped tomatoes, salt, and a good pinch of chili flakes, and cook until the tomatoes have softened.

s.h.a.ghria bi Laban wa Sn.o.bar Vermicelli with Yogurt and Pine Nuts 1. Serves 4 * People used to make 1-inch-long vermicelli by rolling tiny pieces of dough between their fingers. Make it by breaking dry vermicelli in your hand. * People used to make 1-inch-long vermicelli by rolling tiny pieces of dough between their fingers. Make it by breaking dry vermicelli in your hand.

14 ounces dry vermicelli, broken with your hand into 1-inch pieces 2 chicken bouillon cubes Salt 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt, at room temperature 2 or 3 cloves garlic, crushed (optional) cup pine nuts 1 tablespoon vegetable oi Cook the vermicelli in plenty of boiling water with the crumbled bouillon cubes until just tender, then drain. You may not need to add salt to the water, because of the saltiness of the cubes.

For the sauce, mix the yogurt with the garlic and a little salt.

For the topping, fry the pine nuts in the oil, shaking the pan, until lightly colored all over.

Serve the vermicelli with the yogurt poured over and sprinkled with the pine nuts.

Variation Instead of the pine nuts, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil with 2 teaspoons paprika and dribble over the yogurt.

Madzounov Champra Porag Pasta and Meatb.a.l.l.s with Yogurt 1. Serves 6 * This Armenian specialty makes a hearty main dish. It has a pure and fresh quality and is an entirely different experience from eating an Italian or Asian pasta dish. * This Armenian specialty makes a hearty main dish. It has a pure and fresh quality and is an entirely different experience from eating an Italian or Asian pasta dish.

1 pound ground lamb or beef 1 medium onion, finely chopped or grated Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 chicken bouillon cube pound pasta sh.e.l.ls or other small pasta shapes 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 quart plain whole-milk yogurt TO GARNISH.

4 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 4-5 cloves garlic, crushed 3 tablespoons crushed dried mint Mix the ground meat and onion and add salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Work to a soft paste with your hands and roll into /4-inch b.a.l.l.s. Bring to the boil, with the bouillon cube, enough water to cover the meatb.a.l.l.s. Drop them in and poach them for about 15 minutes.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until done al dente al dente.

Beat the egg into the yogurt (so that the yogurt doesn't curdle; see page 113) and season with salt and pepper. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring every so often. Add the drained meatb.a.l.l.s and drained pasta and heat through.

For the garnish, melt the b.u.t.ter, and stir in the garlic and the mint. Let it bubble for a moment only. The garlic should not fry.

Serve hot with the garnish dribbled on top.

Bird's Tongues with Meat Stew 1. Serves 6 * This is a meat stew with pasta. I am a.s.sured that it only tastes right if small Italian pasta called ”orzo,” which look like tiny bird's tongues or largish grains of rice, are used. In Egypt, families used to make the pasta themselves with flour and water, rolling tiny bits of dough into little ovals between their fingers. A friend recalls spending hours doing this with her brother every Sunday as a small child. * This is a meat stew with pasta. I am a.s.sured that it only tastes right if small Italian pasta called ”orzo,” which look like tiny bird's tongues or largish grains of rice, are used. In Egypt, families used to make the pasta themselves with flour and water, rolling tiny bits of dough into little ovals between their fingers. A friend recalls spending hours doing this with her brother every Sunday as a small child.

2 or 3 onions, sliced 3 tablespoons vegetable oi 2 pounds lamb or beef, cubed Salt and pepper 1-1 teaspoons cinnamon pound orzo Grated Parmesan cheese (optional) In a large pan, fry the sliced onions in oil until soft and golden. Add the cubed meat and turn to brown it all over. Season with salt, pepper, and a little cinnamon. Add water to cover and cook, covered, for about 1-2 hours, or until the meat is very tender, adding water if it becomes dry.

Add the pasta, cover with water, and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Add more water if necessary. Quite a bit of sauce must be left at the end of cooking.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese-an Italian influence in Egypt.

Breads KHUBZ.

In the Middle East, bread really is the staff of life. The region is famous for its many types of flatbreads: leavened and unleavened, with or without a pocket, thick and thin like a cloth. They are baked over a domed metal sheet, in clay-lined ovens called tannour tannour, and in wood-fired baker's ovens. The most common type of Arab bread-now ubiquitous in America as pita-is round, flat, and leavened, with a hollow pouch running right through. It is made with various qualities of wheat flours. A coa.r.s.e wholewheat flour makes a dark, earthy bread with a strong taste; a refined unbleached white flour results in a softer white bread. Even the outer crust is not crisp but soft, while the inside is chewy, and good for absorbing sauces. In Egypt they believe that the same bread was made in pharaonic times. Wall paintings in tombs and clay models depict what seems to be its making. Although bread is available commercially everywhere in towns, many people still prefer to make their own in an outdoor clay-lined brick oven or send it to be baked in the communal oven.

The religious and superst.i.tious feeling attached to bread is stronger in some countries than in others. To some it is, more than any other food, a direct gift from G.o.d. An invocation to G.o.d is murmured before kneading the dough, another before placing it in the oven. A hungry man will kiss a piece of bread given to him as alms. A piece of bread found lying on the ground is immediately picked up, kissed, and respectfully placed on a wall or a table. At a gastronomic conference in Istanbul, I will always remember the look of horror on the Turks' faces when one of the foreign contributors placed a piece of bread under the leg of a wobbly table to steady it. They all swooped to retrieve it.

Bread is eaten with every meal and with every type of food. It is used instead of a fork-people break off a piece and double it over to enclose and pick up a morsel-or to dip in a sauce or cream salad, held delicately between the thumb and the first two fingers. In the street, pocket bread is cut in half and the pocket is filled with hot foods and salads. The bread is also toasted and broken into pieces and used as croutons or as abase for various dishes, such asfatta asfatta (page 222), (page 222), fattoush fattoush (page 74), and in soups and stews. Some people, my father among them, claim that they cannot truly savor a sauce, or anything in fact, without a piece of bread. (page 74), and in soups and stews. Some people, my father among them, claim that they cannot truly savor a sauce, or anything in fact, without a piece of bread.

Toasted Croutons and Fried Bread To make toasted croutons, open out pita or other flat Arab breads, splitting them in half, and put them straight on the shelves of the hottest oven, or under the broiler, until crisp and lightly browned. Break into small pieces by crus.h.i.+ng in your hands.

Serve in a pile to accompany soup, or to line the bottom of a salad bowl to absorb the dressing (in which case they become pleasantly soft and soggy).

Deep-fried pita bread is as tasty as it is rich. Cut the bread into triangles with scissors, open them out, and drop into very hot oil. Use this to garnish salads and cold vegetable dishes. Many dishes called fatta fatta (page 222), after the manner of breaking the bread, make use of these croutons. (page 222), after the manner of breaking the bread, make use of these croutons.

Khubz Arab Bread-Pita Makes 16 8-inch breads The flatbread with a pouch which we know as pita is The flatbread with a pouch which we know as pita is khubz khubz, which means ”bread,” in the Arab world. In Egypt, eish baladi (eish eish baladi (eish means ”life” and means ”life” and baladi baladi means ”local”) is made with a mix of whole-wheat and unbleached white flour, while the one made with white flour is called means ”local”) is made with a mix of whole-wheat and unbleached white flour, while the one made with white flour is called eish shami (shami eish shami (shami means ”Syrian”). The bread is round and 8 inches in diameter. means ”Syrian”). The bread is round and 8 inches in diameter.

1 tablespoon active dry yeast (or 1 package) 2 cups lukewarm water teaspoon sugar About 6 cups unbleached white bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour 1 -2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons vegetable or extra-virgin olive oil In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in cup of the warm water. Add the sugar, and when it begins to froth (this will be proof that the yeast is still active), stir in the remaining water. Add 3 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, gradually, stirring vigorously. Let this sponge rest for 10 minutes, or until it froths.

Stir in the salt and 2 tablespoons of the oil and mix well. Add the remaining flour gradually, a little at a time (you may need less), until you have a dough that holds together in a ball. Knead well by hand in the bowl, or on a floured board, for about 10 minutes, until it is smooth, s.h.i.+ny, and elastic and no longer sticks to your fingers, dusting with a little flour occasionally if it is too sticky.

Put the remaining tablespoon of oil in the (continued) Khubz (continued) bottom of the bowl and roll the ball of dough around to grease it all over. This will prevent the surface from becoming dry and crusty. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place free of drafts for about 2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven set at the maximum, 500F temperature for at least 20 minutes, and place a large baking sheet in the hottest part.

Punch the dough down and knead again for a few minutes, then divide in half. Divide the first half into 8 lumps. Flatten each one on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin sprinkled with flour, into rounds between and 1 inch thick and about 7-8 inches in diameter. Dust with flour and lay the rounds on a cloth sprinkled with flour. Arrange them 1 inch apart, so that they do not touch as they grow. Cover with another lightly floured cloth, and leave to rest and rise again for about 20 minutes at room temperature.

When the bread has risen again, place 2 rounds at a time on the hot baking sheets sprinkled lightly with flour, and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until they puff up like balloons and are slightly brown on top.

Wrap the breads together in a cloth while still hot, or put them in a plastic bag to keep them soft and pliable, while you bake the remaining breads and repeat with the second half of the dough.

Note: You can make the bread under the broiler. Place it far enough underneath so that it does not touch the broiler when it puffs up (it will burn). Turn over as soon as it balloons, and leave only a minute longer. You can make the bread under the broiler. Place it far enough underneath so that it does not touch the broiler when it puffs up (it will burn). Turn over as soon as it balloons, and leave only a minute longer.

Variations To make eish baladi eish baladi, use whole-wheat bread flour or a half-and-half mixture of unbleached white and whole-wheat bread flours. (Whole- wheat alone doesn't allow the bread to rise enough.) To make khubz sarj khubz sarj, which means ”bread cloth” and is used to roll up food in, you need a convex (dome-shaped) metal plate heated over a fire (an open fire or a gas fire). With a rolling pin, roll the b.a.l.l.s of dough as thin as you possibly can without making any holes, on a floured cloth. When the dome is hot enough, carefully place the sheet of dough on it. To do this, lift up the dough by rolling it up on the rolling pin and then gently unrolling it over the dome. When bubbles appear, in about 3-5 minutes, the bread is ready.

For mafrooda mafrooda of the Gulf States, make the same dough as for of the Gulf States, make the same dough as for khubz khubz, using white flour or a mix with whole-wheat. Roll out the rounds and p.r.i.c.k them all over with a fork so as not to have a pouch. Bake quickly without letting them rise.

Iranian breads called nane lavash nane lavash (a very large one) and (a very large one) and taftoon taftoon are leavened flatbreads without a pouch. They are p.r.i.c.ked all over with a fork and pressed down on the baking sheet or griddle with a cus.h.i.+on to prevent the bread from puffing up. They are baked 3 minutes on one side, until the dough bubbles, then turned over and cooked on the other side for 2 minutes more. are leavened flatbreads without a pouch. They are p.r.i.c.ked all over with a fork and pressed down on the baking sheet or griddle with a cus.h.i.+on to prevent the bread from puffing up. They are baked 3 minutes on one side, until the dough bubbles, then turned over and cooked on the other side for 2 minutes more.

An excellent snack can be made with the above recipe by making a depression in the flattened dough and breaking an egg into it before it goes in the oven. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. The egg will set firm as the bread bakes.

To make olive bread, work black olives, pitted and chopped, into the dough, and p.r.i.c.k all over with a fork so as not to have a pouch.

Mana'eesh or Fatayer bi Zaatar Thyme Breads Makes about 18 5-inch breads These very thin, soft breads, which you can roll up, are like Bedouin skillet breads. They work very well for me in a skillet, and I finish them under a broiler, but you can also bake them. For the topping, you can buy ready-made These very thin, soft breads, which you can roll up, are like Bedouin skillet breads. They work very well for me in a skillet, and I finish them under a broiler, but you can also bake them. For the topping, you can buy ready-made zaatar zaatar mixtures, which contain thyme and the tangy spice sumac, in Middle Eastern stores. You need only add olive oil. But it is easy enough to make your own mixtures, which contain thyme and the tangy spice sumac, in Middle Eastern stores. You need only add olive oil. But it is easy enough to make your own zaatar zaatar mix at home. My favorite is simply thyme and sesame seeds with salt and olive oil. The quant.i.ties here make for a richer than usual topping. Serve the breads for breakfast, with labneh (see page 112), as a snack with a salad, or as an appetizer, cut into wedges. mix at home. My favorite is simply thyme and sesame seeds with salt and olive oil. The quant.i.ties here make for a richer than usual topping. Serve the breads for breakfast, with labneh (see page 112), as a snack with a salad, or as an appetizer, cut into wedges.

recipe Arab bread dough (page 395) recipe Arab bread dough (page 395) FOR THE ZAATAR TOPPING.

cup dried thyme cup sesame seeds 3 tablespoons powdered sumac cup dried thyme cup sesame seeds 3 tablespoons powdered sumac (optional) cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt to taste Follow the instructions for making the bread dough.

Mix the topping ingredients into an oily paste.