You should try these 5 sumptuous meat recipes for Eid al-Adha

Photo: Beef tagine

It’s time for a feast with all the fresh meat at your disposal. We bring you five recipes that will impress your guests and earn you the title of master chef this Eid Al Adha.

Of course, the festival of Eid Al Adha is a special time. While one is reminded of Prophet Ibrahim’s submission and sacrifice, it is also a time when our tables are full of the benevolence of Allah. Friends and family share a portion of their sacrificial meat, and this is when your culinary talents will have the chance to shine. Turn your kitchen into a restaurant, and whip up these delicious dishes for a scrumptious family feast.

BARLEY COUSCOUS WITH LAMB SHANK

Ingredients

• 250 gm barley couscous
• 500 gm lamb shank
• 60 gm baby marrow
• 60 gm carrot
• 40 gm chickpeas
• 40 gm white radish
• 50 gm onion
• 20 gm garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 30 gm butter
• Bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Method

Wash the couscous under running water. Drain and keep aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

In a large sauce pan, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add in the lamb and stir until it colours.

Pour in some water and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame and add in the baby marrow, carrot, radish and chickpeas. Season and keep cooking the lamb in the broth until it becomes tender.

Chef Boumaza Mohammed Mehdi, Junior Sous Chef at Dusit Thani Dubai, said, “Take the lamb out of the fridge and season it an hour before you want to cook it, bringing it to room temperature.”

For the couscous, season it with salt and pepper and steam for 10 minutes. Gently mix in the butter when done. The chef recommends that you steam it twice for better consistency.

To plate, layer in the couscous in a clay pot dish, then add the vegetables on top and finish off with the lamb. 

BEEF TAGINE

Ingredients

• 600 gm stewing beef
• 1 onion
• Half a bunch of fresh coriander
• Olive oil
• 400 gm chickpeas (1 tin)
• 400 gm plum tomatoes (1 tin)
• 800 ml organic vegetable stock
• 800 gm butternut squash
• 100 gm prunes
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds

For the spice rub:

• 1 tbsp Ras el hanout spice mix
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika

Method

Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

Put the beef into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with cling film. Place in the fridge overnight.

Peel and finely chop the onion and pick the coriander leaves.

Heat oil in a tagine or casserole pan over medium heat, add the meat, and fry for 5 minutes to seal. Add the onion and fry for a further 5 minutes.

Drain and tip in the chickpeas followed by the tomatoes, then pour in 400 ml of vegetable stock and stir well. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to low heat for 1½ hours.

Meanwhile, deseed and chop the squash into 5-cm chunks. Destone and roughly chop the prunes. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan until lightly golden, then move them into a bowl.

When the time’s up, add the squash, prunes, and remaining stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on and continue cooking for another 1½ hours.

Keep an eye on it, adding splashes of water if needed.

Check the consistency, and if it seems a bit too runny, simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Scatter the coriander leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds.

Chef Rosalind Parsk from Courtyard by Marriott Dubai Green Community said, “The toasted almonds add another layer of texture and flavour to the beef dish. For the best experience, serve with a big bowl of lightly seasoned couscous.”

DOLMAS (STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES)

Ingredients

• 2 kg white cabbage
• 350 gm ground beef
• 1 cup rice (rinsed and dried)
• 3 heads peeled garlic
• Freshly squeezed juice of 4 lemons
• 1–2 tsp Arabic 7 spices
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste

Method

Peel and discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Simmer the entire cabbage head in a large pot of boiling water for 5–10 minutes while carefully turning it over to ensure all sides are covered. As the leaves loosen, pin down the cabbage inside the pot with one fork, and with another fork, slowly peel away the leaves one after the other. Do this slowly and carefully to ensure that the leaves are whole and not torn.

Place the cabbage leaves in a colander as you peel them.

Chef Chadi Terro from Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites said, “Pit out the large stem from the bottom; this will help separate the leaves. This process seems cumbersome, but if you try to peel leaves off a raw cabbage, they’ll very likely break and tear.”

Once you have separated all leaves, try to roll one or two of them to see if they are soft enough. If they are not, if they tear or break, put them back in the boiling water and cook for another 5 minutes.

Mix the ground beef with the rice, add the Arabic spices (you can use Allspice as an alternative) along with salt to taste. Mix well and set aside.

Lay each cabbage leaf separately on a cutting board and cut out the stem if it’s too thick. Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of meat stuffing along the edge of the leaf and then roll it slowly and tightly over the meat all the way.

Line up the stuffed rolls carefully in a wide, deep cooking pot next to each other until you’ve made one layer. Garnish with a few chopped cloves of garlic.

Chef Chadi said, “Place the rolls with the greenest leaves on the bottom of the pot, since they take longer to cook.”

Layer in the rolls and garlic cloves till all are done; the number of layers will depend on the size of the pot.

In a frying pan, sauté 10–15 cloves of freshly minced or crushed garlic (one head) with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice until they start to turn light brown. Pour the entire contents on top of the layers.

Mix the remaining lemon juice with 4 cups of water and add salt to taste. Add this to the pot as well. The sauce should cover the rolls, and if it does not, make some more and add it in until it does.

Place a heavy plate inside the pot so that it covers the rolls. Cover the pot and cook on high heat for about 5–10 minutes until it comes to a boil, then turn the heat to very low and let it simmer slowly for 1 to 1½ hours (until the cabbage is fully cooked). Serve with mint yoghurt.

KIBBEH LABANIYYEH

Ingredients

• 500 gm habra (fine blended beef)
• 300 gm bulgur wheat (finely ground)
• 1 large onion, grated
• 100 gm butter, cut into tiny cubes
• 2 litres goat- or cow-milk yoghurt
• 1/4 cup rice
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 whole egg
• 10 gm dried mint, for garnish
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• Ice cold water, as required

Method

Soak the bulgur wheat in water for 10–15 minutes (use enough water to cover the bulgur entirely by about 1/4 inch). Mix the habra, allspice, and soaked bulgur and set aside. Shape into balls with elongated edges. Set aside.

Cook the rice in 3/4 cup of water until mushy. Blend the rice with some of the yoghurt, egg and cornstarch. Combine this mixture with the rest of the yoghurt and place over low heat.

Stir occasionally, and once it comes to a small simmer, add kibbeh balls and cook for another 5–10 minutes (depending on the size of the kibbeh).

Garnish with dried mint.

Chef Abdul Hamid Alraddawi from Marriott Hotel Al Forsan Abu Dhabi said, “Make the kibbeh balls with ice water. This will help make it easier to shape the balls and give them a smooth consistency.”

DAWOOD BASHA

Ingredients

• 2 kg minced lamb meat
• 5 kg onion, sliced
• 5 litres tomato sauce
• 3 gm Arabic spices
• 100 ml corn oil
• 2 litres water
• 2 gm cinnamon powder
• 100 gm chopped parsley
• Salt to taste

Method

Mix the minced meat with half the parsley, salt, and Arabic spices. Divide the meat into small balls. Bake the meatballs in an oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

Sauté the onions until soft. Add a dash of salt. Add the water, tomato sauce, and cinnamon powder to the onions and let it cook for about 30 minutes. Add the baked meatballs and cook on medium heat for another 30 minutes. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.

Chef Nicola Kadmos, Arabic Banquet Chef at JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, said, “This is a different take on the meatball, and you can experiment with different meats as the sauce is quite versatile and easy to make.”

© MySalaam.com 2017 All rights reserved