Elite life
Kuwait (Kuwaiti Recipes)
Chicken Mechbous is one of the popular Kuwait recipes, which can be easily prepared and is very delicious. To prepare this, first the chicken pieces are to be boiled. While boiling the pieces, cloves, pepper, cardamom and cinnamon are to be added in the water. Remove the pieces along with the soup prepared. Then cook fine rice in this soup and add salt to taste and prepare an onion topping. For this, cook onion pieces over low heat till they become brown. Add the leftover spices from the chicken soup to the onions while they are fried. Then add flour to the chicken pieces and cook until the pieces become crispy. Then serve the cooked rice, top it with the onion mixture and chicken pieces and Chicken Mechbous is ready.
Some of the other important recipes that bring out the real flavor of Kuwait Food are Murabyan, Hummus and Sponge Cake.
Yoghurt and Tahini Dip
Ingredients:
150 ml Tahini
150 ml plain yoghurt
2 lemons
4 cloves garlic
5 ml dried parsley
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Cooking Instructions:
Juice the lemons. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them into a mixing
bowl. Add the tahini paste. Mix with the back of a spoon.
Once mixed, gradually add the lemon juice and then the yoghurt mixing
well as you go. Season with salt and pepper (mixing) and check seasoning
and adjust. Decorate with a sprinkling of dried parsley. Chill. Serve
with sticks of peeled carrot, cucumber and celery.
Prawns Kuwait
Ingredients:
Equal Exchange Palestinian olive oil
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
250 gm Traidcraft brown basmati rice
400 gm fresh or frozen prawns
2 heaped tablespoons Traidcraft cashew nuts
2 medium to large sticks celery
1 medium cooking onion
2 hens eggs
100 gm raisins
Cooking Instructions:
Wash the rice and cook in the normal way. Keep warm. Roast the cashews
either in a non-stick pan over medium heat, or in the oven, Gas Mark 3
for about 20 minutes. The nuts should be golden, but not burnt. Skin the
onion and chop small. Trim the celery and chop small. Break the eggs
into a bowl and beat with a fork for about a minute. Defrost the prawns.
Reserve a few pinches of onions for garnish.
Heat a little cooking oil and fry the remaining onions and celery for
3 to 5 minutes. Add the prawns and raisins and continue to cook driving
off any excess moisture from the prawns. Season with salt and pepper,
and pour in the beaten eggs. Continue to cook gently and stir until the
eggs are cooked. Arrange the rice on a serving dish and then arrange the
eggs and prawns mixture on top. Garnish with the toasted cashew nuts.
Fattoush
Ingredients:
3 Tomatoes
1 green capsicum
1 bunch spring onions
1 small lettuce
15ml dried parsley
5 ml dried mint
1 small cucumber
3 slices multi-grain bread
50 ml Equal Exchange Palestinian olive oil
50 ml lemon juice
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooking Instructions:
Toast the bread and cut into 1 cm cubes. Cube the tomatoes. De-seed and
de-rib the capsicum, and chop. Slice the cucumber lengthways and chop.
Wash and shred the lettuce. Top and tail the onions and chop fine.
Combine the salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix the oil and lemon juice
with the herbs and condiments and shake well. Pour over the salad and
toss. Chill for 45 minutes before serving. Chill for 45 minutes before
serving.
Ingredients:
Chicken:
1 whole fryer
Salt
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
2 or 3 whole cloves
5 black peppercorns
Flour
3 cups basmati rice (or other short-grained rice)
Onion-spice topping (hashu):
2 large yellow onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
¼ cup golden raisins, soaked in water
¼ tsp. ground cardamom
¼ tsp. dried black lime (loomi), or ½ tsp. lime zest
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. sugar
Tomato sauce (duqqus):
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp. water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tb. tomato paste
Cooking Instructions:
Rinse chicken inside and out. Place in a stockpot with enough water to cover. Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil uncovered over medium heat until chicken is done (approximately 40 minutes). Remove and drain the chicken, reserving broth. Drain fat off the top of the broth and strain broth to remove spices. Prepare three cups of basmati rice according to package directions, using broth from chicken instead of water. Add salt if necessary.
While rice is cooking, cook onions in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until clear. Sprinkle with a little water and stir quickly until onions are brown and the water has evaporated. Stir in oil, drained raisins, and spices. Cook for one minute. Remove mixture from skillet and set aside.
Lightly dust the boiled, drained chicken with flour. In a clean skillet over medium-high heat, brown the chicken, turning frequently, until the outside is brown and crispy.
For the tomato sauce, add water, chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic, and tomato paste in a small skillet or saucepan, and sauté until tomatoes are soft and the sauce well blended.
When the rice is done, spread it on a serving platter. Sprinkle the onion-spice mixture over the rice, and place the chicken on top. Pass the tomato sauce to spoon onto individual plates.
Ingredients:
Shrimp:
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, mashed with 1 tsp. ground coriander and 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 lbs. peeled shrimp (medium size)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. tomatoes, halved and cut into thick slices
1 tsp. salt
4 cups water, approx
1 cup grits, soaked in water
4 ½ cup basmati rice or other short-grained rice
Topping:
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
½ tsp. ground cardamom
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground tumeric
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
Grated peel of one lime
1 clove garlic, mashed with 1 tsp. ground coriander and 1/2 tps. black pepper
1 lb. peeled shrimp (medium size)
Cooking Instructions:
Heat oil over medium heat. Add sliced onions and sauté until golden. Stir in garlic/spice mixture and pepper. Stir in shrimp. Add tomato slices, and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Add water and salt. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Add rice, stirring to mix evenly. Reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat. To prepare the topping, sauté the onion in oil until golden. Add the spices, chopped coriander, grated lime peel, and garlic/spice mixture, stirring to mix well. Add shrimp, and sauté until cooked through (about three minutes). Spoon shrimp/rice mixture onto a platter, arrange shrimp topping on top.
Ingredients:
2 cups water
¼ C pickling salt
2 lbs. white turnips
1 Beet
2 cloves garlic
1 C white vinegar
Cooking Instructions:
Bring water and salt to a boil, stirring to make sure all the salt is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Peel turnips. Cut small turnips into sixths; larger turnips can be cut thick strips (about the size of a large French fry). Peel beet and cut into thick strips. Peel garlic cloves and cut each one into quarters. Layer turnips in a large sterilized glass jar, interspersing them with the beet strips and garlic. Combine the cooled salt solution with the vinegar, and pour over the turnips. Make sure no large air bubbles remain. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the opening, and put the lid on the jar. Store pickles in a cool place for at least three weeks. The turnips will turn bright pink. Refrigerate after opening.
Ingredients:
2 15-oz. cans chickpeas
½–¾ C lemon juice
1/3 C tahini
½ Tbsp. salt
2–3 cloves of garlic, chopped
Parsley sprigs and paprika for garnish
Pita bread cut into pieces for dipping
Cooking Instructions:
Drain the chickpeas. Reserve a few for garnish and put the rest in a blender or food processor. Add other ingredients and process until smooth (or until texture is even), adjusting lemon, tahini, and salt to taste. Transfer to serving bowl and with a spoon make a shallow well all around, about 1" from outside edge. Drizzle olive oil, garnish with reserved chickpeas, parsley sprigs and paprika. Serve with pita bread.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
¾ C confectioner’s sugar
¾ C flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. ground cardamom
Pinch saffron
A little shortening or butter for greasing the pan
1 tsp. sesame seeds
Cooking Instructions:
Beat eggs well in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in sugar. Sift flour and baking powder together and mix well. Combine flour mixture with eggs and sugar. Add cardamom and saffron. Pour mixture into a greased 8" baking pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 20 minutes. Cuts best with a serrated knife.
Ingredients:
Chichen stock ingredients:
1 whole chichen
1 onion
7 whole cloves
10 cardamom pods
10 black peppercorns
2 cinamin stick
3 bay leaf 1 Dried black lime
Rice ingredients:
1 green chili pepper
3 cups cups Basmati rice
1 pinch saffron
Cooking Instructions:
Wash rice with cold water and soak unil you finish boiling the chicken. Fill half a pot with water enough to cover the chicken. Put the whole chicken in the water put it on high fire. At the begining be sure to stay and and remove the white fat that comes out of the chichen keep removing until the water is clear then add all the chichen stock ingrediants let it cook for 30-40 minutes. Remove the chicken. Strain the broth to remove the spices. Pour the broth in another pot let it oil add salt and taste until you feel slightly salty taste. Drain the soaking water from rice add rice to the broth (make sure that broth is 2cm above rice) if broth is more try to remove if less add boiled water and salt. Let the rice cook uncovered watch rice.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
2 whole cardamom pods, broken
1 pinch saffron powder
2 tea bags
1 teaspoon white sugar, optional
Cooking Instructions:
Combine the water, saffron, and cardamom in a saucepan over medium heat. Cover, and bring to a boil. Add tea bags, and let the tea steep for a minute, or longer if you like stronger tea. Strain into a cup, and sweeten with sugar if desired.
