Kiftah Palestine Middle East Recipes

KIFTAH (PALESTINE, MIDDLE EAST)

Steps:

• Place hamburger meat in a bowl, and add salt, and some Mixed spices. If you don't have mixed spices, there are a couple recipes on this website for mixed spices. Or, you can add salt, all season, cumin, black pepper, and adobo.
• Using a food processer or blender, chop 1 onion and 1 cup of fresh parsley. If you dont have fresh parsley, dry parsley will work, just make sure its chopped finely. Add both the onion and the parsley to the hamburger meat, and mix well.
• Next, you can either make good sized meatballs with the hamburger meat, or make them longer, short of like fat stubby fingers. Do this until you have used up all the hamburger meat, and put these on the bottom of a baking pan with at least a 1 inch edge to it.
• Peel the onions and the potatoes, and core the green peppers. Cut them each into four pieces, and place in the pan with the hamburger meat. Also cut the tomatoe into four pieces and add as well.
• In a blender, add 1 heaping tablespoon of tahina, squeeze one lemon into the blender, and add a teaspoon of salt. Then fill the blender half way with water, and mix well.
• Poor the blender mixture on top of the meat and vegetables, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
• This is normally serves over rice, or can be eaten with pita bread. Enjoy!

KATAYEF ("STUFFED PANCAKES") MIDDLE EAST, PALESTINE

Steps:

• Mix all stuffing ingredients and set aside.
• Mix smeed, flour, and salt.
• Place warm water in an electric mixing bowl (I use my blender). While mixing on high speed, add the smeed mixture gradually to form a thin pancake mix.
• Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of water and a dash of sugar. Add to pancake mixture, and mix for 1 more minute. Set aside for 40 minutes, stirring every 7 minutes (so the water won't separate from smeed to avoid a lumpy mixture).
• Add the baking soda and keep stirring. When the dough bubbles, it is ready to be baked.
• Use an electric frying pan set at 450 degrees (I use one of those flat frying pans, for pancakes, but I do believe any nonstick frying pan should work).
• Pour 1/4 cup dough and cook like a pancake, on one side only. Remove from fire when pores form on the surface on each cake. Place the pancakes on a smooth surfaced towel until they cool.
• Fill each pancake with the nut mixture (I place one spoonful of the mixture in the middle of the pancake).
• Fold by pressing edges together to make a semi-circle. Pinch the edges firmly to close. Brush each on both sides with warm butter.
• Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until light gold.
• Remove from oven and dip in cold syrup (Thin Attar).
• Makes about 35 pieces. Enjoy!

KIFTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place potato slices in a thin layer, and fry just until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside on paper towels.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, minced onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and cumin. Press flat into a 7x11 inch baking dish. Arrange potato slices over the meat in an even layer. Place tomato slices over the potato. Top with slices of onion. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the aluminum foil from the top, and continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until browned.
• While the kifta is cooking, combine the rice and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. When kifta is done, cut into squares and serve over rice.

KOFTA KEBABS

Steps:

• Mash the garlic into a paste with the salt using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a chef's knife on your cutting board. Mix the garlic into the lamb along with the onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper, ginger, and pepper in a mixing bowl until well blended. Form the mixture into 28 balls. Form each ball around the tip of a skewer, flattening into a 2 inch oval; repeat with the remaining skewers. Place the kebabs onto a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
• Cook the skewers on the preheated grill, turning occasionally, until the lamb has cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 6 minutes for medium.