Biryani is a one-dish rice-based meal that consists of layering cooked rice and meat in a casserole, before baking it in the oven. Originating in Persia and popular in India and the Middle East, biryani can be made with chicken, seafood or meat, and can also be made as a vegetarian casserole.
Biryani is normally made with basmati rice and flavored with cloves, cinnamon, cardamon, bay leaf, coriander, mint, ginger, garlic and onions. Traditionally, orange saffron milk was sprinkled on the top of the dish before baking, so that the rice grains had a variated white and yellow-orange color and a subtle saffron flavor; today the high cost of saffron means that many restaurants unfortunately use yellow food coloring instead.
Biryani is often served with a yogurt-based condiment such as raita or a tomato, onion and cilantro relish. It is good for crowds and a favorite at Bangladeshi wedding receptions, Indian family dinners and Muslim dinner tables in Thailand.
Lavash (pronounced "luh-VOSH") is a thin, round Armenian flatbread (sometimes called cracker bread) made from flour, water and salt. It's traditionally cooked in a tandoor-style oven. Popular in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, it is available in Middle Eastern markets.
Soft lavash is used to make rolled sandwiches with a variety of fillings, as well as kebabs and pizzas. Dry lavash keeps longer, and can be used like a cracker for hummus or other dips.
Recipe: Prosciutto Pizza With Caramelized Onion And Pear (Cookthink)
Recipe: Ham, Pineapple And Mushroom Pizza (Cookthink)
Devil's dung ring a bell? Stinking gum? Merde du Diable?
These are just a few of the unkind nicknames for this fetid-smelling spice, made from the resin-like sap of a fennel-like plant grown in India and Iran and used in small quantities (in lump or powdered form) in Indian pickles and vegetarian dishes such as curries.
Asafoetida mellows when fried in ghee, taking on the smell of fried onions and garlic. It is also believed to help children's colds, bronchitis and asthma and its scent is apparently attractive to the wolf.
Pomegranate molasses is made by heating pomegranate juice to evaporate its water, reduce its volume and concentrate its sweet and bitter taste and ripe fruity flavor.
You can mix the syrupy molasses into cocktails, add it to salad dressings, marinades, sauces and glazes, or just drizzle it over grilled or roasted meats. Finding a bottle of pomegranate molasses used to mean a trip to local Middle Eastern market, but now it's widely available at all kinds of grocery stores.
Recipe: Oysters With Pomegranate Mignonette (hogwash)
Recipe: Duck Breast With Pomegranate Glaze (Washington Post)
One of the oldest fruits known to man, the pomegranate is the fruit of a small tree native to grasslands stretching from the Middle East all the way to the Himalayas and south to India. With a tough, red skin, the pomegranate is prized for its edible seeds, called arils, which have a sweet and sour taste.
The name pomegranate is derived from the Latin for apple "pomum" (apple) and "granatus" (seeded). Pomegranate recipes abound in the cuisines of many Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures. Whether stirred into sauces and chutneys, juiced and blended into drinks or baked and formed into sweets and desserts, pomegranates are one of the few bright and sweet fruits of winter.
Pomegranates are good sources of vitamin C and potassium. Recent studies have shown that pomegranates contain high levels of punicalagins, compounds that could act as antioxidants in the body.
Recipe: Pomegranate, Persimmon And Pecan Salad
Recipe: Sliced Oranges With Pomegranate Caramelized Walnuts
Place the pomegranate down on its stem end; the blossom end with have a small opening.
Cut firmly down along one of the 6 hexagonal ribs; hitting the rib cuts the flesh and not the seeds.
Hold the fruit down firmly and move your fingers away from the bottom; the juice is very dark red and stains almost everything.
Remove the split fruit to a bowl of water immediately to prevent staining of fingers and cutting boards.
Holding the cut side down over the bowl of water, tap it firmly with a spoon. The seeds will fall out and sink to the bottom; the inedible pith will float to the surface.
Alternatively, peel the skin off the fruit in the bowl of water. Either method works well to extract the sweet, juicy kernels.
A kebab is a general term for small chunks of meat (most commonly lamb and beef, though any meat will do, as will fish, vegetables or fruit) threaded on skewers and barbecued, broiled or grilled.
The word kebab was originally Arabic or Persian, and referred to fried meat. But the phrase shish kebab was said to have been invented by medieval Turkish soldiers who pierced meat with their swords and grilled it over an open flame. (In the age-old rivalry between the Greeks and the Turks, some scholars claim the Greeks ate them first.) Today the shish kebab remains a staple of Turkish cuisine, although kebabs are popular in Middle Eastern and South and Central Asian cuisines.
Turkish döner kebabs, similar to gyros and shawarma, are made from shavings of lamb or chicken that roasts on an upright rotating spit. Döner kebab pita bread sandwiches -- often unfortunately stuffed with French fries -- are popular take-out food throughout Europe. The Brits like to eat them after clubbing and French teenagers are increasingly skipping the balanced meals of the school cafeteria to slip out for a kebab lunch.
Sabzi polo is an Iranian dish similar to rice pilaf. Popular on Norwuz, the Iranian new year that coincides with the first day of spring, sabzi polo consists of rice and various green herbs, including parsley, chives, cilantro and dill. Traditionally, sabzi polo is served with fish.
