Monday 31 August 2009

My Debut in Walima Cooking Club :Iraqi Cuisine- KURAT AL TAMIR and SHAKAR LAMA

Walima cooking club celebrates Middle Eastern cuisine, where every month we go by Latin alphabetical order, choosing two recipes from every Arab country, one savory and one dessert. We can cook any one of them or both. And I really wanted to join this club, because the tag itself says' For all Arabic food lovers' and I just love Arabic food :) So..here is my first challenge. Walima club is celebrating Iraqi cuisine this month.

Iraqi cuisine or Mesopotamian cuisine is Iraq's traditional cuisine developed since antiquity in Me Mesopotamia (Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, Assyria). It is considered one of the oldest kitchens.
As Baghdad became the centre of the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age, Muslims and other scholars from many parts of the world came to visit, live and study in Iraq, which gave the Iraqi cuisine new twists to its food. This is most commonly seen in the greater use of spices (e.g. Saffron) used in the Iraqi cuisine in comparison to other Arab cuisines.

Iraqi cuisine has absorbed influences from all the neighboring countries and has much in common with Levantine, Persian, and Turkish cuisines. With the Ottoman rule of Iraq, influences of Turkish cuisine also became incorporated into Iraqi recipes (and vice versa).

Furthermore, as the rest of Iraqi history, the Iraqi cuisine has been deeply influenced by its fertile land between its two rivers Euphrates and Tigris.[1] This influence is seen in Iraq's national dishes.

Now coming to this months challenge. We were given 1 savory and 2 options for sweets -Kurat al tamir ( Date sesame balls) and Shakar Lama (Cardamom cookies) by Arlette. And I tried making both the sweet dishes. Here they are :-

KURAT AL TAMIR ( Date and sesame balls)

Ingredients:
1 pound soft dates
1 cup walnuts
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons tahini
½ teaspoon cardamom/cinnamon powder

Method:
Add dates, ½ cup sesame seeds, and tahini in the food processor. Pulse and add the walnuts and spices; pulse again. Take the mixture out and make small balls and roll them in toasted sesame or shredded coconuts.


SHAKAR LAMA (Cardamom cookies )

Ingredients:
3 sticks butter
3 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk (optional)
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2tsp. salt
1/3 cup slivered almonds

Method:

Beat the butter in a bowl for 3 minutes. Add sugar and beat the mixture until becomes light in color. Add flour, cardamom and salt gradually. Use your hand to mix the cookie dough. Take a small piece of dough the size of walnut. Shape the cookie and place and almond in the middle. Arrange on a tray with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes in 350 degree oven.

33 comments:

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

That is one interesting club. Love everything that u have made.Looks really good especially the cardamom cookies.Would love to see more recipes from ur participation in this club.

VineelaSiva said...

Wow nice recipes.I love the cookies.I will try this cookies.Thanks for the comment in my blog for painting.By mistake i reject the comment.It done by accident.So i cant publish it.Thanks for ur comments.

chow and chatter said...

lovely recipes i am pleased u joined the group so i can learn from u love middle eastern food as well yummy, Rebecca

Rush said...

this is great..have never tried Iraqi dishes, thou mediterranean, never consciously knew that im having Iraqi even if i would have tried..wud falafel and couscous count as Iraqi?

Sailaja Damodaran said...

these looks interesting...

Barbara Bakes said...

What a fun group! The Shakar Lama cookies really appeal to me because I love cardamom.

Pari Vasisht said...

both the recipes look nice. I love the texture of the cookies. I might sound stupid.. how much is one stick butter?

Sanghi said...

Yummmy yummmy dear.. Saw ur comment at yasmeen blog, was waiting to see you version of dates ball and cookies. Ur's too is delicious dear!:)

Parita said...

Thats an interesting event and both the dishes look fantastic!

Faiza Ali said...

@ Smitha -Thanks Smitha.Even I am excited to learn and cook new recipes :)

@Vineela- Thanks dear for dropping on my blog and I am glad you liked it.

@Rebecca- Thanks dearie for the sweet comment :)

@Rush: Falafel is an Egyptian dish and couscous is from Morocco/Syria.

@Sailaja and Barbara: Thanks you so much dearies.You make my day by these lovely comments.

@Pari: Pari, 1(US) stick of butter is around 115 gms. So..3 sticks would be around 350 grams. But, you can even use 250 or 300grams. It won't make a big difference :)

Thanks Sanghi and Parita.

Gita Jaishankar said...

Nice dishes Faiza...those dates and sesame balls look so delicious...nutritious ones too :)

Indian Khana said...

Cool Faiza..both looks delicious...I shall try the ladoo

Arlette said...

Marhaba Faiz Ramadan Karim

Welcome to Walima Cooking Club your Cookies looks awesome... thanks my dear for participating and sharing your recipe and photos.

Vikis Kitchen said...

Very interesting club dear. Nice to know about the authentic cuisines of middle east.
The first recipe (dates ladoo) sounds so healthy. I will try it this weekend. Next the cookies are perfect and cute.
Superb creation dear.

Bergamot said...

Yummy...looks really good..

Kana said...

That cardamom cookie is right up my alley!

Chitra said...

wow, both looks delicious.:)

SOUSOUKITCHEN said...

You made both recipes, that what I call double challenge, nice job Faiza !

Katy ~ said...

Excellent! I've made a similar cookie to the second one, only it was called Chinese cookies. I'm a cookie fan; will save both of these!

Chef Jeena said...

Lovely sweets. :-)

Humaira said...

Faiza, The cookies look so delicious. Is this what they call "Rote"? My father in law used to make very good "Rote" itseems but he forgot the recipe. I showed this to him and he said they look very similar but he uses semolina (rawa) also.

Unknown said...

Awesome work Faiza,welcome to the club :)

ST said...

Both look heavenly:)

Dori said...

Wow, two yummy desserts! I love dates, these look so tasty!

Rose said...

The recipes look really intereting, not something i would usually eat. I especially like the look of the cookies!

Rose

Divya Kudua said...

Wow Faiza,you have so many posts up since I last visited:):).

Love the dishes you have cooked up for the event.Though the names are unfamiliar,both the dishes look delicious.I tried out a dates and nuts laddoo a while back and loved it.Got to try this version now.I also make a Cardamom cookie,but eggless:)

Mimi Cooks said...

your recipes and photos look really nice , i am sure they tasted delicious!
thanks for sharing your Walima challenge.
Have a blessed Ramdan.

farhanali said...

ASSALMU ALAIKUM MY MOST LOVING DAUGHTER FAIZA IAM VERY LUCKY TO HAVE A DAUGHTER LIKE U. I LIKE ALL URR RECIPES YUMMY...... YUMMY..... I MISS U A LOT. GOD BLESS U

farhanali said...

ASSALMU ALAIKUM MY MOST LOVING DAUGHTER FAIZA. I AM VERY LUCKY TO HAVE SWEET DAUGHTER LIKE U.. I LIKE ALL UR RECIPES ARE YUMMY....YUMMY... I MISS U..................... GOD BLESS U.....................................

Malar Gandhi said...

Walima cooking looks splendid, dear. Thats an interesting club. Good to know that. Nice to know authentic Middle-East recipes...bet with dates and seame laadus was a big hit. Biscuits look cute too:)

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

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- Robson

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