January 21, 2012 by lamyaalmas
I learnt this recipe when I was 12 yrs old from my Aunt Amal, may Allah bless her always, while visiting them in Little Aden. I followed like a shadow in her in kitchen, and picked up a few recipes . It seemed strange to me that carrots could be turned into a dessert, and voiced that. She told me to wait and see. Indeed it was delicious.
When I went home I told my mother, may Allah bless her always, about it and she said, “There are a whole lot of carrots in the fridge. Go and try it out.” So I did. It was a success. My dad and brother loved it, so much so that every time my dad would come home from work he would bring me a big bag of carrots and call from work and ask me to make it for dessert every day. We didn’t have a food processor that grated at that time, so I used to do it manually with a grating board.
It’s also sold in “Halawa Stores” [Sweet Stores] in Aden, and it’s rather expensive. I always felt fortunate that I could make it on my own, given that carrots were pretty cheap and in abundance in Yemen, as were the rest of the ingredients Alhamdullilah. It tastes great warm as it does cold.
For about 7 small bars you will need:
1) 3 bunches of carrots [each bunch had about 10] –so about 30 medium carrots, peeled, and washed. If you are using the big carrots then 20 should do.
2) 1/3 of cup of sugar [more of less depending on the sweetness of the carrots. If they are sweet then less is needed, if not so sweet then more is needed. Taste to make sure it is as sweet as you want it to be]
3) 1 6 oz. can of Quishta [table cream] . You can substitute with whipping cream, or whole milk. Remember to take out 2-3 tbslp and keep aside.
4) 1/2 tsp of fresh ground cardamon
5) 4 pinches of ground nutmeg [more or less depending on your taste]
6) 1/2 stick of butter.
Under medium-high heat melt the butter in a skillets. Add all the grated carrot and brown. Make sure you stir often so that it does not burn. Then add the sugar, and cook until all is well incorporated. Add the cardamon and nutmeg and cook for a minute or so, and then add the cream [Quishta] and cook until mixture becomes a thick paste. Take a loaf pan and place the mixture and level it well. Then add the 2 tbsl of cream on top [see pic] and then place in preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until well browned on top. Let cool. Refrigerate. Cut and serve. Enjoy !
Posted in Sweet Tooth (Desserts), Yemeni Dishes | 27 Comments »
January 20, 2012 by lamyaalmas
Since Aden is a coastal region, we eat fish pretty much on a daily basis. We also have many rice and fish dishes. This one is called “Sayadiyyah Hindiyyah” which literally means “Indian Fish and Rice” maybe because the locals picked it up from the Indian communities in Aden . It’s one of those dishes , that you have to make a lot of the components separately and then assemble and cook together for the grand finale.
Here are the instructions with pictures to help in the process:
1) Fry a medium onion, by first cutting into slices, mixing in one tblsp of flour, and then frying in oil until browned. Take out and let drain of oil on a paper towel.
- Check if oil is hot!
2) Quarter a big potato and brown in oil [you do not want it to cook through, you just want it browned on the outside, so make sure the oil is hot enough. Take out and keep aside.
3) 3 pieces of salmon. Each piece was the size of my palm and about 3 fingers thick. If it’s very thin it can break easily. You want fish that will withstand the cooking. We also use King Fish for this dish, but I couldn’t find it fresh. Marinate the fish in some red chilly pepper sauce [Bisbas Adani], 1/2 tsp of ground coriander, 1/2 tsp of ground cumin, salt to taste, 2 cloves of garlic finely minced. Fry the fish in 3 4 -5 tbslp of oil until browned on the outside. Take out and keep aside.
4) In the meantime, half boil a cup and a half of rice in salted water. Keep your eye on it, lest the rice cook through. Drain the water from the rice, and leave aside.
half-boiled rice
5) In a pot add 3 tbslp of olive oil and fry a medium thinly sliced onion until golden brown.
Onions browned
6) Add 1 tbslp of red chilly sauce
7) Add 2 cloves of finely minced garlic to the onion.
8 ) Add the spices:
a) 1/4 tsp of tumeric
b) 1 tsp of ground cumin
c) 1 tsp of ground coriander
d) 1/8 tsp of ground cardamon [or a 4 crushed pods]
e) 1/2 ground cinnamon
Add salt to taste and let all of these come together–or as my mother says “enjoy the aroma of the spices coming together’
9) Add one small diced tomato
10) 1 tsp of tomato paste and let the sauce thicken.
11) Now it is time to assemble. In an oven safe dish, first layer is the sauce. Arrange the fish on top of the sauce, then the potatoes and half of the browned onions. Then all of the rice comes on top. To finish it off, sprinkle some orange or yellow food coloring, a quarter of a cup of water, and 2 tbslp of olive oil on top. Cover with foil and place in 350 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes. 
Serve and enjoy!
Posted in Fish, Rice | 6 Comments »
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