Arabian Nights

Visiting chef Rami Almaket unravels the secrets of his land through his richly textured dishes

BENGALURU: Head to a cultural and culinary journey at The Market with visiting chef Rami Almaket if you’re thinking of hitting the Middle East for the glorious food but you don’t have the time. The Taste of Arabia fest at The Ritz-Carlton will for sure sort out your woes. Chef Rami Almaket has flavoured the food with magical stories, references to beautiful  architecture,  the warmth of the desert, inimitable hospitality and exotic Arabian ingredients in all their glory.  The feast is on till tomorrow and he presents the finest selection of authentic Arabic cuisine, right from breakfast all through to dinner. You can expect popular dishes such as Lamb  Harira Soup (robust lamb, tomato and lentil soup) and a delectable mezze platter (with tangy hummus, fluffy pita bread and crunchy chickpea salads). We particularly loved the fatta chicken and the sweet and sour lamb Ouzi ( a spice redolent lamb gravy with rice, almonds, raisins and spices).

“The Arabic cuisine is very similar to some of the Indian dishes, but contrary to perceptions, there is actually a vast offering of vegetarian dishes,” began Chef Almaket, as he loaded our plate with a typically Moroccan beetroot salad, hummus, green and black olives and chicken kebabs.

Cheekily adding that if he caught us eating with a fork and knife, he’d have plenty to say, the chef also explained that the food is meant to be savoured and not rushed through. Starters have plenty of vegetarian options, but the mains are usually lamb and chicken. "Arabic food is essentially healthy but it’s the bread we eat the food with that makes it heavy,” says the visiting chef. Chicken or mutton tagine with couscous and caramelised onions is also a treat.

Vegetarians can savour the spiced carrots with lime and the roasted potato in coriander yoghurt. Chatting with the chef, we learned that while a dish may be served hot on one day, it is served as a cold salad the next day  if there are left overs. “The vegetables really soak up the flavour, and since we use lime, they usually do not spoil. So it’s served cold as a salad in the ensuing meal,” shares Almaket, as we made a mental note to follow the same when we got cooking.  Do make room for the quintessential favourite shawarma and the sinfully decadent Egyptian bread pudding.

Hummus

Ingredients

•     500 gm boiled chick peas (boil with soda)
•     200 gm Tahini
•     10 gm salt
•     10 gm lemon salt
•     10 gm soda bicarbonate
•     Ice
•     Iced water
•     Corn oil

Method

•     Put chickpeas in grinder. Add ice and grind it.
•     When it becomes a puree, add salt and lemon salt .
•     Then add Tahini and adjust thickness with ice water.
•     Later, add corn oil and mix it again.

Chicken Tagine

•     2 kg chicken
•     500 gm red onion chopped
•     30 gm garlic chopped
•     50 gm parsley chopped
•     50 gm coriander powder
•     150 ml olive oil
•     10 gm turmeric powder
•     5 gm ginger powder
•     5 gm black pepper
•     200 gm Green olives
•     50 gm Lemon pickles and green olives
•     3 gm saffron

Method

• Mix chicken, onions,garlic, parsley, fresh corriander, ginger powder, salt, white pepper, turmeric, saffron , pickled lemon and olive oil. Then start cooking on gas. After five minutes, add vegetable stock and cook for 20 minutes.
• When chicken is cooked, finish by adding lemon juice and green olives.