An Arabic Meal to remember

I didnt know anything about arabic food till I met our friends, Aby and Jessy who had grown up in the Middle East. They would get all nostalgic about the food they missed and how nonauthentic the Arab foods in America were.They are as passionate about food as we are, if only more. We have whipped up some pretty amazing meals together. Recently, we got together on a weekend and decided to give Arabic food a try and they came to our house fully loaded.. …Arabic groceries and an Arabic cookbook. All the recipes we followed are from the book. The groceries were purchased from a store in Brooklyn.

The meat has to be marinated overnight and so there is some prep work involved. Our friends were the chefs and me and Satish basically acted as sous-chefs . I was introduced to a new world of cookingmethods, ingredients and recipes.
The menu which was very simple included

Leham shawarma (marinated spiced lamb) recipe follows

Kafta kebabs (lamb kebabs) as shown below

Hummus

Tabouleh or parsley salad

Ful Madamas or Fava bean dish as shown below

Recipe for lamb shawarma

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs lamb (should have a good amount of fat)
1 orange sliced into thin rounds
1 lemon sliced into thin rounds
1 tbsp yogurt
2 tsps white vinegar
1 tsp ground allspice (preferably middle eastern/indian allspice)
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper (less if you like it less spicy)
2 tsps of corn oil

To assemble
Thinly sliced onion
Tabouleh (Parsley)
Pickled turnips (made in a mix of salt vinegar and beet juice)
Tahini spread (recipe follows)
Pita bread
Method
Cut the filet into 1/4 inch thick slices and then the slices into 1/2 inch 

wide pieces.
Combine the orange slices, lemon slices, yogurt, vinegar, allspice,nutmeg, 

cardamom,salt and pepper in a baking dish and stiretogether. Crush the 

lemon and orange with a fork to release juices. Add the lamb, cover 

the dish and marinate overnight, turning over once (if you can do it).

Before cooking,remove the slices from the marinade and squeeze out excess

liquid,and pound the meat with hands. Place slices in a roasting pan and 

drizzle with corn oil

Place the oven on broil (high) and place the rack close to the broiling 

element (electric) or flames (gas).

Some ovens top shelf might be really close to the heating source so 

please make sure that when you place the lamb slices in a roasting pan,

the pan should  have some room on the top. Or sometimes flare ups might

be too common.
The heat should be close enough that a good amount of searing should

occur but not too close that there is too much flare. I kept it on

the second rack just  below the broil source.. 

Turn the slices twice during the time. About 20 mins approx should be 

good.  The meat should have a good amount of sear on it but at the 

same time there should be some unseared portions as well.

On a pita bread, split it halfway (or open the pocket ) and spread the 

tahini. Put in the lamb,then the tabouleh, onions and the pickled

turnips as shown below.

Recipe for Tahini spread (Garlic Sauce Spread)

3 small cloves garlic, mashed
1 cup sesame paste (tahini)
3/4 cup lemon juice
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt, to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish

Whisk the garlic and sesame paste together in a small bowl,
Add lemon juice , whisking until the mix turns into a firm
white paste. Gradually add upto 2/3 cup cold water, whisking until
the sauce has a smooth consistency. Season with pepper flakes
and salt. Garnish with parsley

Recipe source The Arab Table by May Bsisu

Recipe painstakingly rewritten  by Aby and Jessy