Showing posts with label Lebanese cuisine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lebanese cuisine. Show all posts

Monday, 10 April 2017

The Alphabet Club Catch up post : Letter M

Hello Friends,
Here I am with a very late entry for the Alphabet Club Letter M. This is going to be a long post, as so many interesting words that start with letter M.

M is for Maa , Hindi word for mother ( Pronunciation similar to how its said in English). I'm sure not many can deny the importance of a mother in a living being's existence. Personally I can't even imagine where I would be without my mother: from loving selflessly, to fighting with society to let me choose what I wanted to be, to accepting who I am , to teach me how to take care of family and last but not the least, passing down the love of crafts like embroidery, home decor and cooking .I always thought I was a papa's gal , but as I grow old I can't help but see how similar I am to my mother.
One day ,after a break of few years from cross stitching , I was looking for information on DMC on the Internet. My mother would often mention how DMC thread was available in India in her young age and how good the quality was. I was amazed to find so many beautiful designs on Internet . I started searching for a pattern to make for my mother's 60th birthday which was "then" in 10 years. This is the pattern I selected .
Design by Katherine Martin Tripp

Though my taste has changed ,since I have found the new world of cross stitch designers , I still may stitch this for my mother.

M for Mushakal- a vegetarian Fatayer. Its a turnover pastry/ sandwich made of pizza base type dough and baked in oven. As you know, I am a big foodie and when we shifted to Kuwait, I was looking for new Arabic vegetarian dishes to try . An acquaintance suggested why don't I try Mushakal. Since then its one of my favourite Arabic food,nothing beats the taste of oven baked closed sandwich stuffed with potato fries, fried egg plant and falafel served with pickled vegetables.
Cheese fatayer
M for Mujaddara is a Lebanese dish made of lentils and rice served with fried onions. You know how we Indians love lentils and rice , so any new way this combination is served excites me.


M for Ma'amoul is a middle eastern sweet delicacy. These are stuffed cookies made from semolina with ground datepistachio or walnut filling. Shaped in a wooden mould called a tabi.
Ma'amoul
M is for Mor or Mayur( Mor has the same pronunciation as English word More), Hindi word for peacock. Peacock is national bird of India , found in dry areas like Rajasthan ,Gujarat. It is believed that a peacock dances during rain or to invite rain . There are many folk and movie songs about rainy season and peacock in India . 
I currently have one peacock WIP , I'm having so much fun stitching with blended threads, half stitches , still long way to go though.
Indian Peacock by Dimensions

Another peacock design I have my in stash
Stunning Peacock by Amanda Gregory, Published in The World of Cross Stitching, Issue 245
One of my favourite designer is Maria Demina who designs under the name Little Room in the attic. Though I have only stitched one design of hers, her water color designs are drool worthy.
Paisley freebie from Maria Demina, stitched in Aug 2015



Aren't these lovely?

That's it my friends for letter M, I will be back for next alphabet entry.

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

Yay...more vegetarian options

It can be tough to be a vegetarian in Middle east countries where the staple diet consists of variety of meat.

Not that I'm asking people to convert to vegetarian, all I'm saying is I have limited options where to dine and what to eat.

As told in my previous blog, i love travelling ..and one of the preparations I do before travelling to any new place is to look for vegetarian options in the local cuisine.

Lebanese food is one of most loved cuisine ,influencing cuisine of many surrounding nations.

So, me & DH decided to explore a Lebanese restaurant today. At first, the waiter was a bit confused when we asked for vegetarian options. We picked up the menu card and started asking for ingredients of the dishes we thought meet our criteria.He was kind enough to answer all the questions.

We ordered Veg. Sambousak and Fattet eggplant.
Veg sambousak is Lebanese form of Indian samosa with slight difference in the outer covering and the filling.
I loved Fattet eggplant for two reasons: my favorite ingredients-curd and eggplant and the crispiness of roasted pita bread and pine seeds.

I recommend you try these two whenever you go to a Lebanese restaurant.

Do you have a recommendation too?(writing about food makes me hungry ...lol)






 

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