Last week my childhood friend Jen (AKA Golay) flew in to spend a couple of days with me. Although we haven't seen each other in a few years, we often have transatlantic conversations that leave us bleary eyed and groggy and quite likely enough to put John Moschitta to shame.
Sadly her night is my day and vise versa since she lives in Hong Kong, but this does little to deter us once we get started. It leaves the rest of our families in awe when we switch relentlessly and effortlessly from one topic to the next for hours on end. It was during one such conversation that she mentioned a desire to taste my Middle Eastern cooking. In case you're wondering - it's not because I'm famous for my Middle Eastern food but more because she had just returned from a trip to Dubai and was craving what she had left behind. Once her trip here was planned I decided that I would make it a point to give her a taste. There was one little technicality-I wasn't sure of what time she was arriving and so I decided to play it safe and create a platter that she could nosh on any given time of the day. So here's what I did...
Sadly her night is my day and vise versa since she lives in Hong Kong, but this does little to deter us once we get started. It leaves the rest of our families in awe when we switch relentlessly and effortlessly from one topic to the next for hours on end. It was during one such conversation that she mentioned a desire to taste my Middle Eastern cooking. In case you're wondering - it's not because I'm famous for my Middle Eastern food but more because she had just returned from a trip to Dubai and was craving what she had left behind. Once her trip here was planned I decided that I would make it a point to give her a taste. There was one little technicality-I wasn't sure of what time she was arriving and so I decided to play it safe and create a platter that she could nosh on any given time of the day. So here's what I did...
I toasted pita bread to go with the hummus, bought picked olives and hot peppery Mediterranean salami at the deli and put together a platter. The falafel and beef kebabs were made from scratch and they helped add depth to an otherwise simple luncheon. She enjoyed the kebabs immensely and we managed to tuck in even as we chattered non stop until 2 A.M. the next morning!
My recipe for the Beef Kebabs:
4 skewers soaked in water for an hour
2 cups ground beef ( Burger meat)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tspcumin powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
salt to taste
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon oil
1. Mix all the ingredients until well combined and divide into 4 parts. Stick the meat mixture by the handfuls onto each skewer, making sure to keep it as even as possible.
2. Grill on all sides on a barbecue pit or under the broiler until golden brown.
Serve as part of a platter or with mint chutney.
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