Chickpea pastry with Cashews and Dates

This is a really quick and simple dish that is easily put together with little effort!
High on protein and flavour yet feels like indulgence :)

Ingredients:
1/2 sheet of phyllo pastry dough, thawed according to the package instructions
1 can of Garbanzo Beans or chickpeas, drained and washed
5-6 Dates, chunky chops
6-7 Cashews, chunky chops
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 tsp cumin powder
4 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste
Oil or Ghee for sauté

Method:
1. In a non-stick pan, take some oil or ghee and sauté finely chopped onion until it starts turning translucent, about 4-5 minutes on low flame.
2. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, chilly powder, black pepper powder and salt. Sauté for another minute to cook the spices.
3. Now add the chopped dates, cashews and beans to the pan and cook for about 4-5 minutes.
4. While the beans are cooking, roll the dough to a thin flat bread shape and place it on the baking sheet.

5. Arrange the beans mixture on top of the pastry sheet and bake at 375F for about 20-25 minutes until the pastry is cooked.

Cut into four parts with a pizza cutter and enjoy savoury Chickpea pastry!

Tip: You can also use the chickpea filling as a side dish with lamb, veggies and roti.

Weekday Mediterranean Delight Dinner

Try this menu to welcome the week. It's extremely quick, low prep and elegant dinner menu for two. Enjoy this meal with glass of red wine with some nice guitar in the background or with a spicy conversation with friends after a hectic day at work!

Here I have clockwise:
Homemade Grilled Chapati(Save time by using grilled store-bought Pita bread)
Moroccan Chickpea Mash
Grilled Aubergine Salad with feta-cheese and yogurt dressing

Moroccan Chickpea Mash

You can serve this as a main course, as a side, as a topping on your bread or filling in your sandwich! This is an absolutely versatile dish to have up your sleeve when you want something quick that involves 'no cooking'!!

Ingredients:
A can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
Salt
Pepper
Sumac
Coriander Powder
Roasted Cumin Powder
Red Chilly Powder
Roasted Sesame Oil
One lime juice
Chopped Parsley
Chopped Spring Onion

Method:
1. Drain and wash the chickpeas. Mash half the chickpeas in a bowl.
2. Mix the mashed chickpeas with some salt, pepper, sumac, red chilly powder, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder, lime juice, roasted sesame oil, chopped parsley and chopped spring onion.

No cook main course is ready to be served with warm pita or rice pilaf!

Grilled Aubergine Salad with Feta cheese and Yogurt dressing

This is a fantastic side or a small meal by itself for one. If you don't like aubergines, you will start liking it after you try this recipe!

Ingredients:
One large aubergine
Feta cheese
Yogurt
Salt
Pepper
Sumac
Parsley
Spring Onion
Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Cut aubergine into about 1/2" thick slices.
Note: If you cut it too thin then it will not maintain it's shape on the grill.

2. Brush one side of aubergine slices and put them face down on a hot grill pan. Cook on one side for about 4 minutes.

3. Brush the other side with oil and turn the slices. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the aubergines are cooked through.

4. In a bowl, mix the feta cheese, yogurt, some water, pepper, sumac, chopped parsley and chopped spring onions. Add salt only if needed since feta itself is pretty salty.

5. In a platter, arrange the grilled aubergines in a layer and drizzle with some yogurt dressing.

This dish can be enjoyed at room temperature as well!

Elegant Moroccan Dinner Party

Here is an elegant, easy and quick way to pull together a delightful Moroccan dinner party!
This is so easy that you can even entertain on a weekday after those long hours of work...

Menu ideas:
1. Start with the <Fattoush> salad.
2. Serve hot <chicken tagine> with warm Lavash or pita bread.
3. Have a <mixed rice pilaf> for rounding up.
4. For a sweet tooth - just get nice Toasted Almond gelato and you're all set!!

Mixed rice pilaf

A versatile dish to have up your sleeve for any party and potluck is this mixed rice pilaf. I'm calling it a mixed rice pilaf mainly because it is a mixture of two varieties of rice that go immensely well together balancing out the nuttiness and the starchiness in each other. This is a mixture of wild rice that imparts a nutty and earthy flavour and basmati rice, which imparts a rich texture with it's long and sturdy grains.

I will also share a secret - that my husband taught me! - to cook rice perfectly for the pilafs :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup wild rice
1 cup basmati rice
1 tsp turmeric
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup rasins
3/4 cup chopped nuts like walnuts, almonds, cashews
4 chopped spring onions

Method:
1. Wild Rice:
     i.   In a pot, wash the wild rice and soak in water for 15-20 minutes before starting to cook.
     ii.  After that, drain that water and add triple the amount of fresh water.
     iii. Cook over medium heat for 30-35 minutes until rice is tender.
     iv. Now drain the rice in a sieve, and run the rice under cold water.
     v. After draining all the liquid, spread the rice over a plate and let it cool.

2. Basmati rice:
     i.   In a pot, wash the basmati rice and soak in water for 15-20 minutes before starting to cook.
     ii.  After that, drain that water and add double the amount of fresh water.
     iii. Also add, salt, pepper and turmeric to it.
     iv. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until rice is tender.
     v. Now drain the rice in a sieve, and run the rice under cold water.
     vi. After draining all the liquid, spread the rice over a plate and let it cool.

3. In a big bowl mix rice, mint. cilantro, rasins, nuts, spring onion. Warm in a microwave and serve hot! :)

Fattoush

A vibrant and tasty salad. This is a dish that will please the crowd and satisfy the taste buds at the same time! Try it and you'll fall in love with it :)

Ingredients:
1 cucumber - English seedless cucumber sliced in circles (if it's long cut in half)
1/2 medium red onion - chopped finely
1 tomato - diced in small bite size cubes
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 chopped spring onions
1/2 red bell pepper - diced in small bite size cubes
2 small radishes - sliced in circles
1 blood orange - flesh taken out
1/2 head of Radicchio - chopped into bite size pieces
1 Lavash or pita bread - cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp feta cheese
Dressing:
3 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Lemon juice
Some Lemon zest
2 tsp Sumac

Method:
1. Wash all the vegetables, cut according to ingredient list and mix in a big salad bowl along with the cheese.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F. Layer the pieces of bread in a single layer. Drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper on it and toast until browned and crisp.
3. For dressing, mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sumac and zest and mix well.
4. Toss everything together and serve! 

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

This is a main attraction for any party - a dish that is super easy to cook and will make you look like a star chef!!
If you don't have a tagine, then you can cook the chicken with the same method in any heavy bottomed pan over low heat. The key to develop those flavors is slow cooking.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken cut into medium sized pieces(skinned)
2 onions - sliced finely
2 tbsp coriander powder
2 tsp turmeric
3 tsp black pepper
1-2 tsp chilly powder or paparika
4 tsp sumac powder
2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp clove powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 zest of lemon
1 lemon juice
4 garlic cloves - just peeled and crushed(not chopped)
Regular olive oil(or any other oil, like peanut oil)
Salt to taste

Method:
1. In a deep pan, heat some oil and brown the chicken pieces from all sides. Make sure they don't cook, just get colored.
2. In a tagine, layer the chicken at the bottom and put the sliced onions and garlic cloves on the top.
3. In a bowl, mix all the  spices, zest, lemon juice and salt. Pour some water to make sure spices quote the chicken pieces well. The mixture should be a little runnier than a paste.
4. Pour the spice mixture over onions and chicken and mix well.
5. Cover the tagine and cook the chicken at 350F/177C oven for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Note: If you are cooking over a pan, then add a little chicken stock or water, about half cup, cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour at least. Then check until the meat falls off the bone.
6. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Serve this with warm pita or lavash or you can eat with rice pilaf and salad! It's delicious just the way it is :)
To check out more ideas: Elegant Moroccan Dinner Party post.

Note that I did not add any oil in the tagine itself. That is because first, it's was already lightly coated in oil when I browned the pieces and second the chicken has enough water to prevent it from being dry. If you add oil, the dish will become too oily. Now that's not a pleasing thing for guests to gulp is it ;)