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Serving Platters (Saynieh): Serving platters come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles. Fancy ones are used to serve guests and plainer ones get more everyday wear. Small platters (saynieyet qaweh) are used for serving perhaps an afternoon coffee with a small plate of cookies and larger platters (saynieyet akkel) are used for serving a rice dish or for arranging a maza spread on it.
Sharp Paring Knife (Sikkeen): this is a smallish knife (typically about 3 to 4 inches/7.5 to 10 cm) long with a smooth edge. The small size of this knife gives a great amount of control to the user, and is used as an all-purpose knife in many Middle Eastern kitchens. To keep her knives sharp, my mother-in-law sharpens them about twice a week on the bottom of a stoneware plate.
Vegetable Corer (Hafara): this tool is a long, narrow blade curved into a half moon shape; it is used to hollow out vegetables such as squash, eggplant, and potato for stuffing. If a vegetable corer isn’t available, a narrow, sharp-tipped vegetable peeler or a narrow apple corer may work.
Skewers (Sieakh): these long metal or wooden sticks typically have a sharp tip on one end and a handle on the other; food is threaded on and then grilled. They come in all different shapes and sizes; large flat skewers (as seen on the left side of the photo) work well for kebabs, such as Chicken Kebabs (page 88) and Lamb or Beef Kebabs (page 112), since ground meat is easier to mold onto thicker skewers. Thinner skewers work (shown on the right side of the picture) work well for cooking chunks of meat, like Marinated Chicken Skewers (page 88).
Spider Strainer (Musfieh): this long-handled utensil has a woven-wire or mesh circular basket at one end. It’s commonly used to scoop food out of hot oil (when deep-frying) or water (when blanching).
Buying the Right Middle Eastern Ingredients
When it comes to Middle Eastern ingredients you will find that most of the other ingredients used in the recipes in this book are probably already in your pantry / freezer / fridge, or are readily available at your grocery store. And even the ingredients on this list are likely to be found in the regular section of your regular grocery store (like cardamom, dates, and pine nuts), or in your grocery store's “ethnic” or “international” section (like bulgur wheat or fava beans). Some things can be easily made at home (like pomegranate molasses) or substituted (like lemon juice for citric acid, zucchini for marrow squash, other fresh herbs for mint or purslane, or equal parts unsalted butter and canola oil for clarified butter). For the few ingredients that are harder to find check your local Middle Eastern grocery store (see the Resource Guide, page 140).
Apricot Leather (Qamar al Deen): the name literally translates to “moon of the religion.” it’s made from puréed apricots that are spread onto large trays and dried in the sun; the dried sheets of apricot are lightly brushed with oil, folded, and tightly wrapped in plastic to keep them fresh. Apricot leather keeps best stored at room temperature. It can be eaten as candy, made into Apricot Drink (page 138), or Layered Apricot and Milk Pudding (page 120).
Bulgur Wheat (Burghul): typically made from durum wheat, but can also be made from other types of wheat. It is parboiled, stripped of its outer layers of bran, and dried. It is then ground into three different sizes: #1—fine, #2—medium, and #3—coarse. The fine grind is commonly used in tabbouleh (page 44) and Kibbeh (page 100). Medium or coarse-ground bulgur wheat is prepared similarly to rice in dishes like Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf with Caramelized Onion (page 82).
Cardamom (Hale): Cardamom, which is related to ginger, produces green or black pods that contain fragrant black seeds. (Note: in this book, i’m always referring to green cardamom pods.) the seeds have a unique, warming flavor, with notes of lemon, pepper, and camphor. Once the seeds are ground they have a tendency to lose their flavor quickly, which is why it’s best to leave the pods whole until ready to use. Cardamom is used to flavor both sweet and savory dishes alike, and in Damascus it’s in the ground coffee you buy to make turkish Coffee (page 139).
Citric Acid (Hamud Lamoun): Also called lemon salt or sour salt, citric acid is found naturally in citrus fruits. It has a sour taste and is often used as a preservative, or to give dishes a pleasant tart tang. It’s handy to keep this in your pantry, as it can be substituted for fresh lemon juice in just about any recipe (the one exception I can think of is Lemony Mint Salad Dressing on page 28). To substitute, 1 large lemon = 3 to 4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice = ¼ teaspoon citric acid. If you’re using citric acid to replace lemon juice, keep in mind that you may need to add a bit of water as necessary to compensate for the lack of liquid.
Clarified Butter (Ghee or Samneh): Butter that has had the milk solids and water removed resulting in a higher smoke point, which makes it useful for cooking at higher temperatures. Because of its low water content, clarified butter is ideal for use in many rice dishes, as well as in cookies—particularly, Butter Cookies (page 123)—and other confections. Clarified butter can be easily made: melt unsalted butter over low heat and cook it until foam rises to the top. Remove from heat, skim the foam off the surface, and strain the liquid through a double-cheesecloth lined mesh sieve, discarding the solids. Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the fridge.
Dates (Tamar): the fruit that grows on the date palm tree, Phoenix dactylifera. there are many different varieties of dates, which are divided into the following categories based on their sugar and moisture contents: soft (including Medjool), semi-dry (such as Deglet noor), and dry (for example, Thoory). Dates undergo four different stages of ripening where they change color from green to yellow, orange, or red and then finally to brown; their texture also changes from crunchy to soft, and their flavor becomes sweet. Dates are thought of as a fairly healthy food, containing a wide range of vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber. Dates play an important role in Middle Eastern cuisine. They contain simple sugars that help to quickly restore energy, which makes them the ideal food to break your fast with during the islamic holy month of Ramadan. Dates are used as the filling for Date-Filled Cookies (page 118).
Dried Limes (Loomi): Made from Persian limes that are dried until the insides turn black. They are about the size of golf balls or a little larger, and the outside color ranges from tan to brownish-black, but the darker variety is generally more flavorful. They taste sour, but without the brightness found in fresh limes, and have a complex, slightly fermented flavor. They are commonly used in dishes from the Arabian Gulf area, including Baked Chicken with Red Rice Pilaf (page 96) and Rice Pilaf with Spiced Smoked Chicken (page 94). If a recipe calls for grinding dried limes, do so right before you’re ready to use them, as their flavor diminishes once ground.
Fava Beans (Foul): Also called broad beans. They grow in slender green pods that
