Wednesday 25 January 2012

WoW forgot how much I like Shakshoka


  After losing about 6kg and two months of cheese, pita bread and occasional ready meals from Sainsburys, I thought maybe I should cook something! (Which, knowing how clumsy I was in the kitchen, was a horrifying idea. :O ) Anyway, I decided I could do it, I could use the stove and cook a very easy Libyan meal without sounding the fire alarm or ending up in the hospital with stomach pain. I just needed to think of an easy meal that I liked.

   One day while I was talking with Yazeed, a very dear friend of mine, Shakshoka came to my mind. Shakshoka is basically an egg curry. It is a very easy meal, with a great taste, especially if it is made with Gedeed ( Libyan version of dried meat ). So I asked Yazeed to ask his mother to teach me how to cook it which she did. I was so happy with it, finally a homemade meal, that I kept making it every day for about two months, until I got so fed up with it that I never cooked it again. Well, until yesterday! It has been about 3 years since the last time I made it, however eating it yesterday reminded me of how much I love it

Now the recipe,

Ingredients:
 3 tbsp Oil or Gedeed (Well, really just add as much as you like :) )
 1 Chopped onion
 2 Chopped tomatoes
 2 Eggs

 1 tbsp Tomato paste
 -  Salt
 -  Chile powder  
 -  Curry powder
 -  Cumin 
 -  Cinnamon
 -  Black pepper

Preparation method:
1.  Fry the onions on high heat for a bit with the Gedeed.
2.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and the rest of the spices ( the     spices use as much as you can bare ! ). Leave it cooking on a medium heat for a bit.
3.  Break the eggs over the mix and make sure that they are spaced and let it cook until the eggs are cooked. Serve with bread.

Friday 20 January 2012

How did it all start ?

Salam,

 I love cooking. Well, to be honest, I love food. Before I left home and came to Scotland (hint the kilt ;) ), I never cooked, why would I?  I had an amazing cook, who I call Omi (mom in Arabic). (God bless her she is a wonderful cook!) Okay I know, everyone thinks his mother is a great cook, but trust me my mother's food is different.  It is brilliant.

You must be saying, "okay this guy loves food, and his mother is a good cook, so why is he cooking then?"  Well, my mother is in Libya and I'm in Edinburgh. And I couldn't find a restaurant that could replace my mother's home food. Don't get me wrong, some restaurants had very delicious food, but there was something missing.  Home food has something special in it.  I couldn't just live on restaurant food! I had to learn how to cook, and after a while I discovered that I actually love cooking.

 So join me in my cooking adventure, and if you happen to be near by please do come and taste some of what I cook!