I’m a huge fan of yogurtfor a whole host of reasons- and not just eating a small cup of flavored yogurt a day, but eating it as part of a healthy diet in as many ways as possible. When I buy a tub of yogurt, I find all sorts of ways to finish it off because I see it as a valuable health food that I’m grateful we have so readily available to us. That said, from a halal perspective, nowadays you have to read labels to know if there is any gelatin in your tub of yogurt. Yes, gelatin. Which can come from either beef or pork, but could also come from agar agar, a sea-derived gelatin. Either way, if it’s made in a homemade style, it is not made with any of those. The reason it’s often done in the food industry is that it helps to keep the yogurt conformed in the tub or container and to withstand varying temperatures during transport.
One solution to that is to buy a halal-certified yogurt and there really aren’t many brands on the market to fit that category, however, I have been consuming and developing many wonderful recipes with Mountain High Yoghurt, a halal-certified brand available at many stores- widely available in the Western states, but I find the larger tubs available at my local Costco store just outside of Chicago. It’s nice and creamy, smooth and clean of any ‘funny stuff’ or doubtful ingredients. They make it without any gelatin, which I believe is how yogurt tastes best anyway. I have been delighted by this new find!
Have you ever bought a tub of yogurt and then got to the last part of it and wondered what you could make or bake to finish it off? I make a conscious effort to never throw away any food, and yogurt is something that can easily be incorporated into so many dishes so that you never waste a drop. After all, the barakah, or blessings, are in the last part of any vessel…
In this case, when I’m looking to use the last drops of yogurt in the tub, I think of sauces- sauces on meat, sauces on pasta- either purely yogurt or mixed with something else, both of which can be amazingly delicious. I remember the first time I ever had yogurt on top of pasta with red sauce because a Turkish friend of mine in college had poured it on top of my plate. I felt as though it was a mortal sin to do this, having grown up in a Sicilian family where the only thing that went on a plate of past was some sort of Italian hard or soft cheese, that’s it. I didn’t want to be rude to my host, so I ate it. And absolutely loved it, so much so that I kept this way of eating pasta my very own secret for a very long time. Eventually, I found myself making pasta with yogurt more than with red sauce, as my best friend often made macarna (macaroni) with yogurt for her kids and we would sit at the table with them together often and eat this up as though it was the new comfort food, at least in my life. I guess food memories really do create the bond we have with certain dishes, don’t they?
(share with us how you #finishthetub by using that hashtag and tagging us on social media)
This recipe is a whole new spin on my love for Middle Eastern meat dishes. It combines a whole lot of flavors I love and piles it all on to one plate, which is fantastic, in my opinion. When the combination of beef and eggplant is mentioned, I’m in for pretty much whatever dish it is, having first been lured into its greatness by my dear friend Inci who would present Ottoman-style dishes at my door when we were neighbors many moons ago. She would explain their history and tell me how she made the stew cuts with the eggplant so silky and soft, but I could never quite replicate the texture or taste. To this day, it’s the one thing I ask her to make when I see her, as I really love her dish the most, especially when served with the perfectly-formed buttery rice with strands of toasted vermicelli. How spoiled I’ve become over the years having excellent home chefs as friends…
Anyway, I first heard about this particular ground beef dish while listening to an episode of Nigella Lawson’s cooking show. I had never really watched her before and all of a sudden I started to watch her programs with interest because of the variety of Turkish and Lebanese recipes she was showing how to make, using many of the ingredients I also cook with and have on hand much of the time at home. One dish that stood out, in particular, was her recipe for Fatteh, something which she also called Middle Eastern nachos- and it’s true- they do look and feel a bit like making a nacho dish although here the meat is flavored with Middle Eastern spices instead of Mexican ones. Genius. I thought I’d give it a go and ended up making dishes for a couple of weeks, experimenting in my own way and coming up with a style and format I love so much I’ve served it to my guests who also loved the yogurt sauce on ravioli, which you’ll see at the end.
Here’s how the Middle Eastern Beef is spiced up, the eggplant is made and of course the yogurt-tahini sauce, which to me tastes a lot like something you’d find on a certain halal cart somewhere around the country. I’ve been asked so often for that yogurt sauce recipe and this is the one way I feel as though it tastes the closest to the cart.
First, I make the yogurt sauce, although you can do the beef and eggplant first instead. If you like the yogurt sauce warm when eaten, do it last. If you don’t care, then it won’t matter when you make it.
You need to use a double boiler or make one as I’ve done here. A pot of water on the bottom and a stainless steel bowl on top where the yogurt, tahini, garlic cloves and salt will go. Also the lemon juice at the end.
I warm the yogurt first, as the water in the bottom pan has come to a boil.
Then I add crushed garlic, tahini sauce, salt and the juice of half a lemon.
It’s whisked all together and warmed gently, then taken off the heat.
Next, I dice up the eggplant to make sure all the pieces are about the same size so that they cook evenly. Since they soak up oil quite a bit, I use grapeseed oil to saute them in first, then once fully cooked I move them out of the pan and onto a plate, set aside until the ground beef is done. The ground beef is cooked in the same pan with the cumin, coriander and dried parsley.
Prepare some pita chips, either store-bought or make your own.
Use the pan or dish you’re going to serve the meal in to line it with the pita chips. I actually keep the center hollow of any chips if I don’t have enough to go around, and it’s fine.
Now come the added ingredients that if you have can be great, but if you don’t you can skip them, but find something crunchy to put on top, as well as something picante, or hot.
Like Aleppo pepper flakes or Urfa biber. I bought some on my recent trip to Turkey and the others at the Spice House in Chicago and it’s excellent.
Dry roast the pine nuts in a pan, without any oil or water (which is why it’s called dry roast). Do this for about five minutes or less, on low. Keep a careful eye on it and pull it off the heat when they’re mostly browned. Don’t skip this step; it makes a huge difference on this dish.
And…ripe pomegranate seeds.
They’re not really in season right now, so I was realized that only when opening mine. The color was really light; otherwise, it’s nice and dark. I love the way they burst with flavor in your mouth in this and any other dish where fresh pomegranate seeds are used. If you can’t get these, you can add my other favorite ingredient here: grape molasses. Actually, I used both in this dish because of the grape molasses which adds a sour flavor, and I love it. You can get most grape molasses products in a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern stores in the honey aisle or where they keep Turkish products. Pile it all on top and add fresh parsley. I love the color combo, don’t you? Naturally, I had to plate this in my copper pans brought from Turkey; they’re perfect for this dish.
Now, there is one variation you can make here. If you don’t have eggplant, just use the beef, or lamb, or ground chicken or turkey- although I feel this recipe tastes best with either lamb or beef. The point is, you can make it with eggplant and I realized this the first time I made the dish and forgot to add that important ingredient, but it was fine. It was totally fine and even quicker to make!
One other thing you can do to #finishthetub is to put the yogurt-tahini sauce on top of cooked ravioli. This particular dish below is made of butternut squash ravioli and then creamed spinach on top, then topped with the yogurt-tahini sauce. You can warm just the yogurt if you don’t want to add all the other ingredients and then put the toasted pine nuts on top.
Either way you make it, you can #finishthetub in tasty, quick ways. How do you do it?
I love Mediterranean & Aegean dishes, as they’re known for their use of healthy ingredients, but many dishes just remind me specifically of the sun-soaked places I am super passionate about like Sicily, Italy; Corfu, Greece, and pretty much anywhere along the Turkish Aegean & Mediterranean (aka: the Turquoise Coast).
Ahh, I can get swept away just thinking about how peaceful those places are. Peaceful, yet teeming with life and nature and so much good food.
There’s something particular about Greek food that I favor. You can say that Turkish and Greek foods are interchangeable, but there are some differences, too. I love the simplicity of many Greek dishes, for one thing. I think this is mostly attributed to austere island life of the hundreds of Greek islands, which makes it quite interesting to think about how, for example, those who have endured mountain life were able to conjure up such simple yet nutritious meals that have been feeding them for generations. Most of the dishes aren’t fussy, either which is something I truly love.
This recipe here for Aegean Style Alfredo, is leaning on the Greek side, as I’ve not ever seen it in Turkish cuisine specifically but I have seen many a dish of Makarna with Yogurt, though not specifically like this.
I learned about it while doing some research on the Blue Zones, in particular the diet of the people of Ikaria, known for their longevity. After research many of the recipes, this one in particular resonated with me because it was very similar to one of the very first Turkish pasta dishes I ever tried, too.
This recipe is so simple, but it has taken me some experimentation to get it just the way I think it tastes fantastic and easiest to make, which is just as important to me.
To start with, choose the best noodles. Get handmade fettuccine, or something similar, if possible. If not, any type of thick noodle will do – and once you get a hang of this method, do it with just about any type of pasta that you like.
Next comes making the yogurt sauce. I’m starting with Mountain High Yogurt, for many reasons. For one, it’s a favored brand in my halal kitchen because it doesn’t contain any funny stuff (that’s a real tagline of theirs) and second, it’s a halal-certified product. It also tastes great and cooks well- so that means you don’t just have to have it as a snack, but you can also use it in dishes like this where you might not realize yogurt can be ‘cooked’ or heated.
The second thing regards how you decide to process the garlic. There are two ways you can do it- when I’m finished explaining I’ll tell you which one I prefer the most.
One way is to chop the garlic and lightly saute it in garlic…
…then add the fresh or dried herbs to the garlic and oil. With this method you have to be extremely careful not to burn the garlic or you basically ruin the taste of the entire dish. Of course doing it well enough to taste great isn’t complicated- you just cook it on low heat and very slowly, turning the heat off as soon as the herbs have had about a minute or two to infuse the garlic. This is then added to the yogurt, then mixed into the cooked noodles.
The second method- and the one I prefer the most, is to chop the garlic but keep it raw. Make the mixture of dried or fresh herbs: parsley and oregano, plus black pepper and sea salt. Add this to the yogurt with a drizzle of olive oil.
Set this aside (whether you’ve cooked the garlic or not). Cook the noodles and be prepared to move fast once they’re made. If you get homemade noodles, they do cook fast and you need to remove them as soon as they’re finished otherwise they get too pasty.
One way to prevent any stickiness is to drizzle some oil into the bottom of the bowl or pan you’re going to mix the yogurt with the noodles in. At this stage, move fast from colander to pan to prevent any lost noodles stuck to the pan or colander you’ve used.
Next, add the yogurt mixture directly onto the hot noodles- this helps to ‘cook’ the yogurt.
Many recipes call for the addition of some of the pasta water to the yogurt, but I found that any water made things too watery and I really didn’t like how the dish turned out- so I’m sticking to this way, where the texture was great and so was the taste.
It it scrumptious with the addition of grilled chicken or salmon, but all alone it is a gem on its own. It’s also light enough for a summer dish but equally comforting as a winter dish, serving as a really wonderful substitute for the heavier Italian Alfredo dish which uses Parmesan and heavy cream to make the sauce.
One last addition you could make, but don’t have to- although I really like it- is to add some shaved Romano cheese on top. It is often made from goat’s milk, which gives the dish a unique flavor all it’s own and really puts that Greek Island stamp on it, too, as that is a popular ingredient not just in Ikaria but in many of the Greek islands.
So, what do you think? Will you give this recipe a try and share it with some of your family and friends? Let us know in the comments below.
This recipe post was sponsored by Mountain Valley Yogurt. All opinions expressed are that of the author and not of the sponsoring company.
Aegean Style Alfredo
Serves 4
A much lighter version of the Italian-style Alfredo, this recipe is inspired by the Greek Islands and makes wonderful use of our favorite halal-certified yogurt, Mountain High, a taste you’ll love to incorporate into many more pasta dishes after trying this one.
Prepare a bowl to make the yogurt mixture. Whisk the yogurt until there are no more clumps. Add the garlic, fresh or dried herbs, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.
Prepare the noodles by boiling them for the correct amount of time, according to package instructions. Work quickly so that the noodles are still hot when the yogurt is added. Drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of a pan or bowl in which you’ll mix the yogurt and noodles.
Add the noodles to the pan or bowl with olive oil, then add the yogurt mixture on top. Mix the yogurt mixture thoroughly until it covers all of the noodles.
Serve immediately- whether alone or with grilled chicken or salmon on top or on the side, just like you might see with the Italian style Alfredo dishes, too!
If you love labneh, or yogurt spread, as much as I do then you’ll really appreciate this recipe because it takes the simplified version up several very wonderful and delicious notches beyond what you might see or taste.
I made this recipe to go on my Autumn Harvest Table (also can be incorporated into your Thanksgiving table menu, too) spread because the aesthetic is pretty and goes well with all the other dishes on the table. See the full menu here.
It’s easy to make but does require a little bit of planning ahead since the spread is made by draining the yogurt of it’s liquids and needs to be done about 6-8 hours (preferably overnight) in advance.
I use a thick yogurt (i.e. Mountain High Yoghurt which is Halal) to make the spread, and I typically prepare this the night before I want to serve it. I like to use the Plain, Whole Milk version to do this. It’s a halal-certified product and doesn’t have any added ingredients other than what’s supposed to be there, which is a huge relief for people like myself who want to know what’s really in their food.
Start out by getting a cheesecloth or very thin cotton towel, a strainer (colander), and a large bowl that will fit underneath your strainer.
Simply place the towel or cheesecloth over the strainer (be sure to choose a large piece so that there is enough cloth to hold the weight of the yogurt but also to be able to tie it up with all four corners. Put the larger bowl underneath the strainer to catch the liquids from the yogurt. These liquids are called whey proteins and can be reserved to add into things like smoothies.
Add a generous amount of yogurt (I used about two heaping cups) and place into the strainer. Tie up the corners of the towel and use a rubber band to hang the cloth over your kitchen faucet where the strainer and bowl underneath are just below it. Keep it there for about one hour then remove the cloth, place it in the colander with the bowl underneath and keep it in the fridge for the remainder of time, or until it becomes thick and spreadable.
Once it’s ready, plate it onto a serving dish and spread it out evenly with a butterknife. Add chopped pistachio and hazelnuts (or any nuts you prefer), and pomegranates. Then drizzle olive oil on top. Chill until ready to serve.
Serve with pita bread, plain bruschetta or toasts for dipping, if desired.
What I love about this recipe is that not only is it super delicious, but it’s also beautiful to look at and makes a very healthy statement on your dinner table, too.
Part 2
This post was sponsored by Mountain High Yoghurt. All opinions, recipes and photos are generated by the author.
Yogurt Spread with Pomegranates, Pistachios and Olive Oil
Serves 4
This spread or dip is a beautiful and Autumn-themed addition to any party table or gathering where you want your guests to be inspired to eat healthy and try something a little different than usual.
Start out by getting a cheesecloth or very thin cotton towel, a strainer (colander), and a large bowl that will fit underneath your strainer.
Simply place the towel or cheesecloth over the strainer (be sure to choose a large piece so that there is enough cloth to hold the weight of the yogurt but also to be able to tie it up with all four corners.
Put the larger bowl underneath the strainer to catch the liquids from the yogurt. These liquids are called whey proteins and can be reserved to add into things like smoothies.
Add a generous amount of yogurt (I used about two heaping cups) and place into the strainer. Tie up the corners of the towel and use a rubber band to hang the cloth over your kitchen faucet where the strainer and bowl underneath are just below it. Keep it there for about one hour then remove the cloth, place it in the colander with the bowl underneath and keep it in the fridge for the remainder of time, or until it becomes thick and spreadable.
Once it’s ready, plate it onto a serving dish and spread it out evenly with a butterknife. Add chopped pistachio and hazelnuts (or any nuts you prefer), and pomegranates. Then drizzle olive oil on top. Chill until ready to serve.
Serve with pita bread, plain bruschetta or toasts for dipping, if desired.
*Note: You will also need a piece of cheesecloth or a thin cotton towel, a strainer/colander and a bowl that is larger than the strainer.
Recipe Copyright | My Halal Kitchen by Yvonne Maffei. 2025
My favorite season of the year is Fall/Autumn. I look forward to wearing cozy sweaters, sitting around a fire outside and taking walks in nature to appreciate the changing leaves and brisk, cool weather. I also look forward to using all the amazing produce from the Fall harvest: pumpkins, squash, nuts, seeds, apples, warm spices. Oh, the things that can be cooked and baked and how wonderful the house smells with cinnamon and nutmeg in the air…
Bursting my pumpkin spice bubble is the fact that here we are in September and unfortunately it hasn’t felt like Fall here lately at all. It’s been hot, humid and dry – a somewhat expected phenomenon in the Summer, but not so much in September. Regardless, I am hopeful that the more expected weather will come as predicted later in the week and that’s why I’m forging ahead with my latest baking project for Pumpkin Yoghurt Bread using Mountain High Yoghurt, which is gelatin-free and halal-certified.
If you’re wondering why it’s important for something like yogurt to get a halal-certification, you can read more about that here in my recent blog post where I explained that and it’s the reason for working closely with them to utilize these products in my cooking, baking and everyday consumption.
In addition to the main ingredient, Mountain High’s Whole Milk Yoghurt (if you prefer fat-free they also have that variety) which helps makes this bread moist, there is also an addition of easy-to-find healthy, wholesome ingredients that go into it:
Raw cane sugar, baking powder, spices, orange peel…
Raw organic almonds (the taste and smell is way different than the conventional), walnuts, pumpkin seeds…
Bread flour, hazelnut, walnut OR grape seed oil, pumpkin puree and organic free-range eggs…
The instructions to make it are super easy but should be followed carefully as baking is different from cooking in that it follows a more technical and scientific approach to testing to achieve the right taste and bake time for the desired outcome.
I use two bowls- one larger and one smaller. This may seem like an insignificant detail but it matters so much. I’ve been making this type of bread for many years and if you flip flop this step (by not adding dry ingredients TO the wet ingredients), for some reason it just doesn’t turn out the same.
I start out with the wet ingredients in a large bowl since we’ll be adding the dry ingredients To this one. I start out first by whisking together eggs, the Mountain High Yoghurt, pumpkin puree and the oil.
All of the dry ingredients go into the smaller bowl (which is more of a medium-size bowl) and includes the spices and the nuts which should be roughly chopped.
Yes, you can do all of this in a stand mixer, but it’s way easier in bowls, in my opinion. You do need a strong whisk to do this, however, since the dough can get a little heavy.
Smells like Fall once you get to this step! Next is the preparation of a bread loaf pan. It should be thoroughly greased with butter and flour so that the bread can slide out nicely after it’s baked.
If you want a more buttery top you can melt a little butter or ghee on top and pour it over before it’s baked.
When it comes out, it smells fantastic and if you let it cool for about 20 minutes it’ll be easier to slice or get out of the pan as a whole.
What I love about this bread is that it’s a real health food, especially for breakfast or snacks. There is no need to look further than your own kitchen- your pantry and your fridge – for the ingredients to put this together yourself, rather than a random coffee house that sells expensive, who-knows-what’s-in-them types of breakfast foods. It’s dense, it’s packed with great ingredients, it’s moist because of the Mountain High Yoghurt addition and the pumpkin puree, all a great combination for creating something you’ll be making over and over again.
Eid ul Adha is around the corner again! Where did the time go? Wasn’t it just Ramadan, then Eid ul Fitr? Wow, time has flown and out the window goes my patience for difficult, fussy recipes for entertaining during holidays like Eid. I don’t want to spend countless hours shopping, prepping or being in the kitchen. It’s still summer, after all and I want something easy-peasy but also healthy and of course delicious and crowd-pleasing.
That’s why I love this recipe I’m about to share- it’s an old recipe I started making while in college, taught by a friend who was a good cook but didn’t like to spend a lot of time at all in the kitchen. She surprised me by putting everything in the blender then pouring it over chicken: yogurt, turmeric, salt, pepper, garlic cloves, ginger, and cilantro.
Who would have thought something that simple could be whipped together so fast? I thought good food had to be slaved over to have any flavor, but that is so not true.
Over time, I’ve tweaked the recipe to incorporate or substitute parsley for the cilantro and ground ginger since I don’t always keep the fresh kind on hand. I’ve made it with chicken and lamb and done it on the grill and in the oven- all of which are excellent in flavor.
To make it you only need a few very simple ingredients, probably things you keep around your kitchen pantry and potted herb garden, if you have one: your choice of meat (udhiya lamb, goat, beef or chicken– though you could even try this with seafood like red snapper), turmeric, ginger (fresh or ground), garlic, cilantro or parsley, the usual salt and pepper, and the main squeeze: Mountain High’s Plain Yoghurt, which is halal-certified so it doesn’t contain any funny stuff like gelatin.
Here’s a short video of what I use to prep the yogurt marinade and how I do it.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
And this is the gorgeous, delicious result:
And don’t forget to use Mountain High Yoghurt for this recipe, many other recipes and even as a snack. Check out their website for locations where you can shop for it and follow their Facebook page for recipes, promotions and more.
Have you ever bought a tub of yogurt and then got to the last part of it and wondered what you could make or bake to finish it off? I make a conscious effort to never throw away any food, and yogurt is something that can easily be incorporated into so many dishes so that you never waste a drop. After all, the barakah, or blessings, are in the last part of any vessel…
Pile it all on top and add fresh parsley. I love the color combo, don’t you?
Naturally, I had to plate this in my copper pans brought from Turkey; they’re perfect for this dish.
This recipe is so simple, but it has taken me some experimentation to get it just the way I think it tastes fantastic and easiest to make, which is just as important to me.
The second method- and the one I prefer the most, is to chop the garlic but keep it raw. Make the mixture of dried or fresh herbs: parsley and oregano, plus black pepper and 
One way to prevent any stickiness is to drizzle some oil into the bottom of the bowl or pan you’re going to mix the 
At this stage, move fast from colander to pan to prevent any lost noodles stuck to the pan or colander you’ve used. 
Next, add the 
Many recipes call for the addition of some of the pasta water to the 
One last addition you could make, but don’t have to- although I really like it- is to add some shaved Romano cheese on top. It is often made from goat’s milk, which gives the dish a unique flavor all it’s own and really puts that Greek Island stamp on it, too, as that is a popular ingredient not just in Ikaria but in many of the Greek islands. 
Bursting my pumpkin spice bubble is the fact that here we are in September and unfortunately it hasn’t felt like Fall here lately at all. It’s been hot, humid and dry – a somewhat expected phenomenon in the Summer, but not so much in September. Regardless, I am hopeful that the more expected weather will come as predicted later in the week and that’s why I’m forging ahead with my latest baking project for Pumpkin Yoghurt Bread using 
