I have a wonderful recipe to share, and it’s one that I’ve been making this week just because it’s that good. I was preparing to teach a cooking class at the home of a friend and 11 of her friends, which was quite exciting so I wanted to make the class really fun and the food absolutely delicious. Although I’ve taught about Moroccan cooking before, I wanted to change the menu from the typical chicken with olives and preserved lemons dish to something different. I looked through a lot of cookbooks for inspiration and none were as inspiring as Paula Wolfert’s book, The Food of Morocco. It’s a great landscape of gorgeous photography that captures Moroccan people and their diverse cuisine throughout the country. I found a recipe that actually sounded like it was a bit similar in flavor profile to my Sicilian heritage, so I was intrigued to make it myself: Lamb Tagine with Tomatoes & Eggplant. The spices are different but the base ingredients are the same as something one might find in Sicily, which was an interesting thing to discover on its own.
To get started with this recipe, I actually begin with the eggplant first and not the lamb. It needs to be drained of any excess moisture and the way that I do that is to place it in a colander then salt it generously and put something heavy on top to push out that moisture.
For two eggplants, I do this for about one hour then use a paper towel to pat the eggplant dry of any moisture that didn’t come out the bottom and also to remove the salt.
In this dish, I roast the eggplant and tomato in the oven (on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil), as opposed to frying them in a pan with oil. It’s just so much less messy and it frees up the stove top for getting the lamb started.
I love the other ingredients in this dish: cayenne, paprika, cumin, garlic, ginger, saffron water (saffron threads soaked in hot water) and fresh parsley and cilantro.
These ingredients season both the eggplant/tomato that will become a mixture, as well as the lamb, although the lamb will also get seasoned with turmeric and one red onion, grated directly int the lamb that sautés on the stove, first for 30 minutes with just the turmeric (plus salt and olive oil). After the 30 minutes, the turmeric and onion are added, mixed in and then the rest of the spices, too.
Once the lamb is seasoned with the red onion, I get to work on the tomato/eggplant mixture. If you roast each of them on parchment paper, it’ll be easier to clean up the mess as well as simply slide the ingredients into one big bowl to mix up nicely together. Actually, you’ll use a potato masher to ‘mash’ up the roasted veggies then add in the spices (garlic, cayenne paprika, red pepper flakes).
Once that mixture is made, heat a saute pan with olive oil and warm up the tomato/eggplant mixture. Add a pinch of sugar and the freshly chopped herbs and cook for about 10 minutes, or until it’s completely warmed up again and the spices have mixed in well. Remove it from heat and add in the juice of 1/2 lemon to the pan then set aside until the lamb is thoroughly done. It should have the consistency and look of something similar to a korma or thick sauce.
Once both ‘dishes’ are complete, it’s time to plate. You can use a tagine to line it up first with the tomato/eggplant mixture then the lamb then make a pyramid out of the remaining tomato/eggplant– that’s pretty for presentation- -or you can simply mix it all together and plate it nicely. I like to add roasted pine nuts or even almonds on top. Something crunch is always fun and interesting, and in the case it’s a nice addition. Just don’t use too much or it overpowers the rest of the ingredients that we really want to shine- particularly, the lamb.
For friends, family and neighbors who may have never had a lamb dish before, this is one to start with. It’s got familiar flavors yet a bit of exotic, too- and that, you can always adjust to taste.
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.
One of the best ways I’ve found to make soups and stews richer and easier to make is by adding all sorts of broth and stocks: chicken, veal, beef, fish and lamb, in particular.
You can learn how to make your own broths with my recipes in the My Halal Kitchen cookbook and how to prepare the large quantities for the fridge or freezer by watching the video below.
Broth, or stock, is rich in vitamins and minerals and it’s a staple in the traditional cuisine of most cultures, for those reasons. Because most of the meats found in the grocery store today are void of any bones, we miss out on having those vitamins and minerals, particularly calcium, in our diets. You must ask for the bones at your local halal meat store. Speak to the butcher ahead of time, as sometimes they need to order or ask specifically for them since they’re not used in cooking as much as before, unfortunately.
Eid ul Adha is a great time to make your broth since many families will be sacrificing the whole animal and thus have access to all the parts, much of which can be used to make beautiful broths, so I encourage you to make your own stock or broth with your Qurbani, if you can. There may be an even easier option by purchasing the broths from Saffron Road, in particular the Culinary Classic Chicken Broth, as it’s one of the best broth on the market I’ve ever found and it’s also halal-certified by IFANCA.
Ramadan has absolutely flown by- it’s been busy, peaceful, productive, serene, full of blessings and absolutely perfect this year. I just hope we’ve maximized our potential for rewards taking every opportunity to seek them throughout the month. Insha’Allah, I hope and pray the same for all of you. One of the biggest blessings we’ve had is a house full of guests for the first three weeks of Ramadan- talk about blessings showing up at your door! It’s been wonderful, truly and honor to have people- some who fast and some who don’t or cannot. Regardless, a guest is an honor and a gift from Allah (God), so it was truly wonderful to be able to cook for them and enjoy the Iftar (and sometimes Suhoor, too) together.
One of the best dishes I made this Ramadan were these super moist and flavorful Lamb Kofta Burgers. Originally I wanted to put them on skewers and grill them, but we’ve had so much rain that it just wasn’t possible. Indoor grilling was a choice, but I opted out and felt like my guests would enjoy them as burgers, Pita Party style, with all the fixings you would see in a Mediterranean style set up, only these were burgers and not actual kebobs on a skewer.
I start out with some great ingredients, everything is nice and fresh, of course, and the spices are added one by one rather than using a Ras-al-Hanout or Charmoula, but you could do that, too.
Fresh items include: fresh thyme and fresh mint used both as garnishes as well as seasonings in the meat (you can use dried if that’s what you have), spinach and lettuce (for the toppings), whole milk yogurt (substitute with mayo, if you like). fresh tomatoes,
whole milk sheep’s feta cheese,
red onions and lemons for garnish as well as in the meat.
The spices used are easy and accessible in most grocery stores: red pepper flakes, ground cumin, ground black pepper, smoked paprika, sea salt, ground cinnamon, fresh mint from my garden (finely chopped)…
and fresh thyme from the garden, too (leaves only).
When mixed all together, the meat looks great and has such a wonderful smell! It’s mixed all together with the juice of 1/2 lemon.
The meat is formed into burgers and set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cooked at 425 for about 30 minutes. That’s it.
I cut Persian cucumbers to go on the side with the hummus, feta, tomatoes, spinach and yogurt– all of which are great toppings separately or in combination- however you like it.
Someone couldn’t wait for the picture to be taken and took a bit (below), but this is how we enjoyed them. In pitas, stuffed with fresh veg and topped with yogurt. The second and third ones went with hummus…
Enjoy the recipe- it’s now one of my absolute favorites and we’ll be making them again for Eid parties and gatherings, insha’Allah.
I’ve recently learned about the American Lamb Board and all they’re doing to try and get people to eat more lamb, which is a GREAT thing in my opinion! They work with dhabiha halal purveyors of lamb cuts all over the country, which is absolutely wonderful because they really do have some of the finest lamb available and arecertified halal. You can ask for suppliers here on their website and learn more about the benefits of eating lamb in their super resourceful section. It’s great for teaching kids, too, since many of the products used are FREE visual tools! And, of course they even have a great recipe section.
Stay posted for our next giveaway which will feature cuts of ground lamb from Barkaat Foods, one of the vendors verified by and associated with American Lamb Board.
*The meat provided for this post was courtesy of Barkaat Foods in conjunction with the American Lamb Board. All opinions are my own.
Each Spring I wait with anticipation to make my favorite lamb dishes. I’m not sure why I don’t crave it as much in the Winter season, but I think it has to do with the perfect pairing lamb makes with fresh herbs, garlic, potatoes and carrots. What’s nice is that combination can go on to make roasts, stews and more. In this recipe for Pan Roasted Lamb with Potatoes and Carrots, you can actually use the base recipe as a foundation to do other things with it- for example, you can add more water to make it a stew; less water to make it more of a dry roast; you can leave the meat uncut and roast it whole or cut it even smaller than what I’ve done here if you need to extend it to fee more people. It’s all really up to you, but I hope this serves as inspiration to make the freshest of spring lamb dishes this season.
I like lamb that comes in netting because it holds a whole roast together during the cooking process and you can even stick cloves of garlic into it as it cooks, just like I did in this recipe.
Or, you can cut it into chunks, big or small, depending on how you like to eat it. Lamb cooked with the fat on it like here (which can be cut off after cooking), actually makes the meat juicier, it seems to shrink less during cooking and there ends up being more broth/liquids at the bottom of the pan.
I like to buy the whole shoulder, boneless and then cut it up into pieces the size I need for my recipe. It’s more economical than buying a smaller portions and you can always freeze the raw meat you don’t use.
What’s also great about this recipe is that it’s a one-pan meal that can also be added to a slow cooker, but you would have to bring the meat to a high temperature first before doing that, just to be safe. After cooking, it’s so easy to scoop out and plate. In this case, there was a lot of liquid left in the pan so we enjoyed it like a stew. You could thicken the liquids with some flour to make it more of a gravy or simply continue to roast the pan in the oven, uncovered, to cook them all out altogether.
See how versatile this can me? It should be a base recipe, a foundational dish you keep in your back pocket for chilly Spring days, entertaining and/or cooking a large quantity of food for the week ahead.
What are your favorite lamb or Spring meat dishes? Please share in the comments below.
For more information on cooking lamb and sourcing halal options throughout the United States, check out the wonderfully resourceful American Lamb Board’s website. It’s got great tips on how to cook lamb, FREE dvds (Lamb Carcass, Cuts and Fabrication) and infographics like this one on preparation of different cuts, and a page on where to source halal vendors. They’re materials are great in schools, restaurants, and for the cooking aficionado to keep at home for reference.
For a list of halal vendors recommended by the American Lamb Board see below:
fresh tomatoes, 
I’ve recently learned about the 
*The meat provided for this post was courtesy of Barkaat Foods in conjunction with the American Lamb Board. All opinions are my own.
After cooking, it’s so easy to scoop out and plate. In this case, there was a lot of liquid left in the pan so we enjoyed it like a stew. You could thicken the liquids with some flour to make it more of a gravy or simply continue to roast the pan in the oven, uncovered, to cook them all out altogether. 
