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Emirates Food Channel

Signature Arabic Mezze

Chef Saud Al Matrooshi
Executive Sous Chef
The only thing I like better than talking about food is cooking it

Ingredients

Nutrition

Instructions

  • Place the chickpeas in a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Add the ice cubes and mix for a further 3 minutes.
  • Add the tahini (395 g) and mix again, adding the lemon salt (85 g) and the normal salt (60 g).
  • Finally, add the corn oil (1 kg) slowly, until the houmous becomes bright and creamy.

  • Put the smoked eggplant (3.6 kg) in the blender and mix well.
  • Add the tahini paste (4.32 kg), salt (400 g) and lemon salt (230 g).
  • Blend again & taste before removing.

  • Roast the red capsicum (2.54 kg).
  • Sauté the onion (1.52 kg) and the garlic (810 g) in the olive oil (4.492 kg).
  • Chop and add the capsicum, garlic and onion.
  • Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

  • Wash and drain the rice.
  • In a deep bowl, mix all the stuffing ingredients together (1kg chopped tomato, 500 g chopped onion, 500 g chopped Arabic parsley, 20 g salt, 4 g sweet Arabic pepper powder, 400 ml lemon juice and 175 ml virgin olive oil) and leave it to sit for 3 hours. Then pass it through the strainer.
  • Take one vine leaf and spread it on a flat surface. Place 1 teaspoon of the stuffing in the middle, in a straight line.
  • Fold the sides inwards first, and roll the wine leaf to wrap around the stuffing. Make sure the stuffing is completely covered, and the vine leaf tightly wrapped.
  • Repeat the same procedure with the other vine leaves.
  • Line the base of a cooking pot with the sliced onion (100 g), and place the sliced tomato (120 g) on top.
  • Arrange the vine leaves on top of the base layers.
  • Cover the vine wrapped leaves with the drained juice, lemon juice (150 ml), salt (5 g), olive oil (50 ml), pepper (1 g) and water (up to 2 cm above the top layer).
  • Place on a high heat until the water starts to boil.
  • Reduce the heat and simmer for minimum 150 minutes from boiling point.

  • Soak the bulgur (30 g) in the water for a while and remove. Mix the chopped onion (50 g) with sweet Arabic pepper powder (5 g).
  • Add all the ingredients (600 g chopped Arabic parsley, 300 g chopped fresh tomatoes, 100 g olive oil, 80 g lemon juice and 15 g salt), mix well and adjust the seasoning.

  • Blitz the smoked eggplant (3 kg) in the blender until fine.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients (2.5 kg green capsicum chopped, 2.5 kg chopped tomato, 500 g Arabic parsley chopped, 2 kg red onion chopped, 460 g salt, 210 g lemon salt and 2.7 l virgin olive oil) to the blender and mix.
  • Season to taste.