Lebanese Food Recipes
1. Fatteh Bi –Lahmeh (Lamb shanks with Arabic croutons)
Ingredients: (4-6 servings)
6 Lamb shanks
1 cinnamon stick
1/8 t. allspice
Salt and pepper to taste + 1t. salt
2 dried bay leaves
1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained
1 large onion, quartered
I large clove garlic
3 loaves of Pita Bread, toasted
2 c. plain yogurt
1/3 c. butter, melted
Pine nuts
Procedure:
Place the lamb shanks in a deep pot.
Cover thoroughly with cold water and heat until
meat turns brown.
Remove the fat curd and add one stick of cinnamon,
the onion, spices and bay leaves and let boil under
the meat is tender (fork pierces meat.
Add Garbanzo beans and let boil for few more
minutes.
Mash Garlic with 1 t. salt.
Add the mashed garlic to 2 c. of yogurt and mix
well
Sauté the pine nuts in butter until golden brown.
In a pyrex pan, spread the toasted bread, cut into
small pieces, as a first layer.
Spread ~ one cup of the Lamb broth over the bread.
Debone the meat and cut it into small cubes and
spread it over the bread.
Spread the Garbanzo beans over with small pieces of
the cooked onion from the pot.
(for vegetarians, omit the meat layer and use
vegetable broth instead of the lamb broth).
Spread the yogurt mix over the pan and top it with
the pine nuts.
2. Meghli (Spiced Rice Pudding)
Ingredients: (6-8 servings)
1 c. Rice powder
2 c. sugar
7 c. cold water
2 t. caraway
1 t. anise powder
1½ t. cinnamon
Shredded coconut, Pine nuts, blanched almonds, and
chopped walnuts
In a deep pot, mix sugar and 6 c. water over heat
until all sugar is dissolved.
Add rice powder and leave it on medium heat until
rice is cooked (boiling), stirring often.
Boil one cup of water and mix the spices in it. Add
the mixture to the pot and stir continuously until
well mixed.
Let the mixture boil on medium heat until
thickened. Stirring is favorable to prevent the
rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Pour the mixture into serving bowls and put in the
fridge until cold.
Top the bowls with shredded coconut and the
different nuts and serve.
(This pudding is made traditionally to welcome
newborn babies. It is still very common for people
to make it whenever a new baby is born and serve it
to whoever comes to congratulate the parents).
Recipes prepared by:
Maya Nehme
Lebanese Student Association
