Delicious Arabic food @ Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

These photos are taken during our recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Delicious Arabic dishes are easily available @ Bukit Bintang (Opp Pavilion & Star Hill gallery).

Lamb Kebab

Lamb Biryani

Lamb Kebab
























Lamb Mandi

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Lamb curry with Palak / spinach (Ghost hariyali)

Arabic bread



















Lime & Mint juice

Majboos / Chicken Majboos

Majboos - A less spicy Arabic style chicken rice / biryani. No added Maggi stock cube. Basic recipe from Vanitha magazine Feb 1 - 15, 2013 and Restaurant  Rolexio , Eranakulam, Kerala !! This biryani is totally different from Indian biryanis. Please do not compare with Hyderabadi biryani / Dum Biryani / Kozhikkod biryani ..

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the chicken:

750 g chicken, cut into medium pieces (with or without skin)

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon salt

Wash and clean chicken pieces. Drain out water thoroughly. In a bowl, marinate chicken pieces with above ingredients evenly. Cover and keep aside for half an hour.

Other ingredients for chicken stock:

Please use same measuring cup to measure rice,  water and chicken stock.

2 onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

6 cloves garlic

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 cardamom

2 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 small piece dried lemon

¾  teaspoon salt (or to taste)

5 cups water / 1 litre

Method

In a bowl or sauce pan, mix all the ingredients together. Add  marinated chicken pieces. Cover and cook on a medium to low heat for 30 – 40 minutes until done / chicken well cooked / there is reduction in chicken stock. Keep aside to cool for fifteen minutes and strain the chicken stock with the help of a clean iron sieve. Measure the chicken stock.  It should be 4 – 4 ½ cups. This is the main ingredient in which we are going to cook the rice. Remove the cooked chicken pieces and dried lemon. Keep aside separately.  Do not use cooked tomato, onion, spices, garlic, ginger.

For the cooked chicken:

3 tablespoon oil (please do not use coconut oil)

Heat oil in a karahi / pan. Reduce the heat to medium and gently fry cooked chicken pieces in batches (4 – 5 pieces at time) until golden color on a both the sides. Keep aside.

For the rice:

Normally 2 cups water requires for 1 cup basmati rice. 1 ½ cup water requires for 1 cup Zeera Samba / Jeerakasala rice and 3 cups water requires for 1 cup ponni rice (silky raw rice).

2 cups  / 400 ml good quality basmati rice ( Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) Here I used Kohinoor brand  extra long grain basmati rice.  Wash and clean rice. Drain out water completely. No need to soak in water.

4 cups / 800 ml chicken stock

½  teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Dried lemon from the chicken stock

Method

In a non stick pan or wide karahi, boil  chicken stock , dried lemon and salt to taste. Cover and cook on a medium heat for 8 minutes / until boils. When it starts boiling nicely, add drained rice. Mix well. Cover again and cook on a medium to low heat for 15 – 18 minutes until done / rice cooked well / water dries up.

Final presentation:

Serve rice (majboos) with shallow fried chicken / raita …

For Raita:

Serves: 4

Ingredients

250 ml medium thick curd

1 big (1 big or 2 small size) onion, chopped

1 big (1 big or 2 small size) tomato, chopped

2 tablespoon mint and coriander leaves

½ teaspoon salt

Method

In a bowl or serving bowl, mix medium thick yogurt / curd with above ingredients. Serve as a side dish with majboos. 

Mouhalabieh

Mouhalabieh

A very delicious milk pudding in Lebanese / Middle Eastern cuisine, made of milk, fresh cream, corn flour paste, sugar and dry fruits. Recipe from BBC Good Food India, October, 2012 !!!

Serves: 3 - 4

Ingredients

2 cups / 400 ml boiled milk (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity)

3 tablespoon fresh cream (or 100 g)

4 tablespoon sugar (or 100 g)

1 teaspoon corn flour (or 30 g)

1 tablespoon cold water

10 g blossom water or rose water or vanilla extract or orange extract

3 teaspoon any type of dry fruits (or 50 g pistachio flakes, peeled)

Method

In a non stick pan, heat the milk, fresh cream and sugar on a low heat stirring from time to time, bringing it to a gentle simmer.

Mix the corn flour with little cold water to get a thick paste, add to the milk mixture slowly whilst constantly whisking.

The milk mixture will thicken, add the blossom water or vanilla extract and stir thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into serving cups and place in the refrigerator to set (approximate time 2 - 4 hours).

When set, sprinkle with dry fruits or pistachio flakes and serve immediately.

Arabian Delights - Chennai for Yummy Shawarma

Shawarma is thinly sliced cuts of meat, like chicken, beef, goat, lamb, and sometimes turkey, rolled into a large piece of flatbread or pita that has been steamed or heated. Inside the pita, foods like hummus, tahini, pickles, vegetables, and even french fries are added. Think of shawarma as a taco or burrito Middle Eastern style. It's very popular in Arabian countries.

Visit Arabian Delights and see the live preparation from 6pm to 10pm

Arabian Delights

No.5/ 14, Radial House ( round building )

Ambattur Industrial Estate Main Road

Anna Nagar West Extension

Chennai # 26549786

Land mark- Between Collector Nagar & Park Road and next to Saleem Furniture

Also available: Kuboos ( Middle east flat bread), Roasted Grill chicken, Biryani, Chinese food and various types of Shawarma. ( Rs35 for 1 piece of Shawarma & Rs150 for Roasted grill chicken -full ).

Other branches

Arabian Delights

12th Main Road

Anna Nagar

Landmark - Near Apollo Dental Cliniq & 12 th main road bus - stop

Arabian delights

3rd Avenue

Anna Nagar

Landmark- Towards Anna Arch from Anna Nagar Round -Tana & Wangs kitchen & Cafe Coffee Day

Roasted Grill Chicken from Arabian Delights- Chennai

Roasted grill chicken.....
A Traditional Middle Eastern Food

Kubbus [ bread ] & Shawarma also available.

Arabian Delights

C-37, 12 th Main Road

2 nd Avenue, [ Next to Nathella Sampathu Chetty Jewellers ]

Anna Nagar West

Chennai # 9840050566, 26201710, 55664857

No 46-A, 3RD Avenue

Anna Nagar East[ Near Rountana ]

Chennai # 52172047

PHOTOS OF MAKING ARABIAN SHAWARMA

Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما‎ or Hebrew: שווארמה‎, also spelled Chawarma, Shwarma, Shuarma, Shawerma, Shoarma or Shaorma) is a Middle Eastern-style sandwich usually composed of shaved lamb, goat, or chicken. Less commonly, it contains turkey, beef, or a mixture of meats. Shawarma is a popular dish and fast-food staple across the Middle East, and is consumed across the rest of the world as well. Shawarma is known as guss in Iraq; it is related to the gyros of Greece. Gyros, however, is typically made of pork meat, or less commonly chicken, although beef or lamb is usually used outside Greece and Cyprus. The classic shawarma combination is pita bread, hummus, tomato & cucumber, and of course the shawarma. The additional toppings include tahini and amba .


Shawarma is made by placing strips of meat or marinated chicken on a skewer. Animal fat and an onion or tomato are placed at the top of the stack to provide flavoring. The meat is then roasted slowly on all sides as the skewer rotates in front of or over a flame for a period of several hours (see rotisserie). Traditionally a wood fire is used, but recently a gas flame is more common. While many specialty restaurants might offer two or more, usually of different meats some establishments have one skewer.

Different sort of meat can be used for it, The principle is that the meat will be placed on a skewer, and can be grilled even for the whole day. Chunks of meat fat make sure that the meat stays fat and juicy.

After cooking, the meat is shaved off the skewer with a large knife, an electric knife or a small circular saw, dropping to a circular tray below to be retrieved. Shawarma is most commonly eaten as a fast food, made up into a sandwich with pita bread or rolled up in lafa (a sweet, fluffy flatbread) together with vegetables and a dressing. Vegetables commonly found in shawarma include cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, parsley, pickled turnips, pickled gherkins, cabbage, and in some countries, such as Jordan, Israel or Saudi Arabia, french fries.

Common dressings include tahini (or tahina), Amba sauce (pickled mango with Chilbeh) and hummus, flavored with vinegar and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Chicken shawarma is often served with garlic mayonnaise, pomegranate concentrate, skhug (a hot chili sauce), or any combination of the three. Once the sandwich is made, it might be dipped in the fat dripping from the skewer and then briefly seared against the flame. In Syria, Israel, and Lebanon, chicken shawarma sandwiches are generally toasted after being made up, whereas those made of lamb or beef are immediately eaten.

Beef can be used for shawarma instead of lamb, and turkey is also occasionally used instead of chicken. In Saudi Arabia, goat is equally as common as beef or lamb and is often the preferred primary meat for purists. In Israel, a turkey/lamb fat mixture is the primary flavor, although chicken is also available. Less common alternatives include fish and sausage. Some shawarma stores use hot dog buns or baguettes, but most have pita and lafa. Shawarma is often served with a plate of french fries or home fries. Sometimes, beef shawarma—despite its name—contains some lamb in addition to the beef, to ensure juiciness.

Shawarma is eaten either as a dish by itself, with grilled bread, or fresh pita bread, or with other Middle Eastern foods like Tabouli, Hummus, and Fattoush.