A Saudi meal - Matazeez(Pasta), Date Dessert and Arabic Coffee


February was Saudi Arabian Cuisine for the Walima Cooking club.The sumptuous Saudi recipes were introduced to us ,by host of the month,Noor of Middle Eastern Cook.

Snippet - Saudi Arabia History and Cuisine
The birthplace of Prophet Muhammad,Arabia had stability and unity after the advent of Islam.The boom in economy opened the trade routes ,the spices imported enriched the aroma of the traditional cuisine.The growth of immigrants in modern times mainly from Asia and Africa adapted many more exotic dishes from the foreign lands.


Matazeez,the Saudi style pasta is commonly cooked with lamb in the spiced pasta sauce ,although one can use any kind of meat.The following recipe with fish is much faster to cook,ideal for quick weekday meals and also picking a fish rich in omega 3s like wild salmon is great for a change.If you choose to use lamb or goat ,cook the meat in the tomato sauce and add all the vegetables when the meat is almost cooked.

Recipe : Matazeez(Pasta) with Vegetables and Wild Salmon
Serves 4
For Pasta Dough
2 cups fine ground wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water

For Vegetable sauce
1 medium or 3 baby Eggplant ,sliced lengthwise
1 small zucchinis,sliced lengthwise
1-1/2 cups pumpkin or squash, cubed
1 big carrot,julienne
1/2 cup green beans,cut in 2 inches pieces
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1-2 hot peppers or green chillies,chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper,freshly ground
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
2 dried lemons, cracked
2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil


For Fish on Side
4 Wild salmon fillets(about 3 inch long)
2 teaspoon spice rub(I used mixture of ground cumin,coriander,pepper,cinnamon,hot chili powder and cloves)
2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Method
Prepare the pasta dough
In a large bowl add flour, salt and oil. Add water small amounts at time enough to make a workable dough.Cover and place in bowl and allow to sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Cook the sauce with vegetables
Heat a large pan,add oil and onions, cook until tender about 3-4 minutes.Add the Vegetables ,tomato sauce,chillies and other dry spices. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until vegetables are almost tender.
Roll the pasta and cook with the sauce

Sprinkle some all purpose flour on the work surface.Roll the dough thin and cut into small circles using a cutter about 2 inches wide. Drop the pasta in the cooking vegetable tomato sauce when the vegetables are almost cook.Cover and cook another 10 minutes until pasta is cooked through.

Cook the fish
Rub the spices on the fish and marinate for few minutes.Heat oil in pan on medium and sear the fish ,3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through.Serve on side with the prepared Matazeez(pasta) and vegetables mixture .

The Matazeez and Lamb Kabouli(posted last Walima Challenge) are my entries for Regional recipes : Middle East,hosted this month by Joanne of Eat well with others.

Saudi Date Dessert and Arabic Coffee
Saudis love to serve black Coffee at the end of the meal.Flavored with cardamoms or ginger ,the coffee is best served with the dessert,sweetened with the most abundant fruit of Arabia ,dates.

Recipe
Makes dozen date balls
For Date Dessert (Al-Harrisah or Al-haysah)
1 cups durum wheat flour
1 1/2 cups dates, finely chopped(I used soft dates)
2 tablespoon Puree Ghee(next best substitute is Virgin pressed coconut oil for coconut lovers)
1/2 tablespoon ground cardamom

Method
1.In a small heavy bottom pan or skillet ,melt the ghee on medium heat.Add flour, stirring until lightly brown and aromatic.Remove from heat, add dates and cardamom, blend together in a processor to prevent lumps.
Shape as desired,the round is traditional.Serve with Arabic coffee.


For Arabic Coffee(Qahwa Arabeya)
Makes 4 Arabic coffee cups or glass(2 ounces each)
3 tablespoon roasted ground coffee or Arabic Coffee
2 cups of water
3-4 cardamom pods

Method
Brew the coffee for 5 minutes along with the cardamoms.Strain and serve warm with the date dessert.

Comments

FH said…
What a good looking post Yasmeen. Love the homemade pasta, round ones. Very hearty dish, yummy dessert too. My husband would like that black coffee! :)
That dish looks fantastic! Very interesting. And the date dessert goes perfectly well with that Arabic coffee! I love that kind of food.

Cheers,

Rosa
Namitha said…
Yummylicious meal..Love the date dessert too..Now I know what to do with the leftover dates in my pantry..My hubby would love that coffee...Never had cardamom in coffee, though it's common to use in tea..Thanks Yasmeen !
Priya Suresh said…
Never heard or tried Saudi Arabien dishes, delicious platter, love the addition of cardamom in coffee sounds interesting, finally the date dessert looks tempting and yumm..
Mona said…
Yasmeen, why dont you live beside me? Or vice-versa!
What a delicious spread that is, yummy!
Simplyfood said…
Date ladoos look yummy, nice nad simple recipe.
MaryMoh said…
Your pasta looks interesting and beautiful. It's the first time I see round pasta. Love the dish and I really love the date balls.z
Cham said…
It is a feast! I like the pasta dish sounds excellent!
Cool Lassi(e) said…
First, the one pot meal looks fabulous! Pasta from scratch is a wonderful idea. The date dessert and the fine coffee is such a nice finishing touch to this fabulous meal.
Soma said…
Cute shape for the pasta:-)

Nice sauce with so many veggies in it & I think the date dessert is just perfect with coffee.
Dori said…
That is quite a feast! I would love every bit of it! Finishing off such a filing, healthy dinner with dessert and coffee sounds so perfect!
Gita Jaishankar said…
Pasta sounds interesting...a delicious and wholesome meal in total...love the dessert :)
shahana said…
Never tried pastas at home.Im book marking this
Anonymous said…
Oh my God I enjoyed going through this post so much :)!I think this kind of pasta must be so delicious.
Funny...in Italy they too like to serve black coffee at the end of the meal.
Mwah my dear Yasmeen!
Rahin said…
perfect meal Yasmeen for friends to get together and chat around ...looks delicious too ...love the home made pasta
The matazeez looks like quite a sophisticated dish, impressive that you made your own pasta dough. I'm going to make Arabic coffee soon, it looks very interesting!
Joanne said…
I have never seen pasta like that before! I love it. This entire meal looks absolutely delicious.
Kanchan said…
This is a new type of Pasta ! Infact I have hardly had food from this part of world so all seems quite new to me !
Deepa G Joshi said…
wow, the pasta looks great and the coffee..too good..we too add cardamom in coffee...love the date dessert too..
Ivy said…
This looks great. I love the idea of pasta with the vegetables and the dessert sounds delicious as well.
Woe what a plate of goodness that is!
Rachana said…
Very interesting! Love the Date dessert and the arabic coffee!!!
Recipeswap said…
what an interesting wholesome meal.
Sayantani said…
Look at that spread!its such a nutritous healthy tasty meal. love the pasta dish. would give it a try sometime.
Siddhi Shirsat said…
wow yasmeen what a lovely combo...loved ur step by step explainatn of pasta...nice recipe of pasta and fish...date desset n coffee is also a lovely combo...superb meal

http://siddhiscookingexperiences.blogspot.com/
Emily said…
What a delicious recipe! I just love a pan of gorgeous, comforting veggies and with the pasta and fish, it sounds irresistable. Thanks for the great and inspiring recipes. Can't wait to try the dessert or the coffee either.
Muneeba said…
When I saw your first pic, I was looking for the pasta in it .. thinking, "what is she talking abt?! wherez the pasta?!". Then silly me read ahead and saw that those round shapes were the pasta ... so fascinating!! I love that Walima cooking club of yours.
SpicyTasty said…
It's like a perfect Dinner plate. I would love to come lol:-). My first visit to your blog and you have such an wonderful recipes. Gosh! how did I missed it? Love the platter and pics are so beautiful.
Shri said…
The date balls look awesome, Yasmeen!
Unknown said…
that date dessert looks so deliicous..
Sharmila said…
Wow! You made the pasta from scratch! Looks fab. Cardamom in coffee sounds so interesting. :-)
tasteofbeirut said…
Yasmeen that was a great post! Thanks you clarified the issue of the oil in those cookies, the recipe calls for a whole cup and I was perplexed about that.
Both dishes looks fantastic and the addition of the coffee recipe is welcome!
Anonymous said…
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
Noor said…
OH WOW you did a great job with this. So how did you like the meal? I hope you enjoyed it. It sure looks AMAZING yummy..
Arlette said…
So beautiful and looks sooo good , great job on the challenge...
I didnt got the chance to post mine yet.
Ann said…
Yasmeen - hats off to you - I love seeing your Walima posts because you take the liberty and creativity to add on and change the dishes really well. This dish cooked with salmon looks amazing. I wish I could be as half as creative as you in the kitchen!
Anonymous said…
I should digg your post therefore more people can see it, really helpful, I had a tough time finding the results searching on the web, thanks.

- Norman
Orderart said…
Wonderful recipe of breakfast which have you post. It is looking very delicious. foodie searching always like that. Share some post about this best breakfast in melbourne

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