It was my birthday a couple weeks ago, and as per tradition, I made my own birthday cake. Therefore, this year I made a cardamom cake with rosewater whipped cream frosting. It includes the very Middle Eastern flavours of cardamom and rosewater, some of my family’s favourites! For garnish, I simply decorated the cake with […]
Middle East
Za’atar Spice Mix
Za’atar is a tasty spice mix commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking. We used to eat it, mixed with some olive oil into a paste, and spread on dough to make a type of pizza, manakeesh. It’s also great sprinkled on eggs, various vegetables, and as a spice rub for meat. The term za’atar can […]
Akkawi Manakeesh – Arabic Cheese Bread with Nigella
Akkawi Manakeesh is an Arabic cheese bread sprinkled with nigella seeds that we grew up with in Saudi Arabia. At the major grocery chain in Riyadh, Tamimi Markets, there was a wood-fired bakery at the back of the shop. When our mom would buy groceries, she would make a beeline to the bakery and order […]
Toronto Eats: Lunch at Paramount Fine Foods
Having grown up in Saudi Arabia, we are always looking for Arab food that has that same flavour we know so well. Several years ago, some old neighbours of ours from Saudi took our parents to the Paramount restaurant in Mississauga. Only recently have they expanded downtown and up in Markham. We finally made our […]
Garlicky Moutabal
Moutabal is sometimes called baba ganoush. Although both dishes use roasted eggplant as a base, baba ganoush can also have other vegetables, such as tomatoes and onions, added. Moutabal, on the other hand, is just eggplant. Clear plastic containers of hummus and moutabal were everywhere in Saudi Arabia, even in our high school cafeteria. I’ve […]