Save a culture: "make plov not war"

This vigorous moment of heightened awareness about what Berthold Brecht called 'Man's inhumanity to man" might be a good time to remember people suffering from that unspeakable form of inhumanity, genocide.  We may not be able to step in physically to stop the Chinese from trying to wipe Tibetans and Uighurs off the face of the Earth or Assad from tearing his fellow Syrians from their roots, but we can at least signal our wish to save them by hanging onto their culture, the expression of their humanity. One way we can do this is in our own kitchen. Cooking their food says we are trying to remember them, trying to keep them alive, showing we stand with them. Several years ago, celebrity and connoisseur chefs of London had a Cook for Syria night in which they put Syrian food on the menu as the daily special. They sent the proceeds from the sale of that food to charities helping Syrian refugees. It was a remarkable effort that gave people who felt helpless a chance to do something. We all do what we can. Justice will not come until those who are not yet afflicted take up the cause of those who are.

Here then are a few culinary treasures from people--Tibetan, Syrian, Uighur, Palestinian-- other people are trying to exterminate right now.  This is not a complete list because I don't yet have sufficient knowledge of Sudanese or Somali or Congolese cooking.  I'd include one for Bolivia's highland Indians, but it would require their staple food, quinoa, which has arrogantly been taken away from them by Big Ag to sell to all the wellness gluten free freaks in this country. That seems to be the cause of the genocide.                  

Uighurs

The Uighurs are a Cental Asian Turkic people who live where both ancient Greeks and Chinese crossed what was the the main intersection of the Silk Road. This may explain why call themselves Uighur. It means union. Living at a cultural junction molded these people into a rich mélange of herders and traders, farmers and feeders, Orthodox Christians (religion to the west) and Mahayana Buddhists (religion to the east)--until armed Arab invasion from the south forced everyone to be Muslim. 

More important to us perhaps, the Uighurs are thought to be inventors of the noodle. It was a clever adaptation because the Central Asian steppes, treeless plains, are ideal for growing wheat but provide little fuel to bake it. So the Uighurs took their ground wheat and water dough, flattened it like Indian flatbread, cut it into thin strips and put them in the lamb stew pot. They called this invention: "boiled bread." Their crossroads location explains how their ingenious noodle got to China, Arabia and Italy.  We owe them a lot.

Lagman

not my photo

This is the signature dish of Central Asia, a lamb noodle soup whose origin is Uigher. Their crossroads location took the name west as lasagna and east as lo mein. This lamb noodle soup is a traditional part of Northern Chinese cuisine, sometimes known as old mandarin because the Mongols and Turkic people influenced northern China for a long time.  This Uighur version of lagman is not exactly the same as an Uzbek version more likely to be found in America because of the Uzbek emigrés here. Since the true dish involved hand pulled noodles, which require skill and time, I'm not going to publish it here just now.  But if you make yourself a lamb noodle soup with spices like Star anise and chili, you're honoring these people.

Uighur Polow

Polow is the Central Asian word for the rice based dish that spread with Islam and is known elsewhere as pilau, plov, paella and pilaf. Note the technique for steaming the rice on top of the pot.

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large white onion, sliced
3 pounds boneless leg of lamb, cut into 4 or 5 large pieces (fat not trimmed)
2 1/2 pounds large carrots, cut crosswise on the diagonal, then into 1/2-inch matchsticks
4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon salt
5 1/2 cups medium-grain white rice
1 tablespoon cumin seed
Pomegranate seeds, for garnish (arils; optional)

Heat the oil in a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, stir in the onion. Cook 6 minutes, stirring a few times, until some onion begins to be crispy at the edges. Add the meat and sear on all sides, turning the pieces as needed; this will take 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the carrots and stir to coat, then pour in 2 cups of the boiling water and add the turmeric, using a spatula to dislodge any browned bits on the bottom. Give the mixture a good stir; once it’s boiling, add the salt. Make sure the meat is submerged; cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. The liquid in the pot should be at a steady, low boil.

Meanwhile, place the rice in a large mixing bowl. Cover with cool water and rinse, drain and repeat two more times. Fill with water again, covering the rice by 1/2 inch or so. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Add the remaining 2 cups of boiling water to the pot.

Spread large spoonfuls of the rice carefully over the surface of the what’s in the pot, spreading it evenly for complete coverage; you don’t want the rice to mix into the bubbling liquid at all. (The rice is going to steam atop the meat and vegetables below.) Cook 5 minutes, then scatter the cumin seed evenly over the rice. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover the pot tightly and cook, undisturbed, for 30 minutes until the rice is tender.

Uncover; gently stir enough to find all the pieces of meat and transfer them to a cutting board. Stir to incorporate the rice and vegetables; turn off the heat. The grains of rice should not be sticking together.

Cut the meat into 3/4-inch pieces, discarding any fat that hasn’t rendered, if desired.

To serve, divide the meat atop generous portions of the polow. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, if using.

Syrians

Syrian food is often difficult to distinguish from Lebanese or Persian or Turkish food because the climate, the lay of the land and the cultures are so similar. And some  national boundary lines change with time. But there are some dishes definitely and proudly Syrian. This is probably the best known one.

Harra bi isbaou

In Arabic, harra bi isbaou means burned finger. They say this dish, so famously Syrian every refugee proudly claims a recipe for it, is called harra bi isbaou because the peasants who invented it couldn’t wait for it to cool down to eat it, so they burned their fingers. It's a delightful, hearty and healthy mix of lentils, pasta and fried onions with lemon juice and molasses--a memorable blend of sweet, spicy and savory.  It was the main go-to dish for the British Cooking for Syria.

serves 8: 

¾ lb brown lentils

4 cups vegetable broth
2 c water
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1½ tsp Aleppo pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 c mini macaroni
2 med red onions, peeled and cut into thin rings
3 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
½ bunch cilantro leaves, finely chopped
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 sm pomegranate, seeds only
1 lemon, juice freshly squeezed
freshly ground black pepper
IF YOU HAVE IT: 1 tsp dried or 1 tbsp fresh sumac

 In a large saucepan or small soup pot, combine water and broth. Bring to a boil, add lentils and cook 20 minutes. Add macaroni and cook until tender. Drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Blend in the pomegranate molasses, Aleppo pepper and salt. Blend in all but 1 tsp of the lemon juice.

While the lentils and macaroni cook, sauté the onion rings in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft and golden. Be careful not to burn. Remove with a slotted spoon and put in the minced garlic cloves. If needed, add the last tbsp. olive oil. When they start to brown—not burn, add the cilantro leaves, stir once and remove from heat. Add the sumac if you have it. Put the onions on top of the lentils and macaroni in the serving bowl, then the fried garlic. Top with chopped parsley and then the pomegranate seeds. Finish with the last tsp. of fresh lemon juice.

Tibetans

The Tibetan people inhabit the highest habitable regions of the Himalaya, from Pakistan to Assam, northward into Tibet itself. The inhospitable terrain and brutal cold have traditionally limited their diet to butter, fatty meat and barley. Tibetans were traditionally shepherds or long distance traders: for their rock salt, wool and medicinal herbs, they got rice and tea, seed potatoes and sugar. They made a few heartwarming and tasty dishes surprisingly appropriate for our table too.

Labu Drikul (Lamb with Daikon)

Labu Dikrul is made in two stages, so it can be made ahead and is thus great party food. Tibetans normally serve it with rice or steamed buns called tingmo to soak up the delicious gingery broth.

serves 4

1½ -3/4 lbs. stewing lamb pieces with bones
1 lg. daikon, peeled
2 med./lg. onions
3 inches fresh ginger, peeled
7 lg. garlic cloves, peeled
¼ tsp. Szechuan pepper or ¼ tsp. coarse ground black pepper & 1 dried chili
½ tsp. salt
4-6 cups water or beef broth
1 lg. tomato, cored
¼ tsp. mild chili or 1/8 tsp. cayenne powder
1 tbsp. corn, safflower, canola, mustard oil
6-8 med. Asian mustard greens (1/2 a bunch)*, chopped

*You can substitute Spinach but you won’t get the pungent flavor.

 Cut the daikon into two inch long pieces (probably 5 to 6). Quarter one onion.  Smash the ginger and 6 garlic cloves with the back of a knife.

Put the lamb, daikon, quartered onion, ginger, garlic, pepper and ¼ tsp. salt in a medium casserole or lidded saucepan and barely cover with water. Depending on the width of the pot, this will require four to 6 cups.  Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer for an hour or a few minutes longer, until the lamb is just tender enough to fall easily from its bones.

Remove the lamb and daikon from the broth. Boil the broth hard for 15 minutes to reduce it.  (This is the point at which you can cool everything and put it in the refrigerator until you want to serve it.) Return the lamb and daikon to the broth and add the greens. Cook just long enough to wilt the greens. Or if you are doing this the second day, long enough to make everything hot.      

Amdo Paley (Bread)

Amdo paley, meaning bread from northeastern most province of Amdo whose cooks are legendary across Tibet, is another way of describing thick bread, a round loaf about 1-2” high. It can be baked in an 8” cake pan or fried on top of the stove. Baked is more cakelike. Stovetop gets crunchy crust.  Tibetans like bread so one “loaf” might only feed 2-3 people. The rest of us will get 4-8 servings depending on how much sauce or soup we need to sop up.

One recipe makes two Amdo paley. You can freeze the dough and quickly defrost it in a microwave.  You can cut  about an inch off the edge of your amdo paley after its risen and roll that into one thin fried paley.

Basic Paley recipe

4 c unbleached all purpose white flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
combine these in a large bowl. Create a well in the center and put in it:
2 tbsp instant yeast (this is the modern accommodation to speed the process)*
2 c warm water

Blend everything, cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for ½ hour.
Knead it again. Form your chosen paley shape. Cover it and let it sit to rise again 15-30 minutes, however much time you have. Longer will make lighter bread.

This is cake like.

Heat oven to 400º.

Bake in a nonstick 8” cake pan; or a regular cake pan with a bare coat (1 tbsp max) of oil on the bottom, for 30 minutes. The top should be brown and risen with a bit of a crack. If it is done it will sound hollow when you knock it with a fist. Remove from the oven and cover it for 10 minutes to soften the top.  Remove from the pan, flip and serve warm.

Palestinians

Palestinian cooking celebrates the people's longtime location on a narrow strip between land and sea in a land of balmy climate and fertile soil. The recipes often overlap with Lebanese and Syrian--think hummus, fattoush, shakshuka, falafel--but there are distinct dishes of which the people are proud.   Here are a few.

Chicken with za'atar and maftoul

Za'atar is a local blend of herbs you can now buy ready jarred. There is a Syrian version and a Palestinian version now marketed as Israeli za'atar. Maftoul is a specialty of the region that harks back to the origins of dried pasta: little balls made for the armies of Islam to carry in their pockets. It is the local form of couscous and is sometimes prepared with lamb and seven vegetables like Moroccan couscous with seven vegetables.  You can buy it in Middle Eastern stores. The tiny balls of dried pasta are similar to Sardinia's fregola, which are tiny balls of roasted wheat pasta. You can substitute that here. Tabbouleh is a Lebanese/Palestinian/Syrian parsley salad normally made with bulghur.

Serves 4
4 large chicken legs and thighs in one piece)
Olive oil
3 tbsp dried mint
5 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp dried red chili flakes
4 tbsp za’atar
1 tbsp flaky salt

For the maftoul tabbouleh
1 1/2  cups maftoul (also known as pearl couscous) or fregola (Italian roasted pasta balls)
3 1/2 cups water
4 tomatoes
1 bunch of scallions
Large bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only

2-3 lemons, juice only
1 tbsp salt
Olive oil

To serve
1 pomegranate, seeded
1 red chili, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400º.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lay out the chicken pieces on it.
Combine the olive oil, mint, pomegranate molasses, chili flakes, za’atar and salt. Season both sides of the chicken with this mix. End up skin side down and roast in the oven 15 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, cook the maftoul or fregola by package instructions until it has just passed the al dente stage. Remove and rinse under cold water, drain and set aside.

While it cooks, chop tomatoes and spring onions into small, equal-size pieces. Finely chop the parsley.

Once the chicken has browned slightly, turn it over and cook skin side up another 15 minutes. until it’s thoroughly cooked. If you want to add more mint and za’atar, do so at the flip.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked maftoul/fregola with the chopped tomato, scallions and parsley. Add the lemon juice, salt and olive oil to taste. This salad should be sharp and tangy to contrast with the creaminess of the pasta, and there should be plenty of parsley mixed through – it is essentially a parsley salad. Transfer to a deep dish and set aside.

When the chicken is cooked, place it on top of the tabbouleh and drizzle some of the cooking juices over. Serve sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and the sliced chili.

Black-eyed peas with chard

This is an inland dish that shows off local produce: olive oil, lemons, honey, chard.  It features a special cooking technique of making an herb mash to top the dish. I have in the past posted a recipe for Palestinian lamb with chickpeas and chard that is very  popular. Also a recipe for Palestinian shrimp.

 
Serves 4
For the beans
1 leek
 1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves     
¼ tsp chili powder
2 cans black-eyed peas 

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

pinch of ground nutmeg
½ unwaxed lemon
½ lb bunch chard

For the herb smash
1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves only
2 green chiles
2 garlic cloves
¼ c shelled walnuts
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp good quality olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Fill a kettle and bring the water to a boil. Put a large saucepan on the stove.

Wash and finely slice the leek. Add to the saucepan with a tablespoon of olive oil and cook until soft and sweet, 3-5 minutes. Finely slice the garlic and add with the chili powder and cook 2-3 minutes, until the garlic begins to brown. Add black-eyed peas with their liquid, coriander, cumin and 1 c boiling water from the kettle. Bring to a simmer. Add nutmeg, squeeze in the juice of half the lemon, add the squeezed lemon half to the pan and simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, strip the leaves from the chard stalks. Finely slice the stalks and add them to the pan, then finely shred the leaves and put to one side.

Put all the ingredients for the herb smash into a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth grassy paste. Season well with salt and pepper.

Once the peas are soft and the liquid has reduced to a thick soup-like consistency, stir in the chard leaves, season well with salt and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Scoop into deep bowls and spoon over the herb smash.