Mushroom & Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients

1. 2 tsp butter
2. 1 small onion, sliced
3. 10 button mushrooms sliced
4. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
5. salt and pepper to taste
6. 4 slices bread
7. 2 tablespoon butter
8. 2 cubes cheddar cheese (Grated)
9. cucumber & lettuce for serving

Method

1. Melt the butter and heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic, onion and saute until onion is tender, will take about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and saute until the start to caramelized and turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat and let cool a bit.
4. Mix the cheese into the mushrooms.
5. Butter one side of each slice of bread, top each slice with mushrooms mix, place them in a sandwich griller
6. Grill until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown, about 2-4 minutes 
7. Serve with cucumber & lettuce.

Arabic Cuisine:falafel, hummus & basboosa

I Arabian Cuisine is very popular these days around the world.I got hooked on to Arabic food only after I landed here in Muscat. My all time favourite is falafel and the basboosa (semolina) cake. I would say falafel is the most easiest to make, only thing it needs a little bit planning because of the chickpeas which need to be soaked well in advance . Enjoy cooking these delicious middle eastern food.

Falafel

Ingredients

1. ½ cup dried chickpeas, (soak for 6hr)
2. 3-4 garlic, cloves (finely chopped)
3. 1 small onions (finely chopped)
4. ½ cup coriander leaves (finely chopped)
5. OR
6. ½ cup parsley leaves (finely chopped)
7. 1 tsp cumin powder
8. salt as per taste
9. ½ tsp crushed pepper
10. ½ tsp baking soda
11. vegetable oil for frying

Method

1. Place chickpeas in hot boiling water in a bowl. Allow to soak for 6 hr.
2. Combine the chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander / parsley, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. 
3. Combine ingredients in a food processor into a thick paste. 
4. form mixture into small balls, slightly flatten & fry them immediately until golden brown
5. Serve hot.

To make Falafel sandwiches

1. Apply mayonaise on the pita bread, lettuce leaves, french fries, ketchup and falafel. Roll into a sandwich
2. Enjoy !

Hummus

Ingredients

1. 1 cup chickpeas (boiled)
2. 5 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
3. ½ cup of olive oil
4. lemon juice
5. 1 garlic clove
6. cumin
7. red chili powder
8. salt

Method

1. Into a blender add the boiled chickpeas with the tahini,juice of half a lemon, garlic clove, cumin powder and the olive oil & salt as per taste. Blend until very smooth consistency.
2. Add little water or 2-3 ice cubes if the consistency is too thick.
3. Sprinkle a bit of red chilly powder on top & Olive oil
4. Serve immediately

Basboosa

A favorite Arabic sweet, main ingredient of basboosa is semolin which is baked and soaked in rose water syrup. An Omani friend and old colleague was kind enough to share her recipe & I baked it at home. The Arabs enjoy this sweet with a cup of qahwa or tea.

Ingredients
Syrup Ingredients
2¼ cups sugar
1½ cups water
2 tsp rose water
Cake Ingredients
2 cups semolina
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup full fat milk
1½ tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
blanched split almonds
Method
Prepare syrup first. Dissolve sugar in water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the syrup begins to boil. Reduce heat and allow to slowly boil for about 8-10 minutes.Add rose water, Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease and flour a baking dish.
Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add eggs & vanilla essence.
In a separate bowl, combine semolina, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add to butter and egg mixture. Stir in milk.
Pour mixture into baking dish.
Take a knife and make diagonal lines to make diamond shapes. Place an almond in the center of each diamond. Bake for 25 minutes
Remove cake from oven and pour syrup over cake. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Different Arabic sweets on display

Best quality Omani Dates for sale for the holy month of Ramadan

Famous Arabian sandwich "Shawarma" place in a restraurant in Muscat.

Chicken Melt Sandwich

Ingredients
1 bowl full of chicken kheema (mashed)
1 tbsp cabbage (shredded)
2 slices of cheese
mayonnaise/ cheese spread
lettuce leaves
2-3 slices of tomato
Pepper and salt for taste
2 slices of sandwich bread
Method
Mix chicken kheema, shredded cabage, mayonnaise/ cheese spread add salt and pepper
spread the above mixture on a slice of bread
add lettuce leaves & tomato
If you like sprinkle more pepper
Grill the bread into a griller
Half the sandwich
Serve with mashed patoto/ french fries/ chunky chips

Mushroom, spinach & corn panini

Ingredients

1 bowl mushrooms (sliced)

1 bowl of frozen corn

few spinach leaves

cheddar cheese (grated) (optional)

Olive oil

1 clove of garlic (crushed)

1 panini bread

Salt and pepper powder as per taste

Method

saute mushrooms in olive for 3 mins, when it turns brown add crushed garlic, corn. turn off the flame and add pepper powder and salt as per taste.

Cut the panini rolls into half and add the above mixture on the bottom part of the roll.top that with spinach leaf.

I used a sandwich griller for preparing these panini.Panini rolls can be substituted by regular bread

Cottage Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients

1. 250 gms cottage cheese (grated)
2. 2 Green Chillies
3. 1 medium tomato
4. 1 small capsicum
5. 1 small onion
6. 1 tbsp oil
7. 1 tbsp cumin seeds 
8. 2 tsp chopped coriander
9. Salt

Method

1. Chop the onions, tomatoes, capsicum and chillies finely.
2. Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan, add the cumin seeds, chopped onions, fry till brown.
3. Add the chillies, capcisum & tomatoes and fry till they are soft, add salt.
4. Add grated paneer and fry for 5 minutes till the paneer blends into the vegetables.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander and let it cool

For sandwiches

1. 6 brown bread slices
2. little butter

Method

1. Butter the bread slices and on one slice add the paneer stuffing on top of it and cover it with another bread
2. Brush the 2 sides of the grill with little oil
3. Prepare and preheat two sided grill. Place this sandwich over the grill.
4. Grill until done
5. Serve with ketchup & chips (Optional)

Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients
1 breast piece of boiled chicken
3-4 tbsp frozen corn (if you are using fresh corn boil it)
4 tbsp of garlic mayonnaise
Salt for taste
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
freshly ground black pepper
2 hot dog rolls
2 lettuce leaves
4-5 slices of tomato
4-5 slices of onion rings
Method
thaw the corn and keep aside
shred chicken into small pieces
add garlic mayonnaise, ketchup, black pepper and salt as per taste in the shredded chicken & corn and mix

half the hot dog roll
arrange the lettuce leaves, onion rings and tomatos inside the roll
 add this mixture over the lettuce, onions & tomato and enjoy the sandwich
(you may replace the hotdog rolls with burger bread or sandwich bread.)