The Foodie Diary- 14th Feb, 2016

Love is sharing. More so, it's about giving.

One might say sharing and giving are one in the same. Well, in my opinion, giving is much deeper.

'Why?' you may ask. Sharing seems more like trade-by-barter. I give you some of mine and get some from you. Or more still we both get a piece of the same 'cake'.

But then, giving 'surrenders' all and 'gets' nothing in return especially at that point in time.

My mum has given us way so much than ever and I felt giving her a treat by cooking her a special lunch was the best way I could celebrate Valentine's Day this year. Not like I ever get to do anything on the 14th February anyway. But who knows what next year holds aye?

My boss who loves to experiment with her cooking sent me a link to a recipe website by Mamador Cooking Oil. 

It's funny how we think there are limited dishes we can cook in this part of the world not knowing how many varieties we can get from the same ingredients we eat everyday. I went through the recipes and realized how easy and affordable they were. But then I didn't want to make do with the usual delicacies so I opted for something I had never heard or tried before.

Kibbeh. Trust me, I'm still having a hard time pronouncing it too.

I gave it a shot and I must say I had to give myself a pat on the back afterwards. Practice does however make perfect.

So here are a few pictures and comments following my cooking experience. You can also follow this link to the Mamador Kibbeh Recipe.
Kindly note that I am not a pro when it comes to cooking. Eating on the other hand...

Ingredients

2 Cups of rice
3 Medium sized potatoes (boiled and peeled)
2 Medium sized onions (diced)
500g Minced beef
Curry
2 Seasoning cubes
Pure Vegetable Oil (enough for deep frying)
Water (enough for cooking)

Salt to taste

Preparation Method

1. Wash the rice, place in a deep pot, add enough water, salt and place on medium heat. Cook until the rice is very soft. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. Mash the cooked potatoes with the rice until puree then set aside.

I chopped the Irish potatoes into small chunks so it boiled and softened much faster

Mixed the potatoes and already-boiled rice for mashing

Mashed the mixture with a pestle to make the puree. This was not an easy phase *wipes brow*

3. Heat up 1 cooking spoon of vegetable oil, add the diced onions and fry for 1 minute

4. Add the minced beef and cook until golden brown.

5. Add curry, seasoning cubes, salt and stir until well combined. Let it simmer for another minutes then turn off the heat and leave to cool.

Chopped onions. I almost cried like a baby of course.

Two tins of corned beef and some diced sausages served as minced meat.

I seasoned my sautee with some Cinnamon. My new found spice love.

The aftermath was heavenly. Stole some to make myself some sandwiches. Just couldn't help it.

6. With wet hands, take medium sized pieces of the potato and rice mixture, form each portion into a ball shape, making a space in the centre bu pushing your finger through from one end.

7. Stuff with some meat mixture, close firmly to form a ball.

8. Fry kibbeh in batched until golden brown.

The stuffed puree with the onion/beef sauce.

Thanks to my mum gloves are a must when it comes to cooking some certain dishes

Voila! La Kibbeh :)

These were my Top Five. Not as golden-brown as I would have wanted but still...

It took me three kibbehs-gone-wrong before I finally made head-way.

Never give up. See? You can learn a couple of life-lessons from the kitchen too!

Made a few side 'orders' as requested by the brothers;

The plantains were a bit too overripe *urgh*

Some fried chicken to last a week, which usually lasts 4 days thanks to the men in the house.

Lunch Is Served!

P.S: They LOVED it! Even though I wasn't so keen on the taste. The woes of a perfectionist.
Would certainly give it a better shot next time.

Next stop, Jambalaya! *grins*