Date Syrup Halva- Halawat Dibis. حلاوة الدبس

Halva is a dessert that resembles fudge. We make halva using date syrup , and we  snack on it like candy. Serve it with coffee or as a snack between meals.

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter

1 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

½ cup water

1 cup date syrup

3 tablespoons sugar

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup chopped pistachios

Melt the butter in a pan and add flour and salt. Sauté for 8 minutes until flour turns golden brown. Add cinnamon, cardamom and stir. Remove from heat.

In a separate pan bring the water to a boil and add the date syrup and sugar. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir vigorously on low heat until the mixture turns smooth and silky.

Pour the mixture onto a plate to a thickness of one inch and decorate with walnuts and pistachios. You can make individual pieces of halva. Take a small piece of the halva and roll it in your hand, and roll it in a bowl of chopped pistachios or walnuts. Store it in a tight container in the refrigerator. Note: If you do not have date syrup, you can use honey or maple syrup, but the flavor will not be the same.

Date Syrup or Date Molasses (Dibis Iraqi,Silan)

Iraq is a major producer of dates. Date syrup is canned and exported to all over the World. It is very nutritious natural sweetener. Iraqis use it in their cooking and baking. We usually purchase it in a jar from  Middle Eastern grocery stores.  You can make your own syrup too.

Iraqis pour the syrup in a bowl and drizzle tahini over it and they call it (Rashi wa Dibis). They stir it and spread it on bread like peanut butter and jelly. It is served for breakfast and as a snack during the day or with tea.

We drizzle date syrup over the cream ( qeemar) and eat it for breakfast. My mother used to make scrambled eggs and drizzle date syrup over them for breakfast.

Date Syrup with Tahini (Rashi wa Dibis)

Sweet Sesame Rings-Kaak bil Simsim كعك بالسمسم

These are delicious cookies that go very well with coffee and tea.  They keep well for a few weeks. You can use any kind of flavoring, such as vanilla or ground cardamom.

Makes 60 cookies

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground anise seeds

1 teaspoon salt

4 ounces butter ( 1 stick), at room temperature

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/2  cup milk

1 cup sesame seeds

1 egg for eggwash

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the flour in a bowl and add the dry ingredients and stir. Add the butter and oil to the flour and rub it in your hand to combine the oils. Add the milk and egg, and kneed it by hand to make soft dough.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Oil your hands to make it easy to form the dough. Take a piece of dough and roll it on a cutting board to make a rope. Bring the ends of the rope together to make a ring. Place on a baking sheet. Leave 1 inch space between the rings as they expand when baked.

Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds over the cookies. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the cookies and place on a cooling rack. Store in a plastic container for a month.

Klecha Iraqi Cookies. كليجة بالتمر والجوز

These are traditional cookies that we make during the Holidays. We serve them to our guests with tea. I use the following ingredients when making a small batch of klecha. Makes 3 dozens

4 cups all purpose flour

½ cup butter or one stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4  cup warm water

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon yeast

1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground fennel

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil baking pans and set aside.

In a small bowl, put the yeast in warm wa­ter and cover to rise. Combine flour, nigella seeds, cardamom, ground fennel, salt, oil and butter, and rub it with your hands.

Add yeast and water. Knead the dough and add more water if needed. It depends on the flour absorbtion of liquids. Place in a large oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for an hour.

Walnut filling:

1 cup walnuts, chopped

3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

In a bowl, mix walnuts, sugar, and cardamom and set aside.

 Take some of the dough and spread it on the work surface with a rolling pin. Cut circles using a cookie cut­ter or a glass. Put 1 teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the circle. Fold circle in half-moon shape. Crimp the edges. Ar­range on a pan. Brush with egg wash, and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Date Filling: Use 8-onces soft baking dates or Majdool dates. Cook dates with ¼ stick of butter. Add ground cardamom and cinnamon. Let the mixture cool before using. Cover a cutting board with plastic wrap, and spread the dates on the board using a rolling pin to make a thin sheet.

Roll out a piece of dough on a cutting board. Cover the top with a very thin layer of date mixture. Roll the dough like a jelly roll. Cut 1-inch wide, and arrange in the pan. Brush top with egg wash, and bake for 30 minutes. Put the cookies on cooling rack. Store them in a cookie container.

Summer Squash with Tomato Stew

For this recipe, you could substitute Summer squash for zucchini or use a combination of both.

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 medium  yellow squash, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon Arabian Spice

1 teaspoon salt

1 (16-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon tomato sauce

1 cup water

In a deep pan, heat the oil and sauté the onions for 2 minutes. Add the squash, salt and seasonings and stir. Leave it to cook for 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes until the squash becomes tender.

Serve as a side dish or as a meal with rice.

Butternut Squash Soup-Shorbat Shijar

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon Arabian spice or a pinch of (black pepper,allspice,cinnamon,nutmeg)
2 cups water or chicken stock
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Heat oil in a deep pan. Saute the squash in oil for 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and season with salt and spice and cinnamon stick. Stir the mixture for 5 minutes. Add the water and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat until squash is tender. Check if it need more salt.
You could mash the squash with a spoon to thicken the soup.

Spinach with Chickpeas Stew

Have you ever looked at the bag of frozen spinach and wondered what to do with it? Well, here is a fantastic and flavorful vegetarian recipe of a stew that you can eat with bread or with plain white rice. You can use any kind of canned beans for this recipe.

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound frozen or fresh chopped spinach

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Arabian spice (combination of black pepper, cinnamon, allspice and cloves)

1 cup water

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon ground dried lime (optional)

1 (15.5 ounce) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

In a deep pan, heat the oil and sauté the onions. Season with salt and spices. Spread the spinach on top of the onions and add water, and bring to a boil. Add tomato paste and lemon juice and dried lime and chickpeas, and stir. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve it in a soup bowl or a side dish.