Omani Cuisine

An exotice Arabic dish we cooked earlier this month, takes about an hour to make, and is recommended for larger gatherings.

Ingredients

Kofta

• 1 Kg minced beef
• 2 tbs finely chopped parsley
• 2 tbs finely chopped scallions
• 1 small minced red onion
• 1 tbs of cinnamon
• Salt/pepper

Zucchini Sauce

• 4 medium zucchinis
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 6 chopped cloves of garlic
• ½ tbs of crushed red chili
• 2 tbs chopped parsley
• ½ tbs chopped mint
• 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt/pepper

Method

1. Mix well all the ingredients of the Kofta. Create finger shaped (or balls) of the mix. Put a little bit of oil on a non-stick frying pan and start frying the kofta until it is well done. (It is also possible to grill the kofta instead of frying it if you would rather do that instead).
2. For the zucchini sauce, add some olive oil to a saucepot and sauté the garlic and the red chili for 3 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and after a minute add all the chopped tomatoes with the bay leaves. Wait until the sauce starts to boil then cover the saucepot and put it on the lowest flame for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the zucchini to small pieces and sauté it in the same pan you used for frying the kofta . Keep sautéing the zucchini for 5 minutes.
4. Add the zucchini, parsely and mint to the tomatoe sauce in the saucepot. Add some salt and peper as desired to the sauce. Cover the sauce pot and leave it on a low flame until the zucchini is well cooked.
5. Place the kofta on the serving plate and pour the sauce on top of it.

This post has been submitted by chef Mohammed Al Manthari - a Omani student in New Zealand. Please feel free to share your recipes and reviews with the rest of the Omani Cuisine community by emailing us at contact@omanicuisine.com.

Today’s recipe is rich with protein and minerals and tastes great with its seasonal spices and basil leaves. The locals of Oman are known for their many different fish dishes (Fish is the second largest export of the country after all!). I have chosen this recipe as it is one of the healthiest and most tasteful. A must-east for both grilled food fans and sea food fans!

The Ingredients are:

• ½ Kg of Tuna (Gaithar) Fish cubes.
• A selection of vegetables (any of all):
  • Courgettes
  • Mushrooms
  • Cauliflower,
  • Yellow, Green, Red Peppers
  • Egg plant
  • Lady fingers (Okra)
• 2 crushed green chillies (amendable, 1 makes it mild).
• 1 large onion
• 3 tomatoes
• Basil (a handful)
• 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons fish curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 3 cloves of crushed garlic

Before anything, marinate the fish cubes for an hour to 3 hours into bowel and add the green chillies, lemon, fish curry powder, salt, black pepper, turmeric, garlic and red chilli powder, then return the bowel in the fridge.

1. Cut onions into small cubes.
2. Heat up the pot and add 2-teaspoon oil (preferably, olive oil).
3. Add the onions and let it fry until golden brown.
4. then cut the tomatoes into smaller cubes and add them
5. add the marinated fish.
6. let it cook for 10 minutes.
7. add the basil leaves
8. then add all the vegetables and add a cup of warm water.
9. let it all cook for another 20-30 minutes on medium heat.
10. heat the oven and add the fish pieces only to grill for 10-15 minutes, while the rest of the vegetables are cooking in lower heat.

N.B: the spices are adjustable depending on your taste.

Hope you enjoy your vegetable fish dish.