May 16, 2008

Announcing AWED: Middle Eastern Cuisine

From earth sprang herbs, from herbs food,
from food seed,
from seed man.
Man thus consists of the essence of food.

From food are all creatures produced, by food do they grow..

The self consists of food, of breath, of mind, of understanding, of bliss...


- the Upanishads (circa 1000B.C)


Food is one such thing which binds us all, and A Worldly Epicurean's Delight (A.W.E.D), an event initiated by Dhivya of Culinary bazaar celebrates a world cuisine every month and this time, she passes on the baton to me. Thanks sweety!

.. and In this edition of
AWED, lets take a trip into a far-off kitchen to discover some unique recipes - the Middle Eastern way...:)

"The words 'Middle East' can conjure up visions of hot sand, bright blue skies full of sun and the distant outline of camel caravans trekking across a horizon hazy with heat. To many people, the Middle east is a distant, unfamiliar and somewhat mysterious region with a history of violence and turmoil. The region does indeed boast a long, intricate, sometimes violent history balanced with a vibrant modern culture. To many a hungry traveler, reader or local, the Middle East is the home of some of the world's most delicious cooking. "

- an excerpt from
Cooking The Middle Eastern Way: Culturally Authentic Foods Including Low-Fat And Vegetarian Recipes by Alison Behnke

I recently grabbed this tiny book (unlike any other cookbook, which are typically 100+ pages) from my local library and found extremely fascinating. Instantly I decided to have '
Middle Eastern Cooking' as the next theme for A.W.E.D.


Middle Eastern cuisine is basically a blend of many cuisines right from Armenia to Turkey. A comprehensive list of recipes - appetizers (a.k.a 'Mezze') to pickles ('Mekhalel') to sauces ('Markat') and spice blends can be found here.

Please do note that all the entries must be made the
Vegetarian way. One can always mention the non vegetarian ingredients which are normally added to the ingredients list to let everyone know of the non-vegetarian substitutions which one can make, but the recipe on the whole should be a Vegetarian.

From hearty Egyptian bean dishes to simple pilaf's of Armenia, this region's cuisine offers something to please every palate. and I am sure you would whip up some yummy recipes that would whet anybody's tummy!..:)

Here are some simple guidelines for the event:


1) Make any dish – be it Appetizer, Main Course or Dessert - Vegetarian/Vegan and post the same in your blog and link back to the announcement and also to
Dhivya's blog. Feel free to use the logo.

2) Multiple entries are most welcome !.


3) Take a snap of your yummy dish and send it across with a size of 300 X 300 pixels.


4) Send me your Name, Recipe, Recipe URL, Photo and Location to : i.am.awed@gmail.com ( thats i(dot)am(dot)awed(at)gmail(dot)com )

5) Last date for the entries are
June 15th 2008.

6) Non-bloggers can also participate by sending their entries with the same details to the above email address.

Let the party begin then ...Shall we !!


Hope you would shower your love and support to this new edition of AWED, as much as you did for AWED:Mexican.


*************************************************************************************

Recipe Marathon:

From 17th to 31 May 2008

So, are you all set for the Recipe Marathon starting tomorrow..:). Here is list of those enthusiastic bloggers friends who are joining us...:)

1. Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Seasons
2. Bhags of Crazy Curry
3. Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
4. Raaga of The Singing Chef
5. Lakshmi of The Yum Blog
6. Dhivya of Culinary Bazaar
7. Siri of Siri's Corner
8. Swati of Chatkhor
9. Arundathi of My Food Blog
10. Divya Vikram of Dil Se..

Note: Currently these are the only participants for this edition of Recipe Marathon. Thanks and we look forward for your participation in our next edition...:)

*****************************************************************************************************************
Tried & Test Recipes # 2: Srivalli's Bendakaya Sambhar (Okra Sambhar)


take care and Have a great weekend ahead!

Siri

18 comments :

  1. habibi - yella barra Middle east!

    Ok Ok In case anyone know Arabi, pls dont hit me...My extent of Middle east is the food and not the language ;-) What I mean to say was Friend lets get going to Middle east heheheh..(or something like that!)

    Am excited yeh..yeh! It wont be a surprise if at the end of all this cooking (Middle east + Recipe Marathon) I start looking like s sumo wrestler! ( in that case we can start with a Japanese cuisine immed next ;-) ) hehehe

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  2. Another fun event from the talented duo. Sounds great. I'll try to chip in. You can count me in. Best wishes, Siri!

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  3. Dear Siri,

    I have started looking for recipes. Hope to contribute more than one this time.

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  4. Kewl! I have HUGE book on Middle east veg dishes!:))
    Vegan? veg; without eggs I cant make most of the desserts but will try. Love the Okra sambhar!:)

    Marathon; I post just twice a week in both blogs and people think I post too often!;D

    I could post about 2-3 post per week though,will leave URL. I have a appetizer at Aroma right now, will add. Enjoy your weekend sweetie.

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  5. @ DK: Congrats sweety on receiving a huge response for AWED:Mexican..:D and now comes my turn. Hopefully this will be a success too!!. and now I know that u know ARABIC..Kewl!! so, can I expect more than 2 entrees for AWED:Middle Eastern?..huh?.:)

    @ Uma: Thanks dear. will be looking forward for your yummy recipe.

    @ Madhu: U r so fast dearie. Hope to receive couple of them from you..:D

    @ Ashaji: Wow.. a huge book.. that sounds interesting.. U cud used eggs ashaji.. the recipes just have to Vegeterian - can use eggs for ur yummy desserts. Have a great weekend ahead!!

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  6. Hi Siri,
    I can join galdly these theme too :) Which i love, got many recipes from my arabic friend, i try to convert into veg. Let's make another huge sucess all together Dear.
    About Marathon, other than weekend, i will make somthing and let u know immediately.
    Have Great weekend Siri

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  7. thats so cool - love middle eastern food and cook it very often. i'm sure i can contribute several recipes. I posted one today that I'm gonna send over... Super cool theme, Siri

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  8. Hey you will make me mad with these events but am enjoying it... ok iam in for the recipe marathon ... so please add my name too... my first post is dum ka murgh zafrani.
    you both rock am enjoying this run...

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  9. and hey wheres your 17th - day 1 post.. i wanted to link to it too...

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  10. my 1st entry to the marathon is http://chatkhor.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-first-stint-with-non-veg-cooking-dum.html..

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  11. Ah...finally I came here..lovely theme..I am all excited only I don't know what will be possible..but I am going to research no doubt...

    thats a sweet and lovely logo you got there for the recipe marathon!...and imagine you trying out my bendakaya sambar!...it looks lovely!

    Its wonderful that you are posting all your tried and tested recipes..makes everybody happy girl!

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  12. Hey Siri,
    Can I send across something that was posted a while back as long as the entries are linked to this place? I did not see anything in the rules for AWED: MEC which said that that wasn't allowed.

    I am assuming that it is o.k. Do let me know if it isn't.:D

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  13. Great choice for a theme. I will see what I can come up with.

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  14. Siri- I have sent you my 2 entries via e-mail. Hope you have received both e-mails.:)

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  15. diri, i just now sent a recipe for the event.hope u recieved it.

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  16. Have just sent you my entry. Hope you get it.

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  17. Hello Siri
    Lovely to visit your blog. I am a new blogger and was thrilled to see your theme! I grew up in Dubai and lurve middle eastern food, albeit the veggie dishes! Looking forward to sending something in soon!

    http://veggiefoodist.blogspot.com/

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  18. hi Siri
    I emailed my post to you a couple of days ago...just want to make sure you received it?

    ReplyDelete

'Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it' ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Note: Any comments with external links will not be published.

Siri

 
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