Stuffed Whole Wheat Pita Bread

 

 Stuffed Whole Wheat Pita Bread… 

It’s a wholesome meal loaded with vegetables …  delicious.. This dish can be enjoyed anytime of the day… This dish can be easily made at home with little bit of planning and most of the dry ingredients are available in our kitchen. 

Lebanese Spice powder is available online.. incase you don’t want to make it. 

For the Pita Bread 

Ingredients 

2 1/2 + 2 tbsp  cups Whole Wheat Flour 

2 tsp Dry Yeast

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

1/2 cup Lukewarm water + More water as required 

1 tbsp Olive oil

Method 

Add yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and let it proof for 10 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of  flour and salt and mix it well. When the yeast is ready pour the yeast on the flour. Mix the dough well. If required add more water little at a time and start mixing the flour and kneading it into a soft dough. Add a tbsp olive oil and knead it for 5 minutes. Brush some olive oil on the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest until it rises double its size. When the dough is ready, sprinkle some flour on the dough and remove the air from the dough.  Knead it again for few seconds and make 6 equal portions of the dough. Arrange the balls on a greased tray leaving some distance, cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. With a help of a rolling pin roll out each ball into a 1/3 inch thick oval shape or in circles. Let the pita rest for 10 minutes.

To Make  Pitas on the Stovetop...

Warm a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Put the rolled-out pita on the skillet and cook until you see bubbles starting to form. Flip and cook for few seconds on the other side, press the surface gently with a towel. Flip again and cook another few seconds.  The pita should start to puff.  Keep cooked pitas covered with a clean towel while cooking the remaining pitas.

Lebanese Spice Blend 

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Coriander powder 

2 tbsp Cumin powder 

2 tbsp Pepper corn powder 

2 tbsp Paprika ( used Kashmiri chilli powder)

1 tbsp Clove powder 

1 tsp Cardamom powder 

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder 

1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder 

Method 

Mix all the above ingredients and store the spice blend in a glass bottle. 

For the stuffing  - 

Ingredients 

3 Soya Chaap Stick cut into small pieces 

3 to 4 Mushrooms cut into half and sliced 

1 small Onion cut into half and sliced 

5 to 6 Garlic cloves chopped 

1 medium Tomato deseed, cut into half and sliced 

1 small Capsicum sliced 

2 Green Chillies chopped 

1 tsp Lemon juice 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Lebanese spice powder 

1 tsp Olive Oil

Method 

Take a pan, add olive oil, add the soya piece, sauté for 2 minutes, add the onion, garlic and continue to sauté for a minute, add the capsicum, green chillies, continue to sauté for another minute. Now add the mushrooms and tomato. Continue to stir fry on medium low flame, add the salt and the Lebanese spice powder. Continue to stir fry for another 2 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked and the all the ingredients have mixed well… switch off the flame. Add the Lemon juice.. mix and keep it aside.. 

For the Salad 

Ingredients 

1 small Cucumber cut into thin strips 

1 small Tomato deseeded, cut into half and sliced 

1 small Onion sliced 

1/2 cup of thinly sliced Cabbage 

1 tsp Lemon juice 

1/2 tsp roasted Cumin powder 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Take all the ingredients in a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and keep it aside for 15 minutes. 

For Assembling - 

Ingredients 

Stuffing 

Salad

Pita bread 

Method 

Cut the pita bread into half.  Take one half of the pita bread. Create a pocket. Add some salad into the pita bread pocket, add some soya Chaap stuffing and some more salad.. and it’s ready to be served. 

Grilled Lebanese Chicken with Lebanese Potato Salad, Green Peas Hummus and Pita Bread

Lebanese cuisine is wholesome and healthy, it consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, pickled vegetables, fresh fish, meat and olive oil. Most of the fish and meat are grilled and fresh vegetables are eaten in the form of salads. Various types of dish, dips, salad, picked vegetables, fruits and desserts are served in small quantity at a time, it’s known as mezze. On a regular basis a family can make 3 to 4 dish for mezze, but for functions and occasions mezze can consist of more than 25 dishes... 

Information - Net source

We enjoyed some Lebanese dishes at home...

Grilled Lebanese Chicken 

 

Ingredients 

1 kg Whole Chicken 

Juice of 1 Lemon

2 tbsp Olive oil for marination + 1 tbsp Olive oil for grilling 

4 Garlic minced 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder

1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder 

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes 

* 1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

2 Cloves ground

Method 

Take the whole chicken, apply all the above ingredients to the chicken and keep it aside for 4 to 5 hours to marinate. Take a pan, place the chicken and pour the remaining olive oil over the chicken. Grill the chicken in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees celsius on one side, remove the tray and turn the chicken, grill the chicken on the other side for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the grilled chicken and serve it with salad. 

Lebanese Potato Salad

  

Ingredients 

2 medium size Potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes 

Juice of  1/2 Lemon 

1 small Onion sliced 

2 tbsp chopped Mint leaves 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

1 tbsp Olive oil 

Method 

Boil the potato cubes. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water out and keep it aside for 10 to 15 minutes to cool it down. Take a mixing bowl, all the above ingredients and mix the ingredients well. Serve the salad immediately. 

Green Peas and Mint Hummus 

   

Ingredients 

* 1 cup Frozen Green Peas

1 tbsp Tahini 

1 Garlic Clove

1 tbsp chopped Mint leaves 

1 tbsp Lemon Juice 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder 

2 tbsp Olive Oil 

Method 

Thaw the green peas, keep a tsp of green peas aside. Take a food processor, add the green peas, garlic, salt, pepper powder, some chopped mint leaves, tahini, lime juice and 1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil. Blend the ingredients together into a smooth paste. Remove the paste into a bowl, drizzle the remaining olive oil, sprinkle some mint leaves and add some green peas over the hummus. 

Pita Bread 

Please click on the link below 

http://suskitchenbysumitra.blogspot.com/2016/06/pita-bread.html

Aish El Saraya...

Eid Mubarak to all...

May you be blessed with joy, peace and happiness.

Aish El Saraya...

It means bread of the royal palace. It's a Lebanese dish. Aish El-Saraya is made on special occasions.

Sweet sugar syrup is drizzled over the toasted bread and covered with thick cream on top. It is garnished with chopped pistachios and rose petals. It is served chilled. 

With love from my kitchen....

For the Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp Lime juice

2 tsp Rosewater

Method

Add sugar, lime juice and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Stir and let it cook on low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring it to a boil and switch of the flame. Stir in rosewater. Cool for 10 minutes.

To make Aish El Saraya

Ingredients

8 slices White Bread,sides cut and toasted

1 1/2 cups of Milk

1/3 cup  Sugar

1 cup Fresh Cream

3 tbsp Cornflour

1 tsp Rosewater

Sugar Syrup

1/4 cup chopped Pistachios

Few dried Rose petals

Method

Take a baking dish. Place 4 slices of toasted bread slices into the dish in a way that no gap should remain. Pour 1/2 of the syrup on the bread. Top with remaining bread. Drizzle with remaining syrup. Keep it aside. Add milk, cream, sugar and cornflour in a  sauce pan. Stir it till the cornflour has mixed well. Cook, stirring it constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Switch of the flame. Stir in rosewater.Pour over the bread in the dish. Sprinkle with pistachio. Set aside to cool. Refrigerate until it sets. Serve.

Pita Bread

 Pita Bread

It is a Lebanese bread had with Hummus, Salad and Falafel... it's better to make these at home. Easy to make even if you don't have a oven.

Ingredients

2 1/2 + 2 tbsp  cup All Purpose Flour 

2 tsp Dry or Instant Yeast

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

1/2 cup Lukewarm water + More water as required 

2 tbsp Olive oil

Method

Add yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and let it proof for 10 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour and salt and mix it well. When the yeast is ready pour the yeast on the flour. Mix the dough well. If required add more water little at a time and start mixing the flour and kneading it into a soft dough. Add a tbsp olive oil and knead it for 5 minutes. Drizzle some more oil on the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest until it rises double its size. When the dough is ready, sprinkle some flour on the dough and remove the air from the dough.  Knead it again for few seconds and make 6 equal portions of the dough. Arrange the balls on a greased tray leaving some distance, cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. With a help of a rolling pin roll out each ball into a 1/3 inch thick circle. Let the dough circles rest for 10 minutes.

To Bake Pitas in the Oven...

While rolling the dough,heat the oven to 260 degrees celsius and preheat it. Put a baking tray on the middle rack to heat. Put as many rolled out pitas that fits on the baking directly for about 3 minutes. The pita will start to puff up after two minutes and is done when it has fully ballooned. Cover baked pitas with a towel while cooking any remaining pitas.

To Bake Pitas on the Stovetop...

Warm a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle a little oil in the pan and wipe off the excess. Put the rolled-out pita on the skillet and bake until you see bubbles starting to form. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side, press the surface gently with a towel. Flip again and cook another 1-2 minutes.  The pita should start to puff.  Keep cooked pitas covered with a clean dishtowel while cooking the remaining pitas.