Middle Eastern Books - Page 4

My Egyptian Grandmother's Mother Kitchen: Traditional Dishes Sweet and Savory

Magda Mehdawy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this beautifully illustrated volume, Magda Mehdawy has gathered in one book the most complete collection of Egyptian recipes ever assembled. Drawing on the traditional recipes she learned from her grandmother and other members of her generation, Mehdawy offers a surprising range of sumptuous recipes and unusual flavors that are part of Egypt's millennia-long cultural heritage. She also reveals the historical depth of the national cuisine, beginning with a section on food and wine-making techniques used by the ancient Egyptians. For readers interested in more recent traditions, Mehdawy provides lists of typical menus served on Islamic holidays and feasts, and a fascinating overview of traditional beliefs regarding vegetables and spices. While covering regional dishes from all over Egypt, Mehdawy emphasizes the cuisine of her native Mediterranean city of Alexandria, providing a wide selection of seafood dishes, such as baked sardines and shrimp kufta with rice. Grouped by food categories - including Broths and Soups, Stuffed Vegetables, Poultry, Pickles, Jams, and Desserts - the book helpfully lists detailed health information as well as practical advice on shopping for the best-quality ingredients, and where to find them. Even chefs already familiar with Egyptian cuisine will find new dishes here. With copious illustrations in full color throughout, this compendium is a great introduction to the rich flavor and variety of the traditional Egyptian kitchen.

In a Persian Kitchen: Favorite Recipes from the Near East

Maideh Mazda

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Too many missing ingredients 1 out of 5 stars.
11 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I am Persian so I know how things should taste... In every recipe I tried one or more ingredients were missing. This book only makes me more reliant on long distant calls to mom. Don't waist your money. There are many other good books.

This cookbook is OK, if OK is good enough for you. 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book would be fine for someone who is curious about Persian food, but wants a simplified version of it, but the food is not authentic. The author has changed the recipes to make them slightly easier to cook (except for the times when the recipes aren't clear), and has eliminated the need to search for a Persian market for special ingredients. Sadly, for people looking for really, really good Persian food, it is the special ingredients and extra work that make it the most delicious food in the world.

A Long Term Keeper 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

We bought this cookbook in hardback when we were first married shortly after it first came out and it is still one of our most frequently used favorites. We recently bought copies for our kids because they're always borrowing ours and we frequently have trouble tracking it down.

Two recipes worth the price of admission by themselves:
'Persian meat loaf' - still our favorite meatloaf after 40 years
'Grilled Chicken' - awesome - cook over charcoal the slower the better

Persian Cooking for a Healthy Kitchen

Najmieh Batmanglij

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Persian cuisine is exotic yet simple like a poem by Omar Khayyam, healthy yet colourful like a Persian miniature painting. It combines rice, the jewel and foundation of Persian cooking, with a little meat, fowl or fish; plenty of onion, garlic, vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs; and a delicate, uniquely Persian mix of spices such as rose petals, angelica seeds, dried limes, candied orange peels, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and saffron to achieve a delicious and balanced diet. Drawing on her 15 years of experience collecting and adapting authentic Persian recipes, and inspired by her years in Southern France and the United States, Najmieh Batmanglij has brought about a marriage of ancient Persian cooking, French Provencal food presentation, and contemporary American eating styles. The result is Persian Cooking for a Healthy Kitchen, 95 exquisite kitchen-tested recipes that are low in fat yet high in flavour -- a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds--that meet the current health goals of limiting the calories from saturated fats. The recipes have been kitchen tested by both American and Persian chefs. They are intelligently written and easy to follow, one per page, each facing a magnificent photograph by the renowned French photographer, Serge Ephrahim.

A Taste of Lebanon: Cooking Today the Lebanese Way

Mary Salloum

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

unusable! 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book because i love cooking and love arabic food.the recipes in the book are good but the problem is that even if followed very carefully,the meals do not come out.they are always eighter undercooked, overcooked or just plain flavorless.The cooking times and temperatures are always off!Worst cookbook i ever bought!I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because a few of the salads and beverages were ok,the rest is a waste!

A Taste of Lebanon 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The books arrived in brand new condition and were sent on an expedited basis. Thank you.

My all-time favorite cookbook! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I originally received this book as a gift from my husband's 90 year old Lebanese aunt, who told me the recipes are the same as they learned to cook in the old country. Well, I have tried most of the recipes in this book, and they are all delicious. One comment from one of the Lebanese cousins at my husband's birthday party was "these are better than the Lebanese make" referring to the kibby balls I had made from a recipe in this book. I have purchased this book as gifts for all of my 6 grown children, and also for several of my friends. We all refer to it as "the book", and everyone knows which one we are talking about. Mine has been used so much, that the pages are all tattered and torn. Now that is the sign of a GREAT cookbook!

Editorial Review:

Describes Lebanese cuisine and shares traditional recipes for main and side dishes.

The Language of Baklava: A Memoir

Diana Abu-Jaber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the acclaimed author of Crescent, called “radiant, wise, and passionate” by the Chicago Tribune, here is a vibrant, humorous memoir of growing up with a gregarious Jordanian father who loved to cook. Diana Abu-Jaber weaves the story of her life in upstate New York and in Jordan around vividly remembered meals: everything from Lake Ontario shish kabob cookouts with her Arab-American cousins to goat stew feasts under a Bedouin tent in the desert. These sensuously evoked meals in turn illuminate the two cultures of Diana’s childhood–American and Jordanian–and the
richness and difficulty of straddling both. They also bring her wonderfully eccentric family to life, most memorably her imperious American grandmother and her impractical, hotheaded, displaced immigrant father, who, like many an immigrant before him, cooked to remember the place he came from and to pass that connection on to his children.

As she does in her fiction, Diana draws us in with her exquisite insight and compassion, and with her amazing talent for describing food and the myriad pleasures and adventures associated with cooking and eating. Each chapter contains mouthwatering recipes for many of the dishes described, from her Middle Eastern grandmother’s Mad Genius Knaffea to her American grandmother’s Easy Roast Beef, to her aunt Aya’s Poetic Baklava. The Language of Baklava gives us the chance not only to grow up alongside Diana, but also to share meals with her every step of the way–unforgettable feasts that teach her, and us, as much about iden-tity, love, and family as they do about food.

Crazy Water Pickled Lemons: Enchanting Dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa

Diana Henry

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

If you want hamburgers, then eat at McDonalds 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 15 people found this review helpful.

What a bunch of nonsense, Hostile Reviewer.

This is a beautifully written book with thoughtful, interesting recipes sure to tantalize and delight fellow epicurians. It's easy to follow, the instructions are clear and concise, and the ingredient lists read like a tale from Arabian Nights. I can't see how anyone could complain about this gorgeous book- unless they like the big glaring fonts of a McDonald's menuboard and call the Olive Garden "exotic".

Editorial Review:

Spanish Sausages and Migas, Chilled Avocado and Coriander Soup, Herb-Scented Chocolate Truffles: this irresistibly evocative cookbook features more than 100 captivating dishes from throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa. Lusciously photographed by award-winning lensman Jason Lowe, and compiled by an exciting new voice in the cookery world, these recipes combine flavors in ways long forgotten—or never even discovered—in the western kitchen. Diana Henry uses such classic ingredients as olive oil, coriander, chili, and dates in refreshing new ways, and also incorporates a banquet of exotic and aromatic components, including flower waters, pomegranates, and cardamom. Each selection has an irresistible charm, from the sea-and-salt infused (Catalan Salt Cod and Pepper Gratin) to the heavenly sweet (Middle Eastern Orange Cake).

Cardamom and Lime: Recipes from the Arabian Gulf

Sarah Al-hamad

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Editorial Review:

This stunning book contains a wealth of delicious recipes that reflect the flavors and traditional dishes of the Arabian Gulf: Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Little is known in the West about this rich cuisine. Cardamom and Lime provides readers with the inspiration to create these wonderful dishes.

The book starts with a fascinating introduction to the history of the Gulf and the traditions and customs that make food such an essential part of daily life. The cuisine of the Arabian Gulf is diverse yet individual and has long been associated with companionship and tradition. Rice features heavily, as do grains and pulses, while chicken, lamb and fish are also found in traditional dishes. Dates are an essential part of any chapter on desserts, but you will also find aromatic cardamom cake, rose-scented rice pudding and teas. From machbous laham (fragrant lamb pilaf) to mrabyan (shrimp and rice), there is plenty here to tempt the taste buds.

Throughout the book there are beautiful photographs and feature spreads to give a flavor of life in the Gulf, making this a unique and eye-opening introduction to this fabulous cuisine.

Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine

Nawal Nasrallah

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Incredible! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I received this cookbook as a birthday gift two years ago. When I opened it, I was excited to find a Middle Eastern cookbook, but was not expecting it to 'measure up' to the 10 or so Middle Eastern/North African cookbooks in my collection, as the author is not well known as are the authors of many of the other books. After all this time, I have made quite a few recipes from this book, and all were fantastic. That being said, I feel that I haven't even scratched the surface of this book. The number of good recipes in the book is astounding, and the history portion of the book is very interesting. I highly recommend the book for anyone interested in learning more about cooking Middle Eastern food, and learning about its roots.

Editorial Review:

This new Iraqi cookbook contains more than four hundred recipes covering all food categories. There is ample choice for both vegetarian and meat lovers, and many that will satisfy a sweet tooth. All recipes have been tested and are easy to follow.

Introducing the recipes are thoroughly researched historical and cultural narratives that trace the development of the Iraqi cuisine from the times of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians, through the medieval era, and leading to its interaction with Mediterranean and world cuisine.

Of particular interest are the book's numerous folkloric stories, anecdotes, songs, cultural explications of customs, and excerpts from narratives written by foreign visitors to the region. Arabic calligraphy, and photos, paintings and sketches add to the pictorial appeal of the book.

Hummus: And 65 Other Delicious & Healthy Chickpea Recipes

Avner Laskin

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Editorial Review:

Hummus by any name—chickpea, garbanzo bean, ceci bean, or even (in India) bengal gram—is delicious! Recipes from all over the world are collected here for 65 imaginative hummus and other chickpea dishes. They all start with the simple act of transforming dry chickpeas into any of 10 delicious hummus preparations, including Creamy and Smooth Hummus, Hummus with Fresh Herbs, Masbacha (warm, soft, whole chickpeas), and Roasted Garlic Hummus. From these basics (displayed in fine-dining photos) come 12 salads, 11 soups, 10 specialties (like falafel), and 19 entrées featuring chickpeas, ranging from stand-alone dishes like Cassoulet (Peasant Stew), Curried Chickpeas, and Couscous (a main course pasta) to feasts of Lamb Stew, Baked Chicken, Beef Casserole, and Sea Bass.

Classic Palestinian Cuisine

Christiane Dabdoub Nasser

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

A Charming Cook Book! 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love Middle Eastern Food and was excited to get this cook book. Though it has many wonderful recipes that I am sure are good, it lacks pictures to show the end results. Also adding a little historical narrative of the people and culture would have been enlightening.

Editorial Review:

"It is thrilling when an old cuisine finds a place on the gastronomic map. This charming book is about good real food with delicious flavours and centuries of tradition behind it."-Claudia Roden

This new edition of Classic Palestinian Cuisine features a rich variety of over one hundred mouth-watering dishes characteristic of the eastern regions of the Mediterranean and their culinary cultures.

The culinary experience is enriched through the incorporation of anecdotes, excerpts, and illustrations of cultural and celebratory traditions from diverse groups, from the Bethlehem area to the different regions of Palestine.

Christiane Dabdoub Nasser was born in Bethlehem in 1953.