Hurrak Osba3o (حراق أصبعو): An introduction to Syrian cuisine

Syrian cuisine has always been an inseparable part of our heritage due to the proximity between the two countries, Syria and Lebanon. Their intertwined history has led the two countries to share famous mouthwatering dishes like fatteh, makdous, muhammarah and labaniyeh. We’re sharing with you the recipe for one of the very famous Syrian dish known as Harrak ‘Osba’o (حراق أصبعه); INSERT INTO articles (articleId, timestamp, date, title, teaser, slug, status, primaryCategory, description, authorId, sourceId, url, lastUpdate, hasImage, contents, summary) VALUES a favorite among many Lebanese households. This dish’s main ingredients are lentils, tamarind (tamer hindi) and dough. Here’s a recipe for four persons:

INGREDIENTS:

500 grams of lentils

600 ml of tamarind juice

3 cups of flour

2.5 liters of water

6 mashed cloves of garlic

100 grams of chopped coriander (ضمة كزبرة)

2 chopped onions

½ a cup of pomegranate molasses

1 cup of fresh pomegranates

1 cup of olive oil

Salt

PREPARATION:

Pour the lentils into the cooking pot. Add 2 liters of water. Boil for 25 minutes.

After that, add the tamarind juice along with the pomegranate molasses and 3 teaspoons of salt. Let it simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare the dough using 3 cups of flour and 2 cups of water. After that, separate the dough into small fist-sized clumps. Knead and roll out every clump using a dough roller until it becomes a smooth flat circle. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into small square shaped pieces and place them in two separate bowls. Fry the pieces in the first bowl while leaving the rest in the second bowl.

On the side in a small pan, fry the chopped onions until they are golden in color, while simultaneously frying the mashed garlic with the coriander in a separate pan. This process should take about 5 minutes while the lentils and tamarind juice simmer slowly.

After that, drop the non-fried pieces of dough slowly into the lentils pot, stir for 20 minutes. Then add the cup of olive oil and stir for five minutes. Now you’re done. All you need to do is empty the lentils into a large dish and add the fried onions next to the coriander, pomegranate and fried dough for seasoning (see picture above). Bon Appétit!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annahar is pleased to feature “Dish,” a new section for all things Food. The section includes recipes, chef interviews, new eating venues, restaurant profiles concepts, eating interviews, and dining options ranging from kitchen to clubs.

For recipes, food and dining tips send to Dish Editor Chiri Choukeir: [email protected]

Dish - Reach Out and Taste the World.