Halva

Arabian recipe number two - one after the other, because I am on a kick and made them both on the same day (with a nice curry that Avanator will probably get around to before me!)

Halva is a kind of simple cake that goes well with tea and coffee and has a unique flaky texture you won't find anywhere else. There are many, many ways to make it - some households add nuts, beans and yams, others use tahini or special flour, others use honey. But just to start, if you never made it before, you'll need a simple recipe for your base. I'll leave the rest up to you from there!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup rosewater
3-4 threads of saffron (or about 1/2 teaspoon of the ground up variety)
340 grams of tahini (pre-beaten)

Directions:

1) Boil sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
2) Once sugar is dissolved, add saffron and rosewater. Remove from heat.
3) Add tahini and whisk carefully to fully integrate.
4) Next, spread it evenly on a platter. Add any decorations you would like on top at this time.
5) Cover and stick it in the fridge until it cools.
6) Serve by cutting it into wedges like fudge.

Tips:

* You can use a fork to make patterns in the top of the Halva for decorations before it cools, and they'll stay. You can also add decorative nuts and raisins on the top to your liking. Do all this after you pour the mixture into the platter and before you put it in the fridge.
* Rosewater can be bought at most specialty shops, but in case you can't find it, you can make it yourself. Just take a cup of fresh, clean rose petals (you can buy them from a flower shop if you need to),  pour two cups of boiling water on top, cover and steep until the water cools. Then use a strainer to remove the rose petals and squeeze them out, and voila, you have rose water left over.
* Remember that Lavender cheesecake I made for you guys last week? You can also easily use lavender in this recipe. But beware - lavender is like perfume. Don't add too much - a little goes a long way.

Hummus

I decided to post two easy middle-eastern recipes in order, because nothing beats the heat like food designed for people who know nothing but heat. Both recipes take less than 30 minutes and require little preparation.

This one is called Hummus, and is a great way to get kids to eat chick peas. I hated chick peas as a kid. But this is one way that beans don't taste like beans. You can use this as a dip for chips and crackers, for pita bread, raisin bread, vegetables, or (as a nice Turkish guy taught me) even to spread on kebob meat.

Ingredients:

2 cups canned chickpeas
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water
salt
black pepper
paprika and parsley for decoration

Directions:

1) Gently brown garlic over low heat, being careful not to burn.
2) Blend garlic, chickpeas, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice in a blender until the consistency is smooth like a milkshake.
3) Add water, salt and pepper to the blender until it tastes just right.
4) transfer it to a tupperware or a covered dish and leave in the fridge overnight. Though you can serve it right away, hummus always tastes best the next day.

Tips:

* Hummus is often served with a dash of olive oil on the top. Other garnishes include black olives, cayenne pepper, and pine nuts.
* This dip keeps very well, so you can easily refrigerate it for a week or so and pull it out for those times you have the munchies.
* In Palestine, the tahini is replaced with yoghurt. So if you find yourself without tahini one day, substitute plain yoghurt and you'll be fine.
* Hummus is useful in vegetarian and vegan diets, and has tons of vitamin C, iron and vitamin B6. Fat is also all non-saturated, so this stuff won't make you fat like some other dips might.