Homemade delights for Iftar and Suhoor this Ramadan

Samak with Harra Sauce (Lebanese fish with spicy tomato sauce)
Serves: Four persons
Ingredients 
For Samak Harra:
Sea Bass, sliced 1 kg
Lemon juice 200 ml
Corn oil 100 ml
Coriander, freshly chopped 100 gms
Salt and white pepper, to taste
Garlic, crushed 100 gms
Method
Marinate all together and bake or grill the fish.
Pre-heat the oven at 160°C and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
For Harra Sauce:
Tomatoes, chopped 4 pcs
Onions, chopped 2 pcs
Capsicums, chopped 4 pcs
Green chillies, sliced 10 pcs
Red chilli, to taste
Tomato paste 200 gms
Coriander, freshly chopped 40 gms
Garlic, crushed 100 gms
Method
Slightly sauté onions on a pan and add garlic to it. Then gradually add capsicum, cooking till it slightly changes colour.
Add tomato paste and mix well, as it cooks.
Add chopped tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. In the end, add chopped fresh coriander. Ready to serve.

Thareed Laham (Emirati lamb stew with vegetables, Markouk bread) 
Serves: Four persons 
Ingredients
Lamb meat for the stew 1 kg
Water1 ½ litres 
Onions, finely chopped 2 cups 
Garlic, minced 3 cloves 
Corn oil 1 tbsp 
Tomato paste 1 tbsp
Potatoes, large, each quartered 2 pcs
Kousa (baby marrow), small,
each cut into half 4 pcs
Carrot, large, cut into four pieces 1 pc
Capsicum, large, cubed 1 pc
Tomatoes, medium, chopped 4 pcs
Whole black dried lemons 2 pcs
Green chilli 1-3 pcs
Arabic spice mix 1 tsp 
Cinnamon powder 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Black lemon powder (loomi aswad) 1 tsp
Curry powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Cardamom powder 1 tsp
Black pepper powder ½ tsp
Red Kashmiri chilli powder
(or cayenne pepper) ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves, finely chopped ¼ cup
Raqaq bread or two to three
pieces of Khobuz or makook 5 pcs 
Maggi cubes (optional, to taste)
Method
In a large pot, boil the lamb meat, removing foam when it starts to boil. Boil for one hour. Strain and reserve the broth.
In a large pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions until golden brown. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.  
Add tomato paste and all of the vegetables, except the kousa (baby marrow). Mix together to coat the vegetables with paste.
Rinse two whole dried lemons and then pierce each one once with a sharp knife.
Add lamb meat, reserved broth, Maggi cubes, and the remaining ingredients, except kousa and chopped coriander leaves.
Add more water if necessary to make the stew a bit soupy. Taste for seasoning.
Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are almost done. 
Add kousa (squash) and chopped cilantro. Cook until the kousa is fork tender.

Recipes by Mahmoud Haidar, Senior Chef De Partie, Fairmont Dubai

Vegan Kibbeh Nayyeh (A traditional Syrian-Aleppian Mezze recipe)
Ingredients
Fine bulgur (350 gms) 2 cups 
Tomatoes, large 3 pcs
Sweet onion, medium-size
finely chopped 1 pc
Red bell pepper, seeded, cored,
and small diced ½ pc
Parsley, fresh 5 sprigs 
Mint, fresh 2 sprigs 
Cumin, ground 2 tsps
Cinnamon ¼ tsp
Cayenne pepper ¼ tsp
Salt 1½ tsps
Pomegranate sauce 2 tbsps 
Juice of lemon ½ pc
Extra-virgin olive oil ½ cup
plus more for garnish Walnuts, for garnish
Iceberg lettuce leaves, to serve 4 to 5 pcs 
Method
Place the bulgur in a medium mixing bowl with ¼ cup of hot water and let it rest. Warm the chopped onion in a pan with two tsp of extra-virgin olive oil for five minutes until they soften. 
Finely mince, not puree, parsley and mint leaves in a food processor.
Boil the three tomatoes in hot boiling water for 15 minutes and place them in a freezing water to peel and mix.
Knead all together the bulgur, herbs-onion mixture, and tomato mixture, seasoning with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cayenne, lemon juice, pomegranate sauce and olive oil. 
Let the kibbeh rest for about an hour at room temperature, so that the bulgur will soak up the juices and soften. Taste the kibbeh and adjust  the seasonings. 
Serve it on the iceberg lettuce leaves. Garnish with olive oil and walnuts.
 

Recipe by Mai Touma who says, "I learned this traditional recipe from my mother who knows me best. She knows that I prefer to eat the Kibbeh Nayyeh mezze without raw meat as I am a big veggie lover. This traditional dish tastes wonderful, and is best served with fattoush and iceberg lettuce."
 
Homemade cannoli with ricotta cheese pistachio  
Makes 20 to 25 pieces
Ingredients 
Flour 250 gms
Butter 20 gms
Egg 100 gms
Sugar 20 gms
Lemon skin, grated 1 pc
Cinnamon powder 1 tsp
Method
For the Cannoli
Sieve the flour (250 gms). Mix all the ingredients together including butter and egg into a dough.
Rest for two hours and use a dough sheet slicer where one piece is equivalent to 10 to 15 gms.
Fry at 160 degrees Celsius for one minute.
For the Ricotta 
Mix all the ingredients like ricotta cheese, icing sugar, lemon and orange candy, grated chocolate, and cinnamon powder.
Plating
Fill the cannoli with ricotta cheese.
Plate it depending upon the portion needed. Put icing sugar, cinnamon powder and pistachio. Serve it.
 
Recipe by Andrea Mugavero Executive Chef Roberto's Restaurant