Food! Basmati Rice

Well here I am again writing today's post. I was thinking if writing about Basmati rice or writing a review and critique of the Hotel I stayed in Sharm. Anyways I will do this one first and then I will share with you the experience I had in this so called five star hotel. When I was first introduce to this rice I was speechless! The combinations of flavors is so exotic and perfect there is no doubt in my mind that you will love it!

Basmati rice is a long grain rice which is traditionally from India and Pakistan. Here in Egypt the way they showed me to do it is a mix between salt, sweet and crunchy. You can make it just plain white rice or in India they make it with curry of course and they are different recipes out there that are quite delicious. 

In my case I have tried the recipe I am going to share and believe me is b-e-a-utiful! You can serve this with any type of chicken or meat. It really is up to you and what you like. In my case I made lemon chicken in the oven with some carrots and potatoes. Here is the recipe for the basmati rice. 

Basmati Rice 

3 cups of Basmati rice (after washing in water at least three times. Yes this is necessary!) 

1 tablespoon of butter

1 onion diced 

3 Bay leaves

1 cup of raisins (you can use half cup) 

1 cup of peanuts 

1/2 cup of cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon of powder cinnamon 

4 cups of water 

oil 

salt 

First wash the rice three times or more this is very important this rice I do not now why needs to be wash this way. After you wash it set it aside and fill  a pan with the 4 cups of water. In it boil the peanuts and cinnamon sticks. While the water is heating up to a boil in another pan cover the bottom with oil,  not much just enough to saute the following onion, raisins, bay leaves and butter. Throw all of it inside at the same time and keep steering until onion is translucent. All in medium heat. 

After the onion is ready add the cinnamon powder and mix for a few seconds with the rest of the ingredients by now the smell should be enough to tell you this is good! Sorry moving on put in the rice in the medium heat and keep moving until all the ingredients and the rice are mixed together. Keep moving until the water with the peanuts and cinnamon sticks is boiling. Add the boiling water to the rice and move it should be covering the rice not much but above it. Add salt to your taste and then cover rice and put in low. 

When the water is absorbed move the rice and close the lid again. The rice should be done in about 20-30 minutes. The thing about this rice is that it should be very moist and lose so if is dry you can add a little bit of boiling water while is still cooking. Check it occasionally and if you see that is too dry add a little water. The way I did it it didn't need any water so just in case that is my advice for you. I hope the instructions are clear enough if not please comment and I will help you any way I can! Good cooking! 

After is done serve in a plate and enjoy! Here is a picture of my result and how I served it to my guests! 

Thank you for following and reading me, until next post! 

Food! ZALABIA TIME!!

As you might know I am very fond of food! Like I love the stuff too much. My latest discovery and obsession is a round and crispy sugary treat called Zalabia. This little donuts, as I called them before I learned to pronounce the name, are so yummy! They are crunchy, sugary and to be honest if done right they are super moist and soft on the inside.

They are sold all around Egypt and they are very famous in the Gulf Region. They are originally from India and then they were introduced in the Middle East. They used them to hold ice cream. That sounds like a good idea for me to try... anyhow continuing with the history is a very famous dessert and is super easy to make!

I found a recipe for those of you who want to give it a try and do something different. I found this recipe online and to be honest I have not tried it yet but if you search for it, is the same recipe the only difference is the syrup.

If you are in Egypt and want to buy it, try it from Zalabiano is a great place to buy them and they are clean and done right in front of you. Here is a picture of the ones my Habibi brought me last night! Ain't he the best? He just came home and said surprise! Me: OMG! ZALABIA!!!! YUMMY! I think he knows me pretty well. Enjoy the recipe and if you here please try them!

Thank you for reading and following me! Until the next post!

Zalabia recipe :

Sweet Syrup Ingredients:

- 3 cups sugar

- 1 ½ cups water

- Lemon juice

- Vanilla

Zalabia Ingredients:

- 1 cup flour

- 3/4 cup water

- 4 cups oil

- 1/16 tsp salt

- 1 piece (or powder is better) of yeast.

Sweet Syrup Directions:

1- Dissolve the sugar in water in a medium saucepan.

2- Add lemon juice and vanilla then bring to boil.

3- Reduce the heat and let it slowly boil for 8-10 minutes.

4- Remove from heat and put it aside.

Zalabia Directions:

1- Mix the yeast in the 2/3 cup of water.

2- Add flour and mix until it is dough.

3- Cover it and leave the dough in a warm area for about 2 hours.

4- Heat the oil and with a small scoop, take from the dough and fry until it is gold.

5- Add the hot fried Zalabia in the cold syrup.

6- Now it is ready to be served.

Try our Zalabia recipe and have a terrific Zalabia dish from Egyptianrecipes.net. Please feel free to let us know if you have any comments/questions on this Zlabia recipe.

Food- Delights!

Every girl needs cheesecake in her life! I'm not talking about any cheesecake, I'm talking about delicious, makes you forget things kind. So since I moved to Egypt I haven't tasted anything like that, until Habibi came home with a white chocolate and caramel cheesecake!!!!

Here are some pictures of the menu. Unfortunately I didn't took pictures of the cheesecake... I promise I had every intention in doing it but it just... disappeared! Ha! 

O.M.G. that was the best cheesecake I've tasted in a year! Of course being a good Samaritan I decided to share with you were to buy this orgasmic, sorry this marvelous tarts and cakes. Delight Sweet House is a classy, elegant and awesome place to eat cheesecake, tarts, pavlova and brownies. They have a few branches in Cairo and all of them are clean and the staff is friendly.

I stumbled upon this heavenly place because I asked my habibi to get me some cheesecake for my birthday and I told him I want something delicious! Well he brought me something orgasmic! That cheesecake is so creamy and it just dances in your mouth. When I put that piece on my mouth I swear that everything else faded it was that good. Don't get me wrong the House of Cheesecake has the best ones but come on! This is Egypt! They don't do cheesecake!

The only choice I tried and didn't like was the Oreo crust cheesecake with the blueberry topping. If someone from Delight reading this please change that combination is too much! The chocolate is very strong and the blueberry on the top makes it too sweet it just doesn't work. Maybe the crust with plain cheesecake and maybe a light drizzle of blueberry and it would be so much better. Anyways as I was saying this choice I don't recommend. Anything else go crazy!

Their prices are a little high but they are so worth it. If you are in Cairo and have a craving for good desserts go to Delight believe me you won't regret it.

Thank you for following and reading me! 

El Dahan Restaurant! Food!

It has been very hectic this past few weeks so I apologize for the delay in writing. There has been an increase in my page views and I am very happy!! The other day I had the most amazing experience with my habibi of course and some friends. We went to eat to this amazing restaurant that specializes in oriental food which means traditional Egyptian food.

The place is located in Heliopolis # 70 El Marghany Street next to Abou Ghali automotive. This place is beautiful, classy and the most amazing atmosphere you can imagine. The parking is a little impossible but the food is so worth it!

We order meat (kofta) some almond rice my favorite macarrona bechamel and of course some sandwiches that are made with Syrian bread and rolled together.  I found this great video of the restaurant so you have an idea of how the place is.

This place date backs to the  1890 and it was given a certificate by the king of Egypt during that time for the excellent service and food. So by going to this place you receive very good food and a little bit of history. I hope that you put this on your list of places to visit while in Egypt because is definitely a must!

Here are the pictures and video, hope you enjoy it!

Since the food was delicious and I have a terrible sweet tooth we went to eat Cinnabon!! The place is closed by and believe me that tasted so good!! I took pictures of the chocolate and caramel ones they are to die for! 

Wow just looking at the pictures makes me want to eat them again!! Thank you for reading and following me!