Dalia's Kitchen: yoghurt

A crocodile cake, a weekend in bed and a Lentil Yoghurt Soup...

Image By Sukaina Rajabali. Recipe from "Food, Love and Life in Dalia's Kitchen"

I wish there was a prettier reason for me having to be in bed, but alas, I caught a severe tonsillitis that caused dehydration, which led to exhaustion. I'm completely ok now, but no, not my funniest weekend.

It all started out with Phares turning two last Monday. As much as I love this age of new discovery and character, I was crying my eyes out the last night of him being one. Time simply flew by too fast. Phares will never be this tiny again, and inshAllah grow up to be a happy, healthy man, but knowing that he says "thank you" instead of "teng teng" now, and that he has become this little person who knows what he wants now, made me realize that he's just not going to be my baby forever. And that of course made me very sad/happy. I guess that some part of this sadness is also related to me being a working mommy, and maybe I may have missed too many of the "teng teng" moments, or could I even ever get enough of these "teng teng" moments? I'm not sure.

So my little boy asked for a crocodile cake for his birthday. Much to my astonishment as I expected him to want a Barney or Mickey Mouse cake. But Phares is absolutely obsessed with alligators and crocs. When we go to the supermarket, we always pass by this pet supply store. They have a fake little croc in an aquarium and he always says hello and goodbye to Mr. Croc. Maybe that's the reason. So we made him a croc cake. And the good side of mommy owning a bakery is that I insisted on making Barney and Mickey Mouse cupcakes too, since I had imagined them for his second birthday ;)

After a very last minute, cozy birthday party, Phares did not feel well. I wasn't sure if he just had too much cake initially, but once he ran a fever, something was up. He wasn't well for a few days, but hamdellah, nothing too bad. And then I got sick.

So since I can only have soups I thought I would post the one, which brought me back to life these past few days. My famous Lentil & Yoghurt Soup that is also in the cookbook. There simply is nothing like lentil soups to get you back on track. The fact that it is absolutely delish and is by no means a "sickly soup" makes it all even better. Lentils are rich in iron, and believe it or not I went from feeling lifeless to not so terribly sick within minutes. Truly!

So not the most exciting weekend for me, i.e. my rambling, but actually a bit of calm and apple TV that was much needed :)

Much love from my bed,

D xx

Lentil & Yoghurt Soup

Fatte'd Aubergine

Image by Chris Mejorada for ITP Publishing

I love fattes and all types of Syrian tabakh, but I don't actually cook it as often as I would like to for two main reasons. It such comfort food, almost too much comfort food for me, and makes me feel like being at home with the family and then taking a nap right away! That's not ideal when I have to run around town. The other reason is that although it tastes absolutely delicious, it misses my Mami's touch which makes me miss her tremendously!

But for BBC Good Food ME's Mother's Day issue, I created a menu, which reminded me of the best mother in the world – mine J And this Fatteh was one of the dishes I made. I can't wait to see her tonight as I'm off to Beirut again. So I will leave you with this delicacy for lunch.. Sahteen :)

Serves 4 - 6

Prep & Cook Time: ~ 45 minutes

· 4 medium sized eggplants, cut into large pieces

· 6 cups low fat yoghurt

· 4 medium loafs Arabic flat bread

· 800g lean minced beef

· 1 garlic clove, using garlic press

· 2 onions, finely chopped

· 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

· 1/3 cup freshly chopped parsley

· 1 tbsp tomato paste

· 2 cups beef or chicken stock

· 1 tbsp tahina (sesame paste)

· 2 bay leaves

· 1 tsp sugar

· salt and pepper to taste

1. In a bowl, whisk the yoghurt with a little water, sesame paste, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

2. Cut the Arabic bread into squares, and either sauté them in a pan with a little oil, or toast them in the oven and set aside.

3. Heat a little sunflower oil in pan and cook the eggplants until they are almost ready, for about 10 - 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste, some hot water, sugar, seasoning and cook for a few more minutes until they are done.

4. In another pan, heat some olive oil, sauté the onions until translucent, add the garlic and cook a few more minutes before adding the minced meat, half the parsley and bay leaves. Cook for about 8 – 10 minutes, until the meat is done, then add the hot stock and simmer on low heat for just a few minutes.

5. Now assemble the dish by starting with half the toasted bread, layer the meat on top, then add the eggplants, followed by the yoghurt and finish by adding the remaining bread and parsley (and some eggplants to decorate if you wish). Enjoy!

As featured in BBC Good Food ME March 2012