Bring on the Fast Food, Salalah!

Recently I was invited to a marketing event at New York Fries in the Salalah Garden Mall. It was my first blogger swag. (If anyone else wants to give me free stuff go ahead..no problem). This new locale is at the cinema and features hot dogs (gak in general) and fresh cut french fries with toppings.

They were pretty good. And free.

By the time the other swag recipients went to the movies clutching complimentary tickets (I'm not the only social media person in Salalah. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE FRENCH FRY SWAG RECIPIENTS!!), I was ready to scream. NY Fries plays a lot of heavy metal music in a very small space. Heavy metal. In a small space. It was a bit surreal truly.  I actually felt a bit dizzy at times. Did I mention the fries were free?

Here's the thing. I am not a small woman. I love french fries and can hardly wait for this business to get the right cheese for Poutine. Some of you might say I don't have a leg (a chunky one) to stand on when I carp about the problem of fast food in Salalah, but I do find it worrying that, as the promoter said, there is no concern by the franchise that the concession stand will lose on popcorn and candy sales. Cinema goers, DHOFARI cinema goers, simply buy both. Salalah sales are so high that indeed management came from Canada to see what was happening here. What is happening here, and call me Debby Downer, is diabetes and obesity at life threatening levels. Fact. Diet Centers are also booming right along with the fast food eateries. For all the Hardees and fried chicken places, a new nutrition center opens. And hardly anyone is getting any smaller. Lot of people getting richer though. Lot of people sicker, lot of people richer.

Holy crud it sounds like America!

Poutine. It's what's for dinner. In Quebec anyway. Dem good stuff.

This weekend I learned how to make couscous and brik, Tunisian style. If you've never had couscous, you must try it. To me, it is without doubt one of the tastiest foods on the planet. I never tried making it because many Tunisian women make it sound like it's shockingly difficult, as housewives with a specialty are wont to do. A Tunisian girlfriend from Tatooine finally showed me (and a few other Salalah ladies) how to make it. Step by step. Once she finished cooking this yummy lamb stew and couscous with about 14 large "briks," we sat down and ate like we'd just crossed the Mojave Desert. Me? It's what's on the menu Friday. Come on over.

Tunisian Couscous

First you must make your stew. You can do this with any animal protein. If you are cooking beef or mutton, you must cook the meat first and add the vegetables later. Fish is added at the end. Chicken you can cook with the vegetables. Sa? These directions serve about 4. This stew is made in the bottom of a double boiler with a steamer on top. 

Saute 1 c. rough chopped onions in 1/3 cup olive oil until translucent.

Add 1 1/2 sachets of tomato paste (a small can for Americanos)

Add 1 spoonful of harissa. If you want more heat, add more. Harissa is readily available at Carrefour, but not so easy to find in the States. 

Brown about a kilo (2 pounds) of lamb pieces.

Add 10-12 cloves crushed garlic. NOTE: Not all Tunisians use a lot of garlic. My friend doesn't like the taste of mutton, so she adds a lot of garlic. I heartily agree. I hate any strong mutton taste, and all this garlic did the trick. 

Add 5-6 cups of water.

I would also add a can of drained chickpeas. My friend added a couple cups of chickpeas she'd soaked overnight. What a woman!

Add a pinch of black pepper, a heaping teaspoon of barat, a teaspoon of chili powder and salt to taste. NOTE: We keep barat on hand because I am married to a Tunis man, BUT it is hard to find, even here. Ground coriander is a perfectly acceptable alternative, and just as authentic.

Bring to a boil and let your meat simmer for awhile, then add your vegetables. Keep an eye on it and add more water as needed.

Potatoes cut into wedges, carrots, pumpkin, whatever you have on hand for root vegetables are nice. They are cut into wedges and such so that you can "present" your couscous with the meat piled in the middle and the wedges and cubes arranged around the meat.

While your meat is stewing, pour about 3 cups of couscous in a large bowl. Add several whole cloves. Wet the couscous a little at a time and start turning it with your hand. Aim for 2 cups of water. The idea is to wet and fluff the grain. You don't want to soak it. This takes several minutes and isn't nearly as hard as it sounds. Just pour some water over your hand and fold, 

Place in top of steamer and leave about 20 minutes. Do not cover.

Remove the couscous and stir with a spoon and fluff. Once it's cool enough to handle, hand fold it again with about a cup more water. It will have nearly doubled in volume. Add it back to the steamer for 20 minutes. Add it to your bowl and fluff a bit. You can remove the cloves at this time if you are worried your guests won't like finding them. I shan't bother. 

Now, my friend is from Tatooine (of Star Wars fame). They typically skim some of the oil off the stew and fluff it into the couscous. The juice is then poured over the grain and the meat and vegetables placed on top, like this:

In the north, in Tunis for example, enough sauce is poured into the couscous to make it moist but not wet. I think this takes just takes practice. She made a LOT of couscous for us, so she put about 2 cups of sauce in the couscous. Fluff it and place it on a platter. Arrange your meat and vegetables and serve. Extra meat and vegies can go in a bowl on the side. Granted this is a dish that takes a little practice. It is WELL WORTH THE EFFORT.

Eat. Then nap. I know it sounds like a lot of bother, but it really isn't such a big deal. I say that now, but we will see on Friday when I practice alone for the first time.

Freakin yummy. 

I will be here the first two weeks of Ramadan, and hope to serve this regularly. Come on over for iftar! Just don't tease me too much if it isn't just as your grandmother made it! 

As for cake, I know I didn't post one. I'm not doing so well this week with the no sugar, no wheat, no milk regime. I go to India for the finishing touches on my tummy (lipo is my friend) and no matter what I do, the weight just doesn't come off. Bugger! 

My next post will be how to make brik, a fried Tunisian spring roll thingie, and a ridiculous German Chocolate Cheesecake I am attempting for my student's last day of class. Wish me luck. 

Love,

Felicia El Aid