Koupas from Cyprus

                                                                                Receta en Español

Koupas are a kind of 'croquettes' very typical from Cyprus and Greece. They are also known als Kibe or kibbeh at Libano, they are made using bulgur, it is, wheat that they let dry after cooked.

You can find bulgur in different sizes; whole, half grain or thin , you must use this last one to prepare the koupas.

The filling of the koupas is also very important, you must use ground pork or beef.

This recipe shows the influence of Middle East into the Greek and Cypriot cuisine, at the same time, is shows the culture of these countries because they use pork meat, something that Middle East people would not dare.

Ingredients for the dough:

- 300 grams bulgur.
- 525 ml water.

- 80 grams flour.

- Salt.

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper.

Ingredients for the filling:

- 400 grams ground pork or beef.

- Olive oil.

- 1 finely chopped onion.

- 2 tablespoon mint.

- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon cumin.

- 2 tablespoon pine nuts.

- Salt.

- Black pepper.

- Parsley.

Method:

1- This is the  bulgur that we are gooing to use:

2- We first prepare the dough, put the bulgur and salt in a bowl, add flour, cinnamon and white pepper, mix well and add boiling water, stir and let stand for 2 hours until all the water has been absorbed. To let stand you should cover it with cling film.

3- For the filling, first toast pine nuts.

4- Chop the onion and sauté it.

5- Add the meat and stir well, then cook until the meat has changed its colour. Add pine nuts, parseley, mint, cumin, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. Stir well and cook for more few minutes.

6- Soak your hands in water to prevent the bulgur to stick to your hands, take some bulgur and put it on your hand palm, smash it:

7- Place a little portion of meat over the bulgur.

8- Take other portion of wheat to cover the meat, use your hands to help you to wrap all the meat, and make koupas the same shape you see at the following pictures:

9- Fry koupas in hot oil until they change its colour to slightly brown. Place them on paper towel to absorb the excess of oil.

10 - Serve them with some parseley.

Where to find the ingredients

You can find bulgur near Madrid mosque, at Antonio Calvo street. El Carmen metro station.

Soyutma Lamb

                                                                               Receta en Español

Lamb is a food largement consumed in Azerbaijan, today I present to you 'Soyutma Lamb'.

Soyutma means slow cooked, it is the key on this dish, it is a piece of lamb cooked very slowly to obtain a different texture and taste.

Ingredients (For two people):

•   1 leg of lamb.
•   2 medium sized potatoes.
•   1 medium sized onion.
•   Some saffron strands.
•   Pepper.
•   Some fresh mint.
•   Salt.

   

Method:

1-  Wash the meat. Then add salt and pepper to the meat.

Put in a casserole, cover with water and set fire on a medium heat until water boils.

2-  Once it reaches boiling point, you can observe some foam on the surface, get rid of this foam ant put fire on a low heat.

3-  Now add the whole onion.

4-  Now let it cook for 3 hours at low heat. After the 3 hours, add peeled whole potatoes, make some cuts to the potatoes, this way they can cook faster.

Add salt, pepper, mint and some saffron strands, cook until potatoes are done.

5-  Now you can serve it, put a potato for each people , the dish should be accompanied by some yogurt with garlic (tipical from Azerbaijan).

Where to find the ingredients:

I found the mint near Madrid mosque, at arab shops at Antonio Calvo street.

My comments to the recipe

This boiled lamb is very tasty, because it is cooked very slowly , all the spices match very well with the lamb as well as the fresh yogurt.



Azerbaijan

Mint Lemonade

In Saudi Arabia it is not allowed to drink alcohol, therefore , the most famous drink is lemonade , keep in mind that the quality of the lemons in this land is excellent,  (in Spain we can not complain about the quality of ours).  It is a very refreshing drink ,especially in summer , but you can enjoy it all  year long.

Ingredients (1.5 – 2 liters of lemonade)

• 5 large lemons.• 1 liter of water .• 100 g of sugar .• 2 grams of fresh mint leaves. 

Method:

1.  Squeeze lemons.2.  Put the the squeezed lemons (and its pulp if desired) into a jug , be careful not to add any seed.
     Add sugar and mint too.3.  With a mixer mix all ingredients ( mint leaves will stay in small pieces ) .4.  Put the jug into the fridge to cool it, drink it cold!.

My comments to the recipe :It's an easy recipe and you achieve a great result.
 I was afraid to add the mint, because the bunch I bought was very smelly and I thought the lemonade  would only have the taste of mint ... on the contrary, the combination is perfect, I encourage you to try it!
Where to buy the ingredients :
I found fresh mint in one of the shops located in the Street Antonio Calvo , near Madrid's mosque .If you live in a different area and know where to buy mint , leave a comment indicating the place,this way, other readers in your area , city or country will know where to buy it.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools



Saudi Arabia