Oman

I love the mystique of the Middle East at times.  Images of starry nights and, warm ocean breezes, ancient treasures and secrets with timeless traditions.  At the mouth of the Arabian peninsula Omani's were exposed to many different cultures and spices.   This week we were introduced to banana leaves which we found easily at an asian grocer.   However traditionally this dish would have been wrapped in palm leaves which would have been a slight bit harder to locate.

The Menu

Shuwa

Lamb and rice with a melody of spices served on special occasions.   Traditionally the lamb is marinated and wrapped in palm leaves and left to marinate over night.  The next day a hole is dug in the ground and a fire built in it.  When the coals are ready the lamb is put in the hole and then the hole is filled back up.   The Big Green Egg is the perfect way to replicate this type of cooking.   I marinated the lamb with an exotic medley of spices and wrapped it in banana leaves to marinate over night.

The next morning I fired up the egg and started to cook it low and slow for about 12 hours then searing it at the end.

The rice was cooked Persian style with another exotic blend of spices such as star anise, cardamon cumin, cloves etc.   I have learned this new trick of putting potatoes on the bottom of a heavy pot when cooking rice to get these beautiful caramelized crispy potatoes.


Halawat Ahmad

Vermicelli cooked with condensed milk, almond powder, coconut flakes and topped with nuts.  I did not feel like buying a whole can of condensed milk to only use half the can for this recipe so I substituted with dolce the latte that I still had from when I made the Popes cookies.

This is however one of those recipes that when one first reads it sounds simple and straight forward.   However it is alot more difficult then it sounds as there are a few ingredients here that can burn really quickly if not watched carefully.  I used mini cupcake/muffin holds to shape the dessert.

Our Omani dinner was memorable and delicious with tender, succulent fall of the bone lamb that was served with rice that has this wonderful hint of spices to it.   The Halawat Ahmad was delicious and I was quite impressed on how it tasted.