Kurdish Suleimany Style Rice Recipes

NUTTY EGYPTIAN-STYLE RICE

Steps:

• Peel and finely slice the onion, and peel and crush the garlic; grate the rind of 1 orange and squeeze the juice and cut the other orange into wedges.
• Melt the butter in a deep pan or wok, preferably non-stick, sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes; then add the cinnamon stick and the rice, cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until the rice is thoroughly coated with the butter and mixed in with the onions and garlic.
• Add the orange rind and juice, the bay leaves and sultanas to the rice.
• Stir the turmeric into the stock, then add the stock to the mixture, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed.
• Transfer to a serving bowl and keep hot; covering the bowl with foil will suffice.
• Clean the pan or wok (if you are using a non-stick pan or wok, all you need to do is to wipe it clean with paper toweling), add oil and heat through, then add the nuts and sauté for 1 minute, or until they are lightly toasted.
• Serve the rice garnished with orange wedges, coriander sprigs and pistachios.
• Variation: To add a rich golden colour and delicious aroma to this dish, replace the turmeric with saffron strands soaked in hot water.

PILAFI (GREEK STYLE RICE)

Steps:

• Using the chicken broth for liquid, cook the rice according to directions.
• Stir in the vegetables and the paprika.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

ASIAN-STYLE RICE

Steps:

• Spray a 10" nonstick skillet with vegetable cooking spray and heat for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the egg and cook until it's set. Remove the egg from the skillet.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and spray it with cooking spray. Add the rice and cook until it's browned, stirring often.
• Stir the broth, soy, garlic, ginger and carrot in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
• Stir the onions and peas in the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes or until they're tender.
• Stir in the egg and heat through.

EPRAX (KURDISH STUFFED VEGETABLES AND LAMB)

Steps:

• Make the filling: Rinse rice in colander until water runs clear. Transfer to large bowl, add water to cover, and let soak for 30 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground meat, salt and pepper and sauté over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, breaking up meat with a spoon. Stir in garlic and onions and sauté for 1 minute, stirring.
• Reduce heat to low and mix in tomato paste, celery, tomato, lemon juice, spices, oil and parsley. Remove from heat. Drain rice. Add meat mixture to rice, mix well to combine, cover, and set aside to cool.
• Prepare the vegetables: Fill a microwave-safe bowl with an inch of water. Using a knife, make a cut halfway from the side just into the center of the onion (so it is not fully cut in half). Place onion in bowl and microwave for 3 to 5 minutes, until onion has swelled and become soft, and layers are pliable. Remove from water, drain and let cool. Repeat with cabbage, making a cut into its core and placing in a bowl with water. Microwave for 5 to 10 minutes, until leaves become pliable, and can be easily separated from the head. (Remove outer layers as they soften while cooking.) Cut leaves into pieces about the size of your palm. (Alternatively, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook onion for 5 minutes, and cabbage for 10 minutes.)
• Soak grape leaves in cold water in a mixing bowl until ready to use. Cut any leaves bigger than the palm of your hand in half.
• Cut a 1/2-inch-thick lid off each bell pepper or tomato, or both, reserving lids. Core and seed each, so the center of each piece can be stuffed.
• Cut off stem end of eggplant, then cut in half so you have two short cylinders about the height of a bell pepper, and use a knife to cut out the middle of each piece of eggplant, leaving a roughly 1/2-inch wall, so there is a cavity you can stuff.
• Peel potato. Halve and carve out the center with a spoon so there is room to stuff each half.
• To assemble: Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season lamb chops with salt and pepper, then add to skillet. Sear 2 to 3 minutes per side, until evenly brown. Set aside.
• Lightly grease bottom of a large pot with a lid (10 to 12 quarts) with 1 teaspoon oil. Arrange squash pieces in a circle on the bottom of the pot. Place lamb chops on top.
• Fill about 20 grape leaves: Place a grape leaf (with the bumpier veined side of the leaf up) on a surface, with the stem closest to you. Place 1 scant tablespoon rice mixture near the stem. Roll up leaf to form a roughly 2-inch cigar shape, folding ends over halfway through rolling. Repeat with remaining leaves, and fit into pot between and over chops. Season with salt and pepper.
• Loosely stuff peppers or tomatoes or both, cover with their lids, and place in pot on their sides. Loosely stuff eggplant and potatoes, and place in pot on their sides.
• Separate cooled onion into its individual layers, so you have 6 to 8 individual curved pieces whose ends meet to form little tubes. (Don't use the smallest pieces.) Loosely fill onion layers, as if you were stuffing Italian-style pasta shells, and fit them in between the other vegetables to fill gaps. Season with salt and pepper.
• Use remaining rice mixture to stuff as many cabbage leaves as you can, then use stuffed leaves to create a top layer in the pot. (If you don't have enough stuffing to make a full layer of stuffed leaves, cover the stuffed vegetables by draping them with leftover cabbage leaves.) Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle lemon juice over top.
• Add water to pot until it comes about halfway up the sides of the vegetables (about 2 inches below the top layer). Cover pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook at a hard simmer for 10 minutes.
• Drizzle vegetables with 2 tablespoons oil, then cover pot again, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for 35 to 45 minutes more, or until rice is cooked and much of the liquid has been absorbed. To check for doneness, cut into one of the leaf bundles on top and check to see that the rice inside is fully cooked; to check the liquid, tilt the pot so you can get a sense of the water level. If there is more than 1/2 inch water, carefully drain off excess.
• Place a large circular platter or tray on top of pot and carefully invert the pot onto platter, tapping bottom of pot to loosen any remaining ingredients before removing it. (If you'd like, line tray with flatbread first before turning out dolmas, or serve flatbread on the side. The bread absorbs the excess water.) Pat any stray vegetables back into a big pile. Serve in the center of the table.

AFRICAN STYLE RICE

Steps:

• In a sauce pan, melt butter and add rice to saute.
• when Rice is a nice golden color, add chicken brother, dash of coriander powder, dash of turmeric and bring to boil.
• At boiling point, reduce heat to low and cover.
• Cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN LID UNTIL 20 Minutes is up! I suggest setting a timer!
• When done, fluff with fork and serve with Easy African-Style Peanut Chicken!

KURDISH-SULEIMANY STYLE RICE

Steps:

• chop the onion.
• add the vegetable oil to a pot/sauce pan.
• add the onion to the oil and let it fry until it's brown.
• if your rice (medium grain as in the picture) needs soaking or washing, do this while you add water and salt to the fried onions and wait for the water to boil.
• once the water boils, add the rice and cover it, don't leave it, remove the lid every now and then and thoroughly stir the rice until it absorbs the water.
• all this time your stove should be on the high heat level, now when the rice absorbs the water, you put it on low-medium heat (not too low, you know your stove better than I) and cover it. Let it cook for 20 minutes, then stir it in a way that the bottom part becomes on the top. Taste it, if it's well-cooked, it's done, if not, cover it for 5-10 more minutes. If you feel it's too hard or too dry (some rices need more water) add little water and cover it for 10 more minute.
• leave the rice on the stove after the 20 minutes for 3 minutes or so before you serve it. You can turn off the stove meanwhile or keep it on. You should add enough salt to the water and if the amount of oil is too much you can lessen it or increase it. It will taste better if it contains enough oil. Serve it with meat and broth or with chicken and cooked vegetable soup and salad or any other thing for more flavour.