Meat Pies and Chai--Another Wednesday of Cooking

Even after getting off work early instead of late, getting things done I wanted to do was not in the cards.  Upon arriving home, we had company. After the company, I put together the shopping list of free or almost free items from Practical Saver, pulled the coupons and ran around getting the items. Also went to Honeyman’s and purchased spices to make chai. I love Honeyman’s!  It’s a great place for honey, nuts, dried fruits, natural ingredients, teas, and spices. Prices are so much better than on the net…Penzey’s or Spices Etc….and if they don’t have something, they’ll order it for you!  So after those errands, I came home, made Roy dinner and then instead of sewing on my quilts, I cooked. Better therapy to calm me down than quilting!

Iris’ Chai recipe comes from my good friend Iris in Santa Cruz. It’s delicious, makes 4 quarts, and I put them into bottles and they go into the refrigerator. When I want some, I pull out a bottle, pour it into a cup, add stevia or honey and milk or soy milk, and a big shake of pure powdered vanilla (you do not want to use liquid vanilla—the alcohol in it tastes nasty!), stir it up and then either pour it over a glass filled with ice, or heat it up via saucepan or microwave. Delicious!  And SO much cheaper than buying it at a coffee shop!

          Then I proceeded to make 6 Sfiha, with a little variation in the crust. The Sfiha recipe is from a marvelous cookbook I received from my friends Terri & Paul for Christmas last year called The World of Street Food.  So many wonderful recipes, but this one is from the section on Middle Eastern recipes. Sfiha are meat pies from the Middle Eastern countries of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, etc. Meat pies of all kinds are found in every culture in the world—Samosas, Pasties, Dumplings—all flavorful, inexpensive, and easy to shove down your pie hole while you work!  To make it easier, you can use pie crust mix or pre-made purchased from your market. I, however, decided to use a recipe from Beef Patties recipe I had from the Queen, Martha Stewart, as it had curry in it and I thought it would be exceptional with the savory meat filling. Either way, they are delicious!

Sfiha

¾ lb frozen pastry, thawed  (can also use a box mix)

1 lb ground lamb

1 onion, finely diced

1/3 c pine nuts (I substituted cashews…awesome!)

½ t. cinnamon

½ t. allspice

3 tomatoes, diced (I used diced petite canned tomates drained of their juice)

3 T lemon juice

Oil

Salt & pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet. When hot, put in the lamb and cook until crumbly and brown. Add the onion and sauté until wilted then add nuts, spices and seasonings. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and stir well. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes or until tomato is soft and incorporated. Remove from heat and pour in enough lemon juice to make a moist mixture. Set aside to cool.

Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut circles of approximately 3 inches across. (For quicker assembly, make larger and then once cooked, cut in half to serve). Place the rounds under a cloth to cover.

Take a circle of dough, spread on a spoonful of the meat on one side. Fold over (or put another circle on top using more filling inside) and close the edges by pressing with a fork. Using some egg wash helps to hold the edges together.

Put on lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until crust is golden. Serve hot with fresh lemon and/or yogurt sauce.

ALTERNATE PASTRY/CRUST RECIPE

2 ½ cups flour

½ t salt

¼ t baking powder

2 T curry powder (Madras is always my preference)

½ c. butter (1 stick)

¾ c. ice cold water

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder & curry powder in large bowl (or use food processor with chopping blade). Cut the butter into small pieces, add to the bowl, and work into the flour mixture with your fingers, rubbing together flour & butter until it resembles very course cornmeal.  Add the water and mix until just together. Remove with floured hands and squeeze the dough until it forms a ball. Knead it once or twice just to combine—the less kneading the better.  Spread the dough into 2 pieces, flattening each into a thick pancake. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 15 minutes (will keep refrigerated for 5 days—remove from refrigerator a few minutes before using). Roll out per instructions above.

IRIS' CHAI RECIPE

4 quarts water                                   5 cinnamon sticks                  5 star anise, whole
3 T. whole black pepper corns          1 t. whole allspice                  1 t. dried orange peel
1 t. corriander seed                           1 T. cloves, whole                 2 t. whole cardamom pods
1 t. fennel seed                                  3 T dried ginger (or fresh cut into small dice, or 5 pieces chrystalized)
1/3 cup black tea

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add all ingredients except the black tea. Cover and simmer for 20-40 minutes depending on how strong you want it. Turn off heat and add tea. Brew for 2-4 minutes...no longer or else it may start to taste bitter.  Strain all solids out of liquid and pour into bottles.   Pour into cup or glass, add honey (or other sweetner to your liking) and vanilla soy milk, or milk and a teaspoon of pure vanilla powder. Heat if hot tea is preferred, or pour over a glass of ice for iced chai.