Tag: main course
El Hamlahlou (Algerian Sweet Lamb)
El Hamlahlou (Algerian Sweet Lamb)
This is the first Algerian recipe on stonedsoup.net! El hamlahlou is a sweet lamb dish typically eaten during Ramadan. The lamb is seasoned with cinnamon and sautéed, then braised with pears, prunes, and raisins, finished off with a drizzle of orange blossom water. After fasting for a day, the dish is prepared and eaten in wait for fasting for the following day. The dish is purposely prepared without salt to stave off thirst, which drinking is prohibited during fasting. The dried fruits are used as a sugar boost of energy. You can definitely eat this whenever you want; if you celebrate Ramadan or not. I highly recommend to do so. This is probably the best thing I’ve eaten all month. Serve the lamb with couscous and a veggie of your choosing.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 lbs bone in lamb shoulder cut into 2” cubes
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 12 prunes pitted
- 1 pear unripened; peeled and sliced
- 3 tbsp golden raisins
- 2 tbsp slivered almonds
- 2 tbsp orange blossom water
Instructions
- Heat up butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Sauté the lamb cubes until browned on all sides; about 8 minutes. Season with cinnamon.
- Pour in the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for an hour.
- Add in the pears, prunes, raisins, and slivered almonds. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the orange blossom water.
Asun (Nigerian Smoked Peppered Goat)
Asun (Nigerian Smoked Peppered Goat)
Asun is the ever popular Nigerian smoked goat. Goat meat gets marinated in a maggi bouillon cube, then smoked. Both mesquite and oak are great woods to use for smoking goat. But there’s a lot more to asun than just smoking the goat. It then gets sautéed with onion and habanero. It then gets braised with another maggi bouillon cube to get tender. Asun is typically served as an appetizer at parties, but can be served as a main course with rice and beans. You can find 1 kg bags of good quality goat meat at just about every Asian market for relatively cheap.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lb goat meat cut into 2” cubes
- 2 habanero finely chopped
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 maggi bouillon cubes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup water
Wood Chips
- 1/2 mesquite
- 1/2 oak
Instructions
- Marinate the goat meat with 1 crushed maggi bouillon cube, salt, and olive oil for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
- When ready to smoke, place the goat on a rack and let rest at room temperature for an hour.
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees. Place the goat meat in the smoker.
- Smoke the goat meat for 2 hours.
- Heat up olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the goat, onions, and habanero for 5 minutes.
- Add in a 1/2 cup water and the other maggi cube. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium and dimmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cover and cook for 5 more minutes to reduce any moisture.
Chicken Suya
Chicken Suya
Suya is the standard in Nigerian street food; considered by many to be the national dish. Traditionally, small skewers of meat are heavily seasoned with the suya spice(cayenne, ground peanuts, garlic, onion, paprika, ginger, and maggi bouillon) and are grilled over an open flame. If you don’t have a grill, the skewers can be broiled. Beef, chicken, and shrimp are common proteins used. Liver, tripe, kidneys, and heart are also used. Nothing gets wasted.
Equipment
- mortar and pestle or spice grinder
- metalskewers
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut in half
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Suya Spice Blend
- 3 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp roasted peanuts ground
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 cubes maggi bouillon ground
Instructions
- Mix all of the suya spices together.
- Season the chicken with the suya and let marinate for an hour.
- Skewer up 2-3 pieces of chicken thighs.
- Prep your grill. Once the charcoal is grey, add the skewers directly over the flame.
- Grill for about 12 minutes, turning every few until cooked through.
