A Mezze platter
Go for the light and healthy Mediterranean lunch on a
summer afternoon
Mezze,
as everyone knows, is a platter of Mediterranean appetisers
tasty, light and healthy at the same time. It’s very tempting to
make a light lunch out of the mezze platter on lazy summer
afternoons. What is more, contrary to popular misconception, the Arabs
and the Greeks who dwell on the shores of this cosmopolitan sea aren’t
all champion carnivores but prefer to dine sensibly on a balanced diet
that puts equal emphasis on seasonal vegetables cooked gently, yoghurt
and cheeses, cereals and recognise the value of a cooking medium that
is heart friendly. You may not believe that it is only extra virgin
olive oil that accounts for the exceptional resistance of the people
who eat this food to all kinds of heart diseases but certainly there
is something in the Mediterranean cuisine that has set the
cardiologists all over the world thinking.
Interestingly, most
of the vegetables that are consumed in this food zone are the
favourites of Indians — tomatoes, brinjals, courgettes/zucchini etc
and the seasoning is simplicity itself — salt and pepper, parsley
and a dash of lime. Fennel and garlic, spring onions too are quite
common. This isn’t all. The platter can be enjoyed hot or at room
temperature and takes very little time to prepare. When it reaches the
table, the appearance isn’t very different form a well-arranged thali
replete with an assortment of breads accompanied by raita and
chutney.
Thanks to globalised
liberalisation of Indian economy today, it is possible to buy
off-the-shelf good quality olive oil, ready to eat pita or Lebanese
breads, thick preset yoghurt. All that remains to be done is to grind
your own hummus and baba gannoz, fry the kibbe
and start drooling. If you are very health conscious you may grill or
bake the kibbe. You don’t have to be a purist — in the
Indian Ocean region the recipes can change according to the local
palate and assume a totally shakahari avatar and can be spiced
up a little.
Kibbe
and Baba Gannoz
Ingredients
For
kibbeh
Daliya (boiled and
drained of all water) 200gm
Potatoes (boiled,
peeled and mashed) 100gm
Pine nuts 10gm
A small sprig each
of fresh coriander and mint
Salt and pepper to
taste
For Baba Gannoz
Brinjal (round,
medium-sized) one
Dahi (thick) 100
ml
Salt and pepper to
taste
Oil to fry
Method
Mix the daliya and the
potatoes together, along with salt and pepper, and shape into
round balls. Flatten a little and place equal portions of pine
nuts, and chopped coriander and mint. Reshape into small cones.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the kibbe. Then drain excess oil
on kitchen towels. Char-grill the brinjal over open flame. Peel,
discard the stem and seeds and mash well. Season with salt and
pepper and blend with dahi and mash to a smooth paste. Squeeze a
little limejuice over it. Use any flat platter to have a mezze
lunch of kibbe and desi baba gannoz with pita or Lebanese bread
or homemade phulka (without ghee).
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