Idreh

This recipe was requested by Annie  … It is originally form northern Palestine (Gaza)… the word  “Idreh” means clay pot in Palestine …  a clay pot is used to bake the rice and meat in the oven … but as I dont have the clay pot .. i made it with a normal pot on the stove top …the recipe consists of rice, whole garlic, meat and hummus ( whole chickpea) … and is decorated with nuts such as blanched almonds and pine nuts … its a very simple recipe .. to make it you will need:

Serves: 4 to 5

- 1 tb ghee or butter

- 1 kg Lamb meat

- 1 small onion … finely chopped

- 2 tb ghee or butter

- 2 big red onoins … cut in half then chopped into moon shape

- 2 garlic head … separate the cloves and DON’T peel them

-  1 cup chickpeas … cooked ( you can use canned if you like)

- 1/8 ts of all the following spices ( black pepper,  allspice, ground coriander, ground cloves, nutmeg, ground fennel seeds, ginger powder)

- 1 ts ground cardamom

- 4 ts salt

- 4 cups medium grain rice … i used Jasmine rice

- 2 tb ghee

- 2 tb blanched almonds … this is optional

- 2 tb pine nuts … this is optional

In a Pressure cooker … melt 1 tb of ghee or butter .. then add the chopped onion …

Add the meat… then season with 1/4 ts of black pepper, all-spice and salt … and cook until the meat changes color and all its liquids is released and starting to dry out …

Then add enough water to cover around 2 inches above the meat …

Cover the pressure cooker and cook  for half an hour … until the meat is well done and tender …

Ps. make sure you make enough stock as you are goin to use it to cook the rice ..

In a pot melt 2 tb of ghee or butter … then add the onions to it and cook until its translucent …

Then add the garlic cloves .. and stir for another minute …

Ps. not peeling the garlic lets it keep its shape …

Add the chickpeas … stir and cook for 2 more minutes …

Now add the meat … and stir everything together …

Mix all the spices in small dish .. then add it to the mixture along with the salt …

Then add 7 cups of the stock to the mixture …

Finally add the rice … stir it together .. then cover it and cook over very low heat until the rice is cooked … around 15 minutes

While waiting for the rice to cook … melt 2 tb of ghee or butter … then add the almonds and fry until golden in color … then set it aside in a plate …

Then add the pine nuts to the same ghee or butter and cook until golden in color ..

Mix the pine nuts and almonds and set them aside …

Once the rice is cooked … add the ghee that you browned the nuts in on top of the rice …

And that’s it ….  serve the Idreh topped with the golden nuts …

Enjoy …