Life & Style | Food

Meat and greet

Ramadan is a time for prayer and introspection. It is also a time when people get together with family and friends over a meal. How to break fast - the German way.

  • By Jyoti Kalsi, Gulf News Report
  • Published: 00:12 October 2, 2007
  • Tabloid

  • Image Credit: Karl Jeffs/Gulf News
  • Deep fried camembert with cranberry sauce.

 

Ramadan is a time for prayer and introspection. It is also a time when people get together with family and friends over a meal. Every week this month, tabloid! will bring you recipes as well as culinary tips from well-known chefs in the UAE to make your suhour and iftar meals healthy and interesting.

Today we feature some German recipes to add variety to your iftar menu. The recipes have been provided by chef Houssem Hamouda from Brauhaus at the Jumeirah Rotana Hotel, Dubai. The restaurant specialises in traditional German cuisine and besides an a la carte menu, offers a theme buffet every Tuesday and Thursday with dishes from every region of Germany.

Wholesome

"German cuisine is simple and wholesome. It relies on the excellent quality of the meat and vegetables produced in Germany to create dishes that retain the natural flavour of the foods," says chef Houssem. "I have chosen some of the most popular German dishes and provided the simplest cooking recipes that everyone can make at home," he adds.

German spaetzle dumplings

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 gallon hot water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper

Method:

  • Mix together flour, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Beat eggs well, and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients.
  • Mix until smooth.
  • Press this dough through a Spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater.
  • Drop a few at a time into simmering water. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
  • Saute cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine.
  • Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve.

Chef's tip
Be careful not to have the strainer too close to the boiling water else it may cook the dough before it goes through.

Deep fried camembert with cranberry sauce

Ingredients:
Six 40 g pieces of Normandy camembert
1 medium-size egg; beaten
50g of fresh breadcrumbs
50g of cranberry sauce (5 oz)
Half cup orange juice and rind
Watercress for garnishing

Method:

  • Unwrap the Camembert; dip into the beaten egg and then coat with the breadcrumbs. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • For the sauce, place the cranberry sauce, orange juice and rind in a saucepan and heat through gently.
  • Deep fry the Camembert in hot oil heated to 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F, for a minute or two, until golden. Drain and serve with the sauce garnished with the watercress.

Chef's tip
A delicious starter or light lunch. Serve with crusty warm bread and garnish with salad.

Goulash soup

Ingredients:
500g of beef (chuck, shin, neck)
2 tablespoons fat
1 large onion, diced
1 heaped tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 to 2 quarts water
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper

Method:

  • Cut beef into 2cm cubes. Heat fat in a large saucepan and sauté onion until golden.
  • Sprinkle with paprika and sauté
    minute or two, stirring constantly over very low heat.
  • Add beef and stir into paprika and onion mixture. Let meat sear and brown very slightly. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and vinegar and stir in tomato paste. Simmer 3 or 4 minutes, then add caraway seeds, marjoram, garlic and water.
  • Bring to boiling point, cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes, or until meat is almost done. Add diced potatoes and cook slowly 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until meat and potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Check seasoning and serve in deep bowls.

Chef's tip
Some people like this with a generous amount of black pepper so make sure there is a pepper grinder on the table so everyone can season it according to taste.

Wiener Schnitzel

Ingredients:
4 veal escalopes of 120g each
To apply the breadcrumbs:
Flour
2 eggs
Breadcrumbs
Salt/pepper
Oil for frying

Method:

  • The escalope will need to be pounded until the meat is around a quarter of an inch thick. Make sure to trim the edges of the meat neatly.
  • Lightly season the escalope with salt and pepper. You will need three shallow bowls —one for the eggs, one for flour and one for breadcrumbs. Dip the escalope in the flour first, then in the whisked egg and then in the breadcrumbs. Be careful to ensure that the entire escalope is completely covered with the breadcrumbs.
  • Place the escalope in a hot frying pan; the oil in the pan should be deep enough that the schnitzels float whilst cooking. Cooking time should not be more than 4 minutes for each side.

Chef's tip
Lay the escalope into a paper towel to properly drain the oil out.

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