Soup: Onion soup 3 large onions (peeled, halved and sliced) 4 cups of chicken stock 1 tablespoon of butter Salt and black pepper Directions: Put a pot over a medium heat then add the butter to melt, then the onion and stir until it turns soft (golden color); then add stock and season with salt and black pepper. Leave for 10 minutes to cook then serve in bowels with toasted bread.## Salad: Oriental salad 1 lettuce 4 cucumbers 1 onion 2 pack of arugula 3 tomatoes 1 pack of parsley 1 radish Dressing: 1 lemon 1 tablespoon of white vinegar 1 tablespoonof olive oil Salt Black pepper (a little) Directions: Cut all the vegetables into medium pieces then mix them in a bowel.For dressing, use another bowel, squeeze the lemon and mix with olive oil, white vinegar, salt and a little black pepper.Pour the dressing on the vegetables, mix well and serve.## Main course: Mesaka'a with minced meat. 1 kilogramme of round eggplant (peeled and cut into slices about two centimetres thick) 500 grams of minced meat 1tablespoon ofbutter 1tablespoonof oil (maize, olive, or any kind of oil as prefered) 1 small onion (peeled and finely chopped) 1 tablespoonchopped garlic 2tablespoonwhite vinegar 2 cups tomato sauce Oil for frying Salt and cumin Note:When cutting the eggplant, exclude the pieces that contain a lot of seeds; they will taste bitter when cooked Directions: Put the sliced eggplant ina strainer, season with good amount of salt so it doesn't turn brown, and leave it to get rid of the excess water. Then use paper tissue to dry it completely.In a frying pan, add oil and fry the eggplant until it turns golden; then place it on paper tissue to get rid of the excess oil, and then leave it aside. In a pan, melt the butter and add the meat and stir until it turns brown. Then cover and leave for 10 minutes to cook. Season with salt and a little amount of black pepper and turn the heat off. In a pot, heat the oil then add the garlic and stir until it turns golden. Add the vinegar and stir well. Then add the tomato sauce and leave it for eight minutes to boil. Then remove it from the heat. In a baking dish, put 3-4tablespoonof tomato sauce then add half the fried eggplant and layer the meat over it. Add a good amount of tomato sauce and then the rest of the eggplant, and finally the remaining of tomato sauce. Place the baking dish in a pre-heated oven to 180 degree Celsius for 15 minutes and serve immediately. It waits for no one.## Side item: White Rice 2 cups of rice 3 cups of hot water or hot chicken broth (as preferred) 1tablespoonof butter or oil (as preferred) Directions: Melt the butter (or oil) and then add the rice and season with salt. Stir for five minutes then add the liquid. Leave it on medium heat to boil then cover and cook slowly over a very low heat for 10 minutes then serve.## Drink: Dried dates with milk 250 grams of dried dates (pitted and cut into pieces) 250 grams of roasted nuts (raisins, walnuts, almonds,hazelnut, pistachio, etc) 1 litre of full cream milk 3 tablespoons of white sugar Directions: Mix the dried dates and nuts in a bowel.Heat milk until it boils, add sugar and stir for two minutes to dissolve. Then turn off the heat.Pour the hot milk over the dates and nuts and leave the mixture for one hour until its heat reduces and the mix became soft, then serve.## Dessert: Konafa with nuts 500 grams ofkonafa Half cup melted unsalted butter or margarine 150 grams of crushed nuts (raisins, walnuts, almonds,hazelnut, etc) 2 tablespoons of sugar For syrup: 1/2 cup water 1 ½ cup white sugar 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 cinnamon stick (optional to give it an oriental taste) Directions: For syrup, in a pot add water and sugar on a medium heat to dissolve with frequent stirring. Then add the cinnamon and the lemon juice and leave it for around 10 minutes until the liquid decreases and it bcomes a little bit sticky. Then remove from the heat and leave it to cool. Pre-heat oven to 200 degree Celsius. In small bowl mix the crushed nuts with the sugar and leave it aside.In a large bowl start to chop thekonafacoarsely, then add the melted butter and mix them together completely (until you find thekonafafully saturated with the butter). In a baking mould, add ½ ofkonafawith butter and press it well in the mould. Layer the nuts, then add the remaining of thekonafato form the top and press it well again. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until its surface turns golden brown. Remove and pour the syrup (at room temperature) immediately over it. Leave it to cool and then serve garnished with chopped pistachio.## For more Life & Style news and updates, follow us on Twitter:@AhramLifestyleor ourFacebook page) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/48740.aspx
