Gaza Mom

Purslane, also known as Baqla (Bagla in Gazan colloquial) is considered one of the most nutritious wild greens on the planet, boasting an impressive 300 to 400 mg of alpha-linolenic acid (more than any other leafy plant) per cup, according to Wikipedia. It is also an excellent source of calcium, potassium, and Vitamin A.

Considered an old-world, drought-resistant green, it grows in the wild in Palestine between rocky shrubs though it can also be found rooting extensively near pools of water. It is much more difficult to find in the U.S., so you will probably have to do some gathering (I once found a hearty bunch next to a tree near the Vienna/Nutley metro in Northern VA.). Most people here consider it a pesky and resilient weed and will be more than happy to have someone uproot it from their gardens. Ask around your local farmer’s market.

Baqla is most commonly eaten raw, roughly minced and added to Fattoush, the popular Levantian Ramadan bread salad.

Ever the naturalist, my father sought new ways to cook Baqla. So he consulted the falla7a he buys his baladi (organic) eggs, chickens, pigeons, and herbs from in the Nusseirat refugee camp Tuesday Market in Central Gaza. What follows is her orally transmitted recipe, again with some of our own modifications. Simple vegetarian recipes such as these utilizing wild green and legumes have a rich culinary history amongst the falla7een in Palestinian cuisine.

Fresh Baqla Stew made with some Baqla I picked from a friend's garden

1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch Purslane, washed and roughly chopped (discard tough stems only; keep soft stems)
4 cloves garlic, ground/mashed with 1 tsp salt in mortar and pestle or mini-food processor
2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 T. fresh cilantro, minced
Red pepper flakes to taste
Olive Oil

Sautee onion until tender and yellow in 2 T. olive oil.
Add Purslane until just wilted.
Add crushed garlic-salt mixture and stir.
Stir in tomatoes and chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in cilantro, pinch of pepper flakes, and serve warm with Kmaj. Adjust seasonings to taste

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You know how sometimes, someone just hands you a blog post/content on a silver platter?

The other day I decided to use a coupon Yousuf got from the local library and take the kiddos to a local play place called Playwise Kids. It is pricey, even with the coupon, so we decided to take full advantage of our time there and spend the afternoon there.

I noticed a woman with two young boys there too, around our kids age. I noticed her because she was continuously casting cautious glances at me, which I tried to ignore nevertheless. Eventually we ended up in the same corner-with the kids stacking large Styrofoam bricks into a make-believe house (insert comment here about whether a toy truck demolished the make-believe house…).

Now, me being me, I often like to shatter people’s stereotypes or presumptions or whatnot of what I might sound or look or act like right off the bat. So without thinking twice, I start a conversation with the otherwise reticent, fearful woman.

“How old is he?” I asked of her older child, who was playing with Yousuf.

“5 1/2″ she replied, somewhat wearily, with a grimace plastered to her face.

Ignoring her body language, I continued “tall for his age, eh?”

“Yes, he takes after his father”

“Where are you from” I asked, detecting an East European accent

She hesitated a moment, put her head to the ground and blurted out “from Israel -PLEASE DON’T KILL ME”

Stunned, I replied without hesitation “And.. why exactly would I do that?”. I immediately pondered all the smart replies I could have made, but decided to stay composed.

Clearly uncomfortable with the situation, she nervously asked “well, where are you from?”

“Gaza” I said

“Well, see, that’s why” she declared, as though this single fact clearly explained her irrational, racist outburst.

I pretended I didn’t hear that and went on.

“My parents just came from there you know last week. Took them 4 months of trying and 4 days across the border.”

“Oh why is that?” she responded blankly

“Be-cause of the siege?” I asked both dumbfounded and unclear whether she was just stupid or ignorant or both. “You do know Gaza is under illegal Israel occupation and siege?”

“oh, still? I thought that ended?”

“Still going strong, I’m afraid”, briefing her on the situation much to her disinterest.

More silence.

“You know its funny, I’ve never met a Palestinian my whole life. Not to mention one from Gaza. Funny I should have to travel half way across the world to meet one.”

Gee, I wonder whey that is, I thought to myself.

I then directed her to my blog. She responded with terrified little nods and finally withdrew, saying she wanted to get something for her younger son from the cafeteria and leaving her older son behind. She watched cautiously from afar, making sure I guess I wouldn’t take him captive or something.

Looking back, I don’t think I would have said or done anything differently. There are always thing we wish you could have said-like, not all Palestinians/Muslims/Arabs bite; or, shouldn’t it be ME whose afraid of being killed given the Israeli track record of violence against Palestinians-1300 in one month!

But it was Ramadan, and I was somewhat restrained with my blood sugar so low; I suppose I also always want to make the point that we-Palestinian/Muslims/Arabs since she was clearly lumping us all together-have no problem with Jews, only illegal occupation, house demolitions, land theft, and so on; A friend of mine in Nazareth once told me her grandmother put it to her like this: While we were serving our new Jewish neighbors tea and labneh sandwiches in 1940s, they were stealing our land.

I have very little patience for feigned or real stupidity when it comes to what’s happening in Palestine, particularly by the occupiers. Its one thing if you really don’t know what’s going on, but Disengagement and willful blindness to a reality you create and support is quite another.

As many of you know, I twittered about the encounter, and asked for the best replies to the woman. I’m going to mention a few here of my favorites here:

KABOBfest: “Usually people get really scared when they see my horns and my tail. You’re lucky I dress modestly.”

jillylovsdurham said: Tell her you’ve been hunting down local Israelis one at a time. You even brought your kids to use as human shields!

digitalgypsy said: Act like Renfield. Claw-like hands, hump-backed limp “MMwa-a-a-a”.

magicspin said: “Scared of me? I get that a lot. All that pesky grief & emotional turmoil are so hard to hide”…*smile*

shamz82 said: yes…RUNNNN..

norabf id you ask her if she was about to steal your home and bomb the playground?

mushon said: respond to Gazaphobic Israeli women: “Kol Haolam Kulo, Gesher Tzar Meod. Vehaikar, Vehaikar – Lo Lefached Klal’ (a hassidic song (very known in Israel and the whole Jewish world) by the Rabbi from Braslew that says: “The whole wide world, is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing, is not to fear at all”)

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Qatayif, or as they are pronounced in colloquial Arabic, Atayif, are a confection that make their welcome presence in the Holy month of Ramadan. Though they are not unique to Gaza, any Ramadan recipes collection would be incomplete without them.

In most of the Middle East, the pancake dough for the Atayif can be purchased ready-made in almost any confectionery store (in fact you will be hard pressed to find someone who makes them at home). In Gaza, street vendors pop up all over the place around maghrib time (sunset), selling everything you need to make Atayif: the pancakes (already cooked), the stuffing, and if you are in a rush-they even sell them pre-fried or stuffed. They are quite the experts at mixing and pouring out the batter out of conical containers that create the perfect consistency.

I got this recipe from one such vendor in Khanyounis several years ago, with some adjustments. True Atayif should be made with extra fine semolina flour, but this is almost impossible to find in the US (if one uses what is available, the resulting pancake will break apart once you try to stuff it).

3 1/2 cups flour
3 cups warm water
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp mistka* (mastic gum), crushed in a mortar and pestle (optional)
1/8 tsp ground mahlab* (optional)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup warm water
* These items can be found at any Middle Eastern grocer

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT baking soda and 1/2 cup warm water in a blender until smooth. You should have a medium batter, a littler thinner than pancake batter. Let rise for one hour or until doubled in volume. Stir with spoon to deflate. Mix baking soda and water, and stir into batter at this point. Batter should resemble crepe batter more than it does pancake batter at this point.

Warm griddle (or good quality frying pan with thick base, such as a cast-iron skillet, if you don’t have a griddle) to medium heat.

Pour about 2 T. worth of batter onto the griddle and quickly spread out evenly with base of spoon.

Once little bubbles form and began to pop and the top of the pancake dries out (doesn’t need to dry out 100%) remove and set aside to cool on a kitchen towel.

Try a couple of test ones first. If Atayif seem too thick, add 1-2 T. warm water and mix.

Makes roughly 30 pancakes.

Tips:
* Do not put too much better or the pancake will be too think and you will have a hard time folding it when stuffing time comes
* Spreading out the batter on the griddle helps make sure it will be thin and pliable enough to fold and stuff. But make sure it is not too thin or the pancake won’t close when you fold it.
*Make sure they don’t cook too quickly or they will be too hard from the bottom and uncooked from the top.
*Do NOT use cooking spray on the frying pan (if it is non-stick) or the atayif will be really hard to close

The ideal Atayif should be pale, pliable, and about half a cm in thickness. It should NOT be heavily browned or thick.

Stuff immediately. Traditional stuffings in Palestine are either sweetened Nabusli goat cheese or crushed walnuts. My grandfather, rest his soul, used to prefer a cooked custard stuffing (muhallabia). You can experiment with different kinds of sweet cheeses and stuffings of your own.

Cheese stuffing

Crumble together with a fork or your hand:
1 cup sweet white cheese, such as Nabusli (if salted, de-salt by soakign in warm water), or a mixture of shredded mozzarella and ricotta cheeses;
2 T. sugar
1 T. rosewater or orange blossom water (maward or mazahir)

Nut stuffing

Mix together in food processor until medium-coarse:
2 cups walnuts
3 T. sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T. rosewater or orange blossom water

Mix in by hand:
3 T. raisins, or as desired

To stuff:
Fold together either end of the pancake and pinch closed with thumb and forefinger. Continue to close about 1/3 of the pancake together. Spoon in about 1 tsp of the stuffing, depending on the size of the pancake, then close completely and firmly, making sure it is properly sealed. Do NOT over stuff, particularly if using cheese stuffing.

To cook:
*Qatayif are traditionally deep-fired, but I prefer to bake them. Feel free to fry a few if you have the stomach for it!

Melt 2 Tablespoons butter. Add 1 T. canola oil. Brush each Atayif with the butter-oil mixture and place in a non-stick pan (or baking sheet coated with cooking spray). Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until well browned. Broil last 5 minutes if not browned from top.

Serve with honey or the traditional way, by plopping each Atayif into a bowl of cold syrup (recipe follows) immediately when they come out of the oven to ensure proper absorption.

Syrup (Qatir)

Bring to boil then simmer for 5 minutes in saucepan:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp. lemon juice

Take off heat and add:

1 tsp rosewater or orange blossom water (I like to add both).

Allow to cool completely, or even refrigerate.

Street vendors making Atayif in Palestine

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I promised (on my twitter…which if you’re not following-well, shame on you! do it now!) that i would be supplying a recipe a day in honor of Ramadan, with a focus on the unusual and oft-overlooked cuisine of Gaza. Its more likely to be every few days, and though I said I’d start with Meatless Wild Baqla Stew, today I’m just going to begin with kmaj, كماج or خبز عربي freshly baked Arabic bread. It differs from its Lebanese variant in both texture and content (Lebanese bread is paper thin and traditionally made from white flour).

We (meaning my mother and father-who have successfully made it through Rafah Crossing and here to the U.S.-I’ll save that story for another post-, and myself who usually bake it together) like to give it an Egyptian twist (for those who haven’t had subsidized Egypt wheat bread-delic) by baking it on a generous layer of wheat bran.

We also make it in the traditional (pre-industrialization) Palestinian method-with whole spring wheat (a softer grain of wheat that is most commonly used in Europe and the Middle East) or a mixture of whole wheat and white flours (“white bread”, when it first made its debut in Gaza, according to my father, was considered a decadent treat eaten as a dessert would. Sadly, it has come to replace the more nutritious and filling whole wheat flour as the grain of choice due its refined and sweeter taste).

Freshly baked Kmaj we made last week

The true mark of success when baking kmaj is what I call the “puff factor”-when the bread puffs up, creating the trademark “pocket”. We have experimented for years with the best method to achieve this in Western ovens, and finally have come up with a fool-proof way adapted from a woman who bakes bread for my mother in Gaza. It involves first heating the dough on a griddle as one would a chapati and then placing it in the oven.

I don’t generally use strict measurements in my cooking, particularly when it comes to making bread, but I will give it a try. Let your senses guide you if something doesn’t go according to plan!

Measure and whisk together in a bowl either:

5 cups whole white wheat flour or spring wheat (the softer wheat grain traditionally used in the Middle East, which you can find sold as a 5lb package by Arthur’s or in the bulk section of natural food stores, which label it “organic spring flour” or “organic bread flour”; look for the “spring wheat” in the ingredients list).

Have a bowl of wheat bran (also found in said natural food stores bulk sections) ready handy and set aside for now.

Add:

1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
1 T. salt
3 T. Olive oil

Gradually mix in, a little bit at a time and starting with just 1 cup and adding more only if necessary:

2-3 cups warm water

Start by mixing dough by hand, then kneading with the palm of your hand or your knuckle, turning the dough over, and kneading again. Continue kneading until the dough forms a ball (i.e. does not stick to the sides of the bowl anymore). Do not over-knead. Pat top of dough with some olive oil.

Leave to rise in draft-free place for one hour or until doubled in volume. Punch dough down, knead gently for one minute and form into a ball; let rest for twenty minutes.

Form palm sized balls from the dough and pinch ends; place on well-floured surface-or a surface sprinkled with a generous layer of wheat bran*- and let rest for 10-20 minutes. Roll dough balls out to about 1/2 cm thickness. Cover and let rest for at least 20 minutes and up to overnight (this is the way they traditionally do it in Palestine-they let the flattened dough at this stage to rest overnight to allow a more complex flavor to develop).

Pre-heat conventional oven to 500 degrees or highest available setting. At the same time, preheat an electric or stove-top griddle to medium-high heat.

Prepare baking sheets (baking stones if you have them!) by sprinkling them with bran to prevent sticking.

Begin baking by placing rolled doughs on top of griddle. Wait a few minutes-or until small sore-like “craters” begin to form, then quickly remove half-baked breads and move to baking sheets. Quickly place in pre-heated oven and bake for a few minutes or until bread puffs up.

Take bread out and cover with a towel or sheet to prevent the moisture from building up. Tip : nothing like warm kmaj with olive oil and zaatar!

Bil hanna wil shiffa/With Joy and Good Health !

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A friend sent me this powerful docu-music-video by Detroit-based Hip-Hop artist Invincible (featuring Abeer and Suhell Nafar of the Palestinian group DAM) highlighting the systemic and deeply rooted nature of ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

From their site, EMERGENCE Travel Agency: “Invincible exposes the process of historic and continued colonization of Palestine as being even deeper than land seizure and ethnic cleansing, but one that attempts to erase the indigenous language, culture, and memory of Palestinians.

Intertwined with the music video are interviews that expose how Zionist claims to a Jewish “birthright” to Palestine have come at the expense of the Palestinian Right of Return to their indigenous land. These interviews show how the Right of Return of Palestinians is interconnected with the resistance of occupied and displaced refugee communities globally, from Turtle Island to Puerto Rico and beyond.”

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