Awwamaat
Lebanese Doughnuts

8 cups pastry flour
1 qt. laban
1/2 tsp. soda
1 1/2 cups olive oil
Qater or Sugar Syrup

These syrupy doughnuts are a famous treat in the Middle East. In Lebanon they are part of the traditional celebration of Ghtas, Christ's baptismal night. The belief of the people is that upon this night the trees kneel down to pray for the Christ Child. To celebrate the feast children dress in costume and dance in the streets begging coins and sweets.

Sift flour and mix with laban and soda. Knead well together. Heat olive oil until almost smoking. Drop dough by the teaspoonful into hot oil. Fry only a few at a time. They quickly rise to the surface, brown, and are ready to be skimmed out of the fat. Drain on absorbent paper. When all the 'awwamaat are fried, dip a few at a time in thin qater. Serve the doughnuts hot or cold.

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. ma'ez zahr (orange blossom essence)
1 tsp. Iemon juice
1 tsp. ma'el ward (rose water)

Many Arabic pastries owe their succulence to this sweet, rose water flavored syrup. It is usually poured while very hot over such pastries as baqlawa, 'awwamaat (doughnuts), kataif (stuffed small pancakes), macaroons and kanafeh (cheese pastry baked in a flat pan and cut in squares).

Dissolve sugar in water and boil rapidly. Remove foam which rises to top. Add orange blossom water and lemon juice and continue boiling until syrup resembles thin honey. Add rose water last to preserve its essence.

Moqueca, sometimes spelled muqueca, is a simple yet tasty Brazilian seafood stew from Bahia state. As with many of the dishes of Bahia, moqueca shows strong African roots.

white-fleshed fish, cut into chunks -- 1 1/2 pounds
limes, juice only -- 2
salt -- 1 teaspoon
oil -- 2 tablespoons
onion, diced -- 2
bell peppers, diced -- 2
garlic, minced -- 2-3 cloves
chile (malagueta) peppers, minced -- 1-3
tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced -- 3 cups
coconut milk -- 2 cups
dendê oil (optional) -- 2 tablespoons

Toss the fish, lime juice and salt together in a large, non-reactive bowl and set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium flame. Add the onions and peppers and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and chile peppers and sauté for another minute more.

Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 more minutes to cook them down somewhat.

Stir in the coconut milk and the fish with its marinade. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Adjust seasoning, stir in dendê oil if using and serve in bowls alone or over rice.

Recipe courtesy CookBrazil.com

The toasted manioc flour is a staple food in the northeast and northern regions of Brazil. When you season the flour with onions, olives, raisins it becomes a farofa. It's usually served as a side dish along with feijoada or churrasco.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb toasted manioc flour (farinha de mandioca torrada)
1 onion
green olives
finely chopped bacon
chopped parsley
raisins
sweet corn
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

PREPARE:
Stir fry the finely chopped onion, salt and bacon over the oil, add the olives, sweet corn and raisins to cook them slightly.

Slowly pour the manioc flour while mixing over low heat. Add parsley at last.

Hint:
Use your imagination to increment the farofa.

If you do not have access to the toasted manioc flour, you can adapt the recipe using unseasoned bread crumb that you prepare yourself. Just grind in the blender pieces of dry french bread until fine. Use the crumb to replace the manioc flour.

SERVE:
Serve moderate portions of farofa as a side dish with meat or feijoada. It is served usually 2 or 3 tbs of the mixture on the side.