Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit
The Chef

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Cuisine from Around the World

By: Kristen Mummert
Fortunately, I have been able to travel all over the world. My father was in the military and I have visited many countries and tried many different cuisines. My family lived in Bahrain and Germany and we were able to visit France, these are a few of my favorite places I have been.  With each country comes a different type of cuisine. Bahrain, Germany, and France are all in the European continent, but each country has a very distinct and different type of cuisine.
My family and I first lived in Bahrain. Bahraini cuisine usually consists of fresh produce. My mother told me that when we lived in Bahrain we would go to the bazaar, or market, and I would have to talk to the venders in Arabic (I was learning it in school) because my mother didn’t know how and the vendors only spoke Arabic. One dish that is well known in Bahrain and is a traditional dish is machboos also known as majboos. This is a rice and meat dish usually with lamb or chicken.  Below is a recipe for the machboos. The recipe from food.com includes some ingredients that are not common in the United States. The ingredients buharat spice mix and black dried limes are hard to find, but they are able to be shipped if desired. These exotic items are commonly used in Bahraini and Arabic cuisine. Some other traditional dishes of Bahrain that I found from tabisite.com are tabouli, haloumi cheese, biryani-similar to machboos-, hummus, and mutabal.  Hummus is a dip made of chick peas and mutabal is an eggplant dip, both are usually enjoyed with Arabic-style bread. Haloumi cheese is usually fried and does not melt, even at a high temperature. Tabouli, chopped parsley with tomatoes, can be used as a dip or eaten by itself. Bahraini style cuisine is usually healthier compared to the other two countries cuisine that I enjoy.

Traditional Bahraini Chicken Machboos/ Machbous from Food.com
Ingredients:
4 ½ cups water
650 g basmati rice
3 tomatoes
3 lbs chicken
3 onions, finely chopped
¼ cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 green hot pepper, as desired
2 black dried limes
2 tsp buharat spice mix
1 ½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 garlic gloves
1 slice ginger root, small pieces
3 tbsp butter
¼ cup lemon juice
3 tbsp rose water
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp salt
Directions:
  1. Cut the chicken in half. Heat the water and leave aside. In a small bowl, mix the buharat, turmeric, cumin, and cardamom together and add to the mixture 1 tsp of salt. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture on the chicken halves.
  2. Heat oil in a large cooking pan, fry the onions until golden brown, then add the pepper and the black limes- you must make a hole in each lime.
  3. Add the chicken to the onion mixture and turn it over a few times in the pan. Sprinkle on the chicken a tsp of cinnamon and the rest of the mixed spices. Turn the contents all together so the chicken is coated with the spices. Cover the pan and let it cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic, chopped ginger, and tomato cubes to the pan and turn the ingredients in the pan a few times. Cover again for 3 minutes on medium heat. Sprinkle with the rest of the salt and pour on water while its still hot.
  5. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked. Add the chopped coriander 5 minutes before you remove the chicken from the stock in the pan. While the chicken is cooking, wash the rice well and soak for 10 minutes in cold water, then drain.
  6. Remove the chicken from the pan and put on an oven tray, brush with some oil and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon powder and grill in the oven until the chicken is golden brown.
  7. Add the rice to the chicken stock, stir, then let it cook on low heat until the rice absorbs the stock and its almost done.
  8. Sprinkle rose water and lemon juice over the rice and place the butter pieces on the top. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
  9. Serve the rice on a large serving plate and place the grilled chicken halves on the top.

Spatzle after they came out of the water.
After a couple of years, my family moved to Frankfurt, Germany. This was my favorite place to live overseas. I loved all the different types of food from Germany. I believe that I enjoyed German dishes so much because they are very hearty and not very healthy.  Some very common German dishes are schnitzel, spatzle, goulasch, and kartoffelsuppe, found from germany.co.za.  Schnitzel, also known as wiener schnitzel, is a meat dish that is usually veal or pork and is pounded out and breaded then fried. Spatzle is a German style dumpling. A simple flour recipe is turned into dumplings that look like little noodles. Goulasch contains beef and pork and is made into a stew with onions and potatoes. Kartoffelsuppe is a potato soup with onions and bacon and cooked in beef broth. The dish that I remember the most from Germany is schnitzel and spatzle. These two dishes were my favorite and I always ordered them when we would go to our favorite restaurant. I decided that I wanted to try to make schnitzel and spatzle. One night I made this dish for dinner for my family. I used pork for the schnitzel. I pounded it out and then fried it in some olive oil and butter. For the spatzle I made a dough of flour and milk, with a few other ingredients, and pushed the dough through a colander into a pot of boiling water. After the spatzle was done cooking, I fried it in some butter with seasoning. This German dish was delicious. German and French dishes are similar in the way that most French desserts and some meals are hearty and use a lot of butter.

Schnitzel Recipe from Food.com
Directions:
4 butterfly pork chops
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp pepper
¾ tsp paprika
Schnitzel I made for dinner. 
¼ cup flour
½ cup breadcrumbs
½ cup butter flavor Crisco
2 eggs, beaten
Ingredients:
  1. Beat meat until doubled in size.
  2. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
  3. Dip in flour, then beaten eggs and then in breadcrumbs.
  4. Heat Crisco in large skillet and place schnitzel in pan.
  5. Brown well on both sides in pan on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. 

                One of my favorite places that I have visited is Paris, France. In French cooking, shortcuts are hardly ever taken. Every meal and dish is done in the most careful manner and is usually done with a number of techniques says cuisinenet.com. French dishes include meals that usually take some time to prepare. Common French dishes I found at frenchfood.about.com are crepes, coq au vin, soufflés, and escargot. Crepes are made from a dough and look like a very thin pancake. The filling for a crepe could be savory or sweet. Coq au vin is a braised chicken dish. The chicken is browned and then a liquid is added to the pot. A soufflé is a custard-based dish that is baked. Soufflés can be eaten as a main meal or as a dessert says frenchfood.about.com. Escargot, also known as snails, is eaten as an appetizer. Escargot are sometimes eaten alone or placed on mushrooms. French cuisine may take some time to prepare, but it is always delicious in the end.
I have been able to enjoy some of my favorite foods in my favorite places. Of all the countries I have visited my favorite are Bahrain, Germany, and Paris. Each cuisine is different, but still very delicious. I am so grateful that I have been able to taste dishes in their original country and to be able to experience different cultures. I have tried Bahraini style machboos, German schnitzel and spatzle, and French coq au vin. Each dish has its own style and different ingredients, but each one is just as delicious as the next.


Works Cited
AZUSA, MATSUMOTO. "World Food." Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://tabisite.com/wfood/index.cgi/Bahrain/index.htm>.

"Traditional German Dishes." Welcome to Germany.co.za - the Germany Online Travel Guide. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.germany.co.za/traditional_dishes.html>.

"French Cuisine." Diner's Digest. 1996. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/france.html>.

Franklin, Rebecca. "Classic French Dishes - Traditional French Meals - Traditional French Recipes."French Recipes - French Food - Easy French Recipes with Pictures - Traditional French Food - French Desserts, Main Courses, Appetizers, Crepes. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://frenchfood.about.com/od/explorefrenchfood/u/ClassicMeals.htm>.

Safia, Um. "Traditional Bahraini Chicken Machboos Machbous Recipe - Food.com - 304034."Food.com - Thousands Of Free Recipes From Home Chefs With Recipe Ratings, Reviews And Tips. 18 May 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.food.com/recipe/traditional-bahraini-chicken-machboos-machbous-304034>.

"Schnitzel Recipe.” Food.com - Thousands Of Free Recipes From Home Chefs With Recipe Ratings, Reviews And Tips. 10 March 2005. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.food.com/recipe/schnitzel-113149.> 

10 comments:

  1. I read this and wondered where is Bahraini and I looked in the World Atlas that is just down from Pakistan and Iran. It is nice that you got to visit so many places. I guess this was before the war maybe.

    Ruth Hall

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  2. Hi Kristen,
    I always wondered what schnitzel was made from. I may just have to try the recipe. You are very fortunate to have lived so many different places and experience so many diverse cultures. Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed reading this blog.
    Tina Dull

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  3. Kristen,

    Thanks for sharing your receipes. I never knew what a schnitzel was made from either. I think I might try the first receipe though. It's always good to hear about other cultures and enjoy them

    Thanks for sharing...
    Alison

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  4. Kristen,
    Your childhood sounds very exciting. I'm a bit of a picky eater so I don't know how I would handle it, but I'm sure I'd find something that I liked. I bet the same types of foods tastes completely different in America, huh?
    Samantha

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  5. Kristen,
    It sounds very interesting the different places you were able to live in! The recipes sounds delicious and I will have to try them myself!
    Eric Cogovan

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  6. Thank you everyone for your comments. I am very grateful for being able to enjoy so many different cultures and cuisines. I hope those of you who try either recipe enjoy. I personally like the schnitzel, maybe that's because it is fried...
    Thanks again,
    Kristen Mummert

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kristen,
    Wow! I am so impressed with your blog! You did a great job. You are a very impressive woman as well. You have been blessed with having many opportunities from traveling; to having first hand experience of eating the "real deal" from so many different place. Again, you did a great job with your blog! Bravo!

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  8. Kristen,

    I found your blog very interesting. These recipes sound very interesting and have captured my curiosity. Thanks.

    Jennifer Samios

    ReplyDelete
  9. The experiences that you must have is amazing from living in so many different places. Thanks for sharing the recipes and experiences. It is amazing what else is out there besides burger fries and Americanized Chinese food.
    Christina Chinchock

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kristen, I enjoyed this post. It made me hungry and want to travel. The recipes and images were great. You put together a great blog here. Thanks for that.

    ReplyDelete