I found my SUMAC!

Home made Kefta Kebab with Saffron Rice

Watching the news about the Middle East brings heartache and churning to my guts. The righteousness for liberty will consume effort and persistence. I expect that it will never stop...even relationships take work everyday, why wouldn't freedom. The land of the free can be found anywhere if one can learn to free oneself first, I believe. I find comfort in visiting the local Jordanian and Lebanese Kebab joints. To taste the food of happy Americans of Middle East descent is reassuring that the right to speak and to act with determination can taste sweet, spicy, tangy and good.

Mezze at Neomonde, my Lebanese Taverna

Creating a Mezze banquet at Neomonde in North Raleigh is the easiest thing. It starts with the freshly made pita bread and combines it with the arrays of small plates of tabbouleh, baba ganouj, hummus, cucumber, stuffed grape leaves, etc. The kebabs at Petra are well prepared. Spicy ground beef on a stick, the grilled Kefta kebab is my favorite there. The unique thing about these 2 places is that they both have a market. I found preserved lemon, bulgur wheat and fresh cheese at Neomonde. Petra market includes not only the spices, dry and canned goods, but it also has a halal meat section and Turkish coffee/delight.
At the markets, I was ecstatic to have found the "Sumac". My first encounter with this dried red berry powder occurred when eating a Fattoush salad at the Lebanese Taverna in the DC area. The salad consisted of cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, and crisped pita bread as its base.  It gets drizzled with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and the most important ingredient...sumac.

Home made Fattoush Salad

Kefta kebab was another item that I miss. Recently, I practically empty my whole cabinet of spices; from ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, mace, turmeric, saffron, cardamom, allspice and of course...sumac, to make this item. The spices get a thorough massage, along with chopped onions and parsley, into the ground meat. Shaping the meat to the metal screw was not an easy task; you really have to have the right consistency. The kebab was grilled and eaten with saffron rice and yogurt, cucumber and dill sauce. Our kids asked for seconds, not bad for the Middle Eastern burger.

Kebab at Petra, a Jordanian Joint

With a set of spices I discovered at Raleigh Middle Eastern shops, I felt like a part of an old caravan bringing home what once belonged to the isolated few across the ocean.  I also feel afresh, seeing other immigrants in the US who work hard and who have blossomed, worth the heartache. My thoughts are with those who are still struggling all over the world...my heart is with you. Focus and you will surely get there...

Cheers!

Teera