Em Shaat is in my opinion a Middle Eastern comfort food. It’s really a cauliflower fritter made with boiled cauliflower that’s been battered and fried.
One of my Palestinian friends taught me how to make this yummy cauliflower fritter years ago. She used all purpose flour to make her batter, it was good, but a bit heavy and not very crisp. I suppose fritters weren’t meant to be crispy.
But I like things crispy so I added my own twist to this traditional Middle Eastern recipe. The secret is Mochiko (sweet rice flour). Mochiko batter is lighter and when fried turns into a crispy delight.
The recipe calls for cumin and turmeric. Both spices are used in many Middle Eastern dishes. They compliment the cauliflower nicely giving it a mild exotic flavor.
I suppose you could say that I’ve created a Fusion dish; Med meets Asia! But really, my Middle Eastern husband loves my version!
I usually serve cauliflower dish as a main course, it’s a nice (not so healthy) alternative to a meat course. But it can be served as an appetizer, snack, or side dish as well. It’s usually served warm, but it’s pretty darn good cold too!
Ingredients:
1 Medium Cauliflower – remove the leaves but keep whole
2 Cloves Garlic – finely minced
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Tsp. Cumin
1/2 Tsp. Turmeric
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Parsley – finely chopped
Oil for frying
Directions:
Boil Cauliflower until tender – about 20 minutes
Whisk all ingredients except cauliflower and oil together in a large mixing bowl – batter will be thin
Drain and Break up the cauliflower and stir into batter
Heat about 1 1/2″ of oil in a pan
Drop cauliflower mixture into oil and fry each side until golden brown
Whenever we are in LA there’s this place we frequent, Zankou Chicken; although their specialty is the delicious rotisserie chicken they also serve beef and chicken kebobs and shawarma wraps. We love the beef shawarma so much that we buy a dozen or so to take home with us.
Since there are no trips planned to LA anytime soon I decided to try my hand at making my own.
Shawarma is usually cooked on a spit and slow roasted as it turn, I don’t have one of those machines so I found a way to make it using just my oven and stove top.
To make the meat extra tender I used thinly sliced boneless beef short ribs with all the fat trimmed off. I adapted a chinese restaurant method used to tenderize their stir fry meat and it made my ribs very tender.
The secret to great shawarma is the spices used to marinate the meat. So get out your spice rack to make this tasty recipe. We make it into wraps using either pita bread or nan. Served with crunchy dill pickles and my sun dried tomato/roasted red pepper hummus and you’ve got a filling meal.
My family thinks my version is just as good as the shawarma we buy at Zankou!
Lettuce, tomato, any other veggies you prefer – optional
Directions for Marinade:
1. Place all ingredients in a large ziplock bag
2. Seal bag and knead until it’s well blended – break up any clumps of corn starch that may form so that it mixes in with the oil and spices. You should end up with a cloudy thick liquid.
3. Trim extra fat off the edges of the short ribs
4. Place beef in to ziplock bag, seal bag, and knead bag so that the meat is covered with marinade on all sides.
5. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour; up to overnight. Turn bag occasionally to evenly distribute marinade. The longer it marinates in the oven the more flavorful the meat will be.
Cooking and assembling directions:
1. Place meat on an ungreased baking sheet.
2. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes
3. Remove from baking sheet and slice into thin strips
4. Heat some olive oil in large pan
5. Add sliced meat into hot oil and saute – DO NOT SKIP this step, it’s what gives it the finish like it was roasted on a spit.
6. If you feel you the meat needs more spices you can sprinkle more of the above spices as you saute. I usually sprinkle a bit more garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin, and nutmeg at this stage.
7. Spread one side of bread with hummus
8. Layer on meat, pickles, and other veggies you prefer
Directions for Marinade:
Place all ingredients in a large ziplock bag
Seal bag and knead until it's well blended - break up any clumps of corn starch that may form so that it mixes in with the oil and spices. You should end up with a cloudy thick liquid.
Trim extra fat off the edges of the short ribs
Place beef in to ziplock bag, seal bag, and knead bag so that the meat is covered with marinade on all sides.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour; up to overnight. Turn bag occasionally to evenly distribute marinade. The longer it marinates in the oven the more flavorful the meat will be.
Cooking and assembling directions:
Place meat on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes
Remove from baking sheet and slice into thin strips
Heat some olive oil in large pan
Add sliced meat into hot oil and saute - DO NOT SKIP this step, it's what gives it the finish like it was roasted on a spit.
If you feel you the meat needs more spices you can sprinkle more of the above spices as you saute. I usually sprinkle a bit more garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin, and nutmeg at this stage.
Spread one side of bread with hummus
Layer on meat, pickles, and other veggies you prefer
r fritter made with boiled cauliflower that’s been battered and fried.
