AROMATIC SULTAN'S RICE ( SULTAN RESAT PILAVI )

This is a great rice dish, again from the ottoman period. The Sultan liked this dish so much that it was  named after him ( Sultan Resat Pilavi )

YOU NEED

• 1 aubergine, cut into small cubes
• 1 red onion, chopped finely
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 tsp mix spice  powder
• 1  level tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp currants
• 1 cup rice, washed and drained
• 1 cup cooked chick peas
• 10 very small button mushrooms
• half a red pepper, diced
• juice of half a lemon
• good bunch of fresh dill, chopped
• 2 cups hot water
• salt to taste.

METHOD

Chop the aubergine into cubes and place into a bowl.  Cover with salted cold water, keep them submerged and leave to soak for  15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a large heavy pan add the onions to soften. Then add the pine nuts and cook until golden. Add garlic, cinnamon, black pepper. Stir in the currants, rice, chick peas, mushrooms, diced red pepper, dill and lemon juice.  Drain the aubergines and squeeze them dry and add to the pan. Mix everything until the rice coated well with herbs and spices. Pour the hot water  into the pan and bring rice to boil. Boil for 5 minutes then turn the heat to low and place the pan lid on. Cook rice for about 10 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed.. Turn the heat off. Cover the rice with 2-3 sheets of kitchen paper and press the lid tightly to cover it. Let the rice rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve it with extra chopped dill.

NOT: You can pan fry the aubergines in olive oil before adding into the rice ,if you wish.

NARLI GULLAC ( GULLAC WITH POMEGRANATES )

Hi all, gullac is a very light and delicious desert, especially popular during Ramazan. It is made from starch, flour,  milk and poured over a large  hot pan (sac ) thinly and cooked dry, then packed away for later use. It is wafer like, fine, dry and round pastry leaves are the basis for  this delicate desert. Gullac dates back to ottoman period of Sultans and Pasa's, as favorite in the palaces. It gets its name gul, meaning rose. So using the rose water for this desert is a must.

YOU NEED

• 10 gullac leaves
• 1 litre of milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp rose water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pomegranate, seeded

First heat the milk with sugar, rose water and vanilla. It has to be just warm enough to touch not very hot. Pour 1 cup of  milk into a large tray. Then place a gullac leaf in the tray making sure the leaf is completely soaked. Place the second leaf and some more milk to soak. Do the same with the third, forth and fifth leaf. Then spread the walnuts over it generously. Then continue to layer the milk and the remaining 5 leaves as above. Pour the rest of the milk mixture over the leaves to make sure no dry bits left. Then sprinkle the desert with chopped pistachios. Finally cut  the desert into diamond or square shapes and leave it in the tray for the milk to be absorbed totally for about  30-45 minutes.

Decorate with pomegranate seeds just before serving.

COOKS NOTE: It is best to use full fat milk for a special treat but it is just as nice with semi skimmed milk and less sugar to make it low calorie desert.