Hello,
I am a deep lover of Middle Eastern cuisine as I feel it is really fresh and healthy as well as really flavoursome. Not long ago I had the pleasure of trying food at a lovely restaurant called Kenza in Liverpool St which is a middle eastern restaurant which inspired me to recreate one of my favourite dishes Batata Harra.
Batta Harra is known as a Lebanese dish which I prefer as a side dish but when I made it yesterday, my family ate as a main because they enjoy it so much.
It is so simple to make, all you need to make this is;
Potatoes (I used 4 medium sized)
2 garlic cloves
Freshly diced corriander (cilantro)
Cumin 1 tsp
Paprika 1tsp
Cayanne 1/2 tsp (add more for heat)
For the potatoes there are two ways which I tried and I will share both with you.
Firstly you need to prepare the potatoes by peeling them and cutting them into bite-sized pieces. Using about a tablespoon of olive oil and half a tea spoon of salt (depending on your preferred taste) place them in the oven on baking paper.
You can place them on a tray lined with baking paper in the middle shelf of a preheated oven set to 450 F (gas mark 8). These will need about 35 minutes without turning them over, you’ll know when they are ready as they should be browned.
The alternative is to prepare them as above but then frying them in a deep fryer. Not as healthy admittedly however I do prefer this method as the potatoes have a crispy crust and it is quicker.
Once they are prepared you may wish to add some salt to the potatoes for taste. Then you can put those to one side to cool slightly.
For the flavouring simply use a miniature sauce pan and warm a tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Add diced garlic cloves until it is fragrant then add the spices and allow to bloom for a minute and a half. Take this off the heat then add the chopped coriander and stir.
You can then mix the seasoning with the potatoes so they are fully covered and serve warm.
Have you made Batata Harra?
Still hungry?
How to make sushi at home: https://justnadiene.com/top-tips-for-making-sushi-at-home/
Great recipe! Instead of fresh coriander I would use the dried seeds because surprisingly enough I can’t stand the taste of fresh coriander! You wouldn’t happen to know what harra means in Arabic, would you? I was under the impression that it meant something bad :p
It’s great to mix it up with the ingredients but I hope this is a good foundation.
I think next I am going to try the spices alone to season meat and see how it comes out. I actually did look it up and it translates from Arabic to “spicy potatoes” according to wiki.
I think those spices would work great with chicken 😉 I guess my Arab friends were teasing me about it and I didn’t even google hahaha!
perhaps on pronunciation? I hope wiki isn’t lying to me lol