World Travels - Oman

Omani Inspired Feast - Saffron rice, baharat roasted cauliflower, and chickpea mchicha

Last year I became a little obsessed with the mélange of cuisines from Oman when I came across the wonderful cookbook by Dina Macki: Bahari. It was full of exotic ingredients, surprising crossovers, and exciting flavours.  Oman, the hub of ancient trade routes, was an interesting mix of Pakistani, Iranian, Indian, Zanzibarian, Portuguese and Middle Eastern; I just had to investigate.

I discovered this recipe from Dina Macki on youtube which provided an excellent centrepiece that could compete with any meat dish.

Baharat Roasted Cauliflower with Herby Tahini Sauce and Date and Tamarind Sauce

• 1 large cauliflower
• 1 tbsp baharat spice mix (I blended my own using the Spruce Eats Website but you can buy baharat easily now in supermarkets in the UK)
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion sliced
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 to 3 handfuls of coriander, parsley (you can use basil and mint as well)
• 1 green chilli trimmed
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 carrot chopped
• ¼ cucumber chopped
• 4-5 radishes sliced
• Pomegranate seeds
• Ingredients for the date and tamarind sauce is down below

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Trim the cauliflower and place the cauliflower in a pan of boiling water.
3. Simmer for about 10 minutes or just to al dente texture. Drain the cauliflower and place in a roasting dish.
4. Mix the baharat, cumin and olive oil in a dish and pour over the cauliflower. Massage in the oil mixture to entirely cover the cauliflower.
5. Sprinkle over the sliced onions and drizzle with more olive oil. Cover the roasting dish with aluminium foil and crimp around the dish.
6. Roast for about 15 minutes and then take the aluminium foil off the roasting dish to allow the cauliflower to brown.  Roast for about 15-20 minutes more or until the cauliflower has browned.
7. Meanwhile make the herby tahini sauce. 
8. In a liquidiser/blender combine the herbs with the juice of the lime, tahini and chilli. Blend until it becomes a rich green sauce. Add some olive oil if not loose enough.
9. Make the date and tamarind sauce as below. You can buy the sauce but it is much better to make it yourself.
10.  Combine the carrot, cucumber, radish and pomegranate seeds.
11. Once the cauliflower is cooked, cover in the herby tahini sauce, the date and tamarind sauce and sprinkle with the carrot, cucumber, radish and pomegranate seeds.

Baharat Cauliflower before going in the oven

Date & Tamarind Sauce

Ingredients

• 150g wet tamarind preferably seedless
• 125g pitted dates
• 1 tbsp sugar (if you have it use jaggery date palm sugar)
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin

Instructions

1. Break up the tamarind and dates and put them in a pan with the sugar and enough water to cover them, about 500ml. 
2. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 mins or until the tamarind is really soft.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and push the pulp through a sieve to remove any fibres. The sauce should be a coating consistency – add a little water if it is too thick.
4. Stir in the ginger powder, garam masala and ground cumin. The sauce should taste sweet and tart – stir in a little more sugar or jaggery if it doesn’t taste sweet enough (the recipe that I used required 175g of jaggery or sugar which for me was too much... I wanted that tart quality to come out in the sauce)
5. Chill before serving.

The sauce should last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.

My dish of chickpeas and mchicha is based on Dina Macki's recipe  in the National Geographic for Spinach and Coconut Shakshuka.  Mchicha is a Zanzibarian dish which means 'spinach' or 'vegetables' in Swahili and essentially is a fragrant dish of spinach, spices and coconut milk.  As you go further south in Oman you find more and more coconut-based meals and the East African influences.  I needed a protein element to my dish and hit upon adding chickpeas to the mchicha.  I knew that chickpeas would go so well with spinach and coconut milk because a firm favourite of mine is a Creole chickpea, okra and coconut milk dish from the wonderful cookbook Creole Vegetarian Cookery by Kenneth Gardnier that featured some great recipes from around the islands of the Caribbean.

Mchicha With Chickpeas (serves 2-4)

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 300g spinach
• 200ml coconut milk (about 1/2 a can)
• 400g can of chickpeas
• 1 green chilli, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 lime, juiced
• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Spinach and coconut milk cooking with the chickpeas

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sweat for 3–4 mins, then stir in the ground spices. Add the spinach, a handful at a time, and fry for 5 mins until it’s all wilted. 
2. Pour in the coconut milk, then add the chilli (if using) and its seeds, plus the lime juice. Add the drained can of chickpeas. 
3. Salt to taste and simmer for about 20 mins until the coconut’s thickened and there’s only a little liquid left. 
4. Add the coriander and stir well, then leave to simmer for another 3–4 mins.

Serving the cauliflower with the chickpea mchicha and some basmati rice fragranced with saffron

I will be certainly expanding on my research into Omani cuisine and delving into the use of some different ingredients and spices.