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Basic Cooking Tools

Glancing through the list of cooking tools, you'll notice that some are very traditional (mortar and pestle) and others are for today's modern kitchen (think food processor!). Modern kitchen tools and appliances are by no means necessities (that is, if time is not of the essence), since cooking tasks can always be done by hand the traditional way … but these amenities sure do make our lives easier. And on the flip side, traditional tools still have their place too; I use my mortar and pestle nearly every day, even if it's to do nothing more than crush garlic or grind spices. Many of the tools listed here are probably already in your kitchen; others can be found in any department store, and there are a select few that you will probably only be able to find in Middle Eastern stores.

Cookie Molds (Alleb Ma’amoul): there are three different types of mold used for making Date-Filled Cookies (page 118), and each is used for a different filling. The mold for date filling is circular with a flat top, the mold for pistachio filling is circular with a pointed top, and the mold for walnut filling is oval shaped. Some molds are made of plastic, but most are made of wood with intricate carvings inside and a flat rim above the well, which is where you firmly tap on a hard surface to remove the pastry. Most molds are about the same size: the date and pistachio molds are approximately 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, and the walnut mold is about 2.5 inches x 1.5 inches (6.5 cm x 3.75 cm).

Food Processor (Khulat): this modern-day kitchen tool has become a very handy addition to today’s Middle Eastern kitchen. Things that were traditionally made by hand with a mortar and pestle (see page 17), such as Creamy Garlic Sauce on page 24, Eggplant Dip on page 64, and Bell Pepper walnut Dip on page 72, now take a fraction of the time to make in a food processor.

Large Cutting Board/Utility Board (Methrameh): A large cutting board is handy for so many kitchen tasks; in the Middle Eastern kitchen, a large board is particularly useful for making salads since they frequently have many different components, most of which are meticulously chopped (see Making Middle Eastern Salads, page 12). I prefer sturdy plastic boards over other materials, since they can be thoroughly disinfected; also, I like to keep a separate board for cutting meats and vegetables/fruits.

Middle Eastern Coffee Pot (Della): there are two kinds of pots used: one for traditional/special occasion Arabic coffee (called Qaweh Arabi or Qaweh Mourra, which means “bitter coffee”), and one for everyday coffee, which is commonly known as turkish coffee (Qaweh Turkiyeh); these pots are called the same thing, but are differentiated by the type of coffee you want to make. The pot used for Arabic coffee comes in many sizes and styles but has a pointed, beak-like spout. The pot used to brew everyday coffee also comes in many sizes and styles, but it’s sloped, with a narrower top leading down to a slightly wider base.

Mincing Knife/Mezzaluna (Ferrameh): this knife has a single or double curved blade with a handle on both ends, allowing food (such as herbs or other vegetables) to be minced in a back-and-forth rocking motion. The good thing about this tool is that it typically makes quick work out of mincing; however, the downside is that it’s easy to bruise herbs using it. Generally, if an herb is being added to a cooked dish, such as cilantro to Sautéed Greens and Cilantro on page 58, this tool works just fine, otherwise, herbs should be minced using a regular mincing technique (also see Chiffonading herbs, page 10). This tool is most frequently used to mince fresh jute mallow to make Roast Chicken with Rice and Vegetable Soup (page 90).

Mortar and Pestle (Mudukka): A mortar is a bowl-shaped object and a pestle is a blunt, elongated object; you need them both to get the job done. Food (such as spices or garlic) is placed into the mortar, and the pestle is used to crush or grind the food, or create an emulsion such as Garlic Mayonnaise (page 24). Both mortars and pestles are usually made out of heavy material, such as stone or hard wood, since this helps grind the food faster. For many purposes nowadays, a Food Processor (page 16) is used instead of a mortar and pestle to save time.

Round Baking Pan (Saynieh): these resemble round cake pans; they are about 2 inches (5 cm) deep and come in a variety of sizes from very small to very, very large. They are useful for cooking any number of things, such as Coconut Semolina Cake (harissa) (page 130) or Meatballs with Potato in tomato Sauce (page 113). Extra large pans are also very useful for kneading dough with easy clean up.

Serving Platters (Saynieh): Serving platters come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles. Fancy ones are used to serve guests and plainer ones get more everyday wear. Small platters (saynieyet qaweh) are used for serving perhaps an afternoon coffee with a small plate of cookies and larger platters (saynieyet akkel) are used for serving a rice dish or for arranging a maza spread on it.

Sharp Paring Knife (Sikkeen): this is a smallish knife (typically about 3 to 4 inches/7.5 to 10 cm) long with a smooth edge. The small size of this knife gives a great amount of control to the user, and is used as an all-purpose knife in many Middle Eastern kitchens. To keep her knives sharp, my mother-in-law sharpens them about twice a week on the bottom of a stoneware plate.

Vegetable Corer (Hafara): this tool is a long, narrow blade curved into a half moon shape; it is used to hollow out vegetables such as squash, eggplant, and potato for stuffing. If a vegetable corer isn’t available, a narrow, sharp-tipped vegetable peeler or a narrow apple corer may work.

Skewers (Sieakh): these long metal or wooden sticks typically have a sharp tip on one end and a handle on the other; food is threaded on and then grilled. They come in all different shapes and sizes; large flat skewers (as seen on the left side of the photo) work well for kebabs, such as Chicken Kebabs (page 88) and Lamb or Beef Kebabs (page 112), since ground meat is easier to mold onto thicker skewers. Thinner skewers work (shown on the right side of the picture) work well for cooking chunks of meat, like Marinated Chicken Skewers (page 88).

Spider Strainer (Musfieh): this long-handled utensil has a woven-wire or mesh circular basket at one end. It’s commonly used to scoop food out of hot oil (when deep-frying) or water (when blanching).