Lahma Bil Basal #EatLikeAnEgyptian

Today marks the end of Ramadan, a time of prayer and fasting for those of the Muslim faith, reminiscent (to me) of the Lenten Season of the Christian Community.  This Holiday is known as Eid al-Fitr.

"What is Eid al-Fitr? The arabic name Eid al-Fitr translates to 'festival of the breaking of the fast' in English. It marks the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan, and the beginning of the Islamic month of Shawwal."
from Mirror.com

My friend, Sue of Palatable Pastime invited us to Eat Like An Egyptian in support and celebration with our Muslim friends.

When I finished my Google search to learn what this holiday was all about, I conducted another to find an Egyptian Recipe.  Many of the Middle Eastern Foods that I am crazy about: hommus, baba ghanouj, chicken shwarma, mujadara, baklava, stuffed grape leaves, and kebabs are included in this group.

I also found a recipe for this delicious, tender Beef in Rich Onion Broth that I knew would be easily adaptable to the crockpot.  

I had a funeral to attend that was several hours away.  It was on a Wednesday and we watch our Little Miss Melody on Wednesdays so Frank remained home with her so I could attend with our friends, John and Kirsten.  I left him with this recipe from Allrecipes.com and asked him to make it and then put it in the crockpot to finish cooking so that we could enjoy it for dinner when we returned home.I forgot to tell him to reduce the amount of water for the crockpot version. So the gravy was not very thick.  We chose to just use a slotted spoon and a little ladle for the au jus.  You can halve the amount of water or use a roux to thicken the gravy if you prefer.

When we walked in the door our mouths started watering.  It smelled delicious and we couldn't wait for Frank, who was returning Melody to her mom, to get home so we could eat.  Frank served this up with white rice and corn.  This is no surprise, Frank always chooses white rice over brown and corn is the only vegetable he ever makes when he is cooking dinner.  Not that I am complaining.....I am always very grateful that he is always so willing and able to step up to the (dinner) plate.

The recipe was adapted only slightly.  We used 2 lbs of beef instead of 1 and where it called for a bay leaf, Frank read basil (probably because of the name of the dish) and plucked one from my basil plant to add instead of the bay leaf.  Oh.....and, of course, it was made in the crockpot.

Lahma Bil Basal (Beef in Rich Onion Sauce)
adapted from Allrecipes.com 

2 lbs. beef stew meat
2 T. butter
1 T. canola oil
2 large Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf (or basil leaf works too LOL)
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 c. water ( I would lower this to 3/4 c for the crockpot)

Melt the butter and oil in a large skillet over med high heat.  Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned.  Transfer to a slow cooker along with the onions, bouillon cubes, water and bay leaf.  Set on low and cook for 6-8 hrs. Print Recipe

More Enjoyable Egyptian Eats

• Aish Baladi from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Baklava from All That’s Jas
• Egyptian Feta Spread from Cooking with Carlee
• Egyptian Mint Lemonade from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Ful Medames from Caroline’s Cooking
• Lahma Bil Basal from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Macaroni Bechamel from Palatable Pastime