Comments on: Zaalook & Batboot

By: Sleepless in Seattle

Sleepless in Seattle — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:03:52 +0000

My friend Anca,from Romania, makes a good eggplant dip, simply grill eggplant ,peel, mashed it, lots of mashed grilled garlic in grapeseed oil ,salt .pepper and spices of your choice, and more grapeseed oil. serve warm on wasa crackers… or bread of you choice,its simple, but yummy..

By: enna

enna — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:44:30 +0000

looks good, MM. We also have similar kind of eggplant salad in Cebu. We usually have eggplant, sibuyas dahon, sibuyas bombay, ahos , tomatoes and of course, ginamos. But WASA, no way. Wa jud ni lami taste like papel o karton. He he he ! So poor you! Good luck na lang sa imong diet.

By: betty q.

betty q. — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:41:55 +0000

Teresa…if you have any spices at home like oregano, thyme, marjoram or maybe savory, cumin, you can make your own…a pinch of this and that. You need sumac though to make zaatar. You can customize your blend to suit your taste. Who knows, you can come up with your own blend and have a spice home business like Tupperwarer parties!

MM…great accompaniment to Eggplant dips is this Persian flatbread that looks like naan but a lot thinner than naan and unleavened as well. I forgot what it is called. It is addicting and chewy. Here is a great vegetarian pocket…a scoop of your Zaalouk, a tbsp. of sauteed herbed carrots or zucchini, roasted peppers and caramelized onions with a pinch of tarragon.

By: Rowi

Rowi — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:23:31 +0000

Lee- living in WASA country, I thought I should promote its health qualities and crispy appeal. The latter disappears however as soon the cracker is exposed to humidity. I suggest you warm the crackers in a 75-100C oven for ca 10 mins or so and you’ll notice that they taste better and crispier.

Moroccan food is my favourite food at the moment as it’s well flavoured – savoury with a hint of sweetness at the same time. Argan oil in mixed salads is just out of this world!

By: carmen Garcia

carmen Garcia — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:31:27 +0000

teresa@ yes spices n flavours have zaatar.

By: lee

lee — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:10:36 +0000

I have WASA crackers sitting in the fridge since December feeling cold and depressed to see other foodstuff leave.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 07:35:32 +0000

Jim, local “patani”, seasonally available in local markets, like now, are “fava” or broad beans. I have several posts on fresh patani. As for dried patani, not sure where you might find those. For spices for middle eastern cooking, you might try Flavors n Spices at the outdoor section of Market!Market! Mall in Fort Bonifacio. They typically have ras-el-hanout, and other spices and mixes. joyce, I actually thought they were reasonably priced for real home made in small batch moroccan food. The eggplant dip above was PHP75, and the bread was PHP35 for a total of PHP110 for a nice flavorful and healthy snack. I’d take that over two or three sugary doughnuts any day. And I love doughnuts. :)

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:15:15 +0000

I’ve been looking for a Middle Eastern grocery as well. In particular I’m looking for Fava Beans (aka Broad Beans). I’ve tried all my known Indian grocers, but they don’t seem to have them.

Any ideas / confirmed sightings?

By: Teresa

Teresa — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:47:35 +0000

WOW This is a MUST try !!!!! It looks good, I must say!! MM where do you suggest to buy middle eastern spices here in Manila. I am looking for one in particular that is called za’ater. I had a pack before and this is so nice mixed in olilve oil to make a simple dip for breads. Hope you can help me on this. Would the vendor at the Moroccan table know…

By: Tasha

Tasha — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:03:27 +0000

It’s there on sundays! I love this stall.