BULGUR WHEAT WITH TOMATO AND ONION (VEGAN)

Rice is such a staple accompaniment to Middle Eastern food, but other grains and starches feature heavily in Kurdish cooking too and they can add a real depth of flavour to a meal […]

ROSE WATER AND CARDAMOM MILK PUDDING

If you’re Middle Eastern, chances are you already have all the ingredients for mahalabia somewhere in your kitchen. That’s the charm of this dessert: it’s delicious, it’s incredibly easy to make […]

CHICKPEA, ROSEMARY, AND TURMERIC SOUP (VEGAN)

The word ‘nok’ in Kurdish just means ‘chickpeas’, so the name of this dish doesn’t really do justice to just how flavourful it is. […]

RICE DUMPLINGS STUFFED WITH LAMB, ALMOND AND SULTANAS

This week, I worked a set of nights in the A&E department. Any doctor will be able to tell you that when you’re on nights, you flip into survival mode […]

​This is baklava, or paklawa as its known in most Kurdish households. This nutty, buttery, sticky, sweet, spiced pastry exists in some form in most of the Middle East, but to me this version is the ‘classic’ as its Mum’s recipe. Enjoy one (or five) […]

Last week I decided I was going to make the ultimate blondies – imagine brownies, but the focus is brown sugar and white chocolate instead of white sugar and milk/dark chocolate, giving you the same gooey texture you’d expect from brownies, but with more of […]

KURDISH FRIED BREAD WITH NIGELLA SEEDS (VEGAN)

Nawsaji is kind of like a cross between breakfast pastry, doughnut, and Indian naan bread. Lightly fried in oil, it’s not for every day, but with its bready texture and gentle sweetness offset by […]

PARSLEY TOMATO LAMB BITES

Shifta is the Kurdish equivalent of a burger; a bite-sized, herby, tomatoey, well-seasoned burger that’s packed full of flavour. Traditionally it’s either served with a mountain of red rice and a simple salad, or in a […]

When I was a child, Mum used to tell me that every time I ate a banana, all the cells in my stomach would cheer because they were getting fed nutrients. As a grown up and a doctor, I now realise that the level of […]

WHITE BEANS IN A TOMATO STEW (VEGAN)

You might be looking at this page thinking I’ve posted a recipe for ‘beans’, but these are not just beans: this is fasolia. Fasolia could always be found somewhere on our dinner table, either […]