Finale: Arab-American Cultural Banquet

      The reason why I chose to make Kibbeh as my dish of choice was because it looked very similar to a baked dish that my mother made from Haiti. From what I researched there are many different variations in the Arab world to make Kibbeh but it's origins are mostly from Lebanon and Syria. The dish hails all the way from nomadic traditions in ancient Middle East, based on what I recently discovered is that the word, "Kibbeh" comes from Kubbah meaning ball, which represents the shape of the dish. It is also said that the dish was formulated using the necessary ingredients that the nomads had at the time. Over the course of history other regions started incorporating their own style of Kibbeh as well as the many different ways to make it, such as Kibbeh Nayyeh = Raw Kibbeh, fried or baked. The dish was served to guests through hospitality or in celebrations and edible creation was suitably easy for the nomadic life. 

         The ingredients from Kibbeh that had any cultural aspect were the bulgur wheat and the allspice. The bulgur or bruised wheat was a process that was done by an old ancient technique that was parboiled, cracked, and dried the wheat into fine or coarse bulgur. Allspice originates from the West Indies specifically in Jamaica, Central America, and Mexico. I bought two potatoes, lean ground beef, one onion, one green pepper, and one red bell pepper all of which were stored in America from the farms to the meat butcher and the food manufacturers that bring the items to Food Lion, which is where I purchased the ingredients. The bulgur wheat was provided by Dr. Esa himself (which I am very grateful for) so I would assume that it is traditionally sourced from the regions of the Middle East. 

    I did have a difficult time making the Kibbeh because of the type of bulgur I had which was coarse instead of thin but the main issue was the ground beef. WHO EVER packaged the beef it was not right at all there was no form of absorption napkin underneath to take in all the blood which was sucked into the meat. So because it wasn't drained I had to properly with the limited cooking utensils that I had to strain out all the blood from the meat via cold water (I feel ashamed just typing that). This caused the cooking process to be delayed as the meat would broil instead of cooking and then I had to remove excess water and then clean the pot to add more oil and cook it properly. The bulgur didn't turn as good as I hoped it would because it was not soft and mushy enough to make the dough of the bulgur. The good side is that when I baked it the meat started to form a nice brown color since I added the additional other spices. 

    If I were to make Kibbeh again I would select less meat and add less bulgur and buy ground beef that is packaged correctly and use fine bulgur instead to make things easier. I would also try to add cayenne pepper, lime-spice seasoning, parsley, and add in some better than bouillon chicken flavor to make it pop more with flavor. I think the traditional exam is better, I was very stressed with trying to cook the dish despite the limitations and the time frame. However I do not regret the experience because I was able to experience the culture and taste the wonders of Arab food. In relation it was more of the hospitality aspect of dining and being able to enter into the world beyond your own. 

    My takeaway in correspondence to any readings was the cultural identity because Kibbeh is food that is home to the people that the dish originated from. As I was preparing the dish the only thing I had on my mind was "How do I make this dish as traditionally authentic as possible?" The role of food is one of the major themes that has been prominent in the books that we have read in class such as Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber. I think it was only fair to encapsulate cooking and hospitality towards each other as students who come from any different ethnic backgrounds all under one table one roof communing together and sharing Arab culture.

    

!! شكراً لك دعوتنا إلى بيتك استاد مو

من كايل -

~ I hope I typed it correctly~

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