tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post925485738915375560..comments2008-05-04T16:15:08.866+03:00abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558abufares@abufares.netBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-12766918316618567722008-05-04T16:15:00.000+03:002008-05-04T16:15:00.000+03:00Salam Alykum Abu Fares<BR/>i gotta tell ya that this is one of the finest things ever written on Hummus. as an Israeli i always said that Hummus and not political leaders will bring peace.<BR/>hope it will be soon so i can deep a pita into those Mousabacha places you worte so informative well about.<BR/>respect & slamat<BR/>eyal, tel avivSoulico US Tour Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885228444252470614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-6961765405381457442006-12-11T10:00:00.000+02:002006-12-11T10:00:00.000+02:00Abu Abdo<br />Get your ass over here and I'll take you to the best Msabbha joint in town, that's a promise.abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-2676033324292291612006-12-11T09:58:00.000+02:002006-12-11T09:58:00.000+02:00Hi Ingrid<br />You sure can try to prepare Msabbha at home. Boil the chickpeas until very tender. If you catapult 1 chickpea with your fingers to the wall, it should stick.<br />Then if you already are familiar with the preparation of the Tehina sauce you're almost done.<br />Remove the hot chickpeas without the water add the tehina sauce on top then pour the olive oil. Enjoy it with bread and let me know how it comes out.abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-15820280222889488912006-12-11T00:56:00.001+02:002006-12-11T00:56:00.001+02:00Abu Fares, for these kind of posts you should always put a warning at the start of the post:<br />"DO NOT READ IF HUNGRY".<br />Anyway, Inshaa Allah one day we will go there and try it along with all the other things you keep talking about!!<br />Abu AbdoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-59722257007178102132006-12-11T00:56:00.000+02:002006-12-11T00:56:00.000+02:00wow, I must have either not read the post properly or just been too tired to notice, how interesting the difference between hummus and msabha. I would love to try it because a vegetarian protein meal, boy, what can beat that?? Too bad it's too difficult to make just right because I'd love to try it..<br />and btw, don't make me hungry before lunch although louisiana crawfish, have not had good experience eating that. Of course, I was pregnant at the time and did not know it hence my taste buds did not take too kindly to it! lol<br />sigh, I'm still hungry looking at the food pictures..you're killing me! <br />ok, I'm ready for some recipes that I <em>can</em> try at home,<br />salut!<br />IngridIngridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03655047343338303335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-58589410636628246252006-12-10T09:30:00.000+02:002006-12-10T09:30:00.000+02:00You are absolutely right Ingrid.<br />FYI Hummus in Arabic means chickpeas.<br />While Hummus is a ubiquitous cold appetizer in the Middle East, Msabhha is not. First, it's very local and only known along the Syrian coastline. Then it's not an appetizer at all but instead a hot meal. While Hummus can be stored for a few hours without a great loss of quality or taste, Msabbha has to be consumed immediately after preparation.<br />From experience, it's easier to prepare a plate of Hummus and in many cases people do it at home. Msabbha is more like alchemy (I'm serious), the precise cooking of the chickpeas, the exact consistency of Tehina and the quality of olive oil all conspire to either make it or break it. That's why nobody bothers make it at home. It simply wouldn't work!<br />Thank you for passing by.abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-90813847038459181942006-12-10T04:22:00.000+02:002006-12-10T04:22:00.000+02:00you know, isn't it a lot like hummus? same ingredients or is it different in that the chickpeas are perhaps not pureed as with hummus? the bread looks reallllly good right now (it's making me hungry looking at it)... yes, a good protein breakfast will kick start any day perfectly..I really enjoy learning about your culture this way..especially when it includes food, ha!<br />IngridIngridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03655047343338303335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-16513989284724204242006-12-09T10:51:00.000+02:002006-12-09T10:51:00.000+02:00Karin<br />It is delicious with plenty of good calories.<br />As for the warning, I think it's only fair that I should post it. Onions, for the uninitiated, consumer and partner alike, can have a dynamite effect. Ad Dubai Jazz wrote: "NUCLEAR".abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-18246381146107032652006-12-09T01:24:00.000+02:002006-12-09T01:24:00.000+02:00That looks and sounds DELICIOUS to me but I assume, one dish does have some 10.000 calories minimum!! I can literally SMELL it .. and had to laugh about your precautions what better to avoid right after that!! GREAT post Abufares, you always succeed to make me hungry!! ;-)I love Munichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00824067975657198924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-30014101817231422232006-12-08T22:38:00.000+02:002006-12-08T22:38:00.000+02:00Hi Shannon<br />Of all the dishes I've written and will write about sometime in the future, Msabbha is particularly special for me. How can I explain... if a Big Mac or a Whopper immediately bring the "image" of America, a plate of Msabbha is what reminds any Tartoussi of his hometown.<br />I got a call from 2 friends who live and work in Dubai. They told me that they arrived late at night and that they're staying for 48 hours only. "Why don't we have Msabbha together in the morning" they said. We had a great breakfast (see pictures), talked about the last year we've spent away from each other, then washed it all down with a large hot glass of tea. We bid each other goodbye and hoped to see each other hopefully next summer.<br />They've been away for a year both of them. Msabbha was the first thing on their minds.<br />Thank you for dropping by.abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-5027365310510678932006-12-08T21:32:00.000+02:002006-12-08T21:32:00.000+02:00Once again I'm kicking myself for reading your blog immediatley before lunchtime!Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00927461720674933588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-22500786924047017212006-12-08T20:32:00.000+02:002006-12-08T20:32:00.000+02:00Hi Serena<br />This will be only breakfast.<br />There's so much more, for lunch then for dinner.<br />Hope to see you here one of these days.abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-41781776829964816452006-12-08T20:15:00.000+02:002006-12-08T20:15:00.000+02:00Yum! Sounds delicious! Will need to make a plan to come to Syria to experience this dish! Keep up the fab blog, SeSerenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07461816764957169124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-52315249132997119082006-12-08T17:20:00.000+02:002006-12-08T17:20:00.000+02:00Hey Yazan<br />Don't forget to give me a buzz once you're here. Use my email link on my profile page.abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-11722343505547038632006-12-08T15:49:00.000+02:002006-12-08T15:49:00.000+02:00This one I give, Tartous mesabbaha is much better...<br />I'm drooling... but for the first time... I'm not that far away..<br /><br />Tomorrow, I'm taking an american friend to the only syrian rest i found here [hope it's good]...<br /><br />and in exactly 10 days.. I'll be eating real foood againnnnYazanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13913589565127196285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-63168775911476075002006-12-08T12:57:00.000+02:002006-12-08T12:57:00.000+02:00Hi Dubai Jazz<br />I'm not being provincial, the Tartoussi Mousabbaha is much better. In Lattakia, after they boil the chickpeas, they add the Tehina and heat the mixture together. Soon enough it becomes very Makhboussa, more like a gambo. In Tartous, on the other hand, each individual plate is custom prepared. You can order it with lots of Tehina or a little bit, as per your preference.<br />I have worked for years in Lattakia and had plenty of Mousabbaha at the "right" places. BUT, it's not even close...<br />Onions!? What can I say about onions. A wise man once said: "Anything good in life is either illegal, fattening or immoral". He's right but he must've added "or smells so bad after you eat it you'd wish you've never got near it in the first place".<br />Thank you for coming my way.abufareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26866567.post-7603653378936598172006-12-08T11:23:00.000+02:002006-12-08T11:23:00.000+02:00Salam Abu Fares; yet another one of those yummy, delicious posts!<br />I have to confess that I've never had the Tartousi Mousbaha, but I was fortunate enough (!) to have the Lattakian one (Abu Suis restaurant, was it called?), which honestly tasted fine.<br />I am going to try the Tartoussi one for sure the next time around.<br />And yeah, you couldn't be more right, the 'onion effect' is nuclear!Dubai Jazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17951647402774044439noreply@blogger.com