Harra bi Isbaou (Syria)

 “This is one of my favorite recipes from my grandmother” says Yasmine as she starts to pour the lentils into the pan. Harra bi isbaou translates as “burnt fingers” and is a recipe originally from Aleppo, Syria. “It doesn’t have a lot of ingredients, but it’s very flavorful”. 

Yasmine’s family is originally from Syria but moved to Lebanon and eventually settled in Saudi Arabia. Yasmine grew up in Jeddah, and finished high school in Switzerland, before moving to the US for college, eventually making her way to New York.

For Yasmine, Ramadan is a time when you think about the less fortunate and are more generous, but it’s also a time to cleanse your body, so it’s not about fasting and then overstuffing yourself after sunset – it’s about discipline in general, and controlling your thoughts and your tongue…being the best you can under the most difficult physical condition. 

Ramadan in Saudi Arabia is a very special time and Yasmine tries to go back home at least for a week because you don’t feel the spirit of Ramadan anywhere as you do with family.  “We all meet for Iftar at my grandmother’s and everyone comes – my aunt and uncles, my cousins – any family in town will be coming, so it’s at least 20 people every night. It really is a family affair”.

They will usually break their fast with dates and dries nuts and samboosak (a type of fried samosa with minced beef or cheese) and juices. Then they will seat around and talk for 40 mn then pray Maghrib and then sit at the table for Iftar. “Night in Saudi is when life begins. You’ll have coffee at 9/10pm, go to see friends and be social- cafes are open until 3 or 4am –and then you come home and have Suhoor”.  It’s hard to reproduce this in the US context where it’s a more individual experience and people around her are not fasting. She’ll have  Suhoor pretty early in the night with fruits and go to bed and I’ll set an alarm early in the morning  to drink a lot of water before sunrise.

Yasmine’s grandma is the cook in the family. “When my mom was a very young girl, she took a mercury thermometer to measure the temperature of the soup my grandma was making and it broke in the soup. She let it fall and didn’t tell her mom because she was afraid she’d get mad. Luckily when my grandmother was pouring the soup, the first scoop that she got had the thermometer glass in it. My grandmother got really mad and ever since there were no kids allowed in the kitchen. So my mom did not learn how to cook, nor did her sisters, so the recipes didn’t pass on like that.” 

Yasmine’s grandma was a kind of a rebel in Lebanon, she was one of the first women in Lebanon to drive a car. But in her time, women didn’t work and so for her cooking became her thing, her special power, of which she is very proud of. She published her own book of recipes, tired of always being asked for them by by family members but her recipes tend to be for very large groups and so Yasmine uses that in combination with a modern Syrian recipe book to create her own versions. “When my grandma made her recipe book, my aunt transcribed it and it was very difficult because my grandmother doesn’t have measurements, it’s just what she feels – so my aunt would ask how much did you put? and she’d say, I don’t know! She has a special touch…” 

---

Harra Bi Isbaou (Syria)

Prep Time: 10mn   Cook Time: 20mn   Total: 30mn

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

1. 250g dried brown lentils (let soak for a couple hours before cooking)

2. 1 courgette, diced

3. 2 garlic cloves, crushed

4. 1.5 tbsp tamarind paste

5. 1 tbsp pomegranate mollases

6. 2 onions, sliced

7. salt

8. bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped

9. vegetable oils for frying

10. a cup of oyster crackers*

Instructions

1. Put the lentils into the pan and cover with 3.5 cups of water

2. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to simmer for 20mn.

3. Stir occasionally, don't be afraid to smash them a little, and add a little olive oil to taste

4. Add the courgette, garlic, tamarind paste, pomegranate molasses and continue to simmer

5. While the lentils simmer, in a pan, heat some olive oil and fry the onions until they are crispy, add the oyster crackers to toast a little.

6. Add to the onions and crackers to the lentils, salt to taste.

7. Mix in half the cilantro, turn off the heat.

8. Serve with the rest of the cilantro.

Notes

* the original recipe calls for home made croutons, but Yasmine uses oyster crackers for ease. Sometimes she'll use flat bread instead that she will cut up in squares and toast in a pan for a bit.