This is the delicious rice and sauce that the lovely young Iraqi women staying with us (Nina and Havin) made for our dinner tonight. We served it with oven-roasted vegetables (squash, eggplant, onion, and broccoli, drizzled with olive oil and salt and baked in the oven at 400 degrees), grilled chicken, and our best (failed) attempt at authentic naan (Indian flatbread).
I watched Nina as she prepared this, so this is the best "capture" of what I saw, for a repeat:
Brinj - (pronounced br-inje) -
Put a liberal amount of olive oil in a large saucepan (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 cup). Add diced onion (maybe 1/4-1/2 of a whole onion) and broken pieces of spaghetti noodles (maybe 20-30 noodles, broken into 1-2 inch sections). Stir and cook on medium heat until pasta is slightly browned. Add water (Nina used 9 cups) and bring to a boil. Add salt (no idea how much) and rice (5 cups). Boil heavily for a little while (maybe 5 minutes or so), then turn down heat and cook on low until done (maybe 20 minutes). Serve up onto a platter for lovely presentation when serving. This made enough for 13.
Shla
In a Dutch oven, Nina placed a liberal amount of oil (again, maybe 1/4-1/2 cup or so). Then she layered onion (one whole onion, cut into rings and half rings), zucchini (2 small ones, peeled and sliced into circles), tomatoes (six small ones, sliced into circles), and fresh parsley (maybe 10-12 leaves, minced coarsely). She placed a little water, then covered it with a dusting of sea salt and cooked it down until it was soft. She then added tomato paste (2-3 teaspoons or so) and more water and let it cook together a bit. This sauce for the Brinj (rice dish) was delicious and everyone loved it. We had plenty of rice, but we could have used more of the Shla to go with it. I would make more next time if I were serving 13. This amount would probably be a good amount for my family of 6 hearty eaters.
I watched Nina as she prepared this, so this is the best "capture" of what I saw, for a repeat:
Brinj - (pronounced br-inje) -
Put a liberal amount of olive oil in a large saucepan (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 cup). Add diced onion (maybe 1/4-1/2 of a whole onion) and broken pieces of spaghetti noodles (maybe 20-30 noodles, broken into 1-2 inch sections). Stir and cook on medium heat until pasta is slightly browned. Add water (Nina used 9 cups) and bring to a boil. Add salt (no idea how much) and rice (5 cups). Boil heavily for a little while (maybe 5 minutes or so), then turn down heat and cook on low until done (maybe 20 minutes). Serve up onto a platter for lovely presentation when serving. This made enough for 13.
Shla
In a Dutch oven, Nina placed a liberal amount of oil (again, maybe 1/4-1/2 cup or so). Then she layered onion (one whole onion, cut into rings and half rings), zucchini (2 small ones, peeled and sliced into circles), tomatoes (six small ones, sliced into circles), and fresh parsley (maybe 10-12 leaves, minced coarsely). She placed a little water, then covered it with a dusting of sea salt and cooked it down until it was soft. She then added tomato paste (2-3 teaspoons or so) and more water and let it cook together a bit. This sauce for the Brinj (rice dish) was delicious and everyone loved it. We had plenty of rice, but we could have used more of the Shla to go with it. I would make more next time if I were serving 13. This amount would probably be a good amount for my family of 6 hearty eaters.
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