Torggata Blad accidentally stumbled upon a gem of a restaurant in Stockholm. There, the Palestinian chef Khader prepares food based on his mother’s recipes
– and with a lot of human warmth.
Text Torggata Blad
“How strange that they call this dessert Jaffa!” one of us exclaims.
“Yes, I also associate Jaffa with boycotted goods on the same level as Carmel, Sodastream, and several other products. Let’s ask the waiter.”
Torggata Blad’s self-appointed Stockholm delegation has stumbled upon the small, lively, and well-visited restaurant Mazra’a in Södermalm, which describes itself as a “Modern Palestinian Bistro”. After a tasty meal consisting of various delicious small dishes, we examine the dessert menu to complete the culinary experience with something sweet. Or could the reason for trying to choose from several tempting desserts be that we want to find an excuse to sit in the evening sun for a little while longer, in the pleasant outside seating area?
The chef Khader is called, seeing as the waiter is not able to answer our question about the reason for the name of the dessert. He obviously knows most of the restaurant guests, seeing as it takes quite a while before he gets through all the greeting and handshaking, all the way to our table. There he almost rolls up his pedagogical communication sleeves and takes plenty of time to introduce us to various matters and causalities. Accompanied by energetic gestures, Khader enthusiastically talks about the history of Palestine and their agricultural and food culture. He then explains that the dessert Jaffa is the restaurant’s homage to the area and the port city of Jaffa (Yaffa, Yafo – a dear child has many names!). The area is known for its orange cultivation and was in earlier times a place where people from different cultures – Jews, Christians, Muslims – lived side by side in peaceful coexistence and with enriching cultural exchange.
When asked which vegetarian or vegan Palestinian dishes he would recommend as suitable to serve at a larger event, Khader winks slyly and replies that in such a case we should probably invite him with us.
“Jokes aside, most Palestinian food is mainly vegetable-based,” he adds, and says enthusiastically that they use very little meat at all in the Palestinian kitchen – just a little, almost as a flavoring. He recommends dishes such as mjuaddara, rummaniyeh, and fatteh – preferably complemented with a sprinkling of za’atar – one of the key ingredients in Palestinian cooking. These are all lovely dishes that are manageable to cook, even when you’re serving many people. “But remember,” he points out with a jokingly admonishing index finger, “this food must always be made with the heart.”
After performing this cheerful whirlwind of a lecture – although not without clearly underlying sadness and resentment – the proud and patriotic chef has to hurry back to the kitchen. Many new guests have arrived, and the orders are pouring in. We wish him the best of luck with his work of sharing Palestinian food culture, and a few seconds later, we are served the dessert – a beautifully presented chocolate mousse with a hint of orange.
Although it is good that the knowledge of Palestinian culture can be shared through the establishment of bistros such as Mazra’a, it is difficult to enjoy the food without feeling a heavy resentment hanging over the table like a gloomy cloud. When was the last time the majority of Palestinians themselves could obtain the raw materials needed to cook their own traditional food? At least not during the previous year, when even clean water has not been available – a situation that is well lubricated by Norwegian arms exports and investments in companies with connections to illegal and destructive settlements.
“The consolation here,“ one of us interjects to lighten the mood a bit, “must be that the idea behind the dessert homage points to the fact that peaceful coexistence has been possible in the past, and therefore must be possible in the future as well.“ We continue to talk about how the ongoing wars are also cultural wars. Putin & Co claim that Ukraine has never existed and that all culture in this area is fundamentally Russian. For Ukrainians, it is more important than ever to highlight Ukrainian artistry and dishes they recognize as unique to their country’s culture. In the Middle East (or rather the Levant?), some claim that a cultural theft of folk music and food traditions is going on, with the aim of wiping out other cultures; while others believe that all cultures develop through mutual exchange and cannot be subject to any form of ownership.
More important than who should really get the credit for inventing hummus or other types of Levantine food is, undoubtedly, to achieve lasting peace and matro.* But how?
Someone who doesn’t have time to wait for peace to be negotiated is the food blogger Hamada Sho.** On his Instagram profile, he posts video clips showing how he, with a grave expression, makes Palestinian food in enormous quantities for hordes of starving Palestinian children. Another well-known Palestinian food blogger is 10-year-old Renad Attallah.*** She eagers to tell the world about everyday life in Gaza and to keep the spirits of her compatriots up – all while trying to create meals from the ingredients she and her mother manage to procure from day to day.
One could wish that the world worked the way it feels after a good meal in pleasant company – that food is the path to peace. At least, that was what we started to imagine during our evening walk through the quiet streets of Södermalm. This train of thought led us to a kind of peace-focusing product that could possibly be called Peas for Peace – a practical package with chickpeas, spices, and recipes that can be used as a starting point for a peaceful, small meal to gather around with friends or others you want to share and develop thoughts and strategies for peace work with.
Footnotes and references
*) matro is a Norwegian term which could be translated to peaceful eating
**) Hamada Sho: @hamadashoo – food blogger from g@za
https://www.instagram.com/hamadashoo/
***) Renad Attallah: @renadfromgaza – 10-year-old chef
https://www.instagram.com/renadfromgaza/
Mazra’a on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mazraarestaurant/
Dishes recommended by Chef Khader
Fatteh
Ingredients
1 large eggplant
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 onion
1 teaspoon cumin
3–4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups plain yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons tahini
3 cloves of garlic
100 g chickpeas, already cooked
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
1/2 pomegranate
2–3 whole wheat pitas / pita chips
Chopped fresh parsley
Za’atar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees top and bottom heat.
Cut the pitas into pieces with scissors or a knife. Place the bread pieces on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle some of the olive oil over the bread and mix well so that it is evenly distributed. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown and crispy, 5–8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside.
Cut the eggplant into rough cubes and fry in 2 tablespoons of oil. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and set aside.
Chop the onion finely in slices and fry in the remaining oil.
Grate the garlic and mix it together with yogurt, lemon juice, tahini and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk until thoroughly mixed.
Serving: Place the bread pieces in an even layer on a serving plate. Top with the chickpeas, then fried eggplant cubes and then the yoghurt sauce. Put on toasted pine nuts, pomegranate, chopped parsley and za’atar.
Assemble the dish just before serving to avoid the bread becoming soggy.
Rummaniyeh
Ingredients
1 cup brown or green lentils
4 cups of water
1 large eggplant (peeled and cut into cubes)
¾ cup lemon juice or pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons sour pomegranate molasses
4–5 garlic cloves (crushed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon flour (or corn starch as a gluten free option)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
Salt
2–3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
Parsely (chopped)
Bread, olive oil and za’atar
Instructions
Place the lentils with water in a saucepan, bring to the boil, cover and then continue to boil for 10–15 minutes until lentils are softened.
Add eggplant over lentils, salt and cumin, cover the pot and lower the heat to medium. Let it simmer for another 25 minutes.
Mix flour with lemon juice and pomegranate molasses and pour over the pot, mix well and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
In a separate skillet heat olive oil, add crushed garlic and keep stirring until golden brown, then pour over the pot.
Place in serving bowls, garnish with pomegranate seeds, parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
Serve at room temperature, with a side of bread dipped in olive oil and za’atar.
Mujadara
Ingredients
2.5 dl brown or green lentils
1 dl extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium red onions, thinly sliced
Salt
2.5 dl medium grain rice, soaked in water for 20 minutes and drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 little cinnamon stick
Flour to dust onions
Za’atar
Instructions
In a large pot, boil lentils in a good amount of water (about 3 cups) along with cumin. Don’t add salt as it will take longer to cook the lentils if you do that.
Once cooked through, add salt and rice. Mix together and add enough boiled water to cover the pilaf (about 1 1/2 cm or 2 cm above). Put on the stove over high heat, bring to a boil then reduce heat to the lowest and cover 3/4 way through. Allow the water to evaporate and the rice to cook.
In the mean time, heat olive oil in large frying pan.
Dust sliced onions with flour to get them crunchy rather than soggy. Fry on high heat till they are totally brown (they are not supposed to be caramelized as you would for an onion soup).
The last step that give the amazing flavor for mujadara is to put some of that fat while hot (the olive oil flavored with onions) on top of the mujadara.
Serve by arranging the pilaf in a dish, top with onions and sprinkle with za’atar. Serve with yogurt and cucumber.
Za’atar
Za’atar is both an herb and a tangy, umami-rich spice mix that is very popular in Arabic cuisine; particularly in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. The herb resembles a cross between thyme and oregano, but does not grow in northern Europe.
If you cannot get hold of the za’atar herb, it is possible to make your own tasty variant.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons dried thyme, ground
2 tablespoons sumac, ground
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
0.5 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients well and store the mixture cool and dry in a glass with a tight lid.
You can replace the thyme with oregano, or use a combination of both.
Za’atar is often used in meze or for breakfast, where the bread is first dipped in olive oil, then in za’atar. It is used to season meat, vegetables and fish. It is often mixed with oil into a batter to make Arabic pizza. It works great as a topping for many things, for example hummus, baba ganoush, labneh, omelette, pasta, yogurt and avocado toast. In short, za’atar can be used for most things.
