ANKO FOOD MACHINE EPAPER Mar 2020
Discover Middle Eastern cuisine! Classic food that is popular with locals
12 Mar, 2020Recently, people around the world have seen the growing demand for the Middle Eastern food and have been developing markets in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and other regions. In this issue, let’s have a journey in the Middle East to know more about their tasty local foods and look for potential opportunities.
Being one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, the Middle East has been blessed with plentiful fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains; the cuisines are generally rich, flavorful and satiating. Most dishes are seasoned with unique spice blends and are made into delicious and mesmerizing bites- mezze, together with other treats, the feasts are not only satisfying to the palates but also beautiful to the eyes.
Tastes of the Middle East that Enlighten the Palate
On top of the regular meals, regional snacks also play an important part in the Middle Eastern diet, and falafel may just be one the most popular. Made with chickpea mash, chopped onions, garlic, salt, herbs and spices, falafels are made into round or small flat cakes, then deep-fried into crispy morsels. It’s hard to say where or when was falafel created, but this Middle Eastern culinary creation had concurred the world of eaters with its delightful crunch. The simplest way to enjoy maybe just biting into the falafels, or with some salads to cut the grease, otherwise, making a falafel sandwich with a pita, tahini sauce, tzatziki, and shredded lettuce is also quite common. Based on pulses and bread, two of the most important ingredients in the Middle East, falafel sandwiches shops or stalls are often found around the corner from schools and office areas, serving quick and affordable breakfast a daily basis.
After breakfast, it’s time to try some kubba (or kibbeh), which is considered as the national dish in many Middle Eastern countries and of Levantine origin. It’s usually made with bulgur wheat, spices and minced meats (usually lamb), and then deep-fried into golden brown meatballs. The taste of traditional kubba, is the taste of home, it may be made into round or olive-shaped, stewed or served with sauces. However, many meal alternative versions of kubba are also created to satisfy the vegetarian markets, as well as tahini or ricotta based sweet kubbas, served as desserts.
▲ ANKO’s SD-97W Automatic Encrusting & Forming Machine is equipped with an extruder that’s capable of processing cooked bean mash and/or minced meats, and it’s capable of mass-producing Falafel, Kubba and similar food products if a filling device is paired with.
Operation of SD-97W Automatic Encrusting and Forming Machine
Moreover, "cigar rolls” made with paper-thin filo pastries are rather similar to the Asian “spring rolls”, it’s simple, tasty treat is often served with a pot of refreshing mint tea. However, the fillings taste more like kubba, in terms of the ingredients and spices used. Lamb may be the most common, but other vegetarian options such as feta cheese and spinach are becoming more and more popular. Recently, recipes adopting spring roll wraps instead of filo pastry for making cigar rolls, have seemingly made the item more international and boundary less.
▲ ANKO’s SR-24 Spring Roll Machine is designed to make Cigar Rolls, Spring Rolls and other products alike with ease and efficiency.
Religion plays an important role in the Middle Eastern diet, especially during Ramadān (fasting month) and Eidal-Fitr (festival of breaking the fast) when traditional treats are served and enjoyed.
During Ramadān, fasting between sunrise and sunset is followed by religious Muslims in the region, and it’s important to break the fast with something nourishing and not too heavy, such as "sambousek”, which is often made with minced meats with spices and cheese into half-moon-shaped savory dumplings, otherwise, the sweet version is often made with fig jam stuffing, folded into triangular-shaped pies and enjoyed with harissa sauce. Many historians believe that when Sambousek was brought to India, it became samosa, and empanada was based on the same concept/recipe after traveling through North Africa to Europe.
▲ ANKO’s HLT-700XL Multipurpose Filling & Forming Machine is recommended for producing Sambousek, Samosa and/or Empanada.
Eidal-Fitr is the Festival that celebrates "breaking the fast", often with some maamoul, which is often made with dates, nuts, and figs into little cakes with puff pastry. It’s commonly made into different shapes and with unique ornate prints, sweet, beautiful and festive.
▲ ANKO’s SD-97W Automatic Encrusting & Forming Machine together with STA-360 Automatic Stamping & Aligning Machine makes the automatic maamoul production line. Customized molds are available upon request for unique and signature prints.
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