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  4. About 10 minutes before the dough is ready, pour 2 inches (5 cm) olive oil into a large deep skillet. Heat the oil over medium heat to 350°F (180°C). If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a piece of bread in the oil—if the oil immediately bubbles around it, it is ready for frying. Place a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and have it at the ready.

  5. Working in batches, slip in as many triangles (or squares) of dough into the oil as can fit comfortably in the pan and spoon a little hot oil over the surface of each—this will help the dough puff up. When the dough has puffed but not colored, turn it over and fry on one side until golden brown. Turn again and fry until golden brown on the other side. Remove the mandazi with a slotted spoon and place on the rack on the baking sheet to drain any excess oil. Serve warm or at room temperature. These are best served soon after they have been fried or reheat for a few minutes in a hot oven.

  Zanzibari Sesame Bread

  MKATE WA UFUTA

  ZANZIBAR

  This sesame bread is a typical Ramadan bread, served at futari or iftar, the daily breaking of the fast at sunset. It is usually baked at home, although you also see it for sale in markets, where it will have often been made at home by the women selling it. While walking through the narrow streets of Stone Town in Zanzibar, I came across a mother and daughter cooking right on their doorstep. The mother was frying various goodies such as kaimati or l’geimat (Saffron-Flavored Fritters) and bhajis while the daughter was making sesame bread, having put her young child in charge of brushing the baked loaves with vegetable oil once they were done. Both women were supremely unfriendly and would not let me photograph them or even the food they were cooking until they finally relented when I went back the next day with Farid Bawazir, a wonderful guide, who knew everyone in Stone Town. He talked them into letting me snap the daughter as she was baking the bread.

  The way the daughter was kneading the dough was fascinating. She beat it really hard and for quite a long time, every now and then stretching the dough up with her fingers and letting it drop until it became smooth.

  The way she baked the bread was also very interesting. She had a special aluminum pan that she only used for this bread. She first heated the pan over the charcoal fire then sprinkled it with a little water before thickly spreading the very wet dough over the bottom of the pan with her moistened fingers. She then placed the pan over the embers and left it for a few minutes until the bottom of the bread was done, after which she lifted the pan and turned it over the fire to expose the top of the bread to the heat. There was no danger of the bread falling off as it was stuck to the pan and she needed to loosen it off the sides and bottom with the help of a knife. It is a little like how pizza is made, where the pizzaiolo moves the top of the pizza along the roof of the oven to blister the sides, but instead she was moving the inverted pan over the embers until the top crust of the bread became charred in places and golden in others. She then set about loosening the loaf off the pan and placed it on a cloth where her child brushed it with a little oil.

  I don’t think many cooks will have either the right aluminium pan or the possibility of cooking this bread over embers, so this recipe uses a heavy cast-iron pan on the stovetop to cook the bottom of the bread, and then goes under a hot broiler to color and crisp the top of the bread. Serve with stews or drizzled with honey for a sweet snack.

  MAKES EIGHT 8-INCH (20 CM) LOAVES

  3⅓ cups (400 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon fine sea salt

  1 teaspoon instant (fast-acting) yeast

  1½ cups (375 ml) coconut cream

  2 organic eggs, beaten

  Toasted sesame seeds, for sprinkling over the breads

  Vegetable oil or ghee, for brushing the breads

  1. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the coconut cream and eggs to the well and gradually bring in the flour until you have a loose, sticky dough. Hold the bowl with one hand while you start beating the dough with the other, quite hard, stretching the dough up every now and then until the dough is smooth. You can also do this with a whisk. Either way it will take a few minutes. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 30 to 45 minutes, until the dough has risen. Some people beat or whisk the dough again and let it rise one more time but the Zanzibari ladies I watched making the bread didn’t.

  2. Preheat the broiler to high. Place an 8-inch (20 cm) cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, sprinkle the bottom with a little water, which should sizzle as soon as it touches the pan. With your wet hand, grab enough dough to spread thickly over the pan. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds over the top of the bread and leave over the heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the bottom has crisped up and become golden—the top of the bread will cook better if you cover the pan. Quickly slip the pan, uncovered, under the broiler and move it around to color the top all over. Don’t worry if a few spots char. Use a spatula to loosen the bread off the pan and lay it on a clean kitchen towel. Brush the bread with a little oil or ghee.

  3. Scrape the pan clean and return to the heat. Sprinkle with a little water and repeat to make the remaining breads. In Zanzibar, the women (it is almost always women who cook) use two or three pans, but they make industrial quantities, either to sell or to feed large families. This recipe yield 8 loaves, so you can manage with the one pan. Stack the cooked breads and keep warm—they have wonderful pointed straw “hats” in Zanzibar to keep the food both warm and away from the flies. You can throw a kitchen towel over the breads to keep them both warm and soft.

  Indian Flatbread

  CHAPATI

  INDIA | ZANZIBAR | ARABIAN GULF

  Probably the most common bread of South Asia, chapatis are freshly made everywhere—at home, on the street, and in restaurants. In India, they start cooking the bread on a hot tawa (skillet) before moving it to an open flame (usually charcoal) for the bread to puff up like a balloon and separate into two layers. And for those of you who cannot make charcoal fires, simply put the bread over an open gas flame, which will produce the same result. Chapatis are also common in Zanzibar and the Arabian Gulf, but there they just cook the bread on a hot plate. Either way, it is a great bread that is very simple to make. You can make the dough a day ahead and keep it in the fridge for when you need it. This is what most cooks do in India. If you refrigerate the dough for later use, it is a good idea to remove it about an hour ahead of time. Serve the chapatis with any of the curries or stews here.

  MAKES TWELVE 6-INCH (15 CM) ROUND BREADS

  2 cups (225 g) whole wheat or 2 cups (240 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more all-purpose flour for kneading and rolling out

  ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

  1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for brushing the dough and frying the bread

  1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the oil along with ¾ cup (180 ml) warm water. Gradually bring in the flour and mix with the liquid until you have a rough dough.

  2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 3 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, invert the bowl over the dough, and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead for 3 more minutes. Let rest for a few minutes, then roll out the dough to a circle about ¼ inch (0.5 cm) thick. Brush with a little vegetable oil.

  3. Roll the flattened dough into a cylinder, then stand the cylinder on end and flatten it before shaping the dough into a ball. Brush with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

  4. Roll the ball of dough into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) thick, then cut crosswise into 12 pieces, each ¼ inch (0.5 cm) thick. Working with 4 pieces of dough, roll into rounds about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, keeping the other pieces of dough covered with a damp kitchen towel.

  5. Place a large heavy skillet over medium heat and brush the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil. When the pan is hot, place a round of dough in it. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on one side, then flip over and cook for another 2 to 3 minu
tes on the other side, pressing on the edge to let the chapati puff up. Both sides should be crisp on the edges and golden all over. Remove to a plate and stack the cooked chapatis one on top of the other to keep them warm. Cook the remaining 3 chapatis. Roll out and cook two more batches of 4 chapatis each. Serve hot or warm.

  Savory Pancakes

  CHILA

  ZANZIBAR

  Another Ramadan specialty, chila is a fluffy pancake with one side smooth and the other pockmarked with a thousand and one holes, not unlike anjero (Somali Pancakes). These chila are savory and slightly spicy, but they can also be made sweet, depending on the occasion. If you want to make it sweet, omit the spices and herbs and use ¼ cup (50 g) raw cane sugar instead. You can make chila with either chickpea flour or by soaking rice then grinding it; I give both formulas below (both versions are gluten-free). Obviously, the chickpea flour is the quicker one but it is worth trying the rice flour one, too. The ingredients for each version may be different but the method remains the same. Serve as a side to curries or stews, or serve for breakfast with coconut cream or butter and honey.

  MAKES FOUR 8-INCH (20 CM) PANCAKES

  FOR THE CHICKPEA FLOUR CHILA

  2 cups (175 g) chickpea flour

  1 teaspoon instant (fast-acting) yeast

  ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

  ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

  ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

  FOR THE RICE FLOUR CHILA

  1 cup (200 g) long-grain rice, soaked overnight

  1 packet (7g/2¼ teaspoons) instant (fast-acting) yeast

  ¼ cup (50 g) superfine sugar

  1¼ cups (310 ml) coconut cream

  ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

  TO FINISH

  Vegetable oil, for frying the pancakes

  1. To make the chickpea flour chila: Mix the chickpea flour, yeast, spices, and salt in a bowl. Add ½ cup (125 ml) water and mix until you have a smooth batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.

  2. To make the rice flour chila: Drain the rice and put in a food processor. Add the yeast, sugar, coconut cream, and cardamom and process until you have a smooth batter. Transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.

  3. To make the pancakes: Brush a nonstick skillet with a little vegetable oil and place over medium-high heat. Pour a ladleful and a half of batter in the pan and look out for the bubbles starting to pop up on the side. As soon as they do, reduce the heat, cover the pan, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the top is completely pockmarked with tiny holes and the bottom is golden brown. Remove the pancake to a plate and make the others. Serve warm.

  Uzbek Flatbread

  NON

  UZBEKISTAN

  Uzbeks are famous for their bread and you see it all over the markets, different types with wonderful patterns stamped into them using an implement called a chekish (hammer in Arabic), which is a type of wooden mallet spiked with sharp metal nails arranged in different patterns. The chekish serves two purposes—one is to make lovely patterns on the bread and the other is to puncture the dough so it doesn’t puff up while baking. It is not so easy to find chekish in the West, but you can use a fork or a sharp skewer to make the pattern of your choice. Uzbeks, along with most Muslims, consider bread sacred and they have lovely customs to show their reverence for bread, such as placing it under the head of a newborn baby to wish him or her a long, healthy life or in between the legs of a child taking her first steps to bless her endeavor. You find many types of bread in Uzbekistan, both plain and filled. This recipe is for the most common and plainest.

  MAKES TWO 8-INCH (20 CM) ROUND BREADS

  3¼ cups (390 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping

  1 teaspoon instant (fast-acting) yeast

  1 teaspoon raw cane sugar

  1 teaspoon fine sea salt

  2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

  FOR THE TOPPING

  1 small onion (3½ ounces/100 g), very finely chopped

  1 teaspoon sesame seeds

  1 teaspoon nigella seeds

  1. Put the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Slowly add 1¼ cups (310 ml) water, bringing in the flour as you go along. Mix until you have a rough dough.

  2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 3 minutes. Invert the bowl over the dough and let sit for 15 minutes. Knead for 3 more minutes, or until you have a smooth, soft dough. Shape into a ball.

  3. Grease a clean bowl with the softened butter and also use some of it to smear the dough. Place the ball of the dough in the buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1½ hours, or until doubled in size.

  4. Divide the dough in half. Shape each piece into a ball and let rest on your work surface for 15 minutes. Then roll out each into a round 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter and ½ inch (1 cm) thick, making sure you raise the edges to have a good rim. Brush with water. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

  5. During this time, preheat your oven to as high as you can and place a pizza stone inside if you have one.

  6. Uncover the rounds of dough. Brush again with cold water and make a deep indentation in the middle with the heel of your hand. Then, using a fork—or a chekish, the traditional Uzbek bread stamp—prick the bread everywhere inside the raised edges. Transfer to a large nonstick baking sheet (or a regular baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat). Or if you have preheated a pizza stone in the oven, transfer the dough to a floured peel.

  7. To make the topping: Mix the chopped onion, sesame seeds, and nigella seeds in a bowl. With your hand, spread the mixture all over both breads.

  8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden all over and risen around the edges. Check on the breads after about 12 minutes to see they are not baking too fast. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Bread is always best left to cool as it continues developing. You can always reheat it to serve hot.

  Kashgar Multilayered Non

  NON

  CHINA

  This bread is made with the same dough and topping as the regular non, but the shaping is different.

  MAKES TWO 8-INCH (20 CM) ROUND BREADS

  Uzbek Flatbread

  Vegetable oil, for shaping

  1. Prepare the flatbread through the first rise (step 3) and divide the dough in half, shape into balls, and let rest 15 minutes.

  2. Smear your work surface with oil and place one ball of dough over the oiled surface. Flatten the dough into a disk to about ½ inch (1 cm) thick and generously smear with oil. Roll the disk of dough into a cylinder and lightly squeeze it with both hands to thin it and stretch it further. Repeat with the other ball of dough. Hold the cylinder upright on your work surface and twist the bottom before you start pressing it down onto the work surface while twisting the cylinder. Keep twisting the cylinder of dough and pressing it down until you have a kind of multilayered pyramid. Repeat with the other cylinder. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. During this time, preheat your oven to as high as you can.

  3. Take one of the dough pyramids and with the heel of your hand, press down the middle to flatten it in the middle. Then curl your fingers and with your curled fingers, keep pressing inside the slightly raised edges as you rotate the dough to flatten it further, until you have a round about 7 inches (17.5 cm) in diameter. Then pick up the round of dough and with your fingers raise the edge a little more as you turn it around in your hands. Lightly flour your work surface and place the round of dough down, raised edges up, and with your curled fingers keep flattening it inside the edges while turning it round to keep it an even round. Now you will need a short rolling pin with handles or a straight glass or soda/beer bottle to flatten the round further without squashing the edges. As you flatten the round, keep rotating it so that it is stays evenly round. Once you have flattened it to about 9 inches (22.5 cm), use both palms to stretch it further. You should
end up with a round loaf that is 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter. If you have a chekish —an Uzbek bread stamp—stamp the bread inside the edges, starting all around the edge and finishing in the middle.

  4. Spread the onion and seed mixture all over the bread and bake as directed in the flatbread recipe.

  FILLED and TOPPED BREADS and PIES

  Moroccan Pigeon Pie

  B’STILLA

  MOROCCO

  B’stilla is one of those classic sweet-savory Moroccan dishes that is an absolute must at any celebration, whether religious or secular. It is the first course served at a diffa (which means “reception” and describes a celebratory meal). One of the seasonings in the filling is ras el-hanout, possibly the most complex of all Islamic spice mixtures and usually used with game or in sweet-savory tagines. Ras el-hanout means the “head of the shop,” signaling how precious the spice blend is, both because of its price and the fact that the blend is made with up to thirty different spices. The mixture once included Spanish fly before it was made illegal. I like to think it was banned because of its reputation as an aphrodisiac, but it is probably because it can be noxious if used liberally.

  B’stilla is traditionally cooked on top of the stove, in a tobsil (a large, flat hand-beaten iron pan). Then, once the pie is cooked, the top is sprinkled with powdered sugar and decorated with criss-crossed lines of ground cinnamon. I still like to prepare the pie the traditional way, in three separate layers: one of ground almonds, another with the stewed pigeons (quartered and left on the bone; Moroccan pigeons are very small), and another with the eggs that have been scrambled in the sauce of the pigeons. Each layer is separated from the other by a couple of sheets of warqa and the whole is wrapped in more warqa. And I like to eat it with my hand the way Moroccans do by first breaking open the edge of the crisp pastry, then pulling out a piece of pigeon and sucking the meat off the bone before daintily pinching off more pastry, this time with a little of the almond and egg filling. Sadly fewer and fewer people, in Morocco or outside, will make b’stilla this way. They use chicken instead of pigeon and mix it with the scrambled eggs and almonds to make a single layer. It is a faster and simpler way to prepare b’stilla. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of building the pie the way I describe below, simply mix all the filling ingredients and make the pie in one layer using the sheets of warqa in between each layer on the bottom of the pie.