Passport Day Food Series Continues With Columbian and Arab Foods!

Passport Day may be a few months off, but there is still plenty to do! Have you started meeting with your fellow countrymen (and women!) to plan your displays and foods? If not, time is a wastin'! If you want to get more information on how to get involved in Stern's biggest event of the year, check out the website at http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~scorp/passportday/. To get you into the spirit, here are two submissions. We have two whirlwind culinary tours. The first is of Columbian foods, by Maria Carolina Helo. The second is of Arab cuisine, by El Beih. They look delicious!

COLOMBIA by Maria Carolina Helo, maria.helo@stern.nyu.edu If you want to talk about Colombian food, be prepared to talk about a flurry of complicated words, even for native Spanish speakers. For example, when the waitress in any Paisa's (a central region of Columbia) restaurant asks you if you want your beans with "Chicharron" don't panic! Just imagine a small piece of fried pork skin with a bit of fat and meat. You can also find the "Chicharron" in the famous "Bandeja Paisa", a dish that comes with beans, rice, powdered meat, fried egg, plantain, avocado and "Arepa", a round-shape mass made of flour. It's really something, but I encourage you to try the dish for lunch, it takes a while to digest. This was the easy one. Now, let me talk about the "Aborrajado". In simple terms, it is a plantain cheese sandwich that you dip in scrambled eggs and fry. It is a fabulous appetizer that can be followed with a great "Sancocho", a soup made out of chicken, potatoes, cassava, plantain, corn, chopped onions and tomatoes. This meal can be accompanied with a "Borojo" juice, which is a typical fruit that it's said to have aphrodisiac effects. Now we're talking! Do you want a "Fritanga"? It's a dish that breaks a cow in pieces (not literally), which must be especially appetizing for those of you that really are meat-lovers. In addition to the usual stuff you can have "Chunchullo" - the cow's fried intestines together with a piece of "Morcilla", "Longaniza" and "Chorizo", which are different types of sausages that are worth trying without bothering to know what its contents are. I really encourage you to eat the "Fritanga" along with some "Aguardiente", a typical anisette alcoholic beverage. You cannot leave the fantastic Colombian food word world without trying the Atlantic coast dishes: "Carimanola", a flour ball filled with cheese, "Butifarra" a typical sausage, "Patacon Pisao" fried smash plantain and for dessert a "Cocada" made out of sugar and coconut, or an "Alegria" made out of honey and popcorn. I am not sure if you would be able to find all these particular words in a New York menu, or even if they sound appealing to you but at least I know that if you are willing to trespass Manhattan's and your mind's boundaries, you will find some of them in "Tierras Colombianas", 33-01 Broadway (33rd St.), Queens. In order to accompany this gastronomic adventure I definitely encourage you to ask for a "Colombiana", a unique Colombian soda that I guarantee you'll fall in love with. Enjoy!

ARAB CUISINE: by Mohamed El Beih: mohamed.elbeih@stern.nyu.edu With kind contributions from Alaa Al-Shroogi, Mohamed Ben Mustafa, Khadija Oubala, & Muayyad Qubbaj If you think you have indulged the exotic foods of Arabia after the late night pilgrimage to Mamoun's, think again. The largely beer-influenced Mamoun experience is far from representative, especially since the 280 million people that inhabit the Arab world eat more than just shawerma and falafel. The 22 Arab countries that span from the Atlantic coast of northern Africa to the Arabian Sea enjoy a magnificent array of spicy dishes that are shared throughout. Unique and central to culture, Arabic cuisine tends to unite Arabs as much as language, history, and tradition. Usually, dishes from Lebanon form the basis of the cuisine recognized internationally as Arabic. In New York, Lebanese restaurants are among the most popular. A typical Lebanese meal starts with "mezze," an elaborate spread of anywhere between ten to fifty hors d'oeuvres. Yoghurt, cheese, cucumber, aubergines, chick peas, nuts, tomatoes, burghul and sesame (seeds, paste and oil) are harmoniously blended into numerous assorted medleys. Parsley and mint are used in vast quantities as are lemons, onions and garlic. Pastries are stuffed with vegetables and vegetables are stuffed with meats. A seasoned lamb, chicken or fish dish follows with salad and rice. You can enjoy authentic Lebanese food at Byblos (200 E 39th Street). For a taste of other Arab national favorites, here is a representative sample provided by Stern's Arab bloc: Egypt: KOSHARI (Serves 8) MAIN INGREDIENTS: 3 large sliced onions sliced 1 quart water 2 cups rice 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 cups brown lentils 8 ounces small macaroni INSTRUCTIONS: Sautee onions until brown. Drain on paper towels. Put 3 cups water in a pot with a few drops oil. Bring to a boil. Add rice and 1 teaspoon salt. After water returns to a boil, lower heat. Simmer until done. Wash lentils. Then boil until tender. Boil macaroni until tender. Drain. SAUCE INGREDIENTS: 6 garlic cloves 2 tablespoons of white vinegar 1 can of tomato paste (6 oz) 2 teaspoons of cumin 3 chili pepper INSTRUCTIONS: Slice garlic. Sautee in small amount of oil. Add vinegar, tomato paste, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, remaining 1 cup of water, and chili pepper, if desired. Cook until mixture boils. Lower heat, Simmer until cooked. To serve, layer rice, lentils, and macaroni. Spread sauce on top. Garnish with fried onions.

Jordan: DAWOOD PASHA MAIN INGREDIENTS: 500 grams minced meat 2 pcs. potatoes (pealed and cubed) 2 spoons bread crumbs 2 spoons olive oil 1 small punch of parsley (cut finely) 1 medium size onion (cut finely) 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt INSTRUCTIONS: Mix all above in a bowl and make small meat balls. Fry in hot oil until browning. Put on kitchen paper to get rid of extra oil. SAUCE INGREDIENTS: 3 cups of water 1 cube of chicken stock 5 tablespoons of tomato paste 3 tablespoons ketchup 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon salt INSTRUCTIONS: Boil the water in a pot. Add chicken stock, ketchup, tomato paste, salt and pepper and continue boiling for three more minutes. Add the meatballs and boil for 30 minutes. Add the cubed potatoes and boil for 15 minutes. Serve with basmati rice.