Delights from the Garden of Eden

Rice with Mushroom 

Timman Tacheena bil Ftirr 

Instead of the usual rice and stew, rice is sometimes cooked and simmered with a variety of meats and vegetables in one pot, collectively called Timman Tacheena. It is a very convenient dish, usually served with yogurt and salad, an ideal meal for hot summer days. The photo below is showing timman tacheena with mushroom, which can be easily substituted with any kind of vegetables you like.

This dish is usually made with cubed lamb, but other kinds of meat can easily be substituted. Or turn it into a vegetarian dish by leaving out the meat. 

Chima (Truffle)

Traditionally, the exotic truffle chima is  used in cooking this variety of rice, but mushroom is substituted nowadays  because it is more readily available, and much cheaper.

The truffle season is very short in Iraq. They appear only during springtime, the season of showers, thunder, and lightning. It was believed that such weather conditions played a role in the formation of these delicacies. They actually play an indirect role. When it thunders, it rains, and when it rains in the desert, the force of the falling water reveals the truffles buried in the sand. They are then picked up by the Bedouins and sold in the markets of the big cities.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil

1 pound (450 g) lamb, trimmed and cut into ⅓ inch cubes

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 

1 pound (450 g) whole white mushroom (thickly sliced if large)

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon prepared noomi Basra

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon baharat

½ cup (1 oz/ 30 g) chopped parsley

 1 recipe Plain White Rice 

1. In a medium skillet, heat oil, and sauté meat cubes, stirring frequently until all moisture evaporates, and meat starts to brown, about 15 minutes.

 2. Add onion, and stir until transparent, about 5 minutes. In the last 2 minutes of cooking stir in mushroom, curry powder, noomi Basra, turmeric, salt, pepper, baharat, and parsley. The mixture will emit a wonderful aroma.  

 3. Cook white rice as directed in the recipe, and immediately empty it into a bowl. Then in the same rice pot, layer rice with the meat mixture, starting and ending with rice (i.e. rice--meat--rice--meat--rice--meat--rice). Cover the pot and resume simmering on low heat for additional 10 minutes.