Online Middle Eastern cooking class: mezze
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Make tahini, mutabbal, baba ghanoush, muhammara, hummus and fatteh with Mohamad Orfali, chef of one-star Orfali Bros Bistro in Dubai.
- 6 lessons
- 53 min
- Middle Eastern
- Easy
Rated 4.8 ★ by 60.2K App Store users · App of the Day in 120+ countries
What you'll learn
6 lessons · 53 min total
Introduction FREE
#1 Tahini & Mutabbal FREE
#2 Baba Ghanoush FREE
#3 Muhammara FREE
#4 Tarator & Orfali Bayildi 
#5 Hummus with Tatbila & Awarma 
#6 Fatteh
At the end of this course you will be able to:
Roast sesame at 160°C for a lighter tahini or 180°C for a darker one, stirring every five minutes.
Char eggplant over an open flame, then wipe off the skin rather than peeling it under water.
Roast walnuts at 140°C for 10 minutes and blend them only until crumbly.
Soak chickpeas in salted water instead of baking soda, then blend them hot with their cooking liquid.
About this class
This online Middle Eastern cooking class builds a table of mezze from the Sham region: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. It starts with tahini made from scratch, because tahini runs through almost every dish that follows, then two eggplant dips, mutabbal and the lighter baba ghanoush.
Muhammara follows, a generational recipe from Aleppo with walnuts, Aleppo chilli paste and a little coffee, and joins a tahini tarator in Orfali Bayildi. Hummus is cooked from soaked chickpeas, and fatteh closes the class with toasted pita, chickpeas and badweh.
- Lessons
- 6
- Video
- 53 min HD
- Recipes
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Audio
- English (VO)
- Subtitles
- English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
“I don’t recommend baking your eggplant in the oven because it doesn’t get any smoked flavors.”
Mohamad Orfali · Lesson #1
PROMake mezze worth sharing.
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MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Mohamad Orfali
Chef and co-founder, Orfali Bros Bistro, Dubai
- One starOrfali Bros Bistro, Dubai.
- RankedAmong the Middle East’s top restaurants.
Mohamad Orfali is a Syrian chef born in Aleppo, who found his passion for food early. With limited access to culinary resources, he learned through books, television and hands-on work.
He runs Orfali Bros Bistro in Dubai with his brothers Wassim and Omar, where Aleppian tradition meets a bold, modern kitchen. In this class he cooks the mezze of the Sham region, from tahini to fatteh.
Hummus scaler
Example values. Lesson #5 soaks 1 kg of chickpeas for 24 hours in 3 litres of cold water with 45 g of salt, and seasons the hummus at about 1% salt.
Key concepts
Tahini
A paste of toasted, ground sesame seeds. Taught in lesson #1. (Wikipedia)
Muhammara
A hot pepper dip from Aleppo, made with red peppers, walnuts and breadcrumbs. Taught in lesson #3. (Wikipedia)
Hummus
A dip of cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice and garlic. Taught in lesson #5, where Mohamad keeps the garlic for the tatbila. (Wikipedia)
Fatteh
A Levantine dish of toasted or fried flatbread pieces covered with other ingredients. Taught in lesson #6. (Wikipedia)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I watch it for free first?
Yes. The introduction and lessons #1 to #3 are free to watch, no card required. To watch all 6 lessons with Mohamad, start a Gronda PRO trial. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.
Do I need a chocolate grinder for the tahini?
Not necessarily. Tahini needs a machine that can grind toasted sesame into a smooth, oily paste. A chocolate grinder does that, and a powerful blender or food processor can too, with more patience. Lesson #1 shows the tahini step by step.
What level is it, and what language?
The level is easy. Mohamad teaches in English (original voice only), with subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.
Do I get the recipes?
Yes. Each lesson is also a recipe with its ingredients and method, which you can open in the Gronda app or at gronda.com.
Can I watch on my phone?
Yes, in the Gronda app on iPhone and Android, or in the browser at gronda.com.
Can I cancel my membership anytime?
Yes. App Store or Google Play: in your phone’s subscription settings. gronda.com: in your account settings. No fees, no calls.
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