When it comes to cooking for a big group, it's often worth taking tips from the professionals. With that in mind, below you'll find a recipe for lamb ouzi that's capable of serving a crowd, courtesy of catering company Epicure.
It's also worth noting that Epicure are offering a special iftar service during Ramadan, allowing people to entertain large numbers of friends and family without the hassle of cooking. You can customise their iftar menu according to your needs: hot and cold mezze come as standard, as do drinks, soup, bread and dessert and then you chose from a selection of main courses, including fish with harra sauce, freeke with lamb and of lamb shank with rice.
For more information of Epicure Catering call 04 347 3808 or email info@epicurecatering.com
Lamb ouzi
Serves: 15+ people
Preparation time: 1 hour (plus 24 hours marinading time)
Ingredients:
For the marinade: 1 whole lamb (or 12/14kg total) 2kg plain yoghurt 1 bulb garlic, peeled and sliced 1 onion, peeled and sliced 3 tsp ground nutmeg 2 tsp ground white pepper
For the rice: 1 ½ cups pistachio nuts 1 ½ cups pine nuts 1 ½ cups almonds 2 onions, peeled and chopped 2 kg minced beef 12 cups long grain rice 24 cups water 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp ground white pepper 1 cup of vegetable oil salt
Method
Mix the yoghurt, garlic, onion, nutmeg and pepper together. Season with salt and rub all over the lamb. Leave to marinade for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 170C. Cover the lamb with foil and cook for 3 hours.
Heat some vegetable oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the three different types of nuts and fry until golden brown and roasted. Use a slotted spoon to remove the nuts from the pan and set aside.
Return the pan to the heat and pour in some more oil. Add the onions to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until softened. Tip the minced beef into the pan and fry until cooked through. Pour in the rice, water, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and black and white pepper. Stir well, season with salt and increase the heat.
Once the mixture comes to the boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 20-30 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in half the roasted nuts.
Carefully tip the rice out onto a large platter and place the roasted lamb on top. Sprinkle over the remaining nuts. Carve the lamb and serve the rice on the side.
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
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Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
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‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
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Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
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