Torviewtoronto: Lahmajoun Middle Eastern pizza

Saha is a Canadian food company that creates authentic marinades using only natural ingredients free of additives and preservatives. I got to try Saha's unique marinades from Middle Eastern cuisine. The shawarma, shish taouk and lahmajoon marinades have delicious aromatic authentic flavours. I didn't have to add anything except for the meat. I used the sauces to create unique meals within a few minutes and impressed my family :) The marinades made my job easy and we enjoyed the meals.

People following a healthy balanced diet will like these sauce/ marinates as its cholesterol and trans fat free. The in-house chefs and experienced food development staff ensure the quality of all their products. The ingredients in all Saha products are vegetarian. The Saha site and bottle suggests vegetarian and non-veg recipes for us to use. The products are sold online and are shipped across USA and Canada. It is also available in some specialty food stores. I hope Saha products will soon become available in all stores.

I used this Lahmajoun (lah.mah.joon) sauce for a few dishes; middle eastern style pizza, stuffed cabbages and stuffed grape leaves. The origin of this sauce is from Turkey and Armenia. It is made with red peppers, tomatoes, onion and spices. The containers hold 250ml about 1 cup of sauce.

Lahmajoun middle eastern pizza

1 to 3/4 cup minced meat

1/4 to 1/2 cup sauce

4 store bought flat bread

Cook the minced meat with the sauce until the meat is cooked. Spread the cooked meat with extra sauce if needed over store bought flat bread and bake at 375F for 10 to 15 minutes.

The meat can be substituted for soy.

For the stuffed cabbages and grape leaves I used

1/2 cup minced meat

1/4 cup lahmajoun sauce

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup cooked rice

1 tbsp mint leaves

2 tbsp coriander leaves

1 green chillie chopped

Cook the minced meat and garlic with the sauce in low medium heat covered until the meat is cooked. Remove from heat. Then add the cooked rice, chopped green chillie, mint leaves and coriander leaves.

To prepare the cabbage and/ or grape leaves

Boil the grape leaves for about 3 to 4 minutes in hot water, then remove it and place in cold water. With the shiny side down, place some filling and roll the leaves tightly as you would roll spring rolls.

Place it in a pot lined with grape leaves by packing the leaves close to each other. Put about 1 cup of water and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Place a plate or saucer over the leaves and keep something that has weight. Let the leaves cook for about 20 to 25 minutes on low medium heat until the water evaporates.

For the cabbages follow the same instructions. To make it easy to remove the leaves, place the whole cabbage into boiling water and then remove. Or carefully remove cabbage leaves and then place into boiling hot water for about 5 minutes.

I will be posting about what I made with other sauces soon :)