Basmati rice with sharkayisa sauce
This is one of the simplest recipes and one of my favorites. On the one hand, because I love rice, and on the other because since I discovered how to cook it with the right texture—thanks to my rice cooker—I can’t go more than three days without eating it. If this keeps up, I might seriously consider moving to the East to continue my passion—in fact, a few months ago I almost moved to Shanghai, but life takes many turns and now I’m in Switzerland, where I never imagined living.
But we were talking about rice, specifically basmati, which is the variety that attracts me the most. There’s nothing particularly special about it until the sharkayisa sauce comes into play, a typical sauce from Arab cuisine, especially popular in Algeria, Lebanon, and Egypt. It is used as an accompaniment for meats—mainly poultry—and rice; it’s exquisite.
If you have some free time, try experimenting with the exotic flavor you can achieve using very accessible ingredients.
Ingredients for 2 people (as a rice accompaniment)
4 tablespoons of shelled and chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon of shelled and chopped hazelnuts
1 tablespoon of bread crumbs
1 clove of garlic
2/3 cup of chicken broth
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
Preparation
Grind the walnuts and hazelnuts in a food processor until they form a fine powder.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs with water to moisten them, crumble them, and add them to the previous mixture.
Crush the garlic clove and add it to the mixture.
Pour in the chicken broth while stirring until a consistent sauce forms, not too runny.
Add the lemon juice and mix well.
Strain it through a not-too-fine sieve and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
It can be served cold or hot. I prefer it cold with rice or warm with meat.