The end-of-semester madness has officially begun. You know, that point in the semester when no matter how you prepared you are, how many schedules you make, or how many to-do lists you have, you are drowning in final projects, papers, and assignments.
Never fear, I have still been cooking these past few weeks. If I were to take a snapshot of my blog dashboard, you would see a few draft posts that I had started typing but never had time to finish: one for spinach and eggs, another another for a cinnamon-walnut phyllo pastry, another for a fantastically colorful veggie omelet…etc. Well, you get the point. I’m cooking, but not writing.
This past weekend, I decided to make chilleh-fry. It’s an odd name, I know. Chilleh-Fry is comprised of meat cooked with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and spices. I’ve made a version of this dish before using ground turkey. And, while turkey might be healthier, beef chilleh-fry is far more scrumptious. Chilleh-fry is fairly easy to make. Growing up, we used to eat this dish for breakfast, with fresh baked Iraqi bread called sumoon, a diamond shaped flat fluffy bread. There’s a similar version to this dish called pusra kuilya, where the meat is cut into larger strips, and fried with onions and tomatoes. Pusra Kuilya is also another commonly eaten for breakfast. That’s not to say you can’t eat this delicious dish for dinner. Because that’s exactly what I did. Beef chilleh-fry, egg, and whole grain bread (sadly, I had no samoon in Ann Arbor).
Ingredients
- 1 lb chuck roast, cubed
- 2 cups tomato, diced preferably soft
- 2 cups bell peppers, diced
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 tsp all spice (baharat)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
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Heat oil in a medium sized pot on medium to high heat.
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Add the onions, and cook until slightly translucent. Add the cubed meat. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and all spice. The meat will release water; Cook the meat until browned, and the water has evaporated.
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Add the peppers and tomatoes to the meat and onions. Cook everything until the meat is tender, and tomatoes have turned into a sauce. Taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.
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Serve with warm bread or rice. For dinner, my brother sometimes eats chilleh fry on top of pasta. For breakfast, a fried egg can be a great addition.
[…] Turkey Chilleh Fry is the turkey version of my Beef Chilleh Fry recipe. I don’t know why this dish is called “chilleh-fry.” I’ve asked my […]