The easiest Maftool... made from scratch..

Salam to all,

Notice the holes in the
 "steaming" part of the pot.

My mother in law, sis in law, and I attempted to make maftool the other day, and it was a huge success! I had never thought there was a easy way to it, but this one sure is. Just beware you will spend a minimum 3 hrs from start to finish... but totally worth it! I tried as hard as i could to take decent pics, but what can you expect from an iphone camera? And 3 really busy ladies in the kitchen...




Ingredients (serves 6-8 people) u can easily half the recipe.


for dough:
2 lbs wheat flour
2 lbs semolina flour

The holes are about 2mm wide.

1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
Some butter or vegetable shortening


Large steaming pot
water + some cut up lemon.. (can be lemon peel as well)
food proccesor
Monkhol or ghorbala (the big metal "screen"ed thingy with holes)

a wooden frame with a metal screen attached to it

For seasoning the dough:
1/2 cup whole dried red peppers (chilies) (about 10-12 pieces) {less for mild spiciness and more for HOT}
1 large onion
1 tbsp dill seeds




For the "Yakhny" Soup
4 large onions, each cut into 8 wedges
4-5 roma tomatoes
1 can cooked chickpeas
2 chickens, cut into 4-6 pieces each (or any other meat you would prefer, duck meat, rabbit, and venison also taste amazing with this.. you can also use beef)
salt
pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp Turmeric or Saffron powder



Directions:


First, grab a friend because you would prefer not to do this alone.


1) In the steaming pot, fill it up half way with water, and add some lemon slices to the water, heat till boiling.


Now to work on the dough,

Circular movements to get the dough to fall through.

2)Mix the water with the salt and put in a container that's easy to pour from (small water bottle is perfect)
Mix the wheat and semolina together.. then in a large mixing bowl....
3) add about 1/2-3/4 a cup of the flour mixture and sprinkle some salt water on it. barely enough to wet it, dont put too much.
4) With ur hands, mix the dough in a circular motion just so all the flour is mixed with the water and tiny dough pieces combine. TRY NOT TO make the dough into one huge piece..



5) Now put the small dough pieces into the food processor and "pulse" it just for 2 seconds. it should cut the dough up really tiny.


6) From the food processor it goes to the "monkhol" (that has a large plate under it to catch the dough) and also with a circular motion you move the dough with your hands until it goes through the holes. If any lumps form, just through it back in the food processor with the next batch of dough..

 Maftool  ready to cook

The sifted dough pieces go straight to the boiling steam pot. If the holes on the bottom are too big, then lay a clean cheese cloth on the bottom so the maftool doesn't fall through. Cover the pot.


Repeat steps 3-6 until all the flour is finished. Keep adding the ready maftool to the pot.


TIP: It would be easier if one person does step 1-5 and the other does step 6.

Close up

Put in the pot, with the boiling water and close very tightly.

After all the maftool is in the pot, let it steam cook for 1 hr, stirring it every now and then. make sure the bottom piece of the pot doesn't leak any steam or it will take forever, or even worse, not work.

Steaming in process

 After the one hour is done, pour the maftool into a large bowl and stir it around. If there are large lumps from the bottom just throw them out.


Taste and if it needs salt, add some now.


Pour it back into the steam pot. Add more water to the pot. about 1/3 of it.

close up after 1 hr of steaming, still not fully cooked

Take it out of the pot and pick out large lumps.

Meanwhile, make the Maftool Seasonings:

In food processor blend the onion + dry peppers + dill seeds for about 10 seconds until nice and small.

Then make a groove (with a spoon) in the middle of the maftool in the pot and add all the seasonings in it then "bury" it under the maftool. 

Leave to cook for another hour or until all the dough is cooked and ready. 

Now you can start the Yakhny:

Clean, cut and boil your chicken. (add bay leaves or whole cardamoms to give it flavor)

Once done, remove the chicken pieces and set aside. 

Add your sliced onions and cook in the broth until soft, then add the cut tomatoes, and cook til done. Add the draiend can of chickpeas, tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, and some turmeric or saffron powder to make it yellowish. Boil together for about 10 mins then add the chicken back and you're done! 

Maftool should be done by now. Stir it around and check to make sure all corners of the pot are equally done. then pour into a large bowl. Add about 1/2 cup butter or shortening to it and mix thoroughly. taste salt. And serve hot with Yakhny!! 

The hungry birds stole a piece of chicken before i could snap a pic. 

You pour the Yakhny over the Maftool and gobble up!
 Dont eat too fast or you'll choke !

TIP: another way of making the yakhny is to just stir fry the onions and tomatoes until tender and not browned, then add the chickpeas, then broth.. and spices.. you choose which is easier for you. 


You can also cook the maftool in advance then freeze it, and when you need it just microwave it.