Skip to main content

Labnieh

There is a dish of rice cooked in yogurt which has been stabilized so that it doesn’t curdle (see page 113), but it is simpler and just as good to pour yogurt over plain rice. Everyone likes this, and Arab doctors prescribe it for people with stomach troubles.

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. For 6, cook 2 cups of rice using one of the methods on pages 337–339. Beat 2 cups of plain whole-milk yogurt at room temperature in a bowl with 1 tablespoon dried mint, 2 crushed garlic cloves, and a little salt and white pepper. Pour some over each portion of steaming hot rice as you serve. I also like it plain, without mint or garlic.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
Read More
Like airy lemon chiffon cake and a Cadbury egg–inspired tart.
Like coconut lentil soup and chicken stroganoff.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
A warmly spiced Ashkenazi charoset, perfect for your Passover seder—or spooned over yogurt the next morning.
Use this simple vinaigrette to dress a plate of greens, some steamed potatoes, or anything else that strikes your fancy.
Put that half-full tub to use with recipes that go beyond the Italian American classics.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.