Ashak – Leek-Filled Dumplings with Meat Sauce

60-70 round or square dumpling wrappers (I used dim sum wrappers) – you can make your own if you REALLY want to.

1 large leek
1 tsp salt
¼ – ½ tsp red pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 – 2 medium onions, finely chopped
300 gram minced beef or lamb

½ cup yellow split peas, washed and soaked for a bit
½ – 1 cup tomato sauce
salt and black pepper

16 oz plain yogurt (room temperature)
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp salt

dried mint, to serve

Chop the leek, and wash and drain in a colander, pressing out as much water as possible. Place the leeks in a mixing bowl, and add salt and red pepper, mixing well. Mix in the 1 tsp oil. Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan and fry the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown. Add the meat and fry until browned. Drain the split peas and add them too, along with the tomato sauce and some hot water, just enough to cover the meat and beans. Bring to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste (don’t add too much salt as the sauce will thin out later and be more concentrated), lower the heat, cover, and simmer about half an hour, or until the peas are cooked. Remove the cover and allow to simmer until the sauce boils down to desired thickness, and adjust the seasonings. While the meat sauce is cooking, stuff the dumplings: lay out a few wrappers and place 1-1½ tsp of the leek mixture in the centers of each. With your finger, run some water along the edges of each wrapper and seal with a second wrapper, pressing edges together firmly. Set the dumplings aside as you finish them (try to work quickly so they don’t dry out). Bring a big pot of water to boil, add 1 tsp salt and a bit of vinegar, and boil the dumplings for 7-10 minutes. You may have to boil them in two batches. Gently push them back under the water with a spoon when they come up. Mix the yogurt, garlic, and salt. Swirl a bit of the yogurt mixture over the serving plate, or on individual plates. When the dumplings are done, remove them gently with a slotted spoon and try to let as much water run off as you can. Place on the serving plate, over the yogurt. Top with the meat sauce and more yogurt, and sprinkle liberally with the dried mint. Noosh-e jan!

Zauvijek

Dođi mi nisam ti daleko
Dođi mi samo pređi preko ponosa
Tako blizu sam ti ja

Vrati me ti u svoje snove
Vrati se sve je ovdje tvoje
Da li čuješ glas što ti srce doziva

Spasi me ti od ove moje tuge
I od ovog gorkog plamena
Spasi me da osjetim ljubav vječnu
Da zauvijek rob sam tebi ja

Dođi mi nađi me u sebi
Ljubav je skrivena u tebi
U njoj je sjaj što duši daje mir

 Forever

Come to me, I am not far from you
Come to me, overcome your pride
I am so close to you

Come back to my dreams
Come back, all that is here is yours
Do you hear the voice from my heart that calls you?

Save me from my sadness
And from this bitter flame
Save me that I may feel your love eternally
That I may be evermore your slave

Come to me, find me within yourself
Love is hidden within you
In that is the radiance that gives your soul peace

Here are the Bosnian and English versions of Burhan Šaban’s new song for Srebrenica; as always, it’s much better in the original language!

“Muslim World Music Day is an online effort to identify and catalog all the recordings of Muslim music in the world. It will be a step towards making this culturally significant body of work readily available to people around the globe for study and enjoyment.”   Read More

So what is happening in my life?  I have been living in Prague, Czech Republic since July 2009, with Mr. Musicalchef (since November 2009), whom I met when I was living in Bosnia.  I’ll probably write more later about life in Prague, but you can visit my page on resources for Muslims in Prague if you’re curious about the community here.  I have been teaching English, which I enjoy, but don’t want to do all my life.  But it’s a good job and I’m glad to have it.

I’m still doing research when I have time, although it’s from the armchair (computer chair?) right now, until I get a chance to visit Bosnia again or go back to the US.  I did have the opportunity of participating in a conference here a month ago and giving a presentation on modern Muslim music in Indonesia.  And I’m reading a lot.  Since I spend so much time on the bus, metro, and tram going between classes, the public library is a real friend!

As for cooking, I haven’t been experimenting as much as I used to.  I don’t want to accumulate a bunch of spices and cooking tools when I don’t really know how long I will be here in Prague.  So the “chef” is on hold for now.  We have no oven, so desserts come from Marks & Spencer (thank God for that store!).

I’m toying with the idea of making the blog more “professional,” but if I do that I’ll probably have to lose the name “musicalchef” and stop posting lolcats.  I plan to keep expanding the existing music pages (basically databases) and adding more.  Anyways, I’ll try to update more often!

You can buy their songs here.  (type “Debu” into the search engine)

Here is the program

Muslim World Music Day combines elements of an academic teach-in, a crash course, and a virtual town hall meeting with an innovative crowdsourcing process. A collection of individuals and institutions from a variety of disciplines will work together to create awareness and understanding of the chosen subject in a compressed time frame.

Muslim World Music Day will be a live online effort to identify and catalog all the recordings of Muslim music in the world, in one day. It will be a step towards making this culturally significant body of work readily available to people around the globe for study and enjoyment.”  Read more…

This video is of Halid Bešlić, you can also find the mp3 of Aziz Alili singing it – that version is more well-known -  here (mouse over “donload mp3,” then “ilahije i kaside,” and select “ilahije download/1.”  Scroll down a bit to look for Aziz Alili).  The text here in italics is the chorus.  Yes I am aware that he sings it a bit differently in this video, but I thought it was the best version   Poor guy was in an accident last year; that’s why his face is like that.

O Zefire

Ti si Sunce koje blista s nebeskih visina;

Drugi resuli su zvijezde što sjaje iz tmina.

O, zefire, kad poletiš do medinskih strana,

Poselami onog što ga moja duša sanja!

Ti si kao cvijet nježan, kao Mjesec ponosan,

Ti si more od ićrama, najljepši ti si san.

Kao sedef sjajni školjkin kada se rastvori,

Takav je tvoj osmijeh blagi kada progovoriš

Takav miris ne imadu ni zafran ni mošus

Kao zemljica što pokriva tvoje tijelo I kosu

Oh Breeze

You are a sun that beams from the lofty heavens

The other messengers are stars that shine from that

O, breeze, when you fly through Medina

Greet the one whom my soul dreams of!

You are like a tender blossom, like the proud moon,

You are a sea of generosity, the most beautiful dream

Like a brilliant white seashell when it opens,

So is your gracious smile when you speak

Such a scent has neither saffron nor musk

Like the fragrance of your body and hair

Baraka Blue, from the Remarkable Current label

Tyson Amir’s bandcamp site