The word “qalayet” literally means a frying pan. This simple vegan dish is popular amongst college students who live away from home, since it doesn’t take much time to cook, and you can’t mess it up. It also consists of only few ingredients that mostly available in your fridge. This simple garlicky, tangy dish is so delicious, the combination of garlic and tomatoes with the hot chili let’s you dig in with khubez (Arabic bread) without control.
As part of my participation with Truly Palestinian campaign that aims in documenting Palestinian recipes, I decided to make qalayet bandoura. This phase of the campaign is all about dishes cooked with olive oil (aklat bil zeit). It’s also a perfect time to celebrate the harvest season which is curently taking place in Palestine.
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In a skillet heat extra virgin olive oil and add crushed garlic with green chili (the amount of chili depends on how spicy you like it), this dish is recommended a little hot if you tolerate spicy food. Let the garlic cook until it’s golden brown, then remove half of the garlic which will be poured on top later, keep the rest of the garlic including the oil in the skillet, then add the tomatoes. Any type of tomatoes can be used, sliced rounded or chopped into squares can work but important to choose tomatoes that are ripe but not too watery. In this case, I’m using grape tomatoes chopped into half.
Let the tomatoes cook and sizzle uncovered for about 10 minutes on high heat with minimal stirring to maintain the shape of the tomatoes, which just makes the dish looks nicer. Add salt and some sugar then mix gently. The idea behind adding sugar is because when sugar is mixed with the salt and the acidity of the tomatoes it can turn the taste into more sour.
Keep it cooking on medium heat for another 10-15 minutes and until the tomatoes look fully cooked and softened. Once done spread the rest of the cooked garlic and chili on top. Turn off the heat and serve hot with khubz (Arabic bread) ghamis in Arabic means dip in the bread in the food.
Qalayet Bandoura (Tomatoes in a Pan) قلاية بندورة
Description
The word “qalayet” literally means a frying pan. This simple vegan dish is popular amongst college students who live away from home, since it doesn’t take much time to cook, and you can’t mess it up. It also consists of only few ingredients that mostly available in your fridge. This simple garlicky, tangy dish is so delicious, the combination of garlic and tomatoes with the hot chili let’s you dig in with khubez (Arabic bread) without control.
Ingredients
- 1 box of baby grapes tomatoes (or 3–4 medium size ripped tomatoes)
- 4–5 garlic cloves crushed
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 hot chili
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- salt
Instructions
- In a skillet, heat extra virgin olive oil and add crushed garlic with green chili.
- Let it cook until it’s golden brown, then remove half of the garlic which will be poured on top later, keep the rest including the oil in the skillet.
- Add tomatoes and let the tomatoes cook and sizzle for about 10 minutes on high heat, with minimal stirring.
- Add salt and some sugar then mix gently.
- Keep it cooking on medium heat for another 10-15 minutes and until the tomatoes look fully cooked and softened.
- Once done, spread the rest of the cooked garlic and chili on top.
- Turn off the heat and serve hot with khubez (Arabic bread).
