HOME & LIVING
B2 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
RAMADAN
Continued from Page B1
If you do not have a grill,
then by all means broil the
eggplant. You will not be
unhappy. You just won’t be
in the same state of tran-
scendent bliss that comes
from cooking the eggplant
on a grill.
I stayed in the Middle
East for my next iftar dish,
mujadarrah, which is lentils
and rice with fried onions.
This is the most com-
forting of comfort foods.
Though it is made up of
only four simple ingredi-
ents, plus salt and pepper,
the way they combine
together is just stunning.
Mere lentils and rice,
while perfectly accept-
able for a dish, is a little
dull. But fried onions bring
unexpected depth to the
fl avor, along with the irre-
sistible sweetness that
comes from a long, slow
caramelization.
It takes a long time to
properly brown onions, but
the results are spectacular.
I made a double batch so
I could keep some in the
refrigerator until needed.
Besides, the house is going
to smell like onions every
time you do it, anyway, so
you may as well make more
than you need.
The fourth and fi nal
ingredient of mujadarrah
is yogurt (browned onions
are made from onions and
olive oil, but I’m counting
it as a single ingredient).
The creamy tanginess of
the yogurt cuts through the
umami-heavy undertones of
the other ingredients. It is a
masterful stroke that brings
cohesion to the dish.
I’ve seen recipes that say
the use of yogurt is optional.
Don’t listen to them.
I headed to Southeast
Asia for my next iftar dish,
potato bread patties, which
come to us from a food
blogger in Pakistan.
These delightful little
packets are a quick way
to make samosas, those
stuff ed fried appetizers that
are a must at any restau-
rant serving the food from
India, Nepal, Bangladesh
and Pakistan.
The fi lling is the familiar
potato stuffi ng that can
be found in samosas; it’s
what makes the fl atbread
aloo paratha so good.
Plain mashed potatoes are
highly spiced with cori-
ander, cumin, turmeric and
a tangy spice mixture called
chaat masala (I bought it
at an international food
store; if you don’t want to
go to the trouble you can do
without it).
Into the mixture also go
onion, garlic, mint, peas,
lemon juice and cilantro.
No single ingredient stands
out; it is the singular com-
bination of all the tastes
mashed together that pro-
vides the signature note.
What makes these pat-
ties stand out is the wrap-
ping. Instead of a dough
you make yourself, then
knead and then let rest
for an hour, this dish uses
plain old sandwich bread.
You just roll it fl at, place
MAMMEN
Continued from Page B1
The last movie adver-
tised for the Star Theatre
was in August of 1929.
The movie was “It Can
Be Done” starring Glenn
Tryon. Well, someone
thought that “something”
could be done, and done
quickly, because The
Observer reported on Sept.
30, 1929, that “The razing
of the Star theater to make
way for the construction of
a modern, specially built
theater is progressing rap-
idly.” The someones who
were in charge at this time
some fi lling in the middle
and fold it over into a tri-
angle. Dip it in egg, dredge
it through breadcrumbs and
fry it in hot oil.
Voilà. You’ve got your-
self a potato bread patty.
I saved a main course
for last, Sticky Malaysian
Chicken With Pineapple
Salad. Once again, the
warming, comforting fl a-
vors belie how easy it is to
make.
This dish has two parts
— three if you count the
chicken, but that’s just
chicken.
The fi rst part is the glaze
for the chicken. It is a mix-
ture of honey, soy sauce,
garlic and ginger, with
sesame oil, fi sh sauce and a
chile for heat. It all comes
together in a food processor
in a matter of minutes.
While the glaze-cov-
ered chicken is cooking
in the oven, you can make
the second part of the dish,
the pineapple salad. This
is a remarkably refreshing
concoction of pineapple,
cucumber, red onion and
lime juice.
The sprightly salad is
a lovely contrast to the
chicken, but to be honest,
either part of the dish would
be great on its own.
And for iftar? Nothing
could be better.
BABA
GHANOUSH
Yield: 6 servings
2 (1-pound) eggplants,
halved lengthwise
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup plain, full-fat yogurt
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pomegranate
seeds, see notes
Mint leaves, for garnish, optional
Notes: Pomegranate seeds
are harder to fi nd than they
used to be. I bought mine
at Whole Foods. They are a
lovely addition to this recipe
but are not essential.
— If you do not have a
grill, skip to step 2.
1. Prepare a fi re in a grill. When
coals are hot, prick eggplant skins
all over with a fork or knife and
cook on grate, turning once, until
cut side is just beginning to lightly
blacken and skin is charred. Let
cool. Skip to step 3.
2. If you do not have a grill, heat
broiler to high; prick eggplant skins
with a knife or fork and place on a
baking sheet on the top rack of your
oven. Broil, fl ipping once, until the
cut side is just beginning to blacken
and the skin is charred. Let cool.
3. Scoop eggplant out of its
skin with a large spoon, and set
aside. Place lemon juice, tahini
and garlic in a food processor; let
sit 10 minutes. Add the reserved
eggplant, yogurt, salt and pepper,
and pulse until slightly smooth.
Transfer to a shallow dish. Make
a well on the surface and drizzle
with oil. Garnish with pomegran-
ate seeds and mint.
Per serving: 165 calories; 15 g
fat; 3 g saturated fat; 3 mg cho-
lesterol; 4 g protein; 7 g carbohy-
drate; 3 g sugar; 2 g fi ber; 403 mg
sodium; 40 mg calcium
— Adapted from a recipe in
Saveur
were Joseph Meyers and a
young man of 23 years of
age by the name of Francis
Gruelich.
By Nov. 4, 1929, it was
reported that decorators
had started working at the
Granada and would be fi n-
ished in a week or two
and the tile setters were
beginning their work. The
Granada opened on Nov.
16. That Saturday matinee
was at 1:30 featuring the
movie “The Last of Mrs.
Cheyney” starring Norma
Shearer, Basil Rath-
bone and Hedda Hopper.
Everyone was anxious
to see the new Granada,
the second theater in La
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
LENTILS AND
RICE WITH
FRIED ONIONS
(MUJADARRAH)
Yield: 4 servings
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large white onion,
sliced into rings
1 1/3 cups green lentils
3/4 cup uncooked long-
grain white rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet
over medium heat. Stir in the on-
ions and cook, stirring occasional-
ly, until they turn a rich mahogany
brown, about 45 minutes to 1
hour or longer. Do not allow to
turn black; this will make them
bitter. Browned onions can be
kept in an airtight container in the
refrigerator for several days or can
be frozen for several months.
2. Place lentils in a medium
saucepan and cover with 1 1/2
inches of lightly salted water.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
simmer about 15 minutes.
3. Add rice and enough water
to cover by 1/2 inch or a little
more. Add at least 1/4 teaspoon
salt and pepper to taste. Bring to
a boil, cover and turn heat to low.
Simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until
rice and lentils are tender. Let sit
off the heat, covered, at least 5
minutes.
4. Add 1/2 of the onions and
stir with a fork to mix well and fl uff
rice. Taste and season if necessary.
To serve, top with remaining on-
ions and yogurt on each portion.
Per serving: 460 calories; 10 g
fat; 2 g saturated fat; 5 mg choles-
terol; 22 g protein; 73 g carbohy-
drate; 4 g sugar; 8 g fi ber; 167 mg
sodium; 76 mg calcium
— Recipe by Melissa Mueller,
via allrecipes.com
POTATO
BREAD PATTIES
Yield: 8 servings (32 patties)
2 medium potatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, chopped
Salt
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red
chiles, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon crushed cumin
seeds (or dried cumin)
Pinch of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon chaat
masala, see note
1 green chile
6 mint leaves, fi nely chopped
1/4 cup frozen peas
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon cilantro
leaves, chopped
32 slices sandwich bread
Oil for deep frying
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups breadcrumbs
Note: Chaat masala is a spice
mixture. It is available
at international food
markets. If you can’t fi nd
it, you can leave it out.
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions (Mujadarrah), Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
masala, and stir until combined.
Add mashed potatoes, green
chile, mint and peas, and stir until
mixed well. Add lemon juice and
cilantro and mix well. Remove
from heat.
4. Remove crusts from bread
and roll each slice with a rolling
pin until thin. Place a heaping
teaspoon of fi lling in middle of
one slice. Lightly wet edges of the
bread all the way around with wa-
ter, fold one corner over to meet
the opposite corner and form a
triangle. Press sides together to
seal. Repeat with remaining slices
and fi lling.
5. Pour oil 1 1/2 inches deep
in a large pot and bring to 350
degrees Fahrenheit. While it is
heating, place eggs in 1 bowl and
breadcrumbs in another. Dip each
triangle fi rst into eggs to coat,
then into breadcrumbs to cover;
remove to a plate. Fry triangles in
oil a few at a time, without crowd-
ing, until golden brown on both
sides. Remove to a platter lined
with paper towels to drain.
Per serving: 600 calories; 13
g fat; 3 g saturated fat; 93 mg
cholesterol; 20 g protein; 98 g
carbohydrate; 11 g sugar; 7 g
fi ber; 1,211 mg sodium; 267 mg
calcium
— Recipe by yesicancook.pk
STICKY
MALAYSIAN
CHICKEN WITH
PINEAPPLE
SALAD
Yield: 4 to 5 servings
For the glaze and
chicken
1. Peel potatoes and cut them
into quarters. Place in boiling wa-
ter and cook until tender, about
10 minutes. Drain and mash.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over
medium-high heat. Add onion
and salt to taste, and cook until
translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.
3. Add crushed red chiles, cori-
ander, cumin, turmeric and chaat
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 (1 1/4-inch) piece ginger, peeled
and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup runny honey
1/3 cup light soy sauce or tamari
1 red chile (remove seeds if
you prefer it less hot)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons fi sh sauce
2 pounds chicken thighs
2 pounds chicken legs
1 tablespoon sesame
seeds, toasted
Grande — the Arcade
being the fi rst — showing
these new talking moving
pictures. It was no wonder
that during the evening the
line for the ticket booth
went halfway up the block.
The building had been
remodeled with a Spanish
theme and had lost most
of its original uniqueness.
The exterior was now buff
stucco topped with red
tile and there were two
doors at the front. The
interior, according to The
Observer, “was beautifully
furnished and decorated
following the Spanish
theme.” Colors of crimson
and gold were found in
the rich carpeting, com-
fortable and carefully
arranged seats, and gor-
geous drapes.
The Granada under-
went another remodel in
1952 adding 800 staggered
seats, cry rooms and a
20-foot by 15-foot veneer
plastic screen. At that time
it was the “largest and
most modern theater in
eastern Oregon” according
to The Observer. In 1974 it
again became necessary to
update the Granada with
new technology and decor
and at this time the current
triplex came into being.
The Greulich name
has long been associated
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Baba Ghanoush served with pita, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
For the pineapple salad
1 cucumber
1/2 small pineapple, see note
1 small red onion
1 lime, juiced
1 pinch salt
Note: You can use fresh
pineapple that has already
been cored, or even canned
pineapple if you wish.
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Fahrenheit.
2. To make the glaze: In a food
processor, blend garlic, ginger,
honey, soy sauce, chile, sesame oil
and fi sh sauce until fairly smooth.
Place the chicken pieces in a large
roasting pan along with the glaze,
tossing them well to coat. Roast
for 45 minutes, remove from the
oven and sprinkle with the toast-
ed sesame seeds.
with the theater business
in La Grande, starting
with Francis’s father John.
The third and fourth gen-
erations of the Greulich
family are still associated
with the Granada.
3. To make the salad: Halve the
cucumber lengthwise; remove
seeds with a spoon and discard
the seeds. Slice each piece
lengthwise, then slice on an angle
and put in a large bowl. Chop the
pineapple into small cubes and
add to the bowl. Peel and thinly
slice the onion. Add to bowl along
with the lime juice.
4. Taste salad just before serv-
ing; add salt if necessary.
Per serving (based on 5): 310
calories; 11 g fat; 2 g saturated fat;
102 mg cholesterol; 25 g protein;
31 g carbohydrate; 24 g sugar; 1
g fi ber; 1,600 mg sodium; 53 mg
calcium
— Slightly adapted from a
recipe by Rachel Khoo, via food52.
com
Keep looking up! Enjoy!
█
Ginny Mammen has lived in La
Grande for more than 50 years
and enjoys sharing her interest in
the history of people, places and
buildings.
M ICHAEL
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