Maroque and Bhatik's Seasonal Newsletter

Welcome to my seasonal newsletter!  I thought it would be nice to do a joint Christmas newsletter for Maroque and Bhatik, as both sites are packed with unusual and hopefully inspiring Christmas gift ideas.  But before I try and tempt you with seasonal delights, there are a few other bits and bobs you may find of interest.

I have a new collection on our Maroque entertain section: a vegetarian dinner party and have included a few recipes below, and hope both the vegetarians and the carnivores enjoy it.  Continuing my look at symbols in Moroccan life, this time it's the hand of Fatima.

Bhatik has some lovely new Sheesham wood furniture, and finally we have our seasonal open weekend coming up, more details below.

Symbols in Moroccan life - the hand of Fatima

A symbol that appears again and again in Moroccan life is the hand of Fatima or khamsa, seen on jewellery, doors, rugs, and embroidered onto clothing in both Berber and Arabic traditions.  Seen by some as a good luck charm to ward off evil spirits, this symbol appears in Jewish and Arabic culture across the Middle East, often going by different names and varying in look, sometimes with the fingers pointing up and sometimes down, some with thumbs out and sometimes not.  Some designs have an eye in the middle and sometimes it is decorated in a henna design pattern.  It is a good luck symbol and is very much associated with your home.  In Morocco this symbol is said to represent the hand of Fatima, Fatima being daughter of the Prophet.  I came across this poem that seem to represent the feeling of the hand of Fatima.

Let no sadness come through this gate,
Let no trouble come to these walls,
Let no conflict be in this place,
Let this home be filled with the blessing of joy and peace

Moroccan inspired vegetarian delights

I have added a new section to our Maroque Entertain section, a vegetarian dinner party.  Celebrate the abundance of vegetables, grains and pulses available in Morocco with this vegetarian menu.  Flavoured with delicate seasonings of herbs and spices, I hope this Moroccan feast will tantalize and delight both the seasoned vegetarians and carnivores alike.

I have included a couple of the recipes below.  The rest, along with wine notes, planning ahead and setting the table ideas can be found online here.

Recipe

Cumin scented cheese crumbles

Ingredients

90g butter
225g cheddar cheese, grated
170g plain flour
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
a pinch of cayenne
1 tsp cumin seeds

1.  Heat the oven to 220C.  In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together to form a crumb like texture, similar to making crumble topping.  Don't squeeze it in a ball.

2.  Take a tablespoon of the dough at a time and roll into balls about 3cm wide.  Place the balls on a greased or non stick baking tray and flatten slightly with your fingers.  Leave enough room for them to spread as they cook.

3.  Transfer to the hot oven and bake for about 15 minutes until slightly risen and golden.

4.  Allow to cool and serve with a glass of fizz or as part of a mezze starter selection.

Makes about 20, and serves 4.

Honeyed Carrot and new potato tagine

Ingredients

2 large onions, cut into eights
1 garlic clove, crushed
10g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
300g small new potatoes washed, larger ones cut in half
200g carrots, peeled and cut into large chucks
75g pitted prunes
250ml vegetable stock
3 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch saffron
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
Toasted slivered almonds to serve

1.  Heat the oven to 200C.  In a frying pan melt the butter and olive oil and fry the onions until soft and brown.  Transfer these to a tagine or casserole dish.

2.  In the same frying pan add the potatoes, carrots and garlic, a little more oil if needed and gently fry to lightly brown.  Add these to the tagine along with all the other ingredients and stir well.

3.  Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for about 45 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has a syrupy consistency.

4.  Scatter with the almonds and serve.

Serves 4.

New furniture

On Bhatik I have just added some lovely Sheesham (rose wood) furniture, including some CD and DVD racks with jali doors, and at long last our wooden screens are back in stock.  I have taken one of the CD racks home and it looks very posh in the breakfast area of my new kitchen.  I still have some more furniture to photograph, but please have a look.

Come along and say hello

We are having our annual Christmas special weekend, which is usually enjoyed by everyone.  Do come along and say hello and try a selection of our Middle Eastern delicacies and a glass of mint tea.  We have also had a revamp of our showroom, after 4 years I thought it was definitely time for a change, please come along and give me your views!

We will also have our Christmas gift section again to inspire you with your Christmas shopping.  We are open until 7pm on 12th and 13th November, from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 14th, and from noon to 4pm on Sunday 15th.  I hope you will be able to come along.

Christmas gifts

The Maroque and the Bhatik Christmas pages are now both online, full of ideas to help you with your festive purchases.  Whether it's the hard to buy for gentleman, the foodie who is after something different or a friend who has everything already, I hope we have gathered our gifts together to help you with your tricky seasonal buying.  Click here for Maroque and here for Bhatik.

Thank you for your continued support.  If you have any comments, ideas, or suggestions I would love to hear from you.  Please email info@maroque.co.uk

Kind regards

Julie Woodard
Maroque
www.maroque.co.uk
www.bhatik.co.uk