Today's recipe is one of the authentic Egyptian recipes that you can not find elsewhere, it is an Alexandrian Style flavorful liver dish called Kebda eskandarani.
So, join us in our culinary journey to Alexandria to reveal the secrets of such a unique dish.
What is Kebda eskandarani?
It's a type of simple quick liver recipes that comes from Alexandria, an Egyptian city on the Mediterranean known as the “Bride of the Mediterranean”.
Literally, Kebda means “Liver” and Eskandarani means “from Alexandria”.
The Alexandrian cuisine is rich in its unique recipes and distinctive cooking methods that differs from other cuisines even in Egypt itself.
It is pan fried liver combined with garlic, green pepper, lemon, vinegar and seasoned with cumin and salt.
It is considered a very popular street food recipe all over Egypt.
Actually, many people don't prefer eating liver for its strong ironic taste, but forget this problem in our recipe where you only feel the smell of happiness
and fall in love with its taste.
Pre-cooking liver preparation
To obtain the best professional liver dish with an unforgettable taste you need to prepare it before cooking as follows:
Get rid of extra fats and the membrane surrounding it
Cut into small pieces
Clean with lemon, salt, and cumin.
Honestly, some cooking schools don't prefer washing the liver at all but you can apply this last step if you are sensitive to its smell.
Ingredients
These are the basic classic ingredients of this recipe and the amount is totally up to you , generally you need:
Beef liver
Garlic
Green bell pepper
spicy green peppers ( optional for a more special taste)
Lemon
Vinegar
Cumin
Powder coriander
Salt
Vegetable oil
Other optional additions
Although the previous ingredients are the basic known components of Kebda eskandarani, some love adding extra ones to give their recipe a customised twist like:
Chopped onions
Red and yellow bell peppers
Pomegranate molasses (deps al rumman in arabic)
And this because savour recipes are flexible so you can add the ingredient you love to enjoy your dish with your special signature.
Instructions
Firstly, cut the beef liver into small cubes.
Then, prepare your vegetables like chopping the peppers, mincing the garlic.
In a very hot frying pan, put some vegetable oil then add the liver cubes and leave without stirring till colour changes.
After the colour turns brown, add the minced garlic and your chopped peppers.
Mix together, then add the lemon juice and vinegar.
Finally, season with salt, cumin and dry coriander.
You can add chopped parsley for garnish if you prefer.
Serving methods
Kebda eskandarani is typically served in sandwiches with tahini sauce using the Egyptian baladi bread or buns.
Also it can be eaten with red sauce macaroni, fried potatoes or even with white rice
Surprisingly, it can be served as a topping over the Egyptian Koshari dish.
Regardless of the serving method, you will enjoy its unique simple flavour any way.
Pickles, green spicy pepper, tahini sauce, and lemon wedges are possible delicious accompaniments for this recipe.
Tahini sauce preparation
In a bowl, simply add tahini paste with some vinegar
Mix together until becomes thick
Soften by adding warm water until
reaching the preferred consistency
Season with salt and black pepper
Tips for a successful Kebda eskandarani dish
Don't stir the liver too much while cooking.
Make sure the pan is very hot before adding the liver in order not to lose its internal juices.
You can soak in milk before cooking to get rid of its ironic taste.
Nutritional Value of Kebda eskandarani
Liver is extremely rich in iron so it is very beneficial for treating anaemia.
An excellent source for vitamin A, but be careful if you are a pregnant woman as a high concentration of vitamin A may harm your embryo.
Adding peppers increases its nutritional value as they are rich in vitamin C and have high fibre content.
Garlic is considered a natural antibiotic and boosts heart health.
Tahini is highly nutritious and rich in antioxidants.
Bread is a source of carbohydrates.
There are about 133 calories in 100 gm beef liver.
Finally, you must try this addictive authentic juicy Egyptian Kebda eskandarani recipe.
And for a special Egyptian breakfast experience don't miss our Foul mudammas and Falafel, also the Egyptian Omali recipe is irresistible as a dessert.