AMAL: Hello! Hi! Marhabba! Everybody welcome to my kitchen. I’m Amal from Palestine. Today we will do ‘Fried Tomatoes Palestinian Style’…So, we need 5 tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic and 1 capsicum / green pepper.

So, we should cut the pepper and the tomatoes. When I am too busy, I don’t remove the skin of the tomatoes…But, if you have time, you can remove the skin. If you don’t have the time, “khallas” (in Arabic) – don’t worry about it. We just slice the tomatoes into bite-size pieces and also the capsicum, we cut it into small pieces and the onion also, we should cut it into small pieces.

So, we will start the “Qallayet Bendorra” / Fried Tomatoes Palestinian Style. We should put [some] olive oil into the frying pan…and we should put [the] onion into the olive oil. I learnt from my Grandmother to not let the olive oil boil – it’s not good if the olive oil boils. We should wait [until] the onion turns golden.

I love cooking…and this is very delicious – I like to do it all the time. This meal is very good for those who don’t have [much] time.

Now [that] the onion has turned golden, we can put the tomato pieces and the green pepper into the onion. Leave it to simmer for 7 minutes and cover it.

After around 7 – 10 minutes check to make sure that the tomatoes and the green pepper are tender. [Then] take the lid off and let [all] the moisture [in the pan] evaporate. And then, I want to add some salt and black pepper…as you like.
It smells delicious. “Taybe”, “zarkey”, yummy… “Zarkey” in Arabic, yanni delicious. [Laughs] “Yanni” means, ‘means’…

So, we need to turn the heat down, then we should take the garlic…and use the garlic press – (it’s good the garlic press, I like it very much) and put it into the fried tomatoes. I like the smell of the garlic.

I started cooking when I was 14. I used to help my mother in the kitchen. Now, I cook for my whole family – I enjoy it. As a Palestinian, food is a very important part of our life.

Sometimes, I don’t [use the] green pepper. [This dish] is very delicious with eggs. In Syria, they call Fried Tomatoes with Egg, “Juzz Muzz” – I don’t know what it means.
So, I’ve finished now this delicious, yummy Fried Tomatoes or “Qallayet Bendorra” in Arabic. Generally, we serve it here in Palestine with hot, flat “khoubbers” [laughs] – hot, flat “khoubbers” – hot, flat bread in Arabic. So, I hope you enjoy your meal!
Sahtain o’affyah!