All Things Assyrian
A Lifetime of Cooking Secrets
By Rosaline Walters
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Mary Jammo with her Biriyani.
Mary Jammo has undergone many transformations over her life; from a resident of Jordon who couldn't cook to the proud mum of two children with a bowlful of tips and tricks for the kitchen.

The St Johns Park resident said she came to Australia when she was 12 and didn't learn to cook until she was a young wife working long hours.

You don't want to eat pizza everyday." she said.

"It's cheap to cook at home and it's hygienic."

Her Assyrian sisters-in-law taught her their families traditional dishes.

"I wanted to get involved (with the family)," Mrs Jammo said.

"The way to get involved with people's communities is through cooking."

After that Mrs Jammo began to learn Armenian dishes from her own community.

"(Now) I do Assyrian and Armenian and I have Aussie kids who like everything!" she said.

Over the decades, as her cooking skills have grown, Mrs Jammo has become increasingly concerned about healthy eating.

"I used to have lots of oil," Mrs Jammo said. "(Now) I hardly use any oil in my cooking."

Her dish, biryani, is a perfect example of this healthy approach.

Biryani can be cooked with fish, beef or lamb depending on what part of the world the cook is from.

"You never find two women who cook biryani the same way," Mrs Jammo said.

As the lamb simmers in its own juices the whole dish uses very little cooking oil.

Mrs Jammo suggests that if the dish is for a family meal cooks should avoid adding vegetables.

"It gets soggy and the kids don't like it," she said.

Cooks should also remember to cover the rice in cold water before bringing to the boil.

"With hot water it cooks quicker," Mrs Jammo said. "It gets cloggy."

The perfectly cooked biryani. The perfectly cooked biryani. Ingredients

2 cups rice (basmati preferred)

4 cups cold water

3 tablespoons oil

1/2 teaspoon saffron

1/2 teaspoon curry

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vegeta seasoning

2 onions finely diced

1/2 barbecue chicken shredded

1/2 kg lamb, cubed into 2 cm pieces

4 boiled eggs, sliced

50g sultanas, browned

50g whole almonds (skin off) browned

2 medium potatoes, cubed

Method

Add 2 tbsp oil to a pan and brown the potatoes. Remove from the pan and then saute the lamb on low for 15-20 minutes in its own juices.

Remove the lamb. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot and cook rice and onions for one minute. Add curry, saffron, salt and vegetable seasoning.

Add water and cook on high for 4 minutes (or until the water has absorbed). Reduce heat, cover and cook rice for a further 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once rice is cooked, add chicken and lamb.

Stir. Remove from heat. Serve garnished with potatoes, egg, almonds and sultanas.



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