Allayet Bandora,
A Palestinian cuisine recipe, is a thick and pulpy tomato sauce made by stir frying tomatoes and garlic in olive oil. This dish is usually served as an appetiser or mezze in buffets, or alongside grills, BBQs… It is traditionally served with Arabic pita bread, but can be poured over meats and steaks as well. It is a very good accompaniment to Mujadara (a traditional Palestinian dish of lentils & rice or freekeh). Allayehet Bandora also pairs well with varieties of rice-based dishes such as Bukhari Rice (yellow rice), Maloubet Beitinjan and even with Sayyadiyeh (a fish and rice dish)…etc. otherwise, you can simply serve this Allayeh as a dip next to varieties of breads and bread sticks or on a cheeseboard for having with the cheese varieties on display.
Allayet Bandoora is a beautiful and delicious yet very simple dish, with much depth to its flavour. It is an absolute crowd pleaser. I like mine to be spicy, so I add my beautiful DS Shatta in its making, but you can go for a non-spicy version if that’s what you prefer, simply ommit the shatta in the recipe below.
Finally, and since Palestinian cuisine is all about people’s relationship and tie with earth it is only fitting that I include a video (below) here that shows you how to grow tomatoes from seed. The method shown here is super easy and guaranteed. What I love the most about it is that it makes use of tomatoes you bought and have not used, which instead of going to waste are recycled into great tomato trees that will supply you with endless tomatoes. There is not enough I can say about that! So I will leave it up to you to watch, grow and make this delicious Allayeh that is the perfect side to so many dishes and fantastic dip to serve anytime!