Siniya recipe (all that Middle Eastern yum)

Making some of the best Middle Eastern dishes can be quite simple. The key is in what you use to make it: basic quality ingredients and specific spices!
This dish recently became one of the staples in my cooking. It’s easy to make, comforting to eat, filling, and most importantly: delicious. I serve it over rice, potatoes, or over a plate of hummus for gluten-free options.

Meat:
1 pound ground beef (or lamb!)
1/2 an onion, diced
1-2 carrots, cut to thin rounds
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons of hawayij*
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste

Tahini sauce:
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
Juice from 1/4 slice of lemon
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F degrees.
2. Heat some oil (about a tablespoon) in a large pan. I use olive oil but it can be any oil of your choice. Sauté the diced onion for about 2-3 minutes until it turns translucent, then add the sliced carrots. Cook until soft.
3. Line a 9x13 oven-proof dish or pan with tin foil.

4. Add the onions and carrots to the lined dish. Add all the spices and mix well.
5. Add the meat and mix very well until it is evenly coated with spices.
6. Add cilantro and mix well again.
7. Make sure the meat mixture is evenly spread in the pan and place in the oven for 20 min.
8. While the meat cooks, make the tahini sauce! Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small dish until smooth and runny. It might look weird at first, but keep mixing, eventually it will get to the right texture.
9. Take the meat mixture out of the oven and break up any large clumps of the meat with a fork.
10. Spread with tahini sauce evenly over the meat and put back in oven for 15 min.
11. Eat!

* Don’t feel like purchasing and experimenting with Hawayij? Make your own simple version:
1-1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch of pepper