AUGUST 2023

ody — such as vegetables, grains,
meats and fish.
Samira recalls her kids enjoying
the traditional home-cooked dishes
she made daily. But as her kids grew
older, they became interested in eating
what their friends were eating.
Samira quickly realized that the modern
Western diet is not at all the same
(or as healthy) as the traditional Eastern
diet she grew up eating.
It became Samira’s goal to recreate
all sorts of dishes for her family,
and to completely avoid feeding her
children the unhealthy “fast food”
meals. Focusing on wholesome ingredients,
through trial and error, Samira
figured out how to make a couple of
favorites such as chicken nuggets and
hamburger buns for the burgers.
Cheerleader for Aspiring Chefs
In addition to cooking for her family,
Samira has always enjoyed sharing
her recipes. Friends, family and sometimes
complete strangers began asking
for her recipes and instructions.
Eager to lead, set an example and
empower, Samira’s approach is to encourage.
She tells people, “You can do
this, even if you’ve never cooked before.”
The more she shared, the more
inspired she became to keep going.
Over the years, Samira’s passion
for cooking, and especially baking,
grew to the point of boiling over (pun
intended) and she finally decided to
put it all into a book.
Between 1997 and 2011, Samira published
three cookbooks in Arabic and
in English. Her first book, Muchtar Min
Fenoon Al-Dabough, was published in
Arabic, in 1997. Next, came the Treasured
Middle Eastern Cookbook, published
in 1998. Her third book, A Baking
Journey, was introduced in 2011.
While raising a family and putting
together cookbooks, Samira also became
a regular on TV Orient — the Arabic-speaking
network on cable television
— preparing, demonstrating and
sharing her latest dishes for the Chaldean
and Arabic speaking community.
Toward the end of her run with TV
Orient, Samira moved her platform to
YouTube, where she has been posting
since October 2010. Taking charge
of the production directly has given
Samira complete creative freedom. It
is only the latest chapter in her long
and evolving career.
RECIPE
Pikota Habiya Kashka
Recipe shared by Samira Cholagh
Ingredients:
4-5 pounds beef or
lamb with bones
3 cups barley
6 cups water
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup oil or butter
1 large onion, chopped
salt to taste
Step 1, Barley: Rinse the barley. Fill
pot with water, add barley, salt and
turmeric. Boil until the water has
evaporated. In a frying pan, heat 1/4
cup oil, add chopped onions. Cook
onions until soft, not brown. Add
onions to cooked barley, mix well.
As a final step, add remaining 1/4
cup of oil to pan, heat at high temperature
then pour into the pot of
the Pikota. Mix well.
Step 2, Meat: Select beef or lamb
with bones for best flavor, any
choice of cut. Searing the meat in
oil at a high temperature for a few
minutes on each side will enhance
the savory “meat” flavor. Add water
to the pot, cover and simmer for an
hour and a half or until tender.
Step 3, Presentation: To achieve the
pictured presentation, pack Pikota
into a round cake/Jello pan or any desired
shape. Place a flat serving dish
over filled Jello pan, keeping pressure
to seal them together and in one quick
swoop, flip Jello pan over serving dish
and slowly remove the shaped pan.
Arrange meat around the Pikota. As
a side with this dish, fresh tomatoes,
parsley and cucumbers are served.
AUGUST 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 39