"The sourness of the Waraq ‘Inab (rice filled vine leaves) in its Druze version comes not from bitter lemons but from tomatoes, which also have sweetness to them,” said Hikam Aride as she grated tomatoes into the vine leaf rice filling.
Hikam Aride was born in the northern Israeli Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel more than five decades ago, to a family of nine sisters and three brothers. Aride’s life was full of twists and turns. She stopped her school studies at the age of 14 and married at a relatively early age a man from another village, moving into his family’s house as is customary in Druze society.
In less than six years, Aride gave birth to her four children. In the Druze sector at that time, women seldom acquired an education and hardly ever worked, not to mention having any economic independence.
“The relationship didn’t go well,” Aride recalled sadly. “I had to run away from home and launch a legal battle, perhaps the first of its kind in our sector, to bring my children back to my arms.”
Aride found herself at the age of 27 with four children back in her parents’ house, again as customary, with no education, no job, and no bank account. “I didn’t even have any children’s clothes,” she said.
“This is a special version of kubbeh in that it’s collective – you don’t shape pieces and distribute them. Everyone just comes, shapes it however they want, and takes their share,” explained Aride as she kneaded the mixture of cooked potatoes, bulgur, sautéed onions, and dried red bell peppers.
Over time, her parents’ house became too small to accommodate the family, and the noise and commotion were rough on her parents. So Aride rented an apartment nearby instead of living with them, another situation that goes against tradition in the Druze sector.
“One day a neighbor approached me and suggested that I go ask for rent assistance. I didn’t understand what she was talking about – assistance from whom?” The friend took Aride to the National Insurance Institute, where she discovered that as a divorced and unemployed woman and single mother, she was entitled to certain assistance from the state, which helped cover some of the expenses.
This was a turning point for her, especially in understanding the power of economic independence and exercising of rights.
Aride then began working in a household and eventually reached financial independence, completed her studies, enrolled in law courses, and assisted students in exercising their rights. “I even have an academic paper [written] about me,” she mentioned proudly.
The full story of Aride’s struggles and endeavors is thrilling and inspiring, and she invites everyone to hear the full details firsthand as part of her cooking workshops.
“This little surprise I made for everyone has been cooking for a long time – since 6 a.m.! The slow and lengthy cooking is the secret for it to remain tender and savory,” Aride said as she added the lamb dish she made for the tempting Mansaf, distributed it generously on the pile of rice and chicken, and scattered nuts as a topping.
Little by little, Aride became a household name and an authority among divorced and single-parent Druze women who went through similar crises and went on to lead independent lives.
But this was not enough for her. Soon enough, she would establish a parental patrol aimed at assisting the youth in her village, and several years ago she joined its search and rescue team. “Sorry for the frequent phone calls,” she apologized while her phone was ringing. “I just never know whether it’s someone from the search and rescue team requiring help.”
Aride’s unconventional path did not escape her home, either. Uncommon in the Druze sector, she received a plot of land from her family, and personally supervised the building of her home from up close. “I know every nail and every grain of sand in this house,” she said with a smile.
In the house she built with her own two hands, Aride has been conducting cooking workshops for the past 15 years, in which she shares the secrets of the fine Druze cuisine with the participants – and, most notably, in a kosher version. Aride takes pride in the fact that after having to start from scratch and not owning enough pieces of clothing for her children, she can now host groups in the house that she built herself.
“The cooking workshops have allowed me to open my home to others and invite them over to have culinary experience of Druze cuisine,” she said proudly.
What is the secret of Druze cuisine in your eyes?
“The secret of Druze food lies with the spices,” Aride explained. “Our food boasts many flavors stemming from these spice blends. Whenever I’m asked to provide a recipe, I find it hard to gauge the exact measures of spices. I just use the traditional method of ‘measuring with the eyes,’” she said again with a smile.
Aride volunteered during the war in several initiatives to prepare food for the benefit of IDF soldiers in the North, enabling them to enjoy the magic of Druze cuisine as well – in addition to the countless initiatives in which she already takes part.
What have you learned from your life experience that you’d like to share with our readers?
“Life is too wide to hold on to one thing and think that it will never come back. Always remember that you are not limited to one chance or to one specific future, and it’s all in your hands,” Aride concluded.
Hikam Aride can be reached through her Instagram page: www.instagram.com/hikamaride/.
To schedule a cooking workshop, contact her at 050-232-2258.
Make your own Druze meal
Enjoy a few of Hikam Aride’s traditional recipes. “Druze cuisine is characterized by an abundance of food, and there is no exact translation to serving sizes,” she notes. “These dishes are enough to feed about 15 to 20 people.”
Waraq Inab (rice-filled vine leaves)
½ kilo vine leaves
1½ kg. round rice
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic powder OR 1 Tbsp. chicken soup powder
Baharat spice mix
½ cup olive oil
2-3 large tomatoes
2-3 large onions
1. Soak the rice for at least one hour.
2. Soak the vine leaves in hot water for a few minutes and dry well (Handle gently so they don’t rip).
3. Wash the rice; mix with spices and oil.
4. Grate the tomatoes into the rice mix and use any leftover peel to line the bottom of the pot, along with slices of onion.
5. Place a small amount of rice mixture in the middle of the rough side of the vine leaf.
6. Take the two edges of the leaf, close them together, and then roll the leaf from bottom to top.
7. Place the rolled vine leaves on the tomato and onion slices in the pot, organizing them in a spiral pattern and placing them in layers.
8. Put a heat-resistant plate on the leaves to hold them firmly in place during the cooking process.
9. Fill the pot with water until it reaches 1 cm. over the leaves.
10. Bring to a boil on high heat, then cook on medium heat for 30-40 minutes.
11 Serve while hot.
Kubbeh (vegan version)
½ kg. fine red bulgur
Pepper paste*
Kubbeh spice mix: cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin
5-6 medium-sized potatoes
2 onions, thinly diced
Olive oil
1. Cook potatoes in water until soft.
2. Fry onions until soft.
3. Mash the cooked potatoes. Add bulgur, pepper paste, spice mix, fried onions, and olive oil.
4. Mix and knead well until uniform and soft. Make any desired shape and serve.
* To make pepper paste: Grind red and fully ripe bell peppers in a food processor, strain the liquid, and add nutmeg and dried mint leaves.
Mansaf (kosher version)
For the meat:
4 kg. lamb shoulder
Mustard
Ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Kosher salt
For the rice:
½ kilo Basmati rice
Baharat spice mix
Pine nuts
Almonds
Chicken stock
1. Season the lamb with the ground black pepper, mustard, kosher salt, and garlic, and wrap in baking paper and tinfoil.
2. Place the wrapped lamb pieces in an oven-safe pan with water (for steaming), and cook in a preheated oven for 4 hours at 180 degrees.
3. Wash the rice well.
4. Fry pine nuts and almonds in olive oil for a few minutes, strain them, and transfer the oil to a pot.
5. Fry the washed rice for 3-4 minutes in the pine nut and almond oil, add chicken stock and cover the pot until the rice is cooked well.
6. Place the rice in a large serving tray, place lamb shoulder pieces on the rice, and add more pine nuts and almonds for garnish.