Lugma in Arabic means a bite. For Noor Murad, as a chef and co-author of two Ottolenghi Test Kitchen cookbooks, her career has been centred around taking bites of food and analysing them to create the perfect dish.
Raised in Bahrain and now based in London, Noor takes us on a culinary journey to celebrate her own food culture. Her recipes are inspired by the foods of her upbringing: the elaborate rice dishes and black limes of the Gulf, an abundance of herbs and sour flavours from Iran, liberal spice and chilli heat from India and the vibrant foods of the Levant – to create a unique collection of traditional and re-imagined dishes from the Middle East.
In this fabulous, recently published cookbook, Noor offers over 100 recipes as an ode to the food she grew up eating – traditional flavours and modern recipes from Bahrain, the surrounding Middle East and beyond. From Spring Time Fattoush and Stuffed Baby Aubergines to Slow-cooked Fenugreek Lamb with Pickled Chillies and Pistachio Cake with Labneh, these beautiful and inspirational recipes are full of love and warmth to be recreated in our own kitchens. Lugma is a triumphant debut solo cookbook.
Lugma by Noor Murad (Quadrille, £28), Photography © Matt Russell
About the Author
Bahrain-born, London-based and New York trained, Noor Murad joined the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen in 2018, where she worked as a recipe developer for Falastin and Flavour as well as Ottolenghi’s Guardian and New York Times columns.
She became the head of the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen and wrote the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen books: Shelf Love and Extra Good Things. Her own recipes have featured in the Guardian and New York Times and she has cooked on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen.
Her Middle Eastern roots have a strong influence on her cooking, with Arabic, Indian and Persian flavours making a prominent appearance in her recipes.
INSTAGRAM @noorishbynoor
Here are a few recipes to tempt you to invest in a copy of this lovely book.
BABY AUBERGINES – TWO WAYS
“These make the perfect food for entertaining, as you don’t have to worry about serving them warm and they’re versatile enough to eat as an appetizer, a mezze, or as part of the main meal. Try to find the longer, thinner baby aubergines rather than the rounder, fatter ones, as they are the perfect type to fill. If you can’t find these, then you can also roast thick slices of regular aubergines and top them with the fillings instead.”
Baby Aubergines with Walnuts, Ricotta and Herbs
“Feel free to get creative with the filling here – swap out the walnuts for smoked almonds, for example, or the basil for whatever herbs might need using up in your fridge. The main aim here is crunch from the nuts, creaminess from the ricotta and freshness from the herbs and lemon.”
Makes 12
12 baby aubergines (eggplants) – the longer, thinner ones
2 tbsp olive oil, plus an extra tbsp to serve
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sumac, to serve
For the stuffing
55g (2oz) walnuts, well toasted and finely chopped
15g (½oz) basil leaves, finely shredded
2 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and finely sliced
30g (1oz) preserved lemon, seeds removed, skin and pulp finely chopped (25g/1oz)
½ green (bell) pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced into 1cm (½in) cubes
1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and roughly crushed using a pestle and mortar
120g/4¼oz whole-milk ricotta
1 tbsp olive oil
1½ tbsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/425°F/Gas mark 7 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Trim off the stems of the aubergines, then, using a small, sharp knife, make a slit lengthways through the centre, but don’t cut all the way through. Use your fingers to open them up slightly (still keeping them whole), then toss them in a bowl with the oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, using your fingers to push the seasoning into the insides. Place the aubergines, slit-side up, on the lined tray and bake for 25 minutes, or until softened and cooked through. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, make the stuffing by combining all the ingredients together in a bowl with 1/3 teaspoon salt and a generous grind of black pepper.
Once the aubergines have cooled, stuff them with the ricotta mixture. Transfer to a large platter, drizzle with the extra oil then sprinkle with the sumac.
Baby Aubergines with Tomato and Pepper Salsa
“The salsa is super fresh and versatile and works really well spooned onto grilled fish or other grilled vegetables. You can use store-bought fried onions or shallots as the crunchy topping, but I do recommend making your own – be sure to make extra though, as they’re very moreish and you’ll want to sprinkle them onto everything.“
Makes 12
12 baby aubergines (eggplants) – the longer thin ones
2 tbsp olive oil
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp fried onion or shallots, store-bought or homemade, to serve
For the salsa
2 ripe plum tomatoes, finely chopped (220g/8oz)
½ large red (bell) pepper, finely diced into 1cm (½in) cubes (100g/3½oz)
1 green chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
1½ tbsp olive oil
5g (1/8oz) mint leaves, roughly chopped
10g (¼oz) coriander (cilantro), leaves and soft stems, roughly chopped
Follow the recipe on the left for preparing and baking the aubergines.
Meanwhile, make the salsa by mixing the tomatoes, red pepper, chilli, garlic, vinegar, molasses, oil, ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper together in a medium bowl. Just before you are ready to serve, stir in the herbs.
Once the aubergines have cooled, stuff them with the salsa, reserving the liquid in the bowl. Arrange on a large serving platter, then pour over the salsa liquid. Sprinkle with the fried onions and serve.
COFFEE, CARDAMOM AND CHIPOTLE-RUBBED LAMB CHOPS
Serves 4
Marinating time: 1–3 hours
“Coffee isn’t the first thing you think of when marinating meats, but the combination of fragrant cardamom, bitter coffee and smoky chipotle chillies complement each other really nicely, and the coffee itself acts as a tenderizer, as well as a flavour enhancer. This recipe is easy to double or triple up on amounts if needed. If serving it Bahraini style, then the lamb with some sort of flatbread (like tanour) is dinner, but I prefer to serve this with something fresh and crunchy.”
8 lamb cutlets
3 tbsp olive oil
½ lemon
4 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and sliced lengthways in half (60g/2¼oz) 
1 green chilli, left whole
fine sea salt
For the rub
1 tbsp finely ground coffee beans
seeds from 15 cardamom pods, finely crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds, finely crushed using a pestle and mortar
5g (1/8oz) dried chipotle, stem and seeds removed, finely crushed, or 1¼ tsp chipotle chilli flakes
¾ tsp paprika
1 tsp soft light brown sugar
For the sumac onions
½ red onion (75g/2½oz), finely sliced
2 tsp sumac
1½ tbsp lemon juice
Combine all the ingredients for the rub in a medium bowl. Pat the lamb well dry on paper towels and season all over with ¾ teaspoon salt. Coat well with the rub, then leave to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerated for up to 3 hours (but not much longer).
Make the onions by placing all the ingredients in a bowl with a pinch of salt and using your fingers to massage everything together. Set aside to pickle gently while the lamb is marinating (you can do this hours ahead).
If you’ve refrigerated the lamb, be sure to bring it back up to room temperature before cooking. When ready, place a large cast-iron sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Toss the lamb with the oil. Once the pan is hot, cook the cutlets for 2–3 minutes on each side, for medium-rare. Adjust the cook time if you prefer your cutlets more or less well done (or if they’re smaller or larger in size). Arrange them on a serving plate and pour over all but a couple teaspoons of the fat left in the pan, then squeeze over the ½ lemon.
Return the pan to a medium-high heat with the spring onions, chilli and a tiny pinch of salt and cook for about 3 minutes, flipping over as necessary, until softened and lightly browned. Pile the spring onions onto one side of the serving plate with the whole green chilli alongside. Top the cutlets with the sumac onions and serve right away.
