Oregano and cheese loaf
I have substituted fresh za'atar with oregano, as it's easier to find, and have turned it into a loaf, which is dead easy to make. I like serving it in slices while it's warm, or slightly toasted, spread with butter or, even better, with a bowl of olive oil and some za'atar to dip chunks of bread into.
Requires cooling time.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for Sri Lankan-style aubergine and tomato rice
Some recipes are easy to describe, a variation on this or that. Others, such as this one, are more challenging. But imagine this: seared aubergines cooked with sweet onions and tomatoes, spiced with aromatics such as cardamom, chilli, mustard seeds and smoky curry leaves, then melted into a pot with rice, water and time, until wetter than a risotto but less homogeneous than a congee. A perfect meal to cook on a cool summer's evening to slow yourself down, both to stoke an appetite and to warm the belly. Fresh curry leaves are now sold in most large supermarkets, so never settle for dried ones. Box or wrap any you don't use and freeze for another time; much the same applies to green finger chillies, too. Prep 15 minCook 1 hr Serves 4 9 tbsp rapeseed oil 2 medium aubergines (600g), cut into 3cm x 3cm dice2 tsp fine sea salt 2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced30 fresh curry leaves 2 green cardamom pods, lightly bashed5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 360g cherry tomatoes, halved250g arborio rice 1 tsp black mustard seeds 2 green finger chillies, stalks discarded, the rest finely chopped Pour three tablespoons of the oil into your widest nonstick frying pan and set it on a high heat. When the oil is very hot, add half the aubergines, sprinkle over a quarter-teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring often, for about eight minutes, until browned on the outside and nearly cooked through (ie, not completely soft). Transfer to a large plate, add another three tablespoons of oil to the pan and repeat with the second batch of aubergines and another quarter-teaspoon of salt. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the same frying pan and, once it's hot, add the onions, half the curry leaves, all the crushed cardamom and a teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until soft, then add the garlic and cook for two minutes more. Put the fried aubergines and the onion mix in a large pot (keep the frying pan for later), add the halved tomatoes and cook on a medium heat for four minutes, until they're starting to soften. Measure a litre of water into a jug or pan and have it ready by the side of the stove. Add the rice and the final half-teaspoon of salt to the aubergine mix, stir in a third of the water, then leave it to bubble away on a medium heat for about eight minutes, until the rice has soaked up the liquid. Add another third of the water, cook for another eight minutes, so the rice sucks that up, too, then add the final slug of water and cook for a final five minutes – the rice should be soupy. Put two tablespoons of oil in the frying pan on a medium heat and, when it's very hot, add the mustard seeds, chillies and remaining curry leaves. Cook for two minutes, pour all over the rice and serve.
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
CIA's Ark of the Covenant quest revived as new revelations point to hidden location of biblical 'super weapon'
The CIA may have used psychic powers to locate the Ark of the Covenant, one of history's most legendary artifacts. This millennia-old biblical chest, described in the Bible as gold-covered and containing the Ten Commandments, vanished centuries ago, sparking generations of speculation and quests to uncover its whereabouts. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has reignited interest in the sacred relic by spotlighting declassified 1988 CIA documents that allegedly used psychic 'remote viewing' to track it. 'The CIA allegedly located the Ark of the Covenant,' Luna said on the Joe Rogan Experience, calling it an ' Indiana Jones moment.' The documents detail Remote Viewer No. 032, trained to perceive distant objects through psychic means, being given coordinates to observe an unidentified target. The viewer's notes reportedly described a 'container of wood, gold, and silver' adorned with seraphim, hidden in a 'dark and wet' underground site in a Middle Eastern region with 'mosque domes' and Arabic-speaking locals in white robes. 'These files were part of the CIA's Project Sun Streak, a Cold War-era program exploring psychic phenomena for intelligence gathering,' the documents state, which were released in 2000. The files resurfaced in a March 2025 Daily Mail article. 'We don't know how far it went. I definitely have questions, but this wouldn't be the first time a government searched for something, especially since some theorize that the Ark of the Covenant possessed powers akin to a superweapon,' Luna said. She added that she plans to continue the search personally: 'I was like, I need to pay for this myself. So we're not using taxpayer dollars, but just go check it out.' Rogan's mix of fascination and skepticism amplified the conversation's impact. 'It's wild stuff. If it's legitimate, it's wild stuff,' he said. He questioned whether the viewer's sketches resembled the relic in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. 'If I tell you to go draw me the Ark, you know what it looks like?' Rogan asked, probing the validity of the psychic's vision. Luna, undeterred, emphasized the documents' intrigue. 'I feel like I'm describing an Indiana Jones movie, but this is actually from the CIA,' she said. Some historians believe the Ark was originally kept inside the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem, before it disappeared during the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Legends also suggest it was taken to Ethiopia, where it may reside in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. British researcher Graham Hancock claims the Ark is guarded there, with some guardians reportedly suffering cataracts, possibly from 'radiation poisoning.' Luna, who consulted an Ethiopian Orthodox pastor, noted his 'very optimistic' perspective. The resurfaced CIA document claims that the Ark of the Covenant has been found, and it may lie somewhere in the Middle East Evidence that the chest existed has yet to be found, but the CIA document claims it was located in 1988. The remote viewer described it as a coffin-shaped object, 'a container with another container inside… fashioned of wood, gold, and silver, decorated with a six-winged angel.' The viewer reported the site was somewhere in the Middle East, with locals speaking Arabic, and that the container was protected by entities, only to be opened by authorized individuals. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and other intelligence agencies, including the CIA, employed individuals alleged to have paranormal abilities to gather intelligence on 'distant events.' Project Sun Streak used psychics, called remote viewers, to observe targets using only coordinates. CIA historian Nicholas Dujmovic notes that the program, discontinued in 1995, produced no physical evidence. A December 5, 1988, training exercise illustrates the approach. The psychic projected their consciousness to search for the Ark, recording observations along the way. They described mosque-like buildings and 'individuals clothed in virtually all white,' with black hair and dark eyes. 'One figure I homed in on wore a moustache,' they noted. The target was hidden underground in a dark, wet location. 'Its purpose is to bring people together. It involves ceremony, memory, homage, and resurrection. There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons, and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know.' Attempts to open the container without authorization would result in destruction by unknown powers, the notes warned. The report includes sketches and scrawled notes: a domed building resembling a mosque, eight mummies lined up, a wheel, and a winged creature labeled a 'seraphim.' It also lists ominous words like 'death,' 'forbidden,' 'protected,' 'scared,' 'destroyed,' 'pain,' and 'anguish.' Luna added that guardians of the Ark would have to undergo a special process to be considered for the honor. 'From a biblical perspective, no one would be able to access it anyway because it would be protected,' she said. 'That's what the Bible says. That's it, it cannot be opened until the time is deemed correct.'
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Shiite Muslims mark the end of the Arbaeen pilgrimage in photos
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