The Middle Eastern Kitchen at Home

Gers Ogaily: the perfumed cake of Kuwait

Gers Ogaily (sometimes written gers ogaily or gers el ogaily) is a Kuwaiti celebration sponge, traditionally baked for happy occasions and national holidays. What sets it apart is not its shape but its scent. The batter is perfumed with saffron and cardamom, sometimes lifted further with a little rosewater or ground turmeric for colour, so the cake arrives at the table already announcing itself.

The crumb sits somewhere between a sponge and a semolina cake. Many versions fold a little fine semolina or cornflour into the flour to give the sponge a gentle, slightly sandy bite that holds up to the syrup or the tea it is served with. Beaten eggs and sugar give the lift, oil keeps it tender for days, and a good pinch of saffron, bloomed first in a spoon of warm water or rosewater, tints the whole thing a soft gold and does most of the perfuming.

The finishing touch is textural. Before it goes into the oven the top is scattered generously with sesame seeds and often chopped pistachios or almonds, which toast as the cake bakes into a fragrant, crunchy crust. Baked in a round tin and cut into diamonds or squares, it is very much a sharing cake: set out on a tray for guests, offered alongside cardamom coffee or black tea, and pulled out whenever there is something to mark.

Beyond the flavour, gers ogaily carries real cultural weight. It belongs to the Gulf tradition of hospitality baking, the sort of cake made in quantity and passed around, and it turns up reliably at Kuwaiti gatherings and around national celebrations. Baking one at home is a small way of joining that table.

Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Parsley: batinjan mekleh

At the other end of the pantry sits batinjan mekleh, a plain-spoken plate of fried aubergine dressed with garlic, parsley and vinegar. It is the kind of dish that appears across the Levant as part of a mezze spread, or simply as a quick supper eaten warm with bread. This recipe came into Evelyne's kitchen by way of a preview of the "Edible Mosaic" cookbook by Faith Gorsky, and we are glad to acknowledge that lineage, because it is exactly the sort of homely, well-tested recipe that travels well from one cook's blog to another.

The method is straightforward, and most of the care goes into the aubergine itself.

1. Slice the aubergine into rounds or thick batons, roughly a centimetre thick. Salt the slices and leave them in a colander for twenty to thirty minutes, then pat them thoroughly dry. This draws out excess moisture and bitterness and helps them fry rather than steam.
2. Heat a generous layer of oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Fry the aubergine in batches until deeply golden on both sides and soft in the middle, then lift onto kitchen paper to drain.
3. Make the dressing while the aubergine is still warm: crush a few cloves of garlic to a paste with a little salt, stir in plenty of chopped fresh parsley, and loosen with a splash of vinegar (red wine or white both work) and a trickle of good olive oil.
4. Layer the fried slices on a plate and spoon the garlic-parsley-vinegar dressing over while everything is warm, so the aubergine drinks it in. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Serve it warm or at room temperature, which makes it a friendly dish to prepare ahead for a table of small plates. The sharp vinegar and raw garlic cut cleanly through the richness of the fried aubergine, and the parsley keeps it fresh. It is vegetarian, endlessly adaptable, and a good reminder that some of the best Middle Eastern cooking is also the simplest.