Masalika (Gizzards with Liver)
 Masalika is most often served as "meza" appetizer, all though you can easily serve this with wide noodle, rice or even mashed potatoes. I like this with crusty french bread, I like to break off a piece of bread, dunk it into the garlicky sauce add a piece of liver then top it with a piece of gizzard. I love the creaminess of the liver along with the chewy texture of the gizzard.
1lb gizzards cleaned, cleaned well and cut in half 1lb chicken livers, rinsed well and soaked in water 1 tbsp Crisco 1 medium onion chopped Salt and pepper 1/4 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp cumin powder 2 pieces mastic* 1 cardamom pod cracked* 6 large garlic cloves sliced 4-6 cups warm water In a pan on medium high heat add Crisco, onions, salt, pepper, allspice, cumin, mastic and cardamom. Sauté until translucent and fragrant, Add garlic mix well to incorporate, cook for 1 minute. Add gizzards and stir; cook 3-4 minutes until most liquid has evaporated. Add 1 cup water. Continue cooking covered, adding water 1 cup at a time as needed. Stir occasionally. Cook for about 1 hours. When gizzard are tender (note, gizzard will not be fork tender) add liver, stir to combine all ingredients. Add a bit more water if needed, you want this to be saucy not watery. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, turn off flame and let sit 2 minutes. Serve gizzards and liver and top with sauce. *both mastic (mastica) and cardamom are used for their aromatic properties and are most often used in chicken and meat recipes. Both ingredients are easily found in Middle Eastern or Indian grocers. |
