Silmanat with a twist!

Silmanat in Egg Roll Wrappers

While she was still alive, I’d ask my grandmother, Sitto Naima, about some of the more memorable dishes that I loved as a youngster. That late in life, her reply would be that she forgot how she made it or that the ingredients were no longer available, or it was now too much work. That puzzled me until I remembered the Syrian-Lebanese neighborhood of my youth in Paterson, NJ. We could find all of our ethnic butchers every few streets. Middle Eastern grocers flourished, kept busy by an increasing flow of newly arrived Syrians from Aleppo and Lebanon.  

All of which brings me to this dish. Years ago, I remember Sitto making Silmanat, those fat homemade sausages filled with Datah-spiced ground lamb, rice and Chickpeas. I recall that she would make those sausages with her hand-held funnel. Once they were tied off, she would boil them for what seemed like a long time (it was just a little over an hour). She’d drain and dry them and would melt Crisco shortening. Once heated, she would fry up portions of these sausages to a crispy goodness. My uncles, parents and I would gobble up those delicious sausages right then and there at the supper table! Thankfully, I did get this scrumptious recipe from her and it is on page 82. 

Today, it’s harder to find sausage casings, locally. I do name a good source on the internet and it’s listed in the Where To Buy It chapter of the cookbook. However, I recently got a taste for these delicacies once again. I was without the casings and thinking “outside the box,” I tried to think of what I could put the filling into. And then it came to me…I could fry them up…they might be similar in taste…and I went for it! What was it, you may ask? Egg roll wrappers! The Far East meets the Middle East! They fry up great and the crispy outsides reminded me of the fried casings on these sausages. For now, I’m happy. Once I get the casings, I’ll make them the old traditional way once again. If you have any questions on how to do this, message me and I’ll fill you in. Sahtein!