All posts by nasdatoo

Cream Chicken

Entrees, Poultry

Cream Chicken 

Serve 6

Ingredients

  • 4                  tbsp vegetable  oil 
  • 1                  cup finely chopped Green Onions
  • 1                  cup finely chopped Green Pepper
  • 1                  tsp finely chopped Garlic
  • 1                  tsp finely chopped Ginger
  • 1                  tbsp Tabasco
  • 1                  tsp freshly ground Cumin
  • 1                  tomato finely chopped
  • 1                  tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1                  tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1                  tsp salt
  • 1                  chicken cut up in 10 pieces
  • 1                  cup chicken stock
  • 2                  cups frozen corn
  • 1                  cup whipping cream*

Instructions 

  1. In a saucepan heat the oil and sauté  the onions and green pepper till they are transparent.
  2. Add  garlic, ginger, Tabasco, cumin, tomato, tomato paste and lemon juice and  salt .  Cook on medium heat for about 5 min.
  3. Remove the skin and fat from the chicken and rinse it in cold water.
  4. Add the corn, chicken, chicken stock and cook on medium heat,  covered,  till the chicken is cooked about 20 minutes. 
  5. Add the whipping cream before serving.

Serve with rice or bread.

*A can of evaporated milk can be used instead of whipping cream.

The chicken is cooked when the meat changes colour and it is firm to the touch.

BLACKBERRY, ALMOND AND CARDAMOM CAKE

Sweets

This recipe is from the Hello Magazine and is by a Norwegian food writer Signe Johansen.  This is a wheat free cake.

Ingredients

  •  4                oz butter                                                  
  • 1                 oz golden casters sugar                          
  • 1                 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3                 medium Eggs
  • 8                 oz ground almonds                                 
  • 2                 tsp baking powder
  • 1                 tsp ground cardamom
  • ¼                sp salt
  • 6                 oz fresh or frozen blackberries               
  • 6                 oz summer berries to serve (optional)    

Instruction

  1. Preheat the Oven to 350 degree F and lightly oil a 23-cm-round cake pan.
  2. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time along with a tablespoon of ground almonds to stop the mixture from splitting..
  3. Mix the rest of the ground almonds with the baking powder, ground cardamom and salt in a medium bowl, and then use a large metal spoon to fold these dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Stir until just blended. Add the blackberries and stir once or twice more to incorporate them. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake on the middle oven rack for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cake has risen, looks golden brown and feels firm to the touch.
  4. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before turning out.

Serve this cake either on its own or with mixed summer fruits pile on top and with sour cream or crème fraise. This is quite a moist cake, so it will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight tin or wrapped in foil.

Undhiyu

vegetarian


Undhiyu is a Gujarati mixed vegetable casserole that is a regional specialty of Gujarat, India.  The name of this dish comes from the Gujarati words “matlu” meaning earthen pot and “undhu” meaning upside down since they have been traditionally cooked upside down underground in earthen pots fired from above.

The dish is a seasonal one, comprising the vegetables that are available on the South Gujarat coastline during the winter season, including (amongst others) green beans, unripe banana, muthia  and purple yam. These are cooked in a spicy curry that sometimes includes coconut.

Undhiyu with puri and shrikhand is often eaten in Gujarati houses during winter season.

you will find a few different recipes for Undhiyu. 

Undhiyu has a lot of ingredients and takes longer to make.  It is prepared in stages.

 Undhiyu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

Mutiya

  • 1 1/2                 cup chana flour(gram flour
  • 1/2                    tsp salt
  • 1/4                    tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1/4                    tsp chili powder
  • 1/4                    cup chopped spinach or
  •                          fenugreek leaves (methi bhaji)
  • 1/4                    cup shredded cabbage      
  • 2                       tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/4                    cup water
  • 2                       cups oil for frying

Vegetables

  • 1                        yam 
  • 8                        small potatoes
  • 8                        small egg plant
  • 1                        cup green beans
  • 1                        cup Pigeon peas(cooked)
  • 1                        cup water 

Masala

  • 1                        cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1/2                     cup spring garlic
  • 1                        cup peas (crush it a little)
  • 1/2                     cup desiccated coconut
  • 1/2                     tsp salt
  • 1                        tbsp green masala
  • 2                        tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1/2                     tsp garam masala
  • 1/4                     cup sugar
  • 1/4                     cup lemon juice or
  • 1 tsp                  citric acid
  • 1/2                     tsp crushed  cumin
  • 1                        tsp coriander powder

Vagar

  • 1/4                     cup oil
  • 10                      curry leaves
  • 1                        tsp ajwan
  • 1/2                     tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2                     tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1/2                     tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4                     tsp hing(optional)
  •  
  • 2                        tbsp chopped cilantro for decoration

Instructions

Mutiya(dumplings)

  1. Mix all the ingredients for mutiya except the water.  Make a stiff dough using a little water. 
  2. Put a teaspoonful of the dough in your hands and squeeze firmly to make an oval dumpling about 1” x 1/2”.  Repeat until all the dough is used.
  3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and deep fry the dumplings.

Vegetables

  1. Peel and Cut the yam into 1 inch cubes.  Coat it with oil and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 or until cooked through.
  2. Rinse and slit the eggplant into fours.  Do not cut it through.
  3. Peel and slit the potatoes in the same way as eggplant.
  4. In a small bowl mix everything for the masala.
  5. Use some of this masala to fill the egg plant and potatoes.

Make the Vagar:

  1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil.  Add the curry leaves, ajwan, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds cumin seeds and hing, 
  2. Add the leftover masala and 1 cup of water and mix well.  Layer all the vegetables, eggplants, potatoes, green beans and pigeon peas. (Do not mix this, let it cook layered).  Cook  covered on medium low heat for about 15 minutes.  Add the yams and the dumpling and let it cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve it hot on a platter sprinkled with chopped cilantro.

Victoria Sandwich Cake

Sweets


Victoria Sandwich Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 8              oz butter
  • 8              oz sugar
  • 4              eggs
  • 8              oz white flour
  • 2              level tsp Baking Powder
  • 1              tsp  vanilla essence
  • ½             cup luke warm water

Filling

  • 4              tbsp strawberry Jam

Decoration

  • Icing Sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy.
  3. Beat in eggs one at a time.
  4. Fold in the white flour and baking powder, together with the water to give a dropping consistency.
  5. Pour the mixture into 2 greased 8″ round cake tin and bake for about 20 min or until done.
  6. Cool on a wire cooling tray, sandwich with the jam and decorate with icing sugar.

Note:

To test cake: –

  1. press gently with a finger, if no impression remains cake is cooked.
  2. Prick it with a tooth pick and if the tooth pick comes out clean the cake is done.
  3. The cake starts pulling from the side.  The cake is done.

This will give you 24 medium cup cakes.

1- 9” cake or 8” sandwich cake,

Chocolate Cake

Substitute 1 oz cocoa for flour.

Coconut

Add 2 oz coconut

Orange or lemon

add zest of 1 orange or 1 lemon and the juice.

Crème Caramel(chasni wadi pudding)

Sweets

Cream Caramel

Serves 6

Ingredients

Caramel

  • 1                 cup sugar
  • 1/4              cup water

Custard

  • 1/2             cups sugar
  • 1                 Liter half and half (light cream)
  • 5                 eggs
  • 1/2              tsp crushed cardamom seeds
  • 1/4              tsp nutmeg powder

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan  add the sugar and the water. Mix it and boil it till it turns to chocolate  brown.
  2. Pour this in an 8” x 3” round cake tin.
  3. In a large bowl  mix the sugar, half and half,  eggs,  crushed cardamom seeds and nutmeg powder.
  4. Pour the custard on top of the caramel in the cake tin.
  5. Put a baking tray in the oven.  Fill it half way with water and place the cake tin on the baking tray and bake for about one hour or when you put a tooth pick  in the centre,  it comes out clean,
  6. Let it cool.
  7. Before serving:  cover the cake tin with a plate (plate should be bigger than the cake tin) and turn it over.  The custard should come out.
  8. You can make this dessert the day before and store it in the fridge.  To remove:  Fill a flat bottom bowl (the kitchen sink is perfect) with hot water.  Put the cake tin in the hot water for about 5 minutes and then transfer it into a plate.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Snacks & Appetizers, Soups & Salads

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2            avocados
  • 1            cup cooked shrimps
  • 1/4         cup diced cucumber
  • 1/4         cup diced carrots
  • 1/4         cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/4         cup diced celery
  • 2            tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2            tbsp sour cream
  • 1/4         tsp salt
  • 1/4         tsp Black pepper
  • 1            lime (zest and juice)
  • 1            lime for decoration
  •               Parsley sprigs  for decoration

Direction

  1. Cut the avocado in half.  Remove the pip and dice the avocado.  Save the skin.
  2. Take the shrimps and rinse them in cold water.  Drain the water
  3. In a bowl add avocado, shrimps, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, celery, mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, pepper, lime zest and juice.  Mix everything.
  4. Fill the avocado skin with the salad mix, decorate with lime wedges and chopped parsley

Strawberry Cinnamon Chiffon Cake

Sweets

This is a recipe I got from the First Magazine in 1992.

Tip:

Don’t remove the green hulls before rinsing strawberries.  The leaves keep the berries from absorbing water and getting mushy.

Strawberry Cinnamon Chiffon Cake

Serves 16

Ingredients

  • 2-1/4           cups white flour
  • 2                  cups sugar
  • 1                  tbsp  baking powder
  • 1                  tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3/4               tsp salt
  • 6                  eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2               cup butter melted
  • 3/4               cup water
  • 1-1/2            tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4               tsp cream of tartar
  • 1                  qt strawberries
  • 2- 1/2          cups heavy cream

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Combine flour, 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Separate eggs.  Combine the yolks, melted butter, water and 1 tsp of the vanilla.  With an electric mixer set at low speed, gradually beat egg yolk mixture into flour mixture until just smooth.
  4. With clean beaters, beat egg whites with cream of tartar, at medium speed, until whites hold soft peaks.  Beat in 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar, adding it gradually.  Continue beating until whites hold stiff peaks.
  5. With a rubber spatula, carefully fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
  6. Pour into an ungreased 10” angel-food-cake pan.  Bake until a toothpick stuck in the centre comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.  Cool.
  7. Slice off the top 1/2 inch of the cake and set aside.  Cut a tunnel about 1 1/2 inch deep in the cake.  The cut should be about 3/4 inch from the centre and from the outside of the cake.  Remove cake with a fork to form a tunnel.
  8. Hull and chop half the strawberries.  Beat heavy cream with remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla until the cream holds stiff peaks.  Combine 1 1/2 cups of the whipped cream with the chopped strawberries.
  9. Fill the tunnel with the strawberries-and-whipped cream mixture.  Replace the top of the cake.
  10. Frost cake with remaining whipped cream.  Shortly before serving, hull and half the remaining strawberries.  Decorate the cake with the berries.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TORTE

Sweets


Chocolate Mousse Torte

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prep Time: 20 min (plus refrigeration)

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 18           Lady Fingers
  • 4             squares Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate
  • 2             pkg (3.9 oz each) Jello  Chocolate Instant Pudding
  • 2             cups plus 2 tablespoon cold milk
  • 1             tub (8oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed
  • 1             pkg. (8oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
  • ¼           cup sugar
  • ¾           cup fresh raspberries
  1. Cut lady fingers in half and line inside edge of 9-inch round pan lined with plastic wrap.
  2. Melt 3 chocolate squares over a hot bath.
  3. Beat pudding mixes and 2 cups milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Stir in 1 cup Cool Whip; pour into prepared pan.
  4. Beat cream cheese, sugar and remaining milk with mixer until well blended. Stir in 1 cup of remaining Cool Whip; spread over pudding. Top with remaining lady fingers. Refrigerate 3 hours. Meanwhile, shave remaining chocolate square into curls.
  5. Invert torte onto a plate. Remove pan and plastic wrap. Top torte with remaining Cool Whip, berries and chocolate curls.

250 ml whipped cream can be substituted for Cool Whip.

Chapatti

Accompaniments

Chapatti  is generally a South Asian bread made from stone ground whole meal flour, traditionally known as Atta flour.  Chapattis are one of the most common forms in which wheat, the staple of northern South Asia, is consumed.  Chapatti is a form of roti or rotta (bread). The words are often used interchangeably. While roti,rotta refers to any flat unleavened bread, chapati is a roti made of whole wheat flour and cooked on a tava (flat skillet).

Cooking

 

A roadside chapatti stand in               Indian Tava

Mandalay, Myanmar. .

Often, the top of a chapatti is slathered with butter or ghee (clarified butter). A piece of chapatti is torn off and used to pick up the meat or vegetable dish(es) that make the meal. It is folded into a sort of loose cone and used as a scoop to eat the more liquid dishes at a meal..

Chapatti sizes (diameter and thickness) vary from region to region and kitchen to kitchen. . Chapattis made in domestic kitchens are usually not larger than 6-7 inches in diameter since the ‘tava’ on which they are made comes in sizes that fit comfortably on a domestic stove top.

Tavas were traditionally made of unglazed earthenware, but are now typically made from metal. There are also electric tavas manufactured in India. The shape of the rolling pin also varies from region to region. Some households simply use a kitchen work top as a sort of pastry board, but many homes have round flat-topped ‘boards’ specifically for rolling out chapattis that may be made of wood or stone.                                                                           Roti 2Roti 1                                       

 

                                                                  

Roti 4   Roti 3

Ingredients                      

  • 2           cup whole wheat flour
  • 4           tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1           cup water

Instructions

  1. Put the flour in a medium bowl, add the oil and rub it in the flour.
  2. Add the water(you may need a little more)  and make a firm dough. Transfer the dough on a floured board and kneed for about 2 minutes.  Let it rest for 10 minutes. (If you let the dough rest, it is easier to roll).
  3. Divide the dough into 12 and make small balls.
  4. Roll each ball in flour, flatten the ball and roll it into an eight inch round.
  5. Cook this on a tava on both sides. (You have to turn it a couple of times on both sides)
  6. Brush the chapatti with butter or ghee.

Prawn Bhatt

Entrees, Seafoods

Ingredients

  • 2               lb prawns  (16 to 25 count)
  • 3               cups rice
  • ¼              cup oil
  • ½              tsp  cumin seeds
  • 5               cardamom pods
  • 1               piece cinnamon stick
  • 5               cloves
  • ½              tsp black pepper
  • 4               med potatoes
  • 4               med onions sliced
  • 4               tomatoes
  • 1               bunch fresh Coriander leaves
  • 1               bunch fresh dill weeds
  • 2               jalapeño (or to taste)
  • 1               tsp garlic paste
  • 1               tsp ginger paste
  • 2               tsp coriander & cumin powder(dhanajeera)
  • ½              tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
  • 3               tsp salt
  • 1               can(397ml) coconut milk
  • 2               fresh lemon
  • 1/2            tsp garam masala

Instructions

  1. Peel the prawns and devein them.  Add the juice of a lemon and 1 tsp salt and let it rest.
  2. Soak the rice in cold water.
  3. Peel the potatoes and cut them in quarters.
  4. In a large saucepan heat oil and add cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, black pepper, and onions.  Fry till they are transparent.
  5. Meanwhile In a blender, blend tomatoes, half  bunch coriander leaves and half a bunch dill weeds and jalapeño.  Add this to the onions. 
  6. Add  coriander & cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt and coconut milk.
  7. Mix everything, turn down the heat to medium and let this simmer for about 15 minutes or the sauce is thick.  Squeeze the juice of 1  lemon. 
  8. Chop the coriander leaves and dill weeds and add this to the sauce.
  9. Rinse the rice with cold water.
  10. Take a third of the sauce out in another large saucepan.  Add 41/2 cups of water and boil.  Add the rice and potatoes.  When the rice starts to boil turn the heat to low and cook  covered till most of the water has evaporated.  Sprinkle garam masala and put the saucepan in the preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or till the rice is cooked and dry.
  11. Rinse the prawns with cold water, drain and add this to the rest of the sauce and cook for about 10 minutes or till the prawns are cooked.  Prawns are cooked when they become pink and the prawns curls  up into a round.

To Serve

Serve rice on a platter and put the prawns on top. 

Decorate it with  chopped coriander leaves on it and lemon butterflies.