20110227 Hachee

I made hachee again using this recipe. Same ingredients but this time after I had simmered the stew for an hour, I removed the pan from the heat and let it sit overnight. Then tonight I simply brought the stew to the boil and then simmer it for another 30 minutes. The sauce was so much richer, and we poured lots and lots of sauce over the mashed potatoes.

20110226 Chicken and Chorizo Paella

(SOURCE: Koken en Genieten magazine - Paella met kip en chorizo)

Paella is a saffron-flavored Spanish dish. The original Valencian Paella is a mixture of rice with meat, snails, eels, vegetables, beans, and seasoning. Well, I am not that much of an adventurous eater so I skipped the eels and snails. This dish was really easy to prepare, and the oven did most of the work anyways. Next time I may use a little more saffron to give the dish an even more vibrant color.

INGREDIENTS
500g bell peppers (green, red, yellow), chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
250g chorizo, sliced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1kg chicken drumsticks, dabbed dry
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp vegetable oil
400g risotto
200g frozen peas
2 chicken stock cubes
2 pinches of saffron
3 bay leaves

METHOD
1. Heat the oven to 175 degree C. In a Dutch oven, brown the drumsticks for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
2. Add the onion, garlic, and chorizo into the pan. Then add the bell peppers, peas, and rice, and fry for about 3 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the stock cubes, saffron, and 1L of boiling water together. Pour the bouillon over the rice. Add the chicken, bay leaves, and dried rosemary.
4. Cook the dish in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes (DO NOT stir!) or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Remove the bay leaves, and serve.

20110226 Lemon Drizzle Cake

I wanted to have a moist and warm slice of cake today. Since I have two lemons lying around, I made lemon drizzle cake again with this recipe. But I think I was a little too generous with the lemon juice, so it was best served with some sweet whipped cream on the side.

20110226 Spam Omelette

It was grey and rainy in the morning, so we decided to have a lazy day doing housework at home - I did laundry and baked, and my husband fixed up the curtain rail, cables, and storage racks in the office. So we had Spam omelette served with udon noodles as breakfast before a day of "hard" work. I should have pushed the Spam cubes on one side in order to fold the egg properly. It looked like a scrambled egg instead, but it was yummy anyways.

INGREDIENTS
2 slices of Spam, cubed
2 eggs. slightly beaten
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

METHOD
1. Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, and brown the Spam cubes for about 5 minutes. Then add the eggs and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper.

20110225 Khumb Shabnam (Mushrooms in Yoghurt Sauce)

(SOURCE: Indian: Cookbook - Khumb Shabnam)

This is originated in Awadh. Kebabs are famous is Awadhi cuisine, because meat is tenderized with raw papaya paste and is ground many times. But this is a simply vegetable dish that takes less than 15 minutes to make. I didn't really like it because of the strong cumin smell, but my husband seemed to like it.

INGREDIENTS
200ml natural yoghurt
1 tsp red chilli powder
1tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Garam Masala
pinch of ground turmeric
1 tbsp vegetable oil
250g white button mushrooms, sliced
salt


METHOD
1. In a bowl, mix the yoghurt with the ground spices and season with salt. Whisk well to combine.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat, add the mushrooms and stir fry until there is a small amount of moisture left - but do not let them dry up. Remove from the heat, and allow the mushrooms to cool.
3. Then pour in the spiced yoghurt and mix. Return to the heat and simmer for a few minutes until hot.

20110225 To Khan (Chicken Curry)

(SOURCE: Indian: The Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant - To Khan)

This dish is originated in Tribal North East India. I really like this cookbook because it explained where each recipe is originated in, and the author described the various food regions of India in the first pages too. Together with Google search, I have learned a lot about Indian cuisine and culture too. This recipe led me to this excellent article about cuisine and culture of North East India.

This dish is not like the usual Indian dish, because of the short list of ingredients and the refreshing/minty sauce. I couldn't find green chilli, so simply used red chilli instead - I am actually not sure if there is a difference in their taste. I like the gingery/minty flavor, but the chicken tasted a bit dry so it may be best to use chicken with skin on it instead.

INGREDIENTS
1 kg chicken, cut into 5cm pieces
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
3 onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried mint
salt

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a wok over low heat, and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, and cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Pour in 1 pint of water and simmer for about 30 minutes. Mix some cornstarch with lukewarm water, and stir in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.

20110224 Thengakkai Kori (Chicken Curry)

(SOURCE: Indian: The Cookbook - Thengakkai Kori)

This recipe is originated in Tamil Nadu. Tamil cuisine is usually served on a banana leaf and eaten with the right hand. The author mentioned that it is best to eat Indian cuisine with the fingers, with the help of a variety of breads, in order to fully enjoy the temperature and texture of the food. So when I am more confident in throwing an Indian dinner, I should look for fresh banana leaves and ask my guests to eat with their fingers!

This was yummy but a little too spicy for us, so next time it is best to halve the chilli powder. The sauce is so colorful (thanks to the ground turmeric) and fragrant (thanks to the coconut milk). I served this with plain white rice and cauliflower masala, and ate way too much!

INGREDIENTS
150ml natural yoghurt
2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric, plus 1 tsp for rubbing
8 chicken breasts
5 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp ground cardamom
6 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks, about 2.5cm long
2 onions, chopped
7 tsp garlic paste
3 tsp grated ginger
750ml chicken stock
250ml coconut milk
salt
cornstarch

METHOD
1. In a bowl, mix yoghurt, chilli powder, and turmeric together. Set aside.
2. Rub the chicken breasts with salt and the turmeric. Cover and let them sit for 15 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the cloves and cinnamon, and fry for about 1 minute. Add the onions, and brown for about 4 minutes. Add the ground cardamom, garlic paste and grated ginger and fry for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the yoghurt mixture. Return to heat and stir fry for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, add the chicken, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the cloves and cinnamon from the pan. Add the coconut milk, and heat up without bringing it to the boil. Season with salt and ground cardamom.
5. Mix some cornstarch with water, and then stir it in to thicken the sauce.

20110224 Phool Gobi (Cauliflower Masala)

(SOURCE: Indian: The Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant - Phool Gobi)

This dish is originated in Punjab. I skipped the asafoetida (adding an onion-like smell after heating) and fenugreek seeds (a bittersweet spice) as I couldn't find them. I couldn't find Garam Masala either, so simply made my own using the recipe provided in the cookbook - but of course, I didn't have everything the recipe lists, so I modified the recipe a little with the limited ingredients I have. We like our cauliflower less crunchy, so I doubled the cooking time as suggested. A little improvisation was needed when cooking this dish, but it tasted pretty good.

I made four Indian dishes last night so we only had to heat them up after work today and tomorrow, and my husband could have some leftover for lunch. Our house is now smelling like curry - actually even my handbag smells like curry because I left it next to the kitchen counter, man! Now I just have to find a way to rid the smell. Any ideas?

INGREDIENTS
125ml vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2.5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and crushed
1 tsp ground ginger
1 large cauliflower, cut into 5cm florets
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp Garam Masala *
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground tumeric
bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
salt

*Garam Masala can be made by simply grinding the below ingredients.
2 cups cumin seeds
1/2 cup ground coriander
3/4 cup cardamom pods
1/3 cup black peppercorns
40g ground ginger

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, and fry the cumin seeds and ginger for a few seconds. Add the cauliflower. Season with salt, chilli powder, garam masala, sugar, and tumeric. Stir and mix everything well. Add a splash of water, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add coriander, toss well, and serve.

20110219 Samosa

(SOURCE: Indian: The Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant - Samosa)

This colorful cookbook, Indian: The Cookbook, packaged in a traditional Indian rice bag drew my husband and my attention at a local book store yesterday. We love Inidan food but there is no Indian takeaway here in Dordrecht (can you believe that?!). I always wanted to give a try at Indian cooking, but was always put off by the long list of exotic- and unfamiliar-sounding ingredients. This book helped me to overcome that as it has a rich glossary of Indian ingredients, which teaches me what the ingredients are and how they taste like - so if I can't find any of them, I could try to replace them with other spices of similar flavor.

So here's my first go! As I couldn't find any ghee, I used butter instead. The samosas were yummy, but they didn't look that pretty and were so spicy (!) - so I added quite some sugar to bring the heat down, and will definitely half the chilli powder and green chilli next time. Also the pastry was a bit dull and tough, so next time I will add 1 or 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and some salt to the dough. I hope I can find those rectangular samosa pads, so I could make beautiful triangular samosas next time. But overall, the first go at Indian cooking was fun, and I look forward to cooking more with this new cookbook!

INGREDIENTS
For the pastry -
500g plain flour, plus some more for dusting
180ml warm water
oil, for deep frying
For the filling -
100g potatoes
150g peas
1tsp cumin seed
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp ground turmeric
1tsp chilli powder
5cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
4 green chilli, finely chopped
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
salt
sugar

METHOD
1. Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain well, then mash.
2. Cook the peas in a pan of boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour with enough water to make a stiff dough. Make into 10 dough balls, and cover them with a damp cloth.
4. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Fry the cumin seeds for about 15 seconds. Add the ginger, green chilli, ground coriander, ground turmeric, and chilli powder, and fry for a minute. Add the mashed potato and peas, and cook for a minute. Then add the finely chopped coriander and fry for another minute. Season with salt and sugar. Remove pan from the heat.
5. On a floured surface, roll the dough balls into rounds of 12cm, and make 10. Brush the edge of the pastry with a little water, spoon the potato filling in the middle of the pastry, and then press the dampened edges to seal it.
6. Deep fry the samosas in batches in hot oil (180 degree C) for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Drain well on a kitchen paper.

20110214 Italian Rice

(SOURCE: SimplyDaily Recipes.com - One Pan Dinner Recipe - Italian Rice)

I made this a day ahead so I only had to heat it up on a lazy Monday evening. It tasted so good and I think the flavor got even richer overnight. This dish is so yummy, I only had to serve it with a simple green salad and a nice glass of dry red.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup basmati rice
1/3 cup whole garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
500g ground beef
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
750ml tomato sauce
2 cups water
1tsp sugar
1 cup grated parmesan

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a heavy dutch oven over medium heat. Add rice and garlic cloves. Stir constantly and cook about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
2. Add meat, onion, dried herbs, and salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until meat is browned.
3. Add tomato sauce, water, and sugar. Simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until rice is tender. Add up to 1 cup more water if needed. Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese.

20110216 Thai Chicken Cakes

(SOURCE: BBC GoodFood Magazine)

Chop, chop, mince, mince, fry, fry - done!

INGREDIENTS
2 chicken breasts, chopped
1 garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 small piece of root ginger, chopped
handful of coriander, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red chilli pepper, finely chopped
dash of lemongrass powder
1 tbsp sunflower oil

METHOD
1. Throw everything in a mincer, and mix everything together. Make 6 chicken cakes.
2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook the chicken cakes for about 8 to 10 minutes, and turn occasionally. Serve with lime wedges and sweet chilli sauce.

20110213 Apple Upside Down Cake

(SOURCE: SimpleDailyRecipes.com - Apple Upside-Down Cake)

As I don't have a baking pan, I used a baking springform instead - BIG MISTAKE! The juice from the cooked apple leaked all over, so I was worried the cake would turn out to be dry. But it was yummy and still very moist - I served it slightly warm with some whipped cream. And now thinking about it, I think this cake would have been so much more moist if all the sugary-syrupy goodness was kept in the pan. Now, time to go buy a baking pan!

INGREDIENTS
For the apple topping -
57g butter
900g apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 0.6cm thick slices
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp lemon juice
For the cake -
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten well
85g butter, melted
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1tsp vanilla extract

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 175 degree C. Grease a 22cm by 5cm deep cake form.
2. To make the apple topping, heat the butter in a pan over medium high heat. Add apple slices, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and lemon juice to the pan, continue to stir for about 1 minute or until apples are well coated. Pour apples to a greased pan, and press into an even layer. Set aside.
3. To make the cake, mix all the dry ingredients (first 5 on the list) well. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, then add all the wet ingredients. Whisk them into a smooth batter, then pour the batter over the apples.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, check the cake with a needle. Cool pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Place the serving plate upside down on top of the cake, then quickly invert the pan onto the plate. Let the cake cool on the serving plate for another 20 minutes.

20110210 Banana Bread

Made banana bread with this recipe again - but this time, one banana less. The bread was spongier and a little less moist, but yummy as usual.

20110209 Chicken and Rice Casserole

I felt very lazy and didn't feel like cooking last week. So I only made this rice casserole - it took less than 15 minutes to prepare, and then the oven did all the work.

INGREDIENTS
150g basmati rice

2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and freshly ground black pepper

400g chicken tenders
800ml can creamy mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 175 degree C. In a small bowl, marinate chicken with oregano and salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, mix soup and milk well.
2. Place rice in a casserole dish. Place chicken on rice, and then top with carrots and mushroom. Pour soup mixture all over, and season with salt and pepper. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 70 to 80 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve.

20110206 Beef Stew

Preparing for another busy week ahead, I made a huge pot of beef stew in a hope that we could live on leftover this coming Monday and Tuesday. Yummy beef stew served with rice + a nice (big) glass of Beaujolais = the perfect way to end this relaxing weekend!

INGREDIENTS
1kg stewing beef, ccut into cubes
90g streaky bacon
3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 large onions, quartered
20 to 25 baby carrots, left whole
20 button mushrooms, left whole
2 tbsp dried thyme
3-4 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
10 garlic cloves, crushed
400ml red wine
400ml beef stock
corn starch
salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over high heat, and brown the beef and bacon. Remove meat from the pan.
2. Toss in the onions, mushrooms, and carrots. Fry for a bit and season with salt and pepper. Return meat to the pan, and season with herbs and garlic.
3. Add the wine and stock to the pan, and bring to the boil. Then turn the heat down and simmer for about 1 to 2 hours, or until the meat becomes soft.
4. When the stew is ready, remove the meat and vegetables. Mix some corn starch with water, add the corn starch mixture to the pan to thicken the juice. Let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Return everything back into the pan, season well, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve!

20110202 Seafood Fried Rice

Another home alone evening with a seafood dinner. It took only less than 30 minutes to prepare, and it satisfied my crave for seafood. Thumbs up!


INGREDIENTS
1 spring onion, cut into rings
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 medium bowls of cooked rice
150g fruit del mer
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp oil
salt and white pepper
Maggi sauce

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic for about 1 minute. Add the rice and fry about 5 minutes. Add the seafood and the egg, then fry for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with Maggie sauce and salt and pepper. Scatter with spring onion and serve.

20110205 Casselerrib on Toast

(SOURCE: Koken & Genieten magazine - Casselerrib op toast)

Lesson learned today - casselerrib is salted and smoked pork loin, and it tastes a lot like ham, and we don't like it. Next time I make this dish again, I will simply replace the casselerrib with pork escalope.

INGREDIENTS
2 slices of old bread, toasted and each halved
1 small courgette, thinly sliced
3 tbsp oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of casselerrib (salted and smoked pork loin)
1 onion, finely chopped
250g mushrooms, thickly sliced
125ml cream
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp dried basil
100g grated cheese

METHOD
1. Lay the toasts on a greased oven dish. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, and brown the courgette slices. Season with salt and pepper. Place the courgette slices on the toasts.
2. Heat another 1 tbsp of oil in the pan. Fry the casselerrib for about 3 minutes on each side. Lay the casselerrib on the courgette.
3. Heat another 1 tbsp of oil in the pan. Brown the onion, and then the mushroom. Add 125ml of water and the cream , and bring to the boil. Add the corn starch to thicken the source, and season with basil and salt and pepper.
4. Pour the sauce all over the casselerrib, and scatter cheese all over it. Place the dish under a hot grill for 10 to 15 minutes.