20110403 Palak Paneer (Spinach with Paneer)

I love palak paneer. At our favorite Indian restaurant in The Hague, palak paneer comes with every menu and I always cleared the dish. So I thought I would give this a try myself. I found so many different palak paneer recipes. As I was feeling adventurous, I decided to modify them and make one of my own. Okay, the dish looked a bit more orange-y and tasted a little more tomato-y than the one from the restaurant. But who cares, because this tasted pretty darn good! Next time I may make a bigger portion and simply serve it with plain basmati rice.

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp ginger paste
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, pureed
100g chopped tomatoes, pureed
100ml creme fraiche
salt
280g frozen pureed spinach, thawed
150g paneer, cubed

METHOD
1. Heat enough oil in a pan to slightly deep fry paneer for about half a minute. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds, turmeric, red chilli powder, ginger, and red chilli, and fry until fragrant. Add pureed onion and tomato, and cook until they become a soft paste.
3. Stir in the spinach puree. Add the creme fraiche, and season with salt. Simmer for about 7 minutes with lid on. Add paneer, and cook for a few minutes until heated through.

20110402 Aloo ke Gutake (Potatoes Tempered with Cumin)

(SOURCE: Indian Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant - Aloo kee Gutake)

This is from Uttarakhand, the Land of Gods. This dish didn't really taste very Indian to me because of the mild flavor. But it is very easy to make and is a perfect side dish for a pork chop or stuffed chicken.

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of ground turmeric
500g potato wedges
salt

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a pan over high heat, then reduce the heat. Add the cumin seeds and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add the turmeric and immediately afterwards the potato wedges. Stir well and sprinkle over a very little amount of water just to make them damp.
2. Season with salt, then reduce the heat to very low, cover and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Garnish with chopped coriander.

20110402 Chicken Stuffed with Bousin Wrapped with Parma Ham

I made several stuffed chicken dishes before, so I thought I would make up my own recipe this time. I was a bit worried that the combination of Bousin and parma ham might be a little too strong, but the rocket and basil leaves did a great job bringing a refreshing flavor to this dish.


INGREDIENTS
2 chicken breasts
80g Bousin
handful of rocket leaves, roughly chopped
8 to 10 basil leaves
4 slices of parma ham
freshly ground 4-season pepper

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 180 degree C. Lightly grease a shallow casserole dish. In a small bowl, mix the Bousin with the rocket leaves.
2. Butterfly the chicken breasts. Spread the Bousin mixture in the central area and fold over the chicken. Lay the basil leaves on the chicken breasts, and wrap each of them with two slices of parma ham.
3. Lightly grease the chicken breasts and lay them in the shallow casserole dish. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

20110330 Stuffed Pepper

I saw these beautiful Italian red peppers at the supermarket last Saturday and thought I would stuff them with minced fish then fry/grill them. But I was simply too lazy on Wednesday and didn't even want to take out the mincer. So I stuffed them with ready-minced meat and threw some leftover coriander leaves in. The roasted peppers were so sweet and lovely looking, so you simply couldn't mess this dish up.

INGREDIENTS
500g minced meat
2 eggs
4 rounded tablespoons of spiced breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove, crushed
handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2 Italian red peppers, halved and deseeded

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 200 degree C. In a mixing bowl, mix the first 5 ingreidents together. Season with salt and pepper. Staff the meat mixture into the halved peppers.

2. Lay the stuffed peppers on a baking dish, and cover with folk and cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and then cook for a further 20 minutes.

20110329 Oven-baked Thai Chicken Rice

(SOURCE: GoodFood Magazine - Oven-baked Thai chicken rice)

I didn't feel weel this week so only made some very simple dishes that did not require too much preparation. I made this a day ahead so I only had to heat up the dish after a long day of work. This dish was so fragrant thanks to the coconut milk and roughly chopped coriander leaves (not shown in the picture), and it was simply delicious!

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
400g chicken tender
4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
250g basmati rice
1.5 red peppers, cut into wedges
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
400g coconut milk
handful coriander leaves

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 180 degree C. Heat the oil in a shallow ovenproof casserole dish, then soften the onion for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and curry paste, then cook for 3 minutes, stirring to coat.
2. Tip in the rice and peppers, then stir in the lime zest and juice, coconut milk and 250ml boiling water. Bring to the boil, then pop the lid on and bake for 20 minutes until the rice is fluffy. Scatter with coriander before serving.

20110328 Chilli Chicken One-pot

(SOURCE: GoodFood Magazine - Chilli chicken one-pot)

As I left work a bit late and was starving when I got home, I completely forgot the last step - i.e. to serve with chopped coriander leaves, lime juice, and sliced avocado. But it still tasted very good. This dish should definitely be made at least a day ahead, so the sauce can become more intense overnight.

INGREDIENTS
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
130g chorizo, thickly sliced
1.5 red peppers, cut into large chunks
400g can chopped tomato
1 chicken stock cube
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp dried oregano
8 chicken drumsticks
200g can kidney beans, drained
fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 avocado, skinned and sliced
good squeeze lime juice

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 160 degree C. In a Dutch oven, fry the onions in the oil until they become soft and start to color. Add the chorizo and fry for a few minutes more. Stir in the peppers, then pour in the tomatoes, floowed by two-third can of water, the stock cube, chilli and oregano.
2. Arrange the chicken drumsticks on top of the sauce, pushing them under the liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover, then cook in the oven for 40 minutes. Add the beans, stir, then cook for 20 minutes more. Remove from heat and let it sit overnight.
3. To heat, bring it to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.

20110327 Banana Bars

(SOURCE: BeautyandBedlam.com - Banana Bars)

I'm not quite sure if I got them right because they rose quite a lot. The original recipe recommended using a greased jelly roll pan, so I thought the banana bars would be pretty flat. But anyways, the banana cake/bars tasted good...and with the finger-licking cream cheese frosting, who cares if the banana bars are of the right height?

INGREDIENTS
115g softened butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
For the cream cheese frosting -
80g softened butter
190g cream cheese
2.5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

METHOD
1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a big bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, bananas and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into two 18cm springform (square) cake tins.
2. Bake at 175 degree C for 30 to 340minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
3. For frosting, cream butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat well, and set aside.
4. After the banana bars are slightly cooled, spread the frosting all over them. Cut into 1-1/2 inch small squares.

20110324 Lentil and Spinach Curry

(SOURCE: Tasty Kitchen Blog - Lentil and Spinach Curry)

This dish sure looks appetizing because of the beautiful colors. But it didn't taste as good and rich as the dahl. Next time I will half the lentils and cook them in 3 cups of vegetable stock instead, so they become a thick paste. This is the end of my craze for lentils...for March anyways.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups red lentil
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ginger root, grated
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sugar
300g fresh spinach
1 can 400g chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper

METHOD
1. In a saucepan, bring the water and stock to a boil and add lentils. Simmer covered for about 25 minutes until lentils are soft and liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large non stick skillet. Saute onions and garlics until soft. Add spices and sugar and cook for another minute. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add crushed tomatoes and cooked lentils, and heat through, and season wiht salt and pepper.

20110324 Dhal, v2

(SOURCE: VegWeb.com - Delicious Pakistani Dhal)

I am not sure if it is politically correct to label this recipe "Indian" when the original recipe clearly said that this was a "Pakistani Dhal". But as many websites told me that Pakistani cuisine is a relatively small subset of Indian cuisine, I guess it is alright. I doubled the amount of chopped tomatoes by accident, and it made the dish a bit sweeter and it tasted good. I made this for a potluck party today, and my colleagues seemed to love it!

INGREDIENTS
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup dry red lentils
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1.5 tbsp freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp red chili pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
400g can chopped tomatoes

METHOD
1. In a saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Add the lentils and boil for about a minute. Lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until it becomes a thick paste. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion, ginger, and garlic, and fry until soft. Add the spices and saute for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and saute for another 5 minutes. Then add the cooked lentils, stir, and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.

20110323 Lentil Soup with Paprika and Pancetta

(SOURCE: Tasty Kitchen Blog - Lentil Soup with Smoked Paprika and Pancetta)

I used to get dahl soup for lunch from a catering lady called Kat. But since Kat disappeared off the face of the earth and never answered our email order, I haven't had dahl soup for a long time. As I bought 2kg of red lentils from that little Asian supermarket last time, I thought I would make dahl soup myself. I added a little too much water by accident, but the soup was still very tasty - the pancetta gave it a very intense flavor.

INGREDIENTS
90g pancetta slices, cut into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
4 small carrots, sliced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
dash of chili pepper
1/2 cup white wine
2L chicken broth
450g lentils
salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD
1. Cook pancetta in a large soup pan over medium high heat until fat renders and it starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, and celery, saute until softened. Add garlic, cumin, paprika, and saute until fragrant. Add wine, continue to cook another minute or so. Add broth and lentils and bring to a  boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes. Add water if the soups becomes too thick. Puree the soup into a consistency you desire. Season with salt and pepper.