Monday, January 07, 2013

Cauliflower, Potatoes & Peas Curry

Alu Gobi Matar in Hindi
Phoolkopi Alu Matar in Bengali

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower, cut in florets
1 russet potato, cubed
1 cup frozen peas
4 Tbsp. extra light olive oil
½ tsp. shah jeera or cumin seeds
2 medium onions, cubed
2 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 – 3 green chilies
½ tsp. garam masala powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp. ghee

Directions: 
1.    Boil water and blanch onions for 2 minutes, strain and set both aside.
2.    Puree onions, chilies, onion, ginger, garlic and tomato pastes in a blender.
3.    Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and fry cauliflower until golden.
4.    Remove cauliflower and set aside, then do the same with potato cubes.
5.    Heat oil in the same pan and add cumin seeds.
6.    When cumin starts to sizzle, add onion puree and simmer until oil resurfaces.
7.    Add reserved hot water, bring to a boil and add cauliflower & potatoes.
8.    Cover and simmer until potatoes are cooked.
9.    Add frozen peas, adjust salt to taste, cover and simmer for five minutes.
10. Sprinkle garam masala powder over the cauliflower, stir and remove from heat.
11. Garnish with ghee and serve.


Keema Kofta Curry

By Mala Ray Chatterjee

Mala Ray Chatterjee is an avid cook and is a fellow-member of the  Kitchen Raagas group on Facebook.  She makes her own homemade meatballs for this kofta curry. 



Sunday, January 06, 2013

Meatballs & Potatoes in a Red Gravy


Ready made meatballs work just as well as homemade meatballs. All kinds of meatballs are available in the grocery stores these days - chicken, beef & pork, turkey - except lamb or mutton which need to be made from scratch.  Just make sure to use regular meatballs as opposed to flavored, such as Italian or Teriyaki meatballs.  

Ingredients:
25-30 frozen cocktail meatballs
1 russet potato, cubed
2 onions, quartered 
1 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. ginger paste
2 tsp. tomato paste
2 green chilies
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds (jeera or Shah jeera)
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
salt to taste
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:
  1. Blanch onions in one cup boiling water, strain and set water aside.
  2. Puree onions, garlic, ginger, tomato paste and green chilies.
  3. Heat oil in a saucepan, brown meatballs and set aside.
  4. In the same hot oil, brown the potatoes and set aside.
  5. In the same hot oil sputter cumin seeds, cinnamon and star anise.
  6. Add pureed onions and season with salt to taste.
  7. Turn heat down to low and simmer gravy until oil resurfaces.
  8. Add reserved hot water, bring to boil and add meatballs & potatoes.
  9. Simmer on low heat until potatoes are cooked.
Serve with hot rice, roti or naan.

Burmese Bamboo Shoots & Shrimp


Serves: 4
Here's one of those recipes that bring back memories of our life in Burma. Fresh bamboo shoots are available in the market, soaking in salted water. Here in Michigan, I found it in an Oriental store, marinated and packaged in packets.  They turned out to be very tender and succulent and pairs really well with green onions and shrimp.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Chicken, Cauliflower & Potatoes with Spring Onions

Pyajpata, Phoolkopi Diye Murgir Jhol



This dish was inspired by the recipe submitted by a member of Kitchen Raagas, a Bengali foodie group on Facebook.  You can find the original recipe here.  I followed the recipe closely, except that I used boneless & skinless chicken thighs instead of skin-on, bone-in chicken legs.  For those of you who do not have access to Facebook or don't belong to the Kitchen Raagas group, the recipe is provided below.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken legs
1 cauliflower, cut in florets
2 russet potatoes, cut in bite-size pieces
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tsp. Kashmiri mirch or chilli powder
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
Make a paste -
   1 large onion, chopped
   6-8 garlic cloves, chopped
   2" piece ginger
2 tsp. coriander powder
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 bunch green onions,cut in 1" pieces
5 green chillies


Directions:
  1. Toss cauliflower & potatoes with salt and fry until golden. Set aside.
  2. Wash chicken legs and dry with paper towels.
  3. Heat oil over medium heat, add chopped onions and fry until translucent.
  4. Add chicken, salt, turmeric & coriander, stir-fry until chicken is golden.
  5. Add paste & tomatoes and stir-fry for a few minutes.
  6. Turn heat down to low, cover & simmer on low heat until oil resurfaces.
  7. Pour hot water into pan, stir well and bring to a boil.
  8. Return cauliflower & potatoes to pan, add sugar, salt to taste & stir well.
  9. Cover & simmer on low heat until everything in pan is tender.
  10. Garnish with green onions & chilies before removing from heat.
Serve with steamed rice, chapati or naan.

Lau Chingri Posto

Bottle Gourd & Shrimp in White Poppy Seed Gravy



This is another one of Mum's recipes that I retrieved from my notebook.  She taught me that the vegetables in any recipe must all be cut the same size and shape so that they cook evenly. The bottle gourd/squash can be replaced with pumpkin, sweet potatoes, zucchini, okra, eggplants or practically any other vegetable.   

Ingredients:
2 bottle gourd or 5 Chayote Squash, peeled & cut in strips
1 russet potato, peeled and cut in strips
1/2 lb. medium size shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. nigella seeds (a.k.a. kalo jeera/kalonji)
1 dried red chili, deseeded
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp. ginger paste
1 large tomato, chopped
3 tsp. white poppy seeds (a.k.a. posto/khus khus)
3 tsp. black mustard seeds
3 tsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
3-5 green chilies
cilantro 
1 tsp. ghee

Directions:

  1. Peel gourd/squash & potato.  To cut gourd in strips, cut in half lengthwise, slice crosswise into crescents, stack crescents and cut into strips.  To cut squash, remove tops, cut in half and soak in water. Place one half cut side down on chopping block and slice crosswise into crescents, then cut into strips. Cut potato in the same way. Set all aside.
  2. Soak mustard seeds in tepid water and a tsp. salt for an hour.  Drain and set aside.
  3. Soak poppy seeds in boiling water and set aside to cool.
  4. In a blender, combine drained mustard seeds, poppy seeds along with water, 1 green chili and some salt.  Liquefy until paste turns white.
  5. Toss shrimp with salt and saute lightly in oil until pink. Set aside.
  6. Sputter nigella seeds and dried chili in hot oil.
  7. Add onions and fry until translucent.
  8. Add gourd/squash, tomatoes, salt to taste and ginger paste. Stir well.  
  9. Cover and simmer on medium heat until done.
  10. Add shrimp, sugar and blended paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
  11. Garnish with green chilies, cilantro and ghee.  Remove from heat.
Serve as a side dish with hot rice, chapatis or naan.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Chicken Chow Mein & Crispy Rice Soup with Dumplings


This is a real "cheater's lunch". The Chow Mein is a mixture of frozen, pre-cooked & packaged vegetable Chow Mein from Sam's Club and left over Chicken & Vegetables cooked in a white sauce from our favourite Chinese take-out restaurant.  The soup is made from chicken broth, dumplings and crispy rice from the Vietnamese grocery store called Com Say Cha Bong, whose listed ingredients are crispy rice, dried shrimp floss, red chili flakes and deep fried onions. The dumplings are also available frozen from the Vietnamese store and are stuffed with shrimp.  Here's how I put together this speedy lunch for two.

Ingredients:

Chow Mein
1 pkg. Ajinomoto Vegetable Chow Mein (6 or 8 pkgs./box)
Left over Chinese Chicken & Vegetables in White Sauce

Dumpling & Crispy Rice Soup
2 cups Tyson or Campbell's chicken broth
1 cup water
8 frozen, pre-cooked shrimp dumplings
1/2 pkg. Com Say Cha Bong (from Vietnamese store)

Directions:

Chow Mein

  1. Remove packaging from noodles, place noodles in a covered pan over medium heat and cook until thawed.
  2. Stir in chicken & vegetables along with sauce and simmer until thoroughly combined and heated.
  3. Divide between 2 noodle bowls.

Dumpling & Crispy Rice Soup

  1. Bring broth and water to a boil in a saucepan.
  2. Add frozen shrimp dumplings and cook until dumplings float to top.
  3. Divide Com Say Cha Bong between 2 soup bowls.
  4. Top each bowl with 4 shrimp dumplings and pour the broth over.
  5. Enjoy the sound of the snap, crackle and pop of the crispy rice when the hot broth is poured on it.
Enjoy!





Sunday, November 25, 2012

Peach or Raspberry Bellinis





Each canister of Iced Tea contains 6 (1.6 oz.) tubs of iced tea mix.
This recipe makes two jugs of Bellinis, peach in one and raspberry in the other.

Serves: 16
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooling Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:
1 (1.6 oz.) tub Crystal Light Peach Iced Tea Mix
6 cups (48 oz.) water
2 cups (16 oz.) sugar-free Sierra Mist

(1.6 oz.) tub Crystal Light Raspberry Iced Tea Mix
6 cups (48 oz.) water
2 cups (16 oz.) sugar-free Sierra Mist


Directions:
  1. In a jug, dissolve iced tea mix in water.
  2. Refrigerate for two hours.
  3. Add Sierra Mist and stir well.
  4. Serve on the rocks.


Thanksgiving 2012 Menu

Thanksgiving Dinner, clockwise from top:
Quick & Easy Chicken Gravy
Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Onion, Carrot & Celery Stuffing 
Broasted Cauliflower & Potatoes 
Green Bean Casserole
Creamy Mashed Potatoes 
Butterball Boneless Breasts of Turkey
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Thanksgiving Desserts, clockwise from top left:
Grandma Peggy's Jello
Cold Stone Creamery Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
Fruit Tray
Thanksgiving Menu
Saturday, November 24, 2012

Appetizer

Fruit Tray

Entrée


Side Dishes

Sliced Jellied Cranberry Sauce
  
Dessert

Cold Stone Creamery Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

Beverages

Choice of


Grandma Peggy's Jello

Grandma Peggy's Jello
Thanksgiving Desserts, Clockwise from top left:
Grandma Peggy's Jello
Cold Stone Creamery Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
Fruit Tray

Serves: 16
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooling Time: Overnight

Ingredients:
1 small pkg. Strawberry Jello
1 small pkg. sugar-free Strawberry Jello
1 can crushed pineapple
1 can whole cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray)
1 tub sweetened sliced frozen strawberries
2 cups boiling water
1 cup cold water

Directions:
1.      Dissolve both pkgs. of jello in boiling water.
2.      Add cold water and stir well.
3.      Stir in remaining ingredients, including pineapple juice.
4.      Refrigerate overnight or until set.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Thanksgiving Dinner, clockwise from top:
Easy Chicken Gravy

Jellied Cranberry Sauce
 Onion, Carrot & Celery Stuffing
Broasted Cauliflower & Potatoes 

Green Bean Casserole
Creamy Mashed Potatoes 

Butterball Boneless Breasts of Turkey 
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Servings: 16
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

5 large potatoes (Yukon Gold or Russet)                                                          
2 cups hot milk or 1 pint Fat-Free Half & Half 
½ stick butter or margarine
Salt to taste
Generous dash of pepper 

Method:
  1. Peel, cut potatoes into 1” pieces and place in a large pan.
  2. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
  3. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender and drain. 
  4. Mash potatoes with hot milk, butter, salt and pepper.
  5. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  6. Serve hot as a side dish.  

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls




Servings: 16
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Baking Time: 13 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls for small rolls (4 tubes for large rolls)
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Remove dough from tubes and roll out by hand.
  3. For large rolls, separate two triangles of dough, place long sides perpendicular to work surface, overlap sides and seal. For small rolls, use one triangle.
  4. Starting at bottom edge, roll up towards the point.
  5. Form a circle by gently pulling the two ends down.
  6. Tuck one point under and the other under and through the center.
  7. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
  8. Form the remaining rolls as described above.
  9. Brush rolls with beaten egg and bake at 325°F for 11-13 minutes until golden.

Onion, Carrot and Celery Stuffing

 
Serves: 16
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pkgs. Stove Top chicken stuffing
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
1 (8 oz.) cup button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups chicken broth
1 stick unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Bring onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, broth and butter to a boil.
2. Stir in stuffing, remove from heat, cover and set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Fluff with fork and serve.

Broasted Cauliflower & Potatoes


Cauliflower and potatoes are blanched and then roasted. The ranch dressing can be replaced with 2 Tbsp. tandoori masala and 1/4 cup plain yogurt for an Indian touch.

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower
3 russet potatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pkt. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (powder)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Combine olive oil with dressing and set aside.
  3. Remove leafy base from cauliflower, leaving top intact.
  4. Peel potatoes and cut each half into 6 pieces.
  5. Boil water, add potatoes, boil for 10 minutes, remove & set aside.
  6. Boil cauliflower, stem down, in same boiling water for 10 minutes.
  7. Turn cauliflower over, boil for another 5 minutes and drain.
  8. Stir dressing and brush half over top and bottom of cauliflower.
  9. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.
  10. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
  11. Toss potatoes with remaining dressing.
  12. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes until brown.
  13. Place cauliflower in center of serving platter with potatoes around edges. 

Green Beans Casserole


Servings: 10
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup        
Dash of pepper
½ cup cream or milk                                                 
4 cups cooked cut green beans
4 Tbsp. soy sauce                                                                               
2 containers French’s Fried Onions
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil.

Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9"x13" glass baking dish with oil.  
  2. Mix soup, cream, soy sauce, pepper, beans and 1 container fried onions.  
  3. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until bubbling.  Stir. 
  4. Garnish edges of dish with 2nd container of onions. 
  5. Bake 5 minutes more.   


Quick & Easy Chicken Gravy


Serves:                         16
Prep Time:                      3 minutes
Stovetop Cooking Time:   5 minutes
Crockpot Cooking Time:    2 hours

Ingredients:
2 jars (8 oz.) Heinz Chicken Gravy 
2 cups Chicken Broth

Directions:
  1. Combine the two ingredients in a saucepan and stir until smooth.
  2. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes on the stove top.
  3. Pour into pre-heated crock pot to keep warm.
  4. Alternatively, cook in a crock pot for 2 hours.

Butterball Boneless Breasts of Turkey


I've lived in the US for 31 years and served Thanksgiving Dinner to our family and friends for 27 of those years.  Preparing this dinner became much less intimidating when my husband and I discovered these boneless breasts of turkey.  Prior to that, roasted chicken was the entree of choice in our home, instead of turkey, at Thanksgiving. Each de-boned turkey breast is rolled around the dark meat of the rest of the turkey, with the skin covering the top of the roast and the entire roast is then trussed, tied and frozen, ready for baking, after thawing. With each slice of the cooked roast, each guest gets a sampling of white and dark meat.  This boneless breast of turkey is seasoned and marinated the same way as the Big Bird and is a success with very little effort!  

My fear of the Big Bird developed the very first year we immigrated to Canada  in 1977.  My first job was at a car parts supplier in Toronto where, at Thanksgiving & Christmas, the President and CEO of the company personally handed a frozen turkey (mine was 14 lbs.) to each of his employees.  We lined up in the cafeteria to receive this great honor.  

Toronto has a robust public transportation system and having just arrived in the country, I took the bus to and from work the first couple of years.  Well, that evening, armed with my handbag and this clumsy and heavy bird, I got on the bus and put the turkey down to get out the bus fare.  Meanwhile, the bus driver started driving and to my horror, the bird rolled all the way down the center aisle and landed at the feet of the passenger way down at the end of the bus!  Everyone laughed until they cried, but I was very embarrassed.  

When I got home, I had no idea what to do with the horrible bird.  Thankfully, my Canadian sister-in-law came to the rescue and made Thanksgiving Dinner for us that year.  When the bird was again presented at Christmas and for the remainder of my employment at that company, I gifted the Big Bird to any colleague who would have it.  Yes, there were a lot of takers who were surprised by my generosity.

Butterball Boneless Breasts of Turkey

Serves:          16
Prep Time:     2 nights + 2 hours thawing time
Baking Time:  1 hour 45 minutes
Resting Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
2 (3-lbs. each) frozen Butterball Boneless Breasts of Turkey 
4 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:
  1. Thaw frozen turkey breasts in refrigerator for 2 nights.
  2. Bring to room temperature 2 hours before baking.
  3. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  4. Remove netting and plastic wrapping from thawed turkey.
  5. Discard wrappings and packets of gravy.
  6. Loosen string netting to make removal easy later on.
  7. Rub olive oil all over turkey.
  8. Place on a rack in roasting pan, skin side up, in the middle of the oven.
  9. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour, cover with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.
  10. Remove foil and bake at 325°F for 15 minutes until top is golden brown.
  11. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let them sit for 15 minutes.
  12. Slice and serve with all the fixin's.  
See Thanksgiving 2013 or 2012 for side dishes.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Gor Ra Khar Thee with Scrambled Eggs - Chayote Squash with Scrambled Eggs


This recipe was given to me by a Burmese friend.  Chayote squash is plentiful in our grocery stores, here in the U.S.  In Australia it's called Choko squash, in India it has many names such as Bangalore and Darjeeling Squash.  In Darjeeling it's called Iskoos.  It is a very versatile vegetable that has little flavour of its own and absorbs the flavour of other ingredients in the dish.  I use it as a substitute for bottle gourd (calabash) in Indian recipes, because it is more readily available.  You could also replace the chayote squash with and equal number of large zucchini.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Minty Saag Chicken Keema Curry - Ground Chicken with Spinach


We needed something really quick for dinner today because I'd been quilting all day and didn't have time to cook.  There were some lentils and stir fried okra which had to be finished so all we needed was a meat dish.  I adapted my Minty Chicken Keema Curry to speed things up.  Chopping onions and garlic would take too long so, for a shortcut, I turned to ready made fried onions and garlic that are available in the Oriental grocery store.

Servings: 6
Preparation time: none
Cooking time: 30 minutes


Ingredients
1 lb. ground chicken
1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach
2 tsp. mint-cilantro chutney (used for pani poori)
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
15-20 curry leaves
Salt to taste
½ cup crisp fried onions, from Oriental grocery store
2 Tbsp. crisp fried garlic, from Oriental grocery store
1 tsp. ginger paste
2 green chilies, sliced

Method
  1. Heat oil in a pan and add all ingredients except spinach.
  2. Break up the ground chicken until no lumps remain.
  3. Stir everything thoroughly.
  4. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked.
  5. Add spinach and cook on low heat for 10 minutes until spinach is done.
  6. Serve with steamed rice, roti or paratha.
Note:
Mint-cilantro chutney (a.k.a. pudina chutney) may be prepared at home or purchased from an Indian grocery store.

I shared this recipe on

Friday, November 16, 2012

Mohinga - Burmese Fish Noodle Soup

Catfish Soup (center), Garnishes (top left), Rice Noodles (top right)

When it comes to comfort food, Mohinga is one of my favorites. It brings back fond memories of early morning vendors who carry a coal stove, holding a pot of soup, on one end of a pole and all the cooking utensils and ingredients for this noodle dish on the other end of a bamboo pole slung across the shoulders.  This noodle soup is considered the Burmese national dish and is eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Generally, every family has their own variation of this dish and this is my adaptation. I prefer to make a large batch of this meal and invite a group of friends to join in this hearty Burmese meal.

This recipe was adapted from the recipe featured on the Hsaba website. Two forms of catfish were used in my recipe, catfish nuggets (mostly from the belly of the fish) which are added at the start of making the soup and chopped fillets that are added at the end, to make sure that guests get enough fish in their soup bowls. 

Monday, November 12, 2012

Dharosh Aloo Posto - Okra & Potatoes in White Poppy Seed Sauce


Mum and I made something similar to this with just okra once.  She has been my mentor in all of life's lessons, and cooking in particular.  There were eight of us siblings in our family and we waited with our tongues hanging out for her food, whenever she had the time to cook.  Sometimes the wait would be almost unbearable, but she stood for no nonsense in the kitchen and we were not allowed to whine or bug her while she was cooking.  When I grew older and spoke to her on the phone, our main topic of conversation was what she was going to cook or had cooked that day.  I, therefore, dedicate this blog and all my recipes to her and hope she is in a place where she is getting a well-deserved rest.  How did she ever get through life with so many strings attached to her 'sarir achol'?  'Sarir achol' is the portion of the sari that is draped over the left shoulder.

Ingredients:

2 pkgs. fresh okra, trimmed & cut on bias
1 russet potato, cubed
1 tsp. amchur (dried mango powder)
1/4 tsp. nigella seeds
1 tsp. ginger paste
2 tsp. Coleman's mustard powder, soaked in 2 Tbsp. cold water
3 Tbsp. white poppy seeds (posto), soaked in hot water for 30 minutes.
2 Tbsp. grated, unsweetened coconut
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
salt to taste
1 tsp. ghee

Directions:

  1. Toss okra with amchur.
  2. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat, fry okra until golden and set aside.
  3. In the same saucepan, heat remaining oil and sputter nigella seeds.
  4. Add cubed potatoes, ginger paste, salt and fry until potatoes are tender.
  5. Meanwhile, puree posto along with soaking water, coconut and some salt until smooth.
  6. When potatoes are fork tender, combine posto with mustard and pour over potatoes.
  7. Cook until some of the liquid evaporates, add okra back into pan, stir and cook until thick and almost dry.
  8. Adjust salt, garnish with ghee, stir and remove from heat.
  9. Serve with hot, cooked basmati rice.