3 Ingredient Ice Cream - Coffee Almond Crunch

Coffee Almond Crunch Ice Cream

Get ready for a new dessert experience! There is no cream or any dairy product in this ice cream and it also has no added sugar. That makes it diabetic-friendly which makes me very happy. I saw this concept on Pinterest some time ago but only today got around to trying it out. It uses just 3 ingredients, is very simple to make and tastes really good! But best of all, there's no need to haul out that ice cream maker.

Burmese Shrimp Fried Rice - Pazun Htamin Kyaw

Pazun Htamin Kyaw

This recipe was inspired by Promilaa Bhatia's post on the Burmese Food Lovers' Kitchen in Facebook. Her delicious vegetarian recipe was modified to add shrimp for us non-vegetarian folks. The modified recipe is provided here with her permission and blessing.

As in any other fried rice recipe, it is best to use day old rice that has been refrigerated overnight so that the rice absorbs all moisture. I've used Basmati rice, but jasmine or any other long-grain rice would work just as well.

Burmese Bottle Gourd Broth - Buthi Hinjo

Buthi Hinjo

Burmese meals almost always include a bowl of Hinjo (soup) or Hinga (sour soup). These soups are composed of different vegetables in very light and clear broth. Unlike a soup course in a Western meal, Hinjo is not served as a first course. It is sipped throughout a Burmese meal because it serves to wet and cleanse the palate so that the distinct tastes of salty, sour, bitter or sweetness can be better enjoyed. Water is rarely served at a Burmese table; Hinjo is served in its place.

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

3 cups water + 2 cups chicken broth (vegetarians use 5 cups water)

1 tsp. shrimp powder (vegetarians use 1 heaped teaspoon julienned nori)

1 Tbsp. fish sauce (optional)

1/2 bottle gourd/lauki, peeled and cubed (seedless cucumber works too)

1 small onion, diced

1 cup romaine lettuce, shredded

salt to taste

Lime, cut in wedges

2 green onions, sliced thin

Directions

1. Divide lettuce and green onions between 4 bowls & set aside.
2. Bring water and chicken broth to a boil and turn heat down to med-low.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until lauki is soft.
4. Ladle soup over lettuce in the 4 bowls (lettuce will wilt in hot broth).
5. Serve with wedges of lime.

Minced Meat with Red Beans & Potatoes

Rajma with Keema & Alu

I saw a recipe on a food blog for minced meat cooked with garbanzo beans, but couldn't find it again. It didn't matter because there were no garbanzo beans in the house. A can of red beans, smaller in size than kidney beans, inspired me to make Rajma which I pumped up with minced meat and diced potatoes.

Rajma is a one-pot vegetarian meal that is usually made with kidney beans and without meat. Canned beans drastically reduce the time it takes to cook the beans. As the beans cook and break down, they serve to thicken the gravy and impart a creaminess to it. 

This stick-to-the-ribs comfort food is ideal for rainy and cooler weather. 

Ingredients:
1 lb. minced lamb or beef

1 (14 oz.) can red/kidney beans, rinsed in several changes of water & drained

1 russet potato, diced

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cinnamon sticks

2 star anise

1 tsp. cardamom pods

1/2 tsp. whole cloves

1/4 tsp. shah jeera/cumin seeds

1 large tomato, minced

2 large onions, peeled and minced

10 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. ginger paste

2+ tsp. Kashmiri mirch/paprika/chili powder

1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder

1 tsp. coriander-cumin powder

2 cups beef broth, set to a simmer

salt to taste

1 tsp. ghee

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat and sputter cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise and cumin seeds.
2. Add onions, garlic and ginger paste and stir-fry until onions turn translucent.
3. Stir in tomatoes, coriander-cumin powder & Kashmiri mirch.
4. Simmer until tomatoes break down and oil resurfaces.
5. Add minced meat and potatoes and stir-fry until meat browns.
6. Stir in garam masala powder and beef broth, bring to a boil and lower heat to medium-low.
7. Adjust salt to taste, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes until gravy reduces to about 1/2 cup.
8. Garnish with ghee, remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish

Serve over steamed Basmati rice or with naan or chapatis.

Chili Chicken

Chili Chicken
(with ground chicken)

GrandBoy #3 spent the evening with us last week and we had 'walking tacos' made with ground chicken. 'Walking tacos' are a salad of taco meat, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, julienned cucumbers, mild salsa, et al, that are mixed well with crushed doritos. Each person is handed a package of doritos which is crushed in the bag. The chips are topped with taco ingredients and mixed well right in the bag. The idea is that each person is able to walk around and enjoy the bag of 'walking tacos'. It's a great on-the-go dinner that is fun to eat.

There were only three of us for dinner that day, so there was half a package of ground chicken left that I froze to use later. The entire package of ground chicken was browned with onions, garlic and tomatoes, and at that point half went into the 'walking tacos' and half was frozen.

Today, all I had to do was add the sauces, peppers, green onions and quickly stir-fry it for dinner.

Tilapia Fillets Cooked with Slices of Raw Mango

Tok Maach

This dish is to die for! In Rangoon (Burma/Myanmar) this was made with whole Topshe maach (Mango Fish). I used filleted fish pieces which is not the same at all! Mum used to make it with Topshe maach, potatoes and wedges of green mangoes. A Bangladeshi market opened up in our neighbourhood and I found frozen raw mango in packages. I used about 10 slices in a pound of fish and it came out too tangy. Perhaps the unsweetened, dried mango slices in Mango Fish are a better bet or the amount of raw mango slices should be cut down drastically and ground to a paste before adding to the gravy.

Stir-Fried Spinach & Potatoes

Palang Shaak Alu

I’ve noticed that if spinach is cooked uncovered, it retains its bright green color. Omit ghee to make this a vegan dish.

Roasted Split Mung Beans with Chayote Squash

Bhaja Mooger Dal Squash Diye

Toasting split, yellow mung beans just until golden brown in a dry skillet gives these lentils a deep & rich flavour. It takes about the same amount of time for the julienned chayote squash and lentils to cook. The ghee can be omitted to make this a vegan dish.

Corn Salsa II

A popular accompaniment to an Indian meal is a chopped salad of cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, green chilies and cilantro tossed with lime juice and salt. I added corn kernels and green onions to the mix and came up with this colorful salad.

5 Vegetables Cooked in Coconut Milk

5 Vegetables in Coconut Milk

The people of Bengal in India cook a vegetable curry using a mixture of 3, 5 or 7 different vegetables. The vegetables are of different colours, texture and taste. In this dish I have used white potatoes & radish which have a firm texture and bland taste, orange sweet potatoes and green peas that are sweet and melt in your mouth, and purple Japanese eggplant with the skin on that are soft. A squeeze of lime at the end of cooking gives it a tangy flavour that goes well with the rich creaminess of the coconut milk.

All the vegetables are cut in cubes of similar size.

5 Lentils Stew - Panch Mishali Dal

Panch Mishali Dal
made with fresh vegetables

2nd Try made with frozen vegetables

Panch mishali dal is a welcome change from the simple dal that is served on a regular basis. There is a richness to this dish which comes from combining different varieties of lentils. Any combination of lentils that is available can be used. Because it is hearty and sticks to the ribs, this dish is best suited to cold and/or rainy weather.

Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce

Doi Begun

I used Japanese eggplants for this recipe, but any type of eggplant will do. During my years of cooking eggplant, I've noticed that if it is chopped prior to cooking, it helps retain its shape better if the pieces of eggplant are marinated in salt and set aside in a sieve in the sink for half an hour. Especially if the skin is left intact, eggplant tend to be somewhat bitter and the marination in salt eliminates this tendency. 

Greek yogurt imparts a creamy texture to the gravy in this dish. The yogurt should be taken out of the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before cooking. It also needs to be whipped well and added to the hot pan after reducing the heat to low, one tablespoon at a time and mixed into the gravy with each addition. The yogurt is added a tablespoon at a time so that it does not separate. Be very gentle when adding the yogurt so that the pieces of eggplant do not disintegrate.

Stir-Fried Cauliflower with Potatoes & Shrimp

Phool Kopi Alu Aar Chingri

This is a popular dish in Bengali households in India. Alu Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) is a common item on menus at Indian restaurants and is a favourite vegetarian side dish. The addition of shrimp in this recipe takes it up a notch to satisfy the non-vegetarian palate. The shrimp can be omitted if you wish to serve Alu Gobi in its vegetarian form.

Taiwanese Style 3 Cup Chicken

3 Cup Chicken

In the Serving Bowl

Over the weekend, we had a guest from Taiwan staying with us and she mentioned this dish. I had seen it being made on TV and hunted down a recipe some time ago. Pauline and I shopped for the ingredients at the Asian market but we didn't get around to making it. 

Today we're going to a concert with friends and I've made this one-pot dish for dinner. We'll have it with steamed rice and a salad.

From what I gather, it's called 3 Cup Chicken because it uses equal proportions of dark sesame oil, dark soy sauce and wine (I used rice wine) for the sauce. It's really easy to make with very little preparation involved.

One recipe grabbed my attention because it marinates the chicken pieces in baking soda for 10 minutes and then thoroughly rinses the pieces under running water. It's incredible how beautifully soft the chicken becomes with this little trick.

I added some umami to the dish with the addition of a little Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce). There's plenty of salt in the sauce ingredients so I didn't add any more.

Refrigerate left-overs because this tastes even better the next day!

Ingredients

1½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite-size pieces

2 Tbsp. baking soda
20 slices ginger
20 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup rice wine
1/4 cup dark soy sauce (regular soy sauce is ok too)
1/4 cup sesame oil
1½Tbsp. kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

1 tsp. sugar

1 large bunch Thai basil

4 stalks green onions,  cut in 1” lengths

Directions

1. Mix chicken with baking soda and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Rinse chicken well under running water, mix with a little salt and oil & set aside.
3. Stir rice wine, soy sauce and kecap manis in a bowl and set aside.
4. In a large skillet, heat sesame oil over medium-high heat.
5. Stir-fry garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 
6. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides. 
7. Add remaining ingredients except basil and green onions.
8. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. 
9. When sauce reduces to ¼ cup & reaches a syrupy consistency, garnish with basil & green onions.

Serve over steamed rice.

Beli Mashi's Rogan Josh

Kashmiri Rogan Josh

2nd Attempt Using More Kashmiri Mirch

Beli Mashi (Mum's elder sister) wrote this recipe for me by hand, but I couldn't find it, so tried to recall from memory how she made it. It turned out so well, it was as if she was by my side while I was cooking it.

Gurkha Thee Pajun Chet

Squash with Shrimp

This uses the same recipe as KHAYUN THEE NGA CHAUK CHET but replaced eggplant with bottle gourd or gurkha thee (chayote squash).  

My Burmese Dinner

Burmese Dinner Last Night
Clockwise from top left:
Bitter Melon with Shrimp
Dinner is Served!
Green Beans
Chayote Squash with Shrimp
Fish Hsipyan with Pickled Bamboo Shoots
Steamed Basmati Rice

 The Bitter Melon with Shrimp and Fish Hsipyan with Pickled Bamboo Shoots dishes were recipes that were posted by members of the Burmese Food Lovers' Kitchen on Facebook. To protect their rights, I have provided a link back to their recipes on that group. If you wish to view their recipes, you may request to be added to the BFLK group by submitting a request here.

Bengali Garam Masala

Bengali Garam Masala
Clockwise from top:
Cinnamon Sticks
Cardamom Pods
Cloves

Garam Masala is a mixture of ground spices that is a common ingredient in Indian cooking. The bottled or canned variety, such as McCormick's brand, that is available in most North American markets is a blend of several ingredients. This mixture of spices is used to add warmth and flavour to meat, poultry, seafood and other Indian dishes. In India, the mixture of spices in garam masala varies from state to state and from household to household.

Baked Herbed Cod Dinner

Baked Cod with Green Beans Almondine
 & Pan Fried Potatoes
on a Bed of Basmati Rice

Who knew cod could taste so good? 

I generally avoid buying cod because they're pretty tasteless, fall apart easily and doesn't seem to be able to withstand simmering in a gravy. These fillets, however, were thick, meaty and very fresh. They turned out to be succulent and flaked easily after baking. Any fish fillet will work in this recipe.

Burmese Pazun Sipyan - Shrimp Curry

Pazun Sipyan
(Shrimp in Coconut Sauce)

This is a Burmese dish that was made in the microwave oven.  'Pazun' means shrimp and 'Sipyan' means 'oil returns'. So as not to skimp on fat, use a healthy oil such as extra-light olive oil when cooking Burmese food.  To get the full flavour to develop, no water was added because the oil must separate and return to the surface in the short time it takes to cook this in the microwave oven. It took exactly four minutes to get done!

Burmese Ohn Htamin - Cooked in the Microwave Oven

Ohn Htamin
(Rice Cooked in Coconut Milk)

I've blogged before about making Ohn Htamin on the stove top and that recipe is fine if you have ample time on your hands to saute the onions and rice prior to setting it to simmer on the stove top. Here is a quick and easy way to achieve the same results when there's no time to waste. It is almost a guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Soon after we arrived in Canada in 1977, we bought our first microwave oven. It was an expensive piece of equipment but because it was such a new technology, I was wary of using it to its full potential. Boiling water for tea or coffee, reheating left-over food or thawing a frozen piece of fish or poultry was about the extent of its use in our home.

Three decades later, the microwave oven is proving to be an integral part of my kitchen. I've progressed to making quite a few dishes in the microwave oven and like it because it cuts down dramatically on the cooking time.

This method of preparing Ohn Htamin is the perfect example of how useful an appliance it is!

Burmese Ohn Htamin Neh Pazun Sipyan - A Microwaved Meal in Less Than 30 Minutes

Clockwise from Left:Ohn Htamin Neh Pazun Sipyan
Ohn Htamin
Pazun Sipyan
Fruit Salad

This Burmese meal was on the table in under half an hour because it was cooked in a microwave oven. Allow about 10 minutes preparation time to wash and drain the rice, thaw and peel already deveined shrimp and to assemble the ingredients. This is the perfect meal when guests drop by unannounced around dinner time and will feed 4 people. Serve a fruit salad for dessert for a light but festive meal.

Ohn Htamin
(Rice Cooked in Coconut Milk)

This Ohn Htamin or Rice Cooked in Coconut Milk was made in the microwave oven in just 18 minutes. That is unheard of when rice has to be cooked on the stove top or in a rice cooker. You will find the recipe here. 

Pazun Sipyan
(Tangy Coconut Shrimp Curry)

Add 4 minutes to that and accompany this rice with a delectable Burmese Tangy Coconut Shrimp Curry or Pazun Sipyan, which was also cooked in the microwave oven. Here is the recipe.

Just one can of coconut milk was used for this dinner. The creamy solids that collect at the top of the can were scooped up with a spoon and used in the shrimp curry and the rest of the coconut milk was used in the rice. The ratio of rice to liquid is 1:2, so the difference in liquid, after measuring the coconut milk, was made up with chicken broth.

Fruit Salad

The fruit salad comprises segments of navel orange, red seedless grapes and segments of apricot. A light, cool and refreshing end to a delectable Burmese meal! For another variation on the fruit salad, take a look at this option.

Burmese Laphet Thoht - The Recipe

Burmese Tea Leaves Salad

A very unique salad that Myanmar is famous for, the local population relishes and that visitors to the country must seek out is Laphet Thoht or Pickled Tea Leaves Salad. This is the recipe for that salad for which the sources for some of the ingredients and details (with photographs) of the procedure were described on my blog recently.

Burmese Pickled Tea Leaves Salad - Laphet Thoht

Laphet Thoht - Ready to Hand-Mix 

Today I am in seventh heaven. We just had Burmese pickled tea leaves salad or Laphet Thoht for lunch. Laphet is tea leaves and Thoht is hand-mixed salad. The biggest gratification was watching Hubby enjoy his portion of the salad. After lunch was over he told me he'd just read a medical article that claims green tea boosts memory. The unique flavours of this salad still linger in my mouth and makes me reluctant to eat anything which may destroy that taste.

Get the recipe here or read on for the pictorial view.

Burmese Fish with Drumsticks

Dant-da-lone-thee and Fish

Recipe Source: Doris Thaw on Burmese Food Lovers' Kitchen - Facebook.

Drumsticks or dant-da-lone-thee in Burmese has to be eaten by hand because, like sugar cane in the raw, the fun in eating them lies in sucking and chewing on these fibrous canes.

This fish dish is sour and spicy and totally delicious! I made a couple of changes to the original recipe. Having run out of shrimp sauce (ngapi) I used dried shrimp floss with dried chillies in its place. Since Hubby can't handle food that is too spicy, I substituted Kashmiri mirch in place of chili powder. Kashmiri mirch is akin to paprika, but has a brighter colour and is more flavourful. I also used a small quantity of beef concentrate because I'd run out of chicken concentrate.

Recipe Source: Doris Thaw on Burmese Food Lovers' Kitchen - Facebook.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30-35 mins
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
1 fish fillet (6-8 oz.)
½ pkt. (about 20 pieces of the drumsticks)
1 medium size white onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon cooking oil (I prefer corn oil)
1 ripe red tomato
A pinch of “ngapi” fish paste or dried shrimp floss with chilli
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon chilli powder or Kashmiri mirch
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 chicken bouillon cube (Can use one 14 oz. can of chicken broth)
4 cups of water (2 if using chicken broth)
1 teaspoon fresh seedless tamarind flesh
1 handful of shredded cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Cut fish into 2" pieces.
2. Rinse the drumsticks.
3. Mince the garlic and onions coarsely.
4. Chop the tomato into small pieces.
5. On medium, heat oil for a minute and add the onions and garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes, chilli, turmeric and fish paste and stir for 2-3 more minutes.
7. Add fish and drumsticks, chicken bouillon and water. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.
8. Rinse tamarind and add ¼ cup of hot water. Use a fork to mash the tamarind. Add to pot and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
9. Add fish sauce and garnish with cilantro.

Serve immediately with hot steamed rice.