Showing posts with label spicy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spicy. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Spicy Chicken and Apple Cake
Harissa-spiced chicken with bulghar wheat from BBC Easy Cook Magazine
with tomatoes roasted in olive oil
We all enjoyed it, not too spicy, I havent cooked bulghar wheat like this before, I usually just soak it and then have it in a Tabbouleh type salad. I would definitely use it again, it doesnt go as soggy as couscous.Rachel Allens Dutch Apple Cake from BAKE
2 eggs175g (6oz) caster sugar plus 15g (1/2 oz) extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
75g (3oz) butter
75ml (2 1/2 fl oz) milk
125g (4 1/2oz) plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 small or 1 large cooking apples
75ml (2 1/2 fl oz) double cream, to serve
20cm x 20 cm (8 x 8 in) square cake tin
1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F), Gas mark 6. Line the sides and base of the cake tin with parchment paper.
2. Using an electric whisk, whisk the eggs, 175g (6oz) caster sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until the mixture is thick and mousse-like and the whisk leaves a figure of eight pattern (this will take about 5 minutes).
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan with themilk, then pour onto the eggs, whisking all the time. Sift in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and fold carefully into the batter so that there are no lumps of flour. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.
4. Peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices, then arrange them over the batter. They will sink to the bottom(this is meant to happen). Sprinkle with the remianing sugar and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C, 350F, Gas mark 4 and bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.
5. Allow to cool in the tin , cut into squares and serve warm.
It is delicious, I served it with greek yogurt, rather than cream and the apples didnt all sink into the batter, some stayed on top and were nicely caramelised with the sugar.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Chicken Fajitas with Spicy Chipotle Bean Dip
As you can probably already determine, my favorite foods, and the ones I make most often, I guess would still best be described as Southwestern. I particularly enjoy the flavors of that region and most of all the spiciness...for me, the hotter the better! Consequently, I will be sharing food similar to the chicken fajitas with spicy chipotle bean dip that I made last night, at least once a week, but probably more.
I had some of the grocery store bought rotisserie chicken left over from Tuesday nights salad, so I shredded about a cup of dark and white meat and set it aside. Over medium high heat, warm up a large saute pan with a couple of tablespoons of canola oil (or the like). Start by cutting a green pepper (red, orange or yellow could also be used) into thick strips and add to the preheated pan. Add also approximately 1 small onion (sweet white or red could be used) also cut into thick strips. I like to cook the vegetables for a relatively short period of time over a higher heat so they retain some crispiness but still develop some color. If the pan gets too hot and the bottom starts to scorch, no worries, just add a bit of water which will settle things down a bit and deglaze the pan at the same time. Add a few good dashes of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder and salt and pepper. Stir all to combine. Just before the vegetables reach the desired doneness, add the chicken to the pan. The chicken that I used was already cooked, so it just needs to stay in the pan long enough to reheat. Thats all there is to it. Warm a flour tortilla and fill with the chicken and vegetable mix. Add the toppings of your choice. I used Monterrey jack/cheddar cheese, pickled jalapenos, hot sauce and sour cream. Fold and enjoy!
The bean dip is really easy and so delicious! It would be a great snack to try for Super Bowl watching! In a small food processor I added 1/4 of an onion, 1 garlic glove, 1/4 of a green onion, cumin, coriander, a dash of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and 1 chipotle chili (these are very spicy, so if your unsure start with less and add to your taste) and 1 can of unseasoned black beans. Process until relatively smooth. Cook in a sauce pan about 10-15 minutes and serve warm with tortilla chips.
Please share your favorite foods! I would love to see some ideas for Super Bowl snacks as well, particularly if they are spicy. Maybe these ideas will inspire someone else.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Handvo Rice and Lentils Spicy Cake
Ingredients:
1. 1 cup rice (1 year old rice is best but dont use basmati rice)
2. 1/2 cup split red gram / pigeon pea (arhar dal)
3. 1/4 cup split Bengal gram (chana dal)
4. 1 cup yogurt
5. 1 cup grated bottle gourd (doodhi / lauki)
6. 1 tablespoon peanuts
7. 1 teaspoon fruit salt or 1/2 teaspoon saji na phool / meetha soda
8. 1 teaspoon garam masala powder (Indian spices powder)
9. 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
10. 1 tablespoon sugar
11. 1 teaspoon chili powder
12. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
13. 2 tablespoon green chili and ginger paste
14. Salt to taste
For the Tempering:
1. 4 tablespoon oil
2. 2 Bay leaf
3. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
4. 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
5. 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
6. 1/2 teaspoon asafetida
7. 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
8. 2 whole dry red chili
Method:
1. Mix all lentils (dal) and rice. Clean wash and soak for 2 to 4 hours.
2. Now drain and grind to a thick paste, add the sour curds. allow to ferment 6 to 7 hours.
3. For the tempering, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and fry until they crackle, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, dry chili, sesame seeds, asafetida and continue to fry.
4. When the sesame seeds are golden in color add 1/4 tsp red chili powder in pan and pour this over the batter.
5. Add the grated bottle gourd, sugar, chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, peanuts, green chili-ginger paste and salt and fruit salt mix well.
6. Take out bay leaf and red chili, pour this batter into a greased tin. On the top sprinkle sesame seeds.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 30 to 35 minutes till the crust is golden brown.
8. Cut and serve with garlic chutney.
Notes:
The batter has the same consistency as the Idli batter or pancake batter.
Saji na phool is very mild baking soda and we use mostly in Dhokla , Handvo or many kinds of fritters. For substituted u can use meetha soda or normal baking soda in less quantity.
In this dish you can add your choice vegetables and make variation in this dish.
The batter has the same consistency as the Idli batter or pancake batter.
Saji na phool is very mild baking soda and we use mostly in Dhokla , Handvo or many kinds of fritters. For substituted u can use meetha soda or normal baking soda in less quantity.
In this dish you can add your choice vegetables and make variation in this dish.
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Friday, March 21, 2014
Quick Spicy Bean Noodles
This recipe is really quick and simple to cook. It is wholesome with its beans and with its noodles also. Tasty as a small snack or an extra portion for a filling meal. The sweetness of the sweet red pepper against the green garden taste of fresh beans and soy sauce with noodles is just delicious! Get tucked into Jeenas Quick Spicy Bean Noodles and your taste buds will be well satisfied. :)
Read More..
Ingredients
1/2 Tin Mixed Beans/Pulses
1 Pack Noodles (I used egg noodles)
1 Celery Stick (diced small)
Handful Fine Beans (sliced length ways then in half)
1/4 Fresh Fennel (sliced fine)
1/2 Red Chilli (chopped)
1/2 Small Onion (diced)
1/2 Sweet Pointed Red Pepper (chopped)
Soy Sauce
Pinch Salt and Black Pepper (optional)
Olive Oil Spray or Olive Oil to drizzle
(note.....cooking with olive oil rather than the oil spray will result in the food cooking even quicker, either way you do this make sure you dont over cook because fennel can go chewy if over done. Happy cooking.)
1/2 Tin Mixed Beans/Pulses
1 Pack Noodles (I used egg noodles)
1 Celery Stick (diced small)
Handful Fine Beans (sliced length ways then in half)
1/4 Fresh Fennel (sliced fine)
1/2 Red Chilli (chopped)
1/2 Small Onion (diced)
1/2 Sweet Pointed Red Pepper (chopped)
Soy Sauce
Pinch Salt and Black Pepper (optional)
Olive Oil Spray or Olive Oil to drizzle
(note.....cooking with olive oil rather than the oil spray will result in the food cooking even quicker, either way you do this make sure you dont over cook because fennel can go chewy if over done. Happy cooking.)
Getting Started.....
First have a pan of hot water ready, use your olive oil spray or drizzle a little in a separate pan and add your onions on a medium/high heat. When they start to go golden add your fennel. Then put your noodles in your pan of hot water with your celery. You dont want your celery chewy this is why I boil it first with the noodles.
Now add your fine green beans, cook for a minute then add your sweet pepper and chilli. Keep stiring. if you are using a olive oil spray you might want to spray here also.
Drain your tined beans rinse and add to your stir fry. Your noodles should be ready by now so quickly drain them off and add them to your pan. Stir well.
Chop up your noodles with your spatula. Add a few drops of soy sauce and salt and pepper(if you do add salt remember you only need a little as soy sauce is very salty already). Cook for a minute or two stiring always.
Now your quick spicy bean noodles are ready, Enjoy. :)
Friday, March 14, 2014
Onion Rava Dosai with Spicy Tomato Chutney
Thinking about calories is taboo on weekends, so says me! After a extremely fulfilling Asian dinner** last night at our favourite Lemongrass Cafe - Bandra, we wanted to continue the good food times into Sunday morning. And what better way to let the good times roll than with super crisp dosais!Dosais in a Tamil Brahmin household
As good Tambram kids, we have eaten an abundance of Idlis and Dosas well into our adult life. My granny would make the batter once a week in the large wet grinder machine that occupied place of pride in the balcony. (I hear it is used by a local Udipi restaurant to whom it was sold. Gran has moved on to the small table-top version) I remember that my grandpa has bought this in Saravana stores in Madras way back in 1984 and got it to Bombay. How does my memory go so far, you may wonder. But I tie this to the fact that he had bought me one of my favourite purple pavadai with a pink border in that same Madras trip, so it is not very difficult to remember :)
If the batter was ground on Day 1, tiffin on Day 2 and 3 would be Idlis, Day 4 and 5 would be Dosai. The logic of this being, a less fermented batter works better to give fluffy, tasty idlis and a more fermented batter could yield crispy, holey dosais. If the batter still hung around on Day 5, Ammama would put a pinch of soda in the batter to reduce its sourness and make Ilippuchatti dosai, what you would know as the thicker set dosa. Ilippuchatti is nothing but the tradional iron wok. A ladle of batter would be poured into a well oiled wok, not spread, but covered and allowed to bubble and cook thoroughly. This one would be the size of the palm and about 4 times thicker than a regular dosai.
Oothapams were rarely made, because cutting all those vegetables for a tiffin-meal was quite a Rava dosai, Onion rava dosai, Neer dosai and the other variants were all discovered only when I was old enough to eat in Udupi restaurants. It was then I discovered there was a whole world of dosais other than the ones I had eaten at home. A Rava masala onion dosa soon became my favourite on the menu. Today, the page long Udupi dosai menus dont excite me anymore. I like the simple idlis with molagapodi or the simple not-so-crisp dosai made with gingelly oil and served with a simple coconut chutney with homemade batter, for that is the true, non-commercial, authentic version of dosai, after all.
Inspiration for the Rava Dosai
Just yesterday, I had chanced upon a delightful food blog, Delectable Victuals where Sheela chronicles her kitchen experiences. I have already bookmarked several recipes, especially the vegetarian Ethiopian menu to try out soon. But what caught my eye was the simple onion rava dosai which I had never made successfully. This morning, I was craving for a sumptous breakfast but was in no mood to go out searching for a GOOD Udupi restaurant (there are 2-3 very mediocre ones near our place, but the good ones are in Matunga) or to go to Crepe Station for eggs, waffles and pancakes.
The only good option at hand was to click on the bookmarked items, and get started on the Onion Rava Dosai. The mixture of Rava (semolina) , Maida and Rice flour seemed a perfect match for great consistency of batter. The only thing I found missing was any souring agents, which I compensated by adding sour buttermilk and a bit of baking soda.
Hot Onion Rava Dosa served with Sailus Nuvvulu Podi* and Tomato chutney*I omitted the garlic from Sailus recipe
Onion Rava Dosai
Category - Breakfast, Tiffin, Tamil Brahmin cooking, Brunch
Time taken - Under an hour from preparation to making all the dosais
Makes about 10 dosais
Recipe source - Sheela of Delectable Victuals
ingredients
1 cup rava, roasted till light golden (3-4 minutes on low flame)
1/2 cup maida or all purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 medium onions, very finely chopped
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 green chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup thick, sour buttermilk, leave it out overnight to sour it if necessary
Upto 2 cups water (to adjust the consistency)
For tempering: 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 sprigs curry leaves
Oil to cook
directions
Once the roasted rava cools, take all 3 flours in a large bowl. Add all other dry ingredients. Stir well.
Add in the sour buttermilk and add the water carefully to make a thin batter. This will be much thinner than the regular dosai batter.
Oil a non-stick tava / pan. Once hot enough, pour two ladlefuls of batter and hold the pan by its handle and rotate the pan so that batter evenly coats the surface of the pan. The coating must be thin and the buttermilk-baking soda combination will give a net-like appearance on the surface.
Drizzle a bit of cooking oil along the edges of the dosai. On a medium flame, the first side should take 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Carefully flip the dosai over to the other side, keep for a minute of so until it has turned golden brown and crisp and it is ready to eat. Serve hot with molagai podi, nuvvulu podi and tomato chutney.
Tomato Thuvaiyal / Spicy tomato chutney
ingredients1 tbsp gingelly oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 sprig curry leaves, 2 tbsp chana dal, 4 dried red chillies, few fenugreek seeds, pinch of asafoetida, 4 tomatoes -quartered, handful of coriander leaves, salt to taste
directions
In moderately hot oil, splutter the mustard seeds. Add all remaining ingredients except tomatoes and coriander and fry till the dal turns golden brown. Put in the chopped tomatoes and saute for 5-7 minutes, until they soften, yet retain their shape.
Slide all the contents of the wok onto a plate and cool for 15 minutes. Once cooled, place the contents into a mixer along with coriander leaves and salt and grind to a smooth paste. Check for salt and adjust.
note
- Goes very well with all varieties of idlis and dosas
- Can be used on toast with cheese for a grilled tomato sandwich
- Can also be eaten with plain steamed rice
**Now that some food - Our grand dinner menu at the Lemongrass cafe
Starters - Black bean and cream of corn squares, Ginto, Tofu with bell pepper satay and Marinated water chestnuts satay
Soup - Vegetarian Noble House soup made with bamboo shoots, sprouts, mushrooms, ginger and yellow bell peppers
Main course - A bowl of Burmese Khowsuey - Thin delicate rice noodles floating in a Burmese peanut gravy with cauliflowers, carrots and beans served with toppings like coarsely chopped peanuts, scallions, coriander, burnt garlic pods, bean sprouts.
A bowl of Mongolian Stir fry (Peppers, mushrooms, red cabbage, sprouts, onions) with noodles
All this washed off with a glass of lemon grass flavoured iced tea.
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Monday, March 10, 2014
Little Lamb Meatballs in a Spicy Eggplant Tomato Sauce – Please Come Out with Your Hands and Forks Up
Theres one thing I learned a long time ago; if you add a little cinnamon to a savory recipe, you are allowed to describe it as "exotic." Thats just the way it works. And really, who doesnt need a little more "exotic" in their lives?As far as the easy part, well, that is a more relative term. There are no difficult techniques here, and after cutting up an eggplant and onion, most of your prep is done. The only step that one would describe as "not easy," would be the shaping of all those little meatballs.
Eating little lamb meatballs is fun, but it does take a while to portion them out. Happily, Ive included a top-secret restaurant trick for making lots of small meatballs very quickly, by using your hand as a sort of extruding device. Spoiler alert: its pretty vulgar (but highly efficient).
By the way, this lamb meatballs recipe video was done as part of a special feature my friends over at The Daily Meal are doing. Once a week they have something called "Recipe SWAT Team," where they tackle a new ingredient with one goal in mind: creating easy and delicious dishes.This week it was "Recipe SWAT Team: Meatballs," and I was asked to throw on my bullet-proof vest, grow a mustache to look more like a cop, and bust through the door both barrels blazing. You can check out the entire feature here, and see some other great meatball recipes.
I hope you give this delicious lamb and eggplant recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 eggplant, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup minced onion
red pepper flakes to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup marinara sauce
1½ cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chiffonade
For meatballs:
1 large egg
1½ tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
4 cloves finely minced garlic
¼ cup finely minced onions
1 pound ground lamb
View the complete recipe
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Spicy Beef with English Veg
My hubby adores this recipe it is one of his all time favourites so I just love making this dish!
It is spicy and wonderful!
If you love stews and you love spice you will love Jeenas Spicy Beef with English Veg!
Ingredients.
4 Small Garlic Cloves
2 Medium Onions(sliced)
3 Carrots(chopped chunks)
1 Small Swede(Chopped Chunks)
Large Handful Dwarf Beans(Chopped)
2 Handfuls Mushrooms(chopped chunks)
Rapeseed Oil
Water
approx 1/2 Cup Creamed Tomatoes
Chunks beef
For the Spices
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
First fry your onions for a minute.
Add your beef.
Stir well until browned.
Add your spices and garlic, you may need to add a little more oil here.
Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add your tomatoes.
Stir well.
Add enough water to cover your beef and cook, you should have oil floating to the top of your pan.
Cover your pan with a lid and simmer for 40 minutes.
Add your carrots,
and your swede.
Stir well and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add your green dwarf beans.
Stir well and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
Add your mushrooms and stir well.
When your mushrooms are ready so will your spicy beef. It is now ready to serve.
My hubby wanted his spicy beef thick today so I used a little cornflour and water to thicken it and served it with rice.
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