Steamed Cabbage Leaf Salad

This is a salad for 4 - 6 people

Ingredients:

- 1 whole steamed cabbage
- 6 to 8 steamed cabbage leaves
- 1/2 cup steamed cabbage

- 1/2 cup roasted chestnuts
- 1/2 cup roasted julienne(d) beetroot
- 1/4 cup julienne(d) red bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons chopped green pitted olives
- 1/4 cup sliced red onion- 1 cup sauteed shrimps in Shiracha hot sauce (or any other hot sauce)

Dressing: Chinese soya sauce in a owl

Served with avocado dip

Serve accompanied by chopped green onions,  chopped tomatoes and salted roasted peanuts

To prepare:

Steamed cabbage

Steam the cabbage.

This is a platter showing the olives, red bell pepper, beetroot, shredded steamed cabbage,

Avocado dip (avocado, garlic, olive oil, salt and lime juice crushed together).

Salted roasted peanuts

Sauteed shrimps in Shiracha sauce

Mix all the above ingredients together

Arrange the leaves and the topping on a platter. To assemble a cabbage leaf, first put the avocado spread, then the mixed vegetables and onions. Next sprinkle with chopped tomatoes, peanuts and green onions.

Lastly drizzle some soya sauce dressing

.

Squeeze lemon juice

Enjoy!

Spanish Style Chicken with Saffron Rice

Spanish Style Chicken with Saffron Rice (estimated preparation + cooking time 45 minutes)

Ingredients (for 6 people):

12 pcs of chicken

1/2 cup dry white wine, (eg Pinot Grigio) of good quality

1 cup chicken broth

1 small red bell pepper

1 small green bell paper

9 cloves of garlic

2 whole shallots

1/2 of a large white onion

About 12 olives, pitted

4 whole canned tomatoes with the juice

2 teaspoons of tomato paste

1 bay leaf

Olive oil for cooking

Salt, pepper and (brown) sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

A pinch of saffron

Preparation:

- Slice the peppers and white onion.

- Mince the shallots and garlic

- Crush the canned tomatoes, and mix in the tomato paste

- Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken and coat it with the flour

- Dust out the extra flour

- In a skillet, heat two tablespoons of oil

- Lightly brown the chicken and take it out

- In the same oil put in the minced garlic and minced shallots and sautee until translucent in color

- Add the bell peppers and sliced onions, sprinkle some salt.

- Wait till it looks "fried" (not just "brown")

- Add the tomatoes and let it cook until it is reduced.

- Add the wine, the chicken broth, little salt and little sugar and saffron and mix

- Put in the chicken on top of that and cover the skillet

- Let it cook until you see the oil on top, the chicken is soft, and the gravy is reduced, stirring from time to time to avoid burning at the bottom

- Serve it hot with saffron rice and bread

 

 

Mini Meat Loaf

 

Mini Meat Loaf

 Ingredients (meat and to mix with the meat)

- 1 1/2 lbs of any ground meat of your choice
- 2 tbsps of garlic, ginger, and green chili paste
- 1 small chopped onion, fried
- 2 tbsps of yogurt
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/3rd cup of olive oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 tbsps ketchup
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (preferably fresh)
- 1 tsp of ground spice (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom)

 

Mix all the ingredients together.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Take a cupcake pan, spray with oil, and put a small amount of breadcrumbs into each cup.

Press handful of the ground meat mixture into each of the cups and sprinkle with breadcrumbs on top. Once more, spray or brush oil on top.

Cover with a foil and put it into the oven (middle rack). Set the timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of baking with the foil, remove the foil and back for another 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, and leave the pan inside the oven for another 5 - 6 minutes. It should have a light brown color.

Remove the mini meat loaf from the pan and set aside. Reserve the juice.

For the sauce:

In a pan, put a little oil, saute two diced tomatoes. Add 1 tsp of tomato paste, 1 tsp of diced garlic, and a little salt and sugar. Pour the reserved juice into this. As the gravy thickens, pour it over the mini meat loaves.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

Coconut rice

Coconut Milk Rice

 NOTE: The quantity of rice depends on how many people you are cooking for. These measurements (4 cups jasmine rice, 4 cups of water, and one cup of coconut milk) are approximately for 12 persons.

Start with 4 cups of jasmine rice, washed and set to dry.

Dice one whole red onion.

Pour three tablespoons of any white cooking oil.

Heat the oil and then fry the onions till they are light brown in color.

Sautee the dried rice with the onions. Add salt to taste and a little sugar.

Pour four cups of water and a half cup of coconut milk. 

Cover it and let it simmer at medium heat, stirring periodically

When the rice is nearly cooked, pour in the other half cup of coconut milk and reduce the heat to low and cover it until the liquid is seen to be fully absorbed and the rice is well cooked but not pasty. Turn off the heat.

Add 1 or 2 tbsps of butter and stir it into the rice.

Garnish (for example) with cranberries or dried coconuts or nuts and serve.

Bhetki Narkol Mach (Fish cooked in coconut milk)

Bhetki Narkol Mach - how to cook, step by step

Salt the fish.

Fry them and put it aside.

Pour more oil in the pan and heat it.

Slice one whole onion.

Fry the onion with green chillies and bay leaves in the same pan where the fish was fried.

Add pounded ginger to the fried onion mixture.

Add coconut milk in the pan, add salt, and allow it to cook for some time.

  Put back the fried fish in the simmering coconut milk gravy and allow it to reduce turning the fish once within the gravy. Turn off the heat.

Pour a spoon of ghee (clarified butter) over the prepared fish.

Garnish it with green onions.










Serve with hot rice.

Pumpkin,Ginger and Carrot Soup.


Ingredients -
. 1 cup diced pumkin.
. 1 cup diced carrot.
. 1 diced seeded jalapeno pepper.
. 1 tbs chopped fresh ginger.
. Half cup of milk.
. 2 tsp. butter.
. Salt for taste.
. 1 tsp. fennel seeds.
. 1 sprig of rosemary.
  


In a pot heat some vegetable oil. Put in the chopped ginger and fennel seeds.
Then throw in the diced vegetables with the rosemary.
Saute them together for sometime.
Put salt and 3 cups of water.Allow it to simmer for some time.
When the vegetables are soft enough, turn off the heat,  allow it to cool.
Pour it in a blender jar and blend it. The texture should be smooth and creamy.
Pour the whole mixture into the pot, and while it is heating once more, slowly pour in the milk, stirring it constantly. When the soup is hot enough, turn off the heat, stir in the butter and serve.

Puff Pastry Chaat

Ingredients
-puff pastry sheet( store bought)
- plain yogurt.
- tamarind sauce
- nuts,raisins and sev for topping.
- mixture of finely chopped tomato, cucumber, red onion, cilantro and green chilly.
- half a lime.
- 1 tps fruit chaat masala.
- 2 tbs green mung sprout.

How to prepare:
Roll out the pastry sheet on a wooden board.
Cut into squares (size as desired).
Follow the baking instruction on the label and bake the squares, then arrange them on a platter.
For the filling ,mix all the above ingredients together or keep them separately into bowls so that the guests can assemble the pastry according to their taste.
Its really yummy!!! enjoy.