Life 'n' Such

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This is a quick and easy recipe for making tomato soup. This I have eaten at Leyla’s house first, then at all my other turkish friends houses too, they all had their own variations, which I think is pretty interesting for such a simple recipe.

Ingredients:

Oil about 2-3 tbsp,
Flour 2 tbsp,
1- 8 oz tomato sauce can,
about 3 cups cold water,
salt, pepper, mint flakes

fried minced meat, mozarella cheese, bread sticks, bread, angel hair pasta, etc (optional for dipping or garnish)

Method:

First in a pot, heat the oil, add the flour, and mix well till bubbles appear and the flour is a little creamy color. Mix the tomato sauce and the 2-3 cups of water well in a seperate bowl and add this to the pot. Whisk well. When it bowls, add salt, pepper.

While serving, either put mozarella cheese in the bowl, or sprinkle some cooked meat, or dip bread sticks in it, or a pinch of mint, or add cooked angel hair pasta etc etc. Anyway you like it

You could make this as a part of a elaborate dinner, and impress all!

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Marshall’s store at the Chapel Hill Mall in Akron Ohio is closing. They are having a big sale. I got good Ralph Lauren sneakers for $ 15. They have tops n tees for like $5 and so on. Mens clothing like brand names are on sale too. Check it out!

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Another of Sree’s recipe(we call Sreekala, ‘Sree’)

Ingredients:
Boiled eggs,
Mayonnaise,
Mustard sauce,
onion powder,
garlic powder,
paprika and cilantro for garnish.
NOTE: no salt .. all the other ingredients have salt in it.

Cut the eggs in half, remove the egg yolk, arrange the boilded egg whites on a tray. Mix the egg yolk, mayo, mustard sauce, a few pinches of onion powder, and garlic powder in a food processor or a handblender. Spoon some of this mix in the egg white halves. Sprinkle paprika and some chopped cilantro on the top. Done. Enjoy!

This is a very good appetizer for a brunch or a lunch or even dinner.

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This recipe is by the little hottie Eesha’s mom, Sreekala. They are now in Chicago. I miss Eesha! She is a very pretty child. Sreekala started me on bargain hunting, and took me to Gabriel Brothers for the first time! She is a pro at finding good deals. She also loves to cook and always is trying new recipes. This is one of her recipes, quick, healthy, easy and everyone likes it.

Ingredients:
Pasta (1 packet), (I like using the colored ones)
Bell peppers 1/2 green, 1/2 red, 1/2 orange, 1/2 yellow,
Mushrooms about 8, sliced
Artichokes (optional),
Black Olives
Shredded cheese,
cheese cubes,
Italian dressing.

Boil and cook the pasta according to the instruction on the package. Then chop the vegetables, add the cheese, then add the pasta and finally drizzle a good amount of Italian dressing on it.

Refrigerate for some time. Before serving, add a little more italian dressing, mix well, and then serve as a snack or a salad for lunch.

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Ulfet is a very good friend of mine, when I go to her place, I feel at home. Her younger daughter Yasmine, says the cutest “I Love You”s.

Ulfet is a perfectionist. She can crochet, cook, bake, sing, etc etc. She looks gorgeous when she dresses up, like a movie star(i always tell her that ).

This recipe I have eaten, never tried it. But it looks pretty easy. Turkish crackers are used in this recipe which are like Graham crackers in US, or like Marie Biscuits in India, not round though, rectangle.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour(maida),
1 1/2 cup sugar,
4 tbsp cocoa powder,
1 tbsp butter,
5 cups milk,
2 packs Ulker biscuits (crackers),
1 egg yolk,
dessicated coconut or walnuts for garnish.

In a big pan, mix flour, sugar and cocoa powder. Then add the cold milk to it. Mix well and let it boil, while stirring constantly. (as the pudding thickens, it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, I use non-stick, but still it sticks).
When the flour-y taste goes, the pudding is done. Then add the butter to it and and mix fast. Cool it a little bit, and then add the egg yolk to it, and whisk it well. ( or the egg will start to cook in the warmth)

Then to make layers, pour a layer of pudding then arrange a layer of biscuits on the pudding, then again pudding, then biscuits and then finally the remaining pudding. Done.
Set in the refrigerator for a few hours, till it sets.

Cut into pieces and garnish with dessicated coconut or nuts.

No Comments | In: Dessert, Food, Recipes, Turkish | | #

This is not going to be sweet, its a salty dish. Hacer made this for me once, as part of a breakfast (but this can be part of any meal, as a side dish, or a snack at tea time). Did I mention Hacer has a very photogenic daughter Nilufer.

Ingredients:
3 eggs,
3 potatoes,(thin chopped pieces)
3 turkish teaspoons salt,
1 onion chopped(smaller than the potatoes)
1 cup yoghurt,
1 cup milk,
1 cup oil,
1 sp baking powder,
black pepper powder,
red pepper,
parsley, (dry or fresh)
1 1/2 – 2 cups flour

mix all the above except the flour. Gradually mix in the flour, half cup at a time. to get a batter thicker than a cake batter.

Pour into a baking tray(metal or glass) (about 1 1/2 inch thick layer- so you may need 1 very large tray)
Bake at 350 deg F. till the surface is golden brown.

Thats it! Cut into pieces, serve!

No Comments | In: Food, Recipes, Turkish | | #

food/chickenwraps.jpg

Want to create an impression, just make these chicken wraps to the next potluck party! Nurhan, who is my friend and like an older sister to me, helped me make this for a party. All my guests were zapped, it looked like a fancy complicated thing, but surprisingly it is very easy!

About Nurhan: She is from Turkey, she has the cutest little baby Neda, older daughter Sena who is very adorable, and a son, Haalit.

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts,
yoghurts about 2 tbsp for marination,
12 oz mushrooms, (I use button mushrooms, but any kind will do)
salt,
red pepper,
black pepper powder,
oregano,
handful mozarella cheese,
1 can tomato sauce,
few toothpicks

The most important thing in this recipe is to cut the chicken right. Basically we need pieces of chicken that can roll up easy, i.e. pieces almost 1/2 inch thick and about 1 1/2-2 inch wide, and atleast 4-5 inches long (this is roughly to give you an idea, the pieces are not going to be perfect rectangles)

So first take a breast, cut it across, to slice it. Then cut again to get about 3-4 pieces from one chicken breast.

Do the same to all the other. Cut the chicken and now marinate it with yoghurt, salt, red pepper, black pepper, and oregano for a couple of hours atleast( i recommend overnite marination).

Chop the mushrooms in a little oil, and sautee them till all the water evaporates. Add salt, red and black peppers, oregano and the cheese. Mix.

Now take a chicken piece, put a spoonful of the mushroom mix in the center, then wrap the chicken over the mushroom mix( the same way you would wrap a baby in a blanket ). Then put a toothpick through it to hold it in place.

Arrange all the pieces in a baking tray. Pour the tomato sauce over it, and bake at 450 deg F for about 20 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 400 deg and bake for another 25-30 mins. (Most of the liquids should evaporate). There will be some sauce left over in the tray sometimes, you could just keep it that way, or discard it.

(I will have pictures up for this soon, writing the way to cut the chicken was difficult to me, so I am guessing, understanding it without any visual aid would be even harder. )

Once you try this you will realize, it is not that hard, extremely delicious and looks very appetizing!

Bon appetite!

Update: I made this for our dinner party with Alexandra, Maya (her baby sister, she is the cutest little baby and now she is has in all 4 teeth), her parents, and grandparents, and Abby and her parents. But I left them in the oven too long, so they got burnt a little The picture shows the leftover ones.

No Comments | In: Food, Recipes, Turkish | | #

This is a super easy, super quick(relatively) recipe to make biryani by Tehsin. I think this recipe is excellent for beginners. Try this recipe once, and your confidence will get a boost

Ingredients:
10-15 pcs chicken,
1/4 th cup yoghurt,
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste,
fried whole garam masala (cloves, pepper, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cardomom(green and brown))
1 tbsp chilli powder,
1 tsp cumin(jeera) powder,
1 tsp corriander (dhania) powder,
1 tsp lemon juice,
1 red onion, sliced, fried till crispy red/brownish, and then slightly crushed with hand,
2-3 potatoes cut in big pieces and fried half way(till the outside is golden color, inside raw),
1 tomato chopped,
salt as per taste,
4 cups rice, washed,

Method:
Mix all the above ingredients, except the rice, and let it marinate overnight ( I recommend marination for 24 hours for this recipe for best results, but in a hurry atleast 3-4 hours)
Next day, boil lot of water in a big pot, add a tsp of lemon juice, 2 tsp oil and 1 tsp salt. Then add the rice, and cook till half done. Drain the water, and keep the rice in aside.

Too make the layers, apply ghee generously(its biryani, you dont eat this everyday ) on the bottom of the pot, then a layer of rice, then the marinade with chicken pieces, potatoes, tomatoes spread around evenly. Then top this with the remaining rice. Pour the saffron milk mix over this and a few spoons of ghee. Cover this tightly with foil or heavy lid(Steam shouldnt escape out). Now slow cook this (in oven 350 deg F for an hour, and then keep it at the lowest temp for another half hour or so, or stove). When you get the biryani fragrance, its done. Serve with raita and be ready for compliments, this too (inspite the less effort) tastes great!

Note:
1) Again this biryani can be made in the oven and on the stove, so use oven safe deep dish, or non stick pot or wok, etc. as per your choice of cooking, I prefer doing it in the oven, because, I had once burned the entire bottom layer when I did it on the stove top. I use my mom’s 20 yr old hindalium metal (I think) pot.
2) But still to be sure you can open and check the chicken and rice. Gently move the rice over and cut into the chicken piece with a knife. If not done, cook for some more time.
3) If the rice is uncooked, and dry, you may add a cup of warm milk over the entire surface.
4) Also my sister in law (Shugufta) suggested, to put hot oil over the chicken layer, to jumpstart the cooking process of the chicken.

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This, by Ulfet, is a very delicious recipe for cooking boneless meat (lamb, goat, beef)

Ingredients:
2 lbs meat cut in little cubes (approx 3/4 inch sq.),
4-5 tomatoes (peeled),
2 onions sliced,
2-3 hot peppers (or more, as per taste) chopped,
salt, red pepper, black pepper, pinch of oregano,
few cloves garlic(optional).

In a frying pan, add the meat cubes, and at medium heat, let it cook, till all the water evaporates off.
Now add some oil to this pan, then the sliced onions and hot peppers. Cook for some time, till the onions get translucent. Then peel the skin off the tomatoes, and chop them and add this to the pan (At this point if you like, you can add the chopped garlic). Cook till the sauce thickens. Add the salt, red pepper black pepper and a pinch of oregano. Mix and done!

Eat with pilaf(rice) or bread.

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The prep time for this recipe is just few minutes. Ulfet showed me how to make this. You need the turkey bag(the kind in which you can bake a whole turkey in the oven).

Ingredients:
Chicken pieces (preferably with skin),
salt as per taste,
red pepper as per taste,
black pepper few pinches,(optional)
oregano enough to sprinkle over the chicken pieces
turkey bag(available in most grocery stores)

Wash the chicken pieces, drain out the water completely. Cut couple slits in the chicken pieces. Rub the spices over the pieces. Flour the bag from the inside. Put the chicken pieces in it, arrange into one layer. Tie the bag tightly with the twist and tie included with the turkey bag( or you can use the ones used for tying the trash bags). Lay the bag on a metal tray. Poke some holes in the bag on the top surface(this is IMPORTANT).

Bake at 400 deg F for about 1 1/2 hour.

Eat with pilaf and salad or just by itself.

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