This is a super fast appetizer. This is one of Nouman’s recipes.
Ingredients:
1- 13 oz can Hummus tahina (ready to eat),
2 tbsp yoghurt,
2 tbsp tahina (sesame ground/paste),
1 clove minced garlic,
1 tsp salt
Mix all the above and thats it 
Done! Told ya, super fast!
Serve with pita quarters.
note: garnish with dry mint/paprika.
We in India, love eating deep fried, buttery, anything that we are not supposed to eat 
. Well, who doesnt! But I think its ok, once in a while to indulge. I love eating chole bhature, and when here in US, my turkish friend Ulfet, told me this recipe for pisir, it reminded me of bhaturas. I tried it, and yes.. pisir almost tastes like bhaturas!
It takes a little effort, but completely worth it! Try it.
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water,
1 tbsp yeast,
1 tbsp sugar,
flour,
salt about a tsp,
oil for frying
In a mixing bowl, add yeast and sugar and then a cup of warm water. Let it sit for about 10-15 mins, till it rises. Add salt and flour and mix with your hand. The dough should be soft. Dip in a little flour while rolling out little circles, and deep fry them in hot oil. Flip once to cook both sides, till they are golden.
Eat with chole, or cheese and olives or just with tomatoes. Excellent as a snack.
I ate this recently in Nurhan’s house. I took the recipe, it is soooo easy and delicious! Neda (Nurhan’s youngest daughter is getting teeth, and her older daughter Sena, is losing hers )
Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs,
1 small onion/2-3 green onions (chopped),
fresh/dried parsley,
lemon juice,
oil,
salt,
black pepper,
red pepper (optional)
Chop the hard boiled eggs, and add all the other ingredients to it. Toss and its ready! Great as a side salad/snack or for breakfast. Delicious any time
Ulfet showed me how to make this. It is really simple, but since different kinds of rice need different amount of water to cook, you would need to make it once or twice to get it right. Generally for 2 people/servings, use 1 cup of rice.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice,
hot water (a little less than 2 cups)
1 tbsp orzo pasta/vermicilli (optional),
2 tbsp butter,
1/4 cup oil,
salt as per taste,
black pepper (optional)
Wash rice and soak in warm water and some salt. After an hour or so, drain the water, and keep rice aside. First heat oil in the cooking pan. Add orzo/vermicilli when the oil is heated. Fry till golden brown. Add the rice, and fry till the rice grains look shiny, that is when all the water is evaporated. Add the butter and salt, mix. Then finally add the hot water, let it boil. After it starts to boil, turn the heat to the lowest setting. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 15-20 mins. Open the pan and check to see if the rice is cooked completely. If its uncooked, add a little more hot water and cover with the lid. When its done, turn off the heat and let it sit covered for another 10 mins.
note: Adding more butter will make it more tastier.
Deanna used to work with us. She is full of energy, and very sweet. She heard about my blog (through my dear husband), and offered me her family’s recipe for making the very best Eggplant Parmesan. This is her recipe with a helpful tip on how to select eggplants.
Ingredients:
eggplants
freshly grated parmesan cheese
spaghetti sauce
In buying eggplants, buy dark ones and the lighter in weight, the better (light means less seeds). You will need approximately 3 cups of freshly grated parmesan cheese (depending on how much you are making). You will also need spaghetti sauce (3 cups approx. or more, depending on how much you are making also.)
Peel the skin from the eggplant and if you have a slicing machine, use that; otherwise you need to slice them by hand. The secret to good eggplants is to be sliced very thin (as close to paper thin as you can get).
Next, rinse the eggplant slices in cold water and place the pieces in a colander, layer after layer, sprinkling salt on each layer. Be sure to leave the center of the colander empty so that the liquid will drain out. Then place a dish on the eggplant with a weight on top of the dish so that the liquid will drain out. Let drain for about an hour before the next step.
After the draining, use paper towels and lay the eggplant individually on the paper towels. Put paper towels between layers also. Try to squeeze as much water out as you can.
Now you are ready to fry the eggplant. Use a vegetable oil or canola (do not use olive oil for these). Put about ¼ inch of oil in the bottom of a frying pan. When the oil is hot, begin frying the eggplant slices. Replenish oil as needed, being sure it is hot before adding eggplant each time. Turn and fry on other side when light brown.
Place fried eggplant on paper towels to drain when removed from fry pan. Continue to fry all eggplant.
After all eggplant slices are fried, you are ready to begin assembling your Eggplant Parmesan.
Put a very thin layer of spaghetti sauce on bottom of ovenproof dish. Place one layer of eggplant slices, grated parmesan cheese and then one layer of spaghetti sauce. Repeat layers until all eggplant slices are used, ending with parmesan cheese.
Bake approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until hot and bubbly.
Doesnt the recipe sound delicious! I cant wait to try it myself.
Our friend Nouman has 3 wonderful kids; Aayah(little miss cutie), Akram (with the biggest almond shaped eyes I have ever seen), and Noor(the little angel). Nouman loves to cook, though he is originally from Saudi Arabia, he enjoys all kinds of cuisine. He knows the best restaurant in every city. This recipe is one from many of his creations.
Ingredients:
1 big eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick chunks, and soaked in water and salt for about an hour
oil for frying,
rice flour for sprinkling on the eggplant pieces, about 1/3 cup(optional, my mom suggested this)
yoghurt 1 1/2 cups,
salt, black pepper,
2-3 garlic cloves minced,
1/2 tsp dried mint/ 1 tsp fresh mint chopped
2 tbsp mayonnaise (optional – I like to add a tbsp of mayo for additional flavor)
After the eggplant is soaked in water, drain out the water completely, and sprinkle rice flour over the pieces coating it on both sides. When the oil is heated, fry the pieces and then lay them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
To make the sauce, mix the yoghurt, mayo (optional), mint, garlic, salt and pepper.
Pour the sauce before serving over the eggplant, or serve them seperately. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Update: If you dont like mint sauce, you can make tomato sauce. In some oil, fry some garlic, add chopped tomatoes, fry till done. Finally sprinkle salt, pepper, red pepper.
This is a very unique flavored tea. It is made with cinnamon sticks, cardomoms, green tea/saffron. Sarah aunty is ‘cool’. She listens to Kelly Clarkson. She has a lovely house, and its huge! She is a fantastic cook. We had been to their house on the weekend, and we made her make Kehva(special kashmiri tea) after dinner. I took down the recipe, so here it is.
For 4 servings
Ingredients:
6 green cardomoms,
2-3 cinnamon sticks about 1 inch in size,
1 tsp green tea (or saffron a couple pinches for decaf kehva)
7-8 whole black pepper (its great in winters, or when sick)
4 big cups water
In a pan, boil the water, and the spices for about 5 minutes or more, if you prefer stronger taste of the spices. Then add the green tea and boil additional 5 minutes.
Pour into transparent cups preferably, it has a beautiful color. Also for garnishing, you may add chopped almond.
Note: When using saffron, add it at the beginning with the spices. No green tea is required for this method. It is a herbal tea.
I signed up for Olay newsletter once, and sometimes it gives away free sample. But if you dont want to sign up for newsletters, go to their website at http://www.olay.com/newsandsamples/samples.htm for the free samples/coupons. I like the concept ‘Try before you Buy’.
Funny name huh? Its delicious, moist, and light. I had been to Hacer’s house, and she made this. It is very simple and fast.
Ingredients:
1 packet Ulker (or any brand) instant chocolate/vanilla/strawberry pudding,
3 medium apples, peeled and grated,
1 cup walnuts, broken into little pieces,
2 tbsp sugar,
1/3 cup milk,
1 packet (175 gms) Ulker biscuits in Turkey/graham crackers in US/Marie biscuits in Asia
Prepare the pudding as directed on the packet. Let it warm. Till then, mix the grated apples, walnuts, biscuits, sugar and milk. And make about 2 inch diameter balls. Place them on a tray. Spoon the warm pudding over it, covering it completely.
Refrigerate and serve cold. For garnishing, sprinkle coconut over it.
Delicious and super easy. Hacer makes this sometimes, she makes it with lots of butter.
Ingredients:
Chicken with bones, any pieces
salt,
red pepper,
black pepper,
oregano,
and ofcourse lots of butter
for Pilaf (butter rice):
oil,
butter about 2 tbsp,
rice about 2 cups for 4 people
salt
Boil the chicken, reserve the stock (it will be used to make the pilaf). Shred the chicken and discard the bones. Put butter about 4-6 tbsp, in a frying pan, add the chicken to it. Cook covered, stir sometimes. Finally when the chicken pieces start turning reddish, add salt, black and red pepper and the oregano. Mix and let it remain covered for sometime.
To make the pilaf, add oil and butter to the cooking pot, when they boil, add the washed rice, and sautee for sometime. When the water kindof dries off, add about 4 cups of hot water, and salt. Let it come to a boil, and then cover and let it simmer till done.
To serve as shown in the picture, take a bowl, first put some chicken in it, then press it down. Then top it with the pilaf. Press it down and then first put a plate over it then flip the whole thing, (bowl turns upside down). Slowly pull off the bowl.
Eat hot with salad.