Life 'n' Such

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This recipe for salad is what typically turkish families eat as part of a normal meal.

Ingredients:
1/2 Lettuce(iceberg/romaine, any kind), wash, drain the water and chop
1-2 tomatoes chopped,
1/2 onion chopped,
1 small cucumber chopped,
1 grated carrot

for the dressing:
salt,
lemon juice,
oil

Mix all the above salad ingredients, sprinkle salt as per taste, drizzle some oil and pour some lemon juice. Toss the salad. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then serve.

Make this about 5-10 mins before a meal. Eat with pilaf, meat.

Note: You need not have all the ingredients listed to make this salad, use whats available.

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I just have one chinese friend, her name is Zhonghua. She is the sweetest, most gentle person I have ever come across. The first time I went to her house for dinner, she was going to make pork dumplings, then when I told her I dont eat pork, she felt so bad, she then started to make shrimp dumplings.

I had mentioned her son in one of my earlier recipes, his name is Xueyu. He is so cute, he loves drawing pictures, and is amazingly bright kid.

This is a genuine chinese recipe for making dumplings. A little work is involved, but its amazingly healthy and delicious.

Ingredients:
for the filling:
ground meat/ground chicken/finely chopped shrimp/chopped vegetables like carrots
green onion,
garlic,
ginger,
salt as per taste,
oil

for the dough:
flour,
water,
salt

Chop green onion, garlic and ginger into small pieces (If possible use a food processor to chop the ginger and garlic into really fine pieces).
Add a little water gradually to ground meat/chicken and stir in one direction until it is tender.
Add the finely chopped green onion, garlic, ginger to this and stir. Add salt to the ground meat/chicken/shrimp and mix well, then add oil and stir.
Put the filling in the center of a dough and seal it, by pressing it with fingers. (You may need to dip your finger in a water and then moisten the edges to seal.)

There are two ways to cook this:
1) Boil water in a big pot, and add the dumplings to it few at a time, when they start floating, they are cooked(its just a couple of minutes). Remove them, draining the water out as much as you can.

2)Heat oil, and deep fry the dumplings.

Serve hot with sesame oil and soy sauce.

Note: If you want to make it with shrimp or plain vegetables, just chop everything very small, I cannot do that, I use a food processor.

If you are using ground meat/chicken, then you need to add the water in the beginning, not for shrimp or vegetables.

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Here is the recipe for the chocolat heaven! This is by Shannon, extremely brilliant, and very sweet (just like these chocolate treats)

Ingredients:
Ghiradelli’s Double Chocolate Candy Making & Dipping Bars, or any brand you like
flaked coconut,
cocktail peanuts, (salted peanuts)/almonds/raisins
oreo cookies,
lorna doone shortbread (butter cookies)
fresh strawberries,
non stick small size cooking pot

Use a clean, non greazy pot for melting chocolate. As the chocolate starts melting, stir constantly. With a tong, dip cookies in it, shortbread, strawberries (just the lower half) and lay them on a wax paper.

To do the nuts, take a few drop it in the chocolate, and spoon them out on the wax paper. Finally do the coconut, throw in the coconut flakes in the remaining chocolate, mix and spoon small mounds on wax paper.

When they are firm, you may lift them off the wax paper and serve them on a platter.

Enjoy or these are excellent gifts too, just present these in beautiful gift boxes!

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This is as per Alexandra’s request. Alexandra is a 8 yr old business mogul, or she will soon be. Check out her business website at kidsroar.biz. She is absolutely a cutie-pie, extremely bright and talented. She loves to come over to our house, and always tells me to make the aloo parathas. Well she cant say that, she calls it the ‘indian bread’.

Ingredients:
For the filling:
Potatoes 5-6, boiled and mashed
salt as per taste,
red chilli (mirchi) powder,
black pepper powder,
garam masala, (can be bought at an indian grocery store or you may skip it)
chaat masala, (can be bought at an indian store)
lemon juice (as much as you like),
cilantro, (optional)
chopped onions, (optional-Alexandra doesnt like them)

For the dough:
flour (preferably whole wheat or durum, or even all purpose will be fine)
oil,
1 spoon salt,
water

Mix all the ingredients listed under filling in one bowl.

To make the dough, take flour, add the salt and the oil, mix. Then add water little by little, to make a soft dough. (Not too loose, because after sometime, it becomes more loose). Wrap with plastic wrap for atleast 15 mins before you start the rolling process.

You will need a flat frying pan or a griddle. Pre-heat on med-high for sometime.

To make the aloo paratha, make small balls of the dough about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Dip in some flour, and roll it to form a small circle (about 6 inches diameter). Take some filling with a spoon and place it in the center of the circle. Then pick up one side and start folding over the filling, as if you are trying to cover the filling. (There should be no opening left, or the filling will come out while rolling the paratha/bread).

Dip in some more flour, and roll out to make a circle about 8 inches, taking care the dough doesnt stick to the board (sprinkle some flour, if this happens).

Transfer it to the pan/griddle. When you see bubbles on the top side, then you may flip over. The bottom will have red-brown dots. Apply ghee/margarine to this side. Let the other side roast and then flip back, apply the ghee. Flip once more and its ready. Finally your paratha should look golden-red-brown in color, with a crisp outside.

Make the rest, in the same way. Its best eaten hot, just off the pan!

Eat with yoghurt, indian-pakistani pickles, or just butter!

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Another great recipe from Vanessa. Try this for your next dinner party for your dessert or for a barbecue.

Ingredients:
softened 8 oz package of cream cheese,
7 oz jar of marshmallow cream

Mix the cream cheese and the marshmallow cream. Cut up fruit or just wash strawberries and grapes, and dip and eat!

Note: Marshmallow cream is very sticky, just fyi. The first time I made it, I used a blender, to mix the two ingredients and it got very messy! I had sticky blender, spatula, bowls :-S …but the end result as we say in Bombay, ‘Public khush ho gaya’ (means ‘people got pleased’- just what the name suggests!)

Also, Vanessa suggested I put the fruits/fruit pieces on mini skewers or big toothpicks, they looked very cute!

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To clean out a microwave with stains or deposits:

Take about 3-4 tbsp of vinegar, add about 3/4 cup of water. Microwave this for about 2-3 mins or upto 5 mins for the real stubborn ones.

Done, wipe away the loose grime with a paper towel.

How easy is this?
Update: I forgot to mention, where I got this from! Its from Vanessa

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All my turkish friends make yoghurt at home. Hacer showed me how to make it once. Its pretty simple. Try it, with about a cereal size bowl of milk. Dont give up if it doesnt come out right the first time, try it a couple of times. Its much cheaper than store bought! And more delicious!

Ingredients:
milk (as much as you desire),
1-2 spoons of yoghurt

Take milk (preferable vitamin D in US or whole milk), boil it. Let it become lukewarm, i.e. when you dip your finger in the milk, it should be warm, but when you stir the milk with your finger, it should feel hot.

Then add about a teaspoon of yoghurt to it. Mix well, or whisk it. Cover the bowl with a lid or a plate.

If you live in cooler places, then you might have to wrap the bowl with a blanket, because yoghurt needs a warmer temperature to set. Let it set for about 6-8 hours or overnight. Do not shake or move the bowl at this time.

When the yoghurt is set, move it to the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Note: in warmer places, if you let it set for more time, then it may get sour. The quality of yoghurt will depend on the sample of yoghurt you use to set it.

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Mouth watering, delicious, tangy, hot, spicy! Rudaba aunty told me this recipe, my mom also told me her variation.

Ingredients:

For the ragda:
2 cups white peas (dry/ called ‘vatana’ in hindi) or 1 cup white peas + 1 cup garbanzo beans (chole/chana)
2 green chillis,
2-3 curry leaves,
2 tomatoes or 1 – 8 oz can tomato sauce,
ginger garlic paste,
corriander (dhania) powder,
chilli (mirchi) powder,
turmeric (haldi),
1/2 tsp mustard seeds(raai),
1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds,
1/2 tsp garam masala

For the patties:
3-4 slices bread,
5-6 big potatoes, boiled, mashed
1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) powder,
salt, black pepper,
few tbsps semolina for dipping.

Garnish:
chopped onions,
chopped tomatoes,
chopped cilantro,
Tamarind Chutney,
Tikhi/Dhania Chutney,
Fine Sev (you can find this in Indian stores, or the Asian aisles in some Grocery stores)

Soak the peas and/or garbanzo beans in water overnight. Then boil/pressure cook them with some salt and turmeric.

Then in a small pan, put some oil, when it heats, put the mustard seeds. When they start splattering, put the curry leaves and the cumin seeds. Then put the chilli powder, dhania powder, and turmeric (just 1/2 tsp). After a few seconds, add the ginger garlic paste quickly, again fry a bit. Then add the tomato sauce quickly. Cook till you see oil floating/seperating.

Add this to the boiled peas. Boil everything together for sometime, and add some black pepper. Ragda part is done.

Now to make the patties. Sprinkle water on the bread slices, and then press them between the palm of your hands, and add them to the mashed potatoes. Add cilantro, salt, cumin powder and black pepper. Mix well. Make small balls and press them between your palms to get a cutlet/patties shape. Dip them in the semolina, and then shallow/deep fry them. Spread them over a kitchen towel to take out excess oil. The patties are done.

Now the final step is the assembly. First put the patties on a plate, usually 2-3 as one serving. Then put some ragda, some chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, spoonful of chutneys, and finally the fine sev. Finished!

Enjoy!

Note: (My mom also puts one chopped onion, 1 spoon ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp oil, 1 pinch baking powder, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp dhania powder in the pressure cooker while boiling. So if you follow this, you may have to alter the amount of spices in the other steps.)

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