Cat ears or ‘Mao Er Duo’


food/cat_ear.jpg

Dont be shocked! Its not really Cat ears. They just look like that. This takes a real long time!!! But totally worth it. So healthy! So delicious! But just takes too long. So I would suggest taking up this project with a friend or two.

Zhonghua made this for me once, and I helped her to make these ‘cat ears’. I was amazed. It is really simple. After you make a few, you get a hang of it, and then its really fast.

I might not be able to explain the process perfectly, but if you dont understand, just roll out the dough into tortillas, cut them into diamond shapes, and they should be fine, but in this case, do not call it cat ears :D

Ingredients:
for the dough,
all purpose flour, (maida in India)
salt,
water

For the sauce:
tomatoes,
eggs,
green onion,
ginger,
garlic,
salt,
oil

Mix water into flour gradually to make a soft dough. To make the cat ears, pinch out little dough, place on the palm of your left hand, and then roll out with the right thumb, do this really action fast. Be patient! Finish all and keep aside for now.

Now make the sauce. Chop green onion, garlic and ginger into small pieces. In a pan, heat oil, fry eggs first, remove, keep aside. Now fry the onion, garlic and ginger in it. Add tomatoes, and a little water after a few minutes. Let it boil. Add the egg, and some salt. The sauce is done.

Boil water in a big pot, throw in some handfuls of the cat ears, cook (i think when they start floating, they are done). Remove, draining as much as water as possible. Serve in bowls, with the sauce topping. Enjoy!

I will ask Zhonghua the name for this dish in chinese.

Update : the name in Chinese is ‘Mao Er Duo’ :) Meowwww



Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Tortilla Chips


Another super recipe from Vanessa’s collection! Great as an appetizer or snack or a dessert. If you do not have some of the fruits listed, it should be ok. Consider approx one tortilla per person.

Ingredients:

For the fruit salsa:
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 apples, peeled and diced
1 lb strawberries,
8 oz raspberries,
2 tbsp white sugar,
1 tbsp brown sugar,
3 tbsp fruit preserves, any flavor

For the chips:
10 flour tortillas,
butter / butter flavored cooking spray,
1 1/2 – 2 cups cinnamon sugar

Mix all the ingredients listed for the salsa in a big bowl and refrigerate.

To make the chips, preheat the oven at 350 deg F. Coat the tortilla with butter/butter flavored spray on each side. Cut into wedges, arrange on a baking sheet, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on it.

Bake for 8-10 mins, remove the sheet, let it cool. Serve with fruit salsa!