Life 'n' Such

Leyla got me started with Turkish cooking. She is an excellent cook and her little boys are the cutest kids. I think this recipe is one of the first she taught me. This recipe is very fast and does not require many ingredients and is super easy.

Ingredients:
Chicken boneless breast cut in strips/chunks, as many as you want
oregano,
red chilli powder,
paprika,
salt
breadcrumbs for dipping the chicken

Arrange the chicken pieces on a tray, sprinkle all the ingredients except breadcrumbs on it. Turn the pieces, repeat. In a frying pan, put little oil. When the oil is hot enough, dip the chicken pieces in the breadcrumbs and shallow fry few pieces at a time for 3-4 mins on each side till fully cooked. (Use a splatter sheet if needed). Done!

See no marination required, instant chicken dish, can be used as an appetizer too. Eat with butter pilaf and salad.

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Rudaba aunty loves desserts made from milk or milk products, she got this recipe from some other friend. It is so good!

Ingredients:
1 big box of ricotta cheese,
1 stick unsalted butter,
1 cup sugar,
chopped almonds/ pistachios (optional for garnishing)
cardomom (Elaichi) powder

Mix all the above ingredients except nuts, and either bake at 400 deg F for about 35 mins, or cook in a non-stick pan till all the water evaporates. Then set in a tray and refrigerate. Sprinkle nuts for garnishing. Cut in pieces and enjoy!

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

In India, the Chinese food is very spicy and different from the real Chinese food. This is Tehsin’s recipe for Indian Chicken Manchurian

Ingredients:
Oil for frying,
boneless chicken pieces,
2 tsp garlic paste,
1 egg,
2 tbsp corn flour,
salt and pepper as per taste,
1/2 tsp soya sauce,
1/2 tsp lemon juice

For the sauce:
2 tbsp oil,
1 tbsp garlic coarsely chopped,
1/2 sliced onion,
1/2 sliced green bell peppers(capsicum),
1/4 cup soya sauce.
2-3 cups of water,
1-2 tbsp corn flour mixed in 1/3 cup cold water

Mix all the ingredients in the first half and deep fry the chicken pieces, keep aside.

To make the sauce, in oil, fry the garlic, onion and green peppers for few minutes, on high heat. Then add the soya sauce, mix. Add 2-3 cups water, bring it to a boil. Slowly stir in the corn flour paste to achieve a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper as per taste.

Add the chicken pieces to the sauce, simmer for some time. Eat with noodles, fried rice, or steamed rice.

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This is a very lightly flavored dessert. Can be eaten anytime! Hacer showed me how to make this one. It has a crisp base and the apple walnut mix is very juicy. There are three layers, the cookie type base, then the apple walnut mix and then again the cookie type base in a checked fashion. Its called ‘Elma Ll pasta’ in turkish.

Ingredients:
For the apple walnut mix:
6 apples grated,
1 cup sugar,
1 cup walnuts crushed

For the base:
3 eggs,
2 sticks butter,
1 cup powdered sugar,
about 3 1/2 cup flour,
1 tsp heaped baking powder

Cook the grated apples and the sugar in a pan, till the water evaporates. Then add the walnuts and mix and keep aside.

To make the dough, mix all the ingredients listed, adding the flour gradually till the dough is soft. Divide in two parts, one half a little more than the other. With the smaller part, make strips by rolling out the dough. Keep aside.

Grease the baking pan (9X13 inch) and then flatten the bigger half of the dough gently with your hand. Then spread the apple mix on top of this base. Now gently lay the strips first horizontally then vertically to form a criss cross / checked pattern. Bake at 350 deg F, till its golden red in color. After it is cooled, dust some powdered sugar on it. Refrigerate, cut in little pieces and serve with tea/coffee.

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

If you have a Kaufmann’s nearby, check it out this week! They have 80% plus extra with coupon savings on practically all their winter stuff! Boots, coats, sweaters, etc. The best prices of the season.

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Lots of butter in this one! But oh so good! Hacer makes excellent pilafs. Try this recipe, she suggested, eating it with chicken or just plain salad. This recipe makes 3-4 servings.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup rice,
3 cups hot water, (a few tbsp more for the carrots/peas)
2-3 tbsp thick vermicilli/angel hair pasta,
1 big carrot, chopped in little pieces,
1/2 cup green peas (canned/frozen/fresh),
3 turkish teaspoon salt (approx equal to 1 1/3 tsp),
4 tbsp butter,
1/4 cup veg/corn oil

In a cooking pot, heat the oil and the butter together. When it melts, add the vermicilli/pasta. Fry till they are dark red-brown. Add the washed rice, and again saute additional 3-5 mins, till the water evaporates. Next add the carrots and peas. Mix well once, add the water and salt. Bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat to simmer/low. Cover the pot with a lid, for a few mins, let the lid be slightly open. Let it cook about 15 mins or so. Turn down the heat, take off the lid, using a kitchen towel, cover the pot. Then place the lid back. Hacer suggested keeping this covered completely with 2-3 towels for about an hour for best results.

Try it, and let me know how it turns out for you.

Note: Hacer once made this same recipe using only rice and chick peas (soaked about 6-8 hours) and add the chick peas instead of carrots and peas. It was great!

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