Again variation of the basic recipe. We had this at Hacer’s house for iftaar.
Ingredients:
green beans, washed and cut in bite size lengths.
tomatoes peeled and chopped
garlic
onion chopped
First fry the onion in the oil, add the garlic. Then add the tomatoes and the beans and cook till done.
Note: You can buy the frozen beans and use, they will cook faster than the fresh ones.
This is usually what we have in India when breaking our fast. But this could be an appetizer at any meal too. I think Dates are rich in Fiber and walnuts have the “good oils” that we need to have.
Ingredients:
Dates, pitted(no seeds) preferable
Walnut halves
Cut a slit in the date and arrange the walnut in it. Thats it!
This is such an incredible spice mix!!! Lipton Onion Soup mix found in any grocery store. After I made this, I was shocked, this tastes exactly like aloo sabji commonly made in India (one of the versions, in India, every woman has her own recipe to make aloo ki sabji (potato vegetable).
And guess what, this is no mess, quick, and you dont need too many things. Just this soup mix, potatoes and some oil (olive oil suggested) Try this as a side dish for any meal, indian, american, turkish, mexican,…..everyone likes this!! I am telling you this, cos I have tried it wiht all my friends from all over the world and everybody loves it!
Ingredients:
Lipton Onion Soup mix, 1 packet
4 medium size potatoes,
Olive oil 1/3 cup
In a baking tray, peel and chop the potatoes and put the onion mix and the oil. Mix it well. Bake at 425 deg F as suggested on the packet for about 30 – 35 mins. Done!!!
How good do the two words mango and souffle sound together!! Guess what? They are even better when you put them together to get wonderful, heavenly ‘mango souffle’! Yummmmm…….. this is as close to exotic as you can get in North East!
I had this wonderful dessert in our friends house last night. It is simply a mix of different ingredients, and there is no baking involved. Fauzia is from Kashmir and she makes amazing/authentic/simply great kashmiri food. She has the cutest kids. Ikram and the new baby Fadia.
Ingredients:
1 can mango pulp,
1 can (about 6-7 oz) condensed milk,
2 tubs of whipped cream, (thawed) like Kraft’s Cool Whip
2 packs orange/mango (or any orange colored) jello
Mix together whipped cream, condensed milk and mango pulp in a bowl.
Then prepare the jello as per the instructions on the box; but for this recipe, we do not have to set it completely to form jelly; half way through, whisk it to break it up into smaller pieces,
and then stir it into the cream, condensed milk and pulp mixture. Stir well, and then set it in a tray.
Refrigerate to get smooth creamy souffle or freeze it overnite and voila! You will have mango kulfi/icecream. (Use plastic wrap to seal it, or else, when you freeze, you will get crystals, and the icecream/souffle wont be smooth and creamy)
Optional: While serving, if fresh mango is available, you could garnish with mango cubes.
Last week, I got a bad muscle pull in my lower back. All my friends have been so kind and I cannot imagine how me and yasir could have gone along for a week without their help. (Thank you!…i know its not enough)
Ulfet made this soup for me. It is delicious!!! It can be eaten instead of a meal too. It is filling.
Ingredients:
Chicken pieces 4-5 (any will do) boiled, keep chicken broth/stock aside
oil about 3 tbsp
butter 1 tbsp
all purpose flour about 1 1/2 tbsp
orzo pasta about a handful
salt as per taste
lemon juice
First start by boiling the chicken pieces, then reserve the broth and shred the chicken into little pieces.
In the pot, heat the oil and butter, then add the flour. It will start to bubble, whisk it for a minute or two. Now add the orzo, chicken, broth and a little extra cold water.
Let this boil for about 10-15 mins (The orzo pasta, doubles in size) till the soup thickens.
Add the salt, and let it become warm. Then whisk the egg yolk and lemon juice and mix it in the soup for a smooth creamy texture.
Enjoy a hot bowl of chicken soup on a rainy day or anytime other time!
I spent all day at Nurhan’s house today. She made few quick dishes for dinner. Soup made with pasta, Meat and okra in tomato sauce, salad and pilaf.
This recipe is a generic recipe for making any vegetables with/without meat.
Ingredients:
boneless meat pieces (optional if you are a vegetarian)
1 onion chopped,
1 big tomato (remove the skin and chop)
tomato paste few spoons
your choice of vegetable (okra, potatoes, beans, peas, eggplant, mushroom, etc)
salt, black pepper, red pepper
oil for cooking
If you are using meat, first fry it till all the water evaporates, add oil and onions and fry till onions are transparent. Then add the chopped tomato and little tomato paste. Fry for a few mins, add water and the vegetable of your choice. (If you use okra, add some lemon juice, so that the okras wont become sticky)
Boil. When the sauce starts to thicken, add the salt, pepper and red pepper.
Serve with pilaf.
Note: In India, okra means lady fingers (“bhindi”)
Delicious dessert made from simple every day ingredients, fast to make, and taste so good!! I have eaten this a lot of times, and tried before a couple of times, but always had the instructions mixed up and ended up with the mixture landing in trash.
Finally got this right, because I finally followed the instructions this time!!! You do that on your first attempt, and in few minutes you will be in Chocolate Heaven 
I took this recipe from Hacer, and you cannot go wrong with this one, aah…but follow the steps!
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter (I used “I cant believe its not butter”)
2 eggs whisked,
Cocoa powder 3-4 tsp,
3 packets Ulker biscuits, (Like Marie biscuits found in India, or In US, use Graham crackers)
1 cup walnuts, broken in little pieces
3/4 cup cold milk,
6 tbsp sugar
Method:
First boil the stick of butter. In a big mixing bowl, hold few biscuits at a time, and break them two times, repeat with the remaining biscuits.
Pour the butter over this. Toss around with your both hands very gently. Add the eggs, the cocoa powder, sugar, walnuts and milk. Mix gently taking care as to not crush the biscuits too much. (At this point, it looked like I messed up again, but be patient, thats important)
When its mixed well (should take a couple minutes), take a long piece of aluminium foil, about 18 inches long. In the center, arrange the mixture. Now fold the sides of the aluminium foil with clean hands, to make a Prism shape (like Toblerone chocolate).
Fold the ends, and then freeze till it is set.
While serving, leave it at room temperature for a few minutes and then cut slices and serve in a set of three, as shown in the picture.
Not too sweet, really easy and fast to make, and does not need any fancy ingredients. Try it and let me know your experience.
Hacer makes it, Ulfet makes it, almost all turkish women make it, either rolled up or flat on the tray; its all good!! Basically milk pudding, rolled in coconut, what could be bettter!
Ingredients:
(Use the same cup for all measurements)
4 cups cold milk,
1 cup flour,
1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups of sugar (depends on how sweet you like it)
Butter 2 sticks unsalted
vanilla essence optional
Dessicated coconut (enough to coat the entire tray you plan to set your pudding in)
Melt the butter first, then add the flour to this. Mix well for about 3-4 minutes.
Add the sugar, mix well.
Finally add the milk little bit at a time, and stirring well to get a smooth consistency. (Do this on medium-high heat)
When it starts to boil and thicken, taste to see if the flour-y taste has gone. Then its done.
Use a hand blender to get a smooth texture to the pudding. About 5-8 mins. (If you use a whisk then you may skip the blender part.)
Should be thin, your whisk should move easily, not thick consistency. This is important if you want to roll the pudding in the coconut.
Sprinkle the coconut generously in the tray.
Pour the pudding slowly to make a single even layer.
Let it set in the freezer for about 2 hours. The pudding layer should be about 3/4 to 1 cm.
Now is the tricky part, the cutting and rolling into the desired shape. (I am going to try this the coming weekend, I will let you know if I was successful.)
Ulfet uses a knife to go around the edges, so as to loosen them up.
Hacer said to use a fork and lift up the sides first all around the tray.
Cut into squares or rectangles of approx size 2X4 inches, and then slowly roll it in place (look at the picture), you might need to dip the ends in the coconut, so that it doesnt get sticky on the ends.
Place it on your serving platter.
Follow the same instruction for the rest and hopefully it turns out great! And do it fast, before it starts to melt then the pudding will start sticking to your hands. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
If you are not confident to do this, Ulfet suggests that skip the rolling, just cut and flip it upside down(the coconut is on the top) directly on the dessert plates. See that the layer of the pudding in the tray is atleast 1 and half inch. Or just pour it on a tray, then when it is a little warm, put the chocolate sauce on the top. Refrigerate.
Ok then, good luck! Let me know if your Tavuk Gogusu comes out perfect!
Note: About 5 cups may be needed to make the pudding consistency thin enough for the rolling. Ulfet said that the pudding when done should feel like cake batter. But if you are going to set it in tray, then it should be much thicker.
Yes…for me Dessert always comes First!
Another interesting food blog I came across today:
http://dessertcomesfirst.blogspot.com/ Check this site out. The food pictures are beautiful. They should have travel destinations based on the food they have there!!! Imagine a Fish n Fries Cruise, or Chocolate Lover’s paradise or Endless Buffet Islands Aaaah!!
food/sept-035.jpg
Yummmmmm O !! as Rachael Ray would say if she had this butter chicken made by Rudaba Aunty. I am going to make it soon for the upcoming dinner this weekend.
Ingredients:
Boneless chicken thighs approx 3 lbs (1 and half kilos) cut in small pieces
Marinade for chicken:
Shan butter chicken masala- 2-3 tsp
1 big onion, chopped
lemon juice, salt, black pepper
ginger garlic paste about 3- 4 tsp
cloves 5
cardomom green, 5
tomato paste 3/4 can
Shan masala again about 2-3 tsp
handful cashews ground to a powder,
1/2 stick butter,
sour cream as much as you like
2-3 spoons yoghurt
Method:
First marinate the chieken in the ingredients listed atleast overnite. Then start the masala (Curry) on medium-high heat by frying the whole spices and onion in oil. Fry till its pink/reddish. Add the ginger garlic paste now. Add the tomato paste, butter and fry till oil seperates. Add 2 tsp shan masala. Mix and add the marinated chicken. Fry well on high heat. Add yoghurt and sour cream after chicken is half done. Fry mixing all pieces well. Add sour cream and cashew powder. Add water till the pieces are soaked under. Simmer covered till done.
Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy with rice pilaf or tandoori naan.