Lisa's Chicken Caesar salad

This is my JFI Green Leaves entry is Caesar's salad using Romaine lettuce. The original dish was created in 1924 by Italian chef Caesar Cardini at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. Nowadays there are many variations.

2 small heads Romaine lettuce, torn or cut roughly

1/4 cup, freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Chicken breasts; cooked and sliced

handful of stoned black Greek olives

1/2 cup Cardini's Caesar's Dressing

Put the lettuce in the salad bowl .
Sprinkle with the dressing and the cheese. . Toss well, Top with the chicken and olives.
Sprinke some more cheese and dressing
Enjoy
We left out the croutons as we were low carbing!!

Stuffed Aubergines / Brinjals / Eggplants

This dish was inspired by Indira at Mahanandi. I had intended to make aubergines stuffed with peanuts, but we had run out of peanuts, so I decided to make aubergines stuffed with chickpea flour. However instead of flour I used ground thick sev or ghatia, as flour cooked this way tends to taste a bit raw. In this case we start with cooked flour.

Ingredients

10 small round aubergines
5 small potatoes cut in quarters
1 cup ghatia / thick sev; ground
1 cup yogurt
2 cloves garlic minced
2 chillies minced
1 tspn grated ginger
2 tspn coriander / cumin powder
1/2 tspn tumeric
1 tblspn oil
1 tspn mustard seeds
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
-54 curry leaves
2 tomatoes; liquidised
1 cup water
Salt to taste

Method
1. Wash and dry the aubergines; make 2 cuts to form a cross in the middle to the stem
2. Mix the ground sev, yogurt, tumeric, coriander and cumin powders, ginger, garlic and chilli paste and salt to make a thick paste
3. stuff each of the aubergines with the paste and set aside
4. heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard and cumin seeds, and curry leaves, let them pop.
5. Gently place the aubergines in the pan, lower the heat and cover the pot. let the the aubergines cook for about 10 minutes.
6. add the potatoes, and the water, simmer for about 30 minutes, so that the potatoes and aubergines are cooked.
Serve with chapati or rice

Kitchro / Kitchdo / Haleem

We make this dish about once a year, as it is very time consuming, We usually make it after Navroz khushali to use up wheat roji. This year we made it for Shaheen and Mohsin's majlis last Wednesday.

Ingredients
3 cups pearl barley
1/2 cup wheat
1/4 cup of each split chick pea, split mung beans, split tuwar, and masur dal
3/4 cup rice
2 lb lamb; cut into bite size pieces
8 cloves garlic; minced
5 inch piece of ginger grated
6 chillies; minced
Juice of 3 limes
2 tblspn oil
1 stick cinnamon, 3 cloves, 3 pods cardamom. 1 tspn cumin seeds
3-4 tomatoes; blended
8 large onions; minced
2 tbs dhana jeero
1/2 tsp tumeric
salt to taste
1 large bunch coriander, blended
1 tspn garam masala

Method
1. Soak the pearl barley, wheat, and the various dals overnight.
2. Boil them separately and blend to get a porridge like consistency, keep aside. Boil the rice and keep aside.
3. Marinate the lamb with garlic, ginger, chillies and lime juice.
4. Boil the lamb in 2 cups of water with salt
5. Heat the oil, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, add the onions and fry until they are almost carmelised, add the tomatoes, cook for about 10 minutes, add the coriander, cumin and tumeric powders, stir for about 3 minutes, add the pearl barley, wheat, dals and rice, mix well.
6. Add the meat and stock to it and mix well let it cook for 10 minutes, add the blended coriander and garam masala and cover and simmer for a further 15 minutes. The consistency should be like porridge ; add some more water if neccessary.
Serve with a green salad

Dhokri / Dokhra / Dhokli

Ingredients
2 cups semolina
1 cup gram / chickpea flour
1 1/2 cups yogurt
1 3/4 cups warm water
2 tbspn oil
juice of 2 limes
3 cloves garlic; minced
2 inch ginger; grated
3 chillies; minced
Eno fruit salt 1 tspns per dhokra. Eno is composed of Sodium bicarbonat and citric acid aproximately 50% each
1/4 tspn tumeric powder
1/2 cup coriander leaves
salt to test
for vaghar
1-2 table spoon oil

2 tbspn sesame seeds
1 teaspn mustard seeds
4 curry leaves
3 - 4 green chillies cut into 2 piece lengthways.
2 tblspns chopped coriander
1 tblspn desicated coconut




















1. In a big bowl, place the semolina, gram flour, garlic, ginger, chilli, tumeric and salt.
2. Add the yogurt, lime juice and warm water and mix well, leave for 1 hour
Add the oil and mix well. This should give you a fairly runny batter.
3. Take a 9 inch tin, grease and place in a steamer or a saucepan.
4. Take 1 cup of the mixture, add 1 tspn of Eno to it and mix well, pour into the greased tin. Steam for 12 minutes.
5. Repeat until all the batter is used up. (I made 4)
6. Cut the dokra into diamond shapes, and place into a large dish.
7. Temper with the sesame seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies.  Heat the oil, add all the seeds, curry leaves and chillies, let them cook until seeds are brown and pour over the dhokra.
8. Garnish with the coriander leaves and coconut.
9. Serve with a tomato or cocoonut/coriander chutney.

Mixed Pickle (marcha, gajar, tindora keri) / (Chillies, Carrots, Tindora and green Mango)

Recently I had dinner at Rani's in Finchley, the best Gujarati restaurant, they had pickled tindora with mustard, so I thought I would try it. It is based on my Chilli Pickle posted earlier.

Ingredients
4 oz chillis
4 oz tindora
2 carrots
2 green mangoes
1 tablespn salt
1 tablespn hulled and roughly ground mustard
1/2 tspn tumeric
2 tbspn oil
4 tbspn lemon juice

Method
1. Wash and dry the vegetables
2. Cut the vegetables into long slices (see pic)
3. Mix with salt and leave overnight
4. Arrange the vegs on a clean tea towel, let then air dry overnight.
5. Place the vegetables in a large bowl, take a small jar add the oil, lemon juice, mustard seeds and tumeric to it.
6. Close the lid and mix, pour onto the vegetables, mix.
7. Put the pickle into clean jars, close the lid.

The pickle is ready to serve!

Chicken Korma

Ingredients
1 chicken cut into small pieces (12-16)
500 gm pk of yogurt
3 cloves garlic; minced
2 inches ginger; grated
3 green chillies; minced
2 tblspn oil
1 tspn cumin seeds
1 stick cinnamon
3 cloves
3 pods cardamom
4 large onions; minced
2 tomatoes; minced
8 small potatoes (optional)
2 tblspns ground almonds
1/2 spn tumeric
2 tspn coriander and cumin powder
1/2 tspn garam masala
1 tbspn chopped coriander for garnish
salt to taste
Method
1. Marinate the chicken in 3 tbpsn of yogurt with the garlic, ginger and chillies
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, let them fry for a minute or so and add the onions.
3. Cook the onion (stirring often) till they are brown, add the tomatoes, cook for a few minutes and add the tumeric, cumin and coriander powders.
4. Add the chicken and potatoes, stir, lower the heat and let it cook.
5. Add the ground almonds, salt and rest of the yogurt slowly a bit at time stir carefully as not to break the chicken pieces as they get cooked.
6. Add the garam masala
7. garnish with chopped coriander

Gundh / Goondh Pak

This is a Khoja version of Gundh Pak, it is a very nutritious. It is often especially made for nursing mothers, in which case it is made with dried ginger, dill seeds and Kantlo spices as well. This recipe is Firoz's recipe


1 lb ghee
4 oz gundh
1 lb whole meal flour (Chapati flour)
1 lb gur / jaggary
1 small tin (200ml)  evaporated milk
8oz milk powder
8 oz sliced almonds
1 tspn cardomom
1/2 tspn freshly grated nutmeg
4 oz descicated coconut




for decoration
1 tablespn sliced pistachious
1 tablspn sliced almonds

Method
1, Heat the ghee and fry the gundh pieces until the pop, remove and set aside.
2. Fry the flour in the same ghee, until its browns and has a sweet aroma, add the gur or jaggary, stir until it melts.
3. Remove from heat and add the milk powder and the evoporated milk, coconut, almonds, nutmeg and cardomom.
4. Stir well and add the fried gundh
5. Place the mixture on a greased baking tray, flatten and smooth the surface.
6. Decorate with the sliced nuts.
7. Cut the pak into squares, and remove gently. Place in an airtight container to store.

Uppuma / Upma

This is my entry for Tamil Cuisine RCI - April 2005 hosted by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine


Uppuma in Tamil is: "Maavu" means "flour" (of any kind); uppu+maav according to Wikipedia.
I first tried this dish only very recently at Sakoni in Wembley, they serve at the breakfast / brunch buffet. It is quite unusual for my family because semolina usually means seero to us which is a sweet dish with nuts and raisons (made in much the same way).
Ingredients
1 cup semolina
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup green beans
2 tomatoes; diced
1 tbspn oil
1 tspn mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
2 cloves garlic; minced
3 inches ginger; grated
2 green chillies; minced
1/4 tspn tumeric
2 table spoons sunflower seeds
21/2 cups water


Method
1. Dry cook the semolina, until it is golden brown, with a sweet aroma, remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and sunflower seeds.
3. As soon as the sunflower seeds begin to brown, add the vegetables; garlic, ginger and the green chillies cook for a few minutes, and add the tumeric, mix and add the water.
4. Bring the water to boil, add the salt; when the vegetables are cooked add the semolina.









I used sunflower seeds instead of cashew nuts, this made really nutty and cruncy!

Milestone

We have have had 10,000 hits since 18th of December 2006!
Readers carry on reading lots more recipes coming in the next few weeks
1. Uppuma - My entry for RCI Tamil Cooking
2. Goondh or Gundh Pak
3. Khitchro or Haleem
4. Dhokri
5. Cheesecake

Garlic Bread

2 loaves Ciabata bread
1/2 cup soft butter
4 cloves garlic; minced,
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method
Preeat the oven to 220 C
Mix the butter, garlic and parsley
Slice each ciabata horizontal into two pieces and then each half into 4 pieces. You should end up with 16 pieces.
Spread the garlic butter on the bread slices; place on an oven tray, buttered side up.
Place in the oven for 6 minutes.

Serve hot

Garlic and Chilli Prawn Brochettes

Ingredients
40 large prawns; peeled and deveined
Marinade
2 tspn chilli flakes
6 garlic cloves
2 table spoons olive oil
4 table spoons lemon juice
salt

Mix the marinade in a bowl,
Place prawn in a shallow dish, add the marinade and marinate for 30 minutes
Thread the prawn onto pre-soaked wooden skewers
BBQ for 5 minutes, turning once

Enjoy

Salmon Brochettes with Rosemary Green Chilli and Garlic

1 kg salmon fillet; cut into 2 inch cubes

Marinade

6 garlic cloves; minced
4 rosemary sprigs; leaves finely chopped
4 green chillis; finely chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
salt

Method
Whisk the marinade in a glass bowl
Place the fish in a shallow dish and pour on the marinade. Leave for 2 hours.
thread the fish on pre-soaked wooden skeweres
Cook on bbq for 5 minutes; turning once.

Enjoy

BBQ at Mohsin and Shaheen

Menu

Salmon Brochettes
Prawns Brochettes
Salad
Garlic Bread

Fresh Green Chilli Pickle

This is a very easy recipe, brought to the family by Shaheen. You can vary it by adding carrot sticks, or green mango chunks.

Ingredients

12 large chillies
1 tspn salt
1 tbspn oil
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 tbspn split and hulled mustard seeds
1/4 tspn tumeric




Method
1. Wash and dry the chillies
2. Cut each chilli into 4 -6 pieces
3. Mix with salt and leave overnight
4. Arrange the chillis on a clean tea towel, let then air dry overnight.
5. Take a jar large enough to fit all the chillies, add the oil, lemon juice, mustard seeds and tumeric to it.
6. Close the lid and mix, place all the chillies in the jar, close the lid and mix well.

The pickle is ready to serve!

Lamb Samosas

Pastry for samosas is usually available at Indian / Asian stores, alternatives include Chinese eggroll pastry or Greek filo pastry. If you want to make your own see this recipe

Filling

½ kg minced Lamb

1 bunch spring onions

2 cloves garlic (minced)

½ inch ginger (minced)

2 to 3 finely chopped green chillies

½ cup chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 table spoon Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.

1 tspn English mustard

1 tspn tomato puree

Dry cook the minced lamb with garlic, ginger, chillies and salt, until all the water evaporates, break the lumps if they form. Add Worcestershire sauce, mustard mix, tomato puree and remove from heat when cooked. Remove from heat and add garam masala, onions and coriander.

Folding the Samosas

Ingredients

Flour and water paste

Pastry

Filling

Fold one end over in a diagonal to create a triangle stick down using the flour and water paste, then fold again, the other way, sticking it down with the paste. Fill the triangle with the filling ; fold the flap, glue down using the flour paste. Repeat for until all the filling is used up.

Deep fry 3-4 at a time until golden.

Lamb Kofta Kebabs

1 lb lean lamb mince
3 small onions,
4 cloves garlic
2 inches fresh ginger
3 - 4 green chillies
1/2 cup fresh chopped coriander
1/2 cup fresh chopped mint leaves
2 slices of bread
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 tspn garam masala
salt

Method
1. Place the mince lamb in a bowl
2. Place the bread in a food processors to make fresh bread crumbs; add to the mince
3. Place the onions, garlic, ginger, chillies, coriander and mint leaves; lime juice in the food processor; grind and add to the the mince with the salt and garam masala. Mix
4. Place in the fridge for about an hour.
5. Form shapes either like burgers or like sausages.
6. Grill or broil about 4 minutes on each side.
Serve with salad and Trupti's tomato chutney in a pitta bread.

mura ne sev jo shak - Mooli / Radish with chickpea noodles

I could not resist a bunch of radishes with fresh green leaves the other day. 4 large radishes cost £1 at the local Iranian shop!












Ingredients
1 large radish (8 inch long); peeled, and diced
leaves of 4 radishes; washed and chopped
1 onion; chopped fine
1 tomato; peeled and diced
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
curry leaves
black pepper
salt to taste
1/2 cup sev (I used thick sev; but thin sev is fine too)
1 tablespn oil
Method
Heat the oil, add the mustard and cumin seeds and the curry leaves.
Let them pop and then add the onions, fry until transparent.
Add the radish, mix, reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes; fry until mushy.
Add black pepper and salt.
Add the sev; mix and add the chopped leaves.
Cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve with chapatis


This curry does not require curry powder as the sev is spicy enough, I just used some black pepper.

Almond and apple sponge

4oz self raising flour
2oz ground almond
6oz butter or stock margerine
4oz sugar
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon grond all spice
2 dessert apples grated
1 tbspn of almond flakes
2 tablespoon apple juice

Preheat the oven to 180C
Line cake tin with greaseproof paper
I use a 30cms diameter...this makes it more crispy.

Mix all[ except grated apples] ingredients in a food processor and beat for about 20 seconds.
Add grated apples.
Put into a tin sprinkle flakey almonds.
Bake until you press the top lightlywith your fingers it springs back [30min]
Cool a little in the tin and then turn into a rack to cool.