Roast Masala Lamb

Ingredients

1 4-5 lb lamb leg; deboned (ask your butcher)

Marinade:

1 large lemon; juiced

3-4 garlic cloves; crushed

3 inch ginger; grated

3-4 green chillies; minced

Salt

Sauce:

2 large onions; chopped fine

2 tablespoons oil

1 tspn cumin seeds

2 inch piece of cinnamon

3-4 cloves

2-3 cardomom pods

2 tspn tomato puree

½ cup water

1 tablespoon cumin and coriander powders

½ tspn tumeric

Method

Mix the marinade in a large glass dish, and marinate the lamb for overnight in the fridge.

Next day:

1. Heat the oven to 220^oC.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves; cumin seeds, cook for about 3 minutes, the cloves and cardamom should have puffed up
3. Add the onions and fry until they are a rich golden brown, to save time, you can buy prefried onions - available in Indian shops.
4. Add the tomato puree and water, cook for about 5 minutes, add the tumeric, cumin/coriander powders.
5. When the sauce has cooled, apply it to the meat.
6. Place the lamb in the hot oven for 20 minutes, lower the heat to 200^oC and cook for 15 minutes per lb. For example for a 5 lb leg, you will need 1 ½ hours. This timing gives a fairly rare roast. If you like it well done increase the time by another 30 minutes.
7. Remove the meat and place in a large dish and let it rest for 20 minutes, remove the sauce from the baking dish and place a gravy boat
8. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.
9. 

We served it with herbed pilau rice and spicy sweet corn.

Spicy Prawns with Aubergines and Potatoes

I am back after a long break. Ready to blog recipes with a vengeance so watch this space!

This dish is a bit like ringra bateta jo shaak with prawns, delicious. We had that for our dinner yesterday with our usual Friday dal, mani and rice.

Ingredients
1 lb tiger prawns; peeled and deviened
2 tablespns oil
2 medium onions; chopped fine
2-3 cloves garlic; minced
1 inch ginger; grated
1-2 green chillies; minced
1 400g tin peeled tomatoes; liquidised
1 tspn tomato puree
1 large aubergines; cubed
3 medium potatoes; cubed
½ teaspn cumin seeds
½ tspn mustard seeds
2 heaped teaspns cumin/coriander powder
¼ tspn turmeric
Salt to taste

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan, Add the garlic, ginger and chillies
Add the prawns, cook for a few minutes; remove
Add the cumin and mustard seeds, once they have popped add the onion and fry until golden brown.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, , decrease the heat and cook for 7-8 minutes, until it is like a thick sauce, then add the cumin, coriander and tumeric powders, and mix and cook for a few minutes.
Add the potatoes, mix so the potatoes are coated with the tomato sauce, cover and cook about 7-8 minutes. Then add the aubergines and mix.
Cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes and the aubergine is cooked.
Add the cooked prawns, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, so that the prawns are warmed through.

Serve with bajra rotla or chapati

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Seekh Kebab

1 lb lean lamb mince
1 medium onion,
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 to taste
red pepper / onions / coriander for garnish


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;
4. Grind and add to the the mince with the salt and garam masala. Mix
5. Place in the fridge for about an hour.
6. Divide the mixture into 20 lumps
7. wet hands and shape into long sausgages on the skewers; should be 4-5 inches long, place in bbq or grill
8. Grill or broil about 4 minutes on each side.
serve with finely chopped salad, mint raita and pitta bread

Chicken Stuffed Paratha

We had roast chicken on Sunday, and whenever we have roast meat, we make stuffed paratha with the leftover meat. It is turkey at Christmas or Lamb after Eid.

This is what we had for supper on Tuesday night, with kadhi and kitchree, it was so yummy.

Ingredients

Paratha

3 cups chapati flour

1/2 tspn salt

1 tblspoon oil

enough water to make bread like dough

Filling

2 cups left-over chicken (chopped fine)

¼ cup mint (chopped fine)

1/2 cup chopped spring onions

2 cloves garlic (minced)

½ inch ginger (minced)

2 finely chopped green chillies

¼ cup chopped mint leaves

½ cup chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 table spoon Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.

1 tspn English mustard

Method

Sieve the flour and salt together. Add the oil, rub it in so that it appears like crumbs

Slowly add the water to make a firm dough. Knead well, leave aside for 30 mins

Heat the chopped chicken in a pan with garlic, ginger, chillies and salt

Add Worcestershire sauce, mustard mix, and remove from heat when cooked, let it cool

Add garam masala, onions mint and coriander.

Divide the dough in 4 parts, further divide each portion into two and roll out to get a 7 inch diameter roti.

Place a heaped tablespoon of the chicken mix on the roti and spread evenly.

Place the other roti on top, seal the edges, and roll until it is about 7 inch diameter.

Place a little olive oil on a hot tava (frying pan)

Place the paratha carefully and fry both sides for couple of minutes each side.

Repeat until all the paratha are made.

Pomegranate and Walnut Tabouleh salad

This is my entry to 'power less' cooking.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this event. I could not bring my self to blog something cooked on electric or gas or microwave as that is power and energy. Finally I came up with this. However all food needs energy to grow, so it is an almost impossible task. So I have sun-ripened pomegranate, walnuts, celery, onions and herbs dressed with olive oil and sun drenched lemon juice! Really delish


Ingredients
1 cup burghul wheat
4 cups flat leaf parsley; chopped fine
1/2 cup mint leaves; chopped fine
3 large pomegranates; peeled and separated
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup celery; choped fine
1 cup chopped spring onions
5 large mild chillis; chopped fine
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Method
1. Wash and soak the burghul wheat for about an hour, drain, leave in strainer until almost dry (or squeeze the water out)
2. Combine all the ingredients exceopt the lemon juice and oil in a large bowl.
4. Add the lemon juice and Olive oil just before serving, mix well
Serve

Chachis Birthday Lunch

Yesterday we celebrated Chachi's 75th Birthday
The whole family was here, we ordered the food, I just made the salad. Menu was:

Chicken Tikka
Seekh Kebab
Vegetable Samosas

Pomegranate and Walnut Tabouleh salad (recipe to follow)

Jeera chicken
Mixed Vegetable Shaak

Lamb Biryani
Nan Bread

Ma'amoul

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Ma’amoul biscuits / cookies have a shortbread–like crust with a date or nutty filling. The first time I had Ma’amoul pastries was from one of my middle-eastern students, delicious, they literally melt in your mouth.

I never dreamt of making them, until I saw them on Indira’s blog; Mahanandi . She has a beautiful step by step recipe, using a special wooden mold, I could not find any so I have just used a fork to make the designs. But I am going to Dubai in December and I am going to hunt one down!! So be prepared for a deluge of ma’amoul cookies.

Ingredients:
Pastry

1/2 cup semolina
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup melted butter (coolish)
2 tbspn water
1 tblspn orange flower water

For the filling:
250 gm pack of pitted date paste (block); finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup water
2 tspn orange flower water
1 egg; beate

Method

1. Place the semolina and flour in a bowl, mix with a fork, add the butter, water and orange flower water, mix with the fork until you get soft dough. Cover and leave for 1 hour
2. Meanwhile place the dates in a bowl with the water, and microwave for 2 minutes
3. Stir; add the nuts, mix and place in the microwave for a further 2 minutes.
4. Stir and let it cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Centigrade or 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Take a lime-size lump of the pastry, pat it down or roll it out, place a heaped teaspn of filling in the centre, close it, by pinching all the sides, flatten it into a patty like shape and place in on a greased oven tray pinched side down.
7. Use a fork to press some designs on the pastry.
8. Brush each patty with the beaten egg. (I forgot to do it –LOL)
9. Bake for 25 minutes.

These keep for 2 months in an air tight container.