For the marinade:
Place 1/4 cup cilantro, 1 clove minced garlic, 1/4 jalapeno, lime zest, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl and stir until well combined.
Place the chicken breast tenderloins in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour the marinade into the bag with the chicken, seal, and shake the bag to coat. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the salsa:
Combine the tomato, 1 small onion, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 1/2 jalapeno, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon chipotle pepper, and 1 tablespoon lime juice in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

To prepare the grilled vegetables, toss the onions and red peppers with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 clove garlic in a bowl; set aside.

For the lime mayonnaise: Whisk together the mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of lime juice; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.
Grill the marinated chicken on the prepared grill until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, 8 to 10 minutes. Grill the red pepper and onions until tender and golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the grill. Slice the grilled pepper into thin strips.
Spread each slice of bread with 1 1/2 teaspoons of prepared lime mayonnaise. Layer half of the pieces of bread with sliced mango, 1 tablespoon prepared salsa, grilled chicken tenderloins, grilled peppers, grilled onions, and a slice of Monterey Jack cheese. Top off the sandwiches with the remaining slices of bread. Return the sandwiches to the grill, turning when the bottom is golden brown
Return the sandwiches to the grill and grill them until the bread is toasted and the cheese melts, about 2 minutes per side.

Share this:

 

 

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, apple butter, oil and vanilla.
• In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in carrots, apples and raisins. Stir in apple butter mixture until just moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.
• In a small bowl, combine walnuts and wheat germ; sprinkle over the muffin tops.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.

Share this:

• Stir together flour, tarragon, salt, ginger, pepper, mustard powder, thyme, garlic powder, and oregano in a shallow bowl until well blended. 
• Beat the egg together with the milk until smooth in a bowl. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, shake off excess, then dip in egg, and again in flour. 
• Set breasts aside to rest for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken breasts in flour again, and shake off excess. 
• Brown the chicken in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Place onto a baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, 20 to 30 minutes.

Share this:

Put chiles into a medium bowl, cover with boiling water, and let sit until softened, about 20 minutes.
Heat caraway, coriander, and cumin in an 8″ skillet over medium heat. Toast spices, swirling skillet constantly, until very fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer spices to a grinder with the mint and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.
Drain chiles and transfer to the bowl of a food processor with the ground spices, olive oil, salt, garlic, and lemon juice. Purée, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the paste is very smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a sterilized 1-pint glass jar and fill with oil until ingredients are submerged by 1⁄2″. Refrigerate, topping off with more oil after each use. Harissa paste will keep for up to 3 weeks.

Share this:

1. Toss lamb in flour; shake away excess. Heat oil in large saucepan; cook lamb, in batches, until browned. Remove from pan.
2. Add onion and carrot to pan; cook, stirring, until soft. Add garlic and spices; cook, stirring, until fragrant. Return lamb to pan with stock; simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced).
4. Simmer lamb, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until tender and sauce is thickened. Stir in dates, honey and coriander; season to taste.
5. Spoon mixture into eight 1-cup (250ml) ovenproof dishes. Brush each pastry sheet with butter, scrunch and place over filling. Sprinkle with seeds. Bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until browned.
6. HARISSA YOGURT:
Meanwhile, combine yogurt and half the harissa in small bowl. Serve topped with remaining harissa.
7. Serve pies with Harissa Yogurt.

Share this:

 

Stir together olive oil, garlic, and salt; toss with tomatoes, and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Brush each pizza crust with some of the tomato marinade. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses. Arrange tomatoes overtop, then sprinkle with shredded basil, Parmesan, and feta cheese.
Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Share this:

Selamat Hari Raya to my fellow Muslim friends in Singapore, Malaysia and all around the world. In Singapore almost everyone is celebrating as it will be a long weekend holiday.Here is a delicious recipe to add joy to the occasion.

For the finely pounded paste:

1.Put all the ingredients into a mortar and grind with the pestle until they form a fine paste. Alternatively, process all the ingredients in a food processor until finely ground.

2. Peel the prawns and blanch briefly in a saucepan of boiling water until they just change colour. Refresh under cold water and drain well.

3. Pour boiling water over the glass noodles and soak until softened and translucent. Run under cold water for 3 minutes to remove any excess starch. Drain well.

4. In a large bowl, combine the prawns, noodles, finely pounded paste, mango, herbs, fried shallots, nam pla and lime juice and mix well. Season to taste with salt and a pinch of sugar. Add more lime juice to taste.

5. To serve, line a serving dish with salad greens, put the prawn and mango mixture on top and garnish with ground peanuts

Share this:

A tedious recipe for the upcoming festive season, but the outcome is so delicious that every minute spent on cooking this is well worth it. A mouth watering and aromatic mutton biryani.

Derived from the Persian word ‘biriyan’, this delicious layered rice dish is slow cooked with spices, a choice of meats and flavouring agents. Biryani was considered a royal dish, fit for kings. It was said to be a favourite of emperors Akbar and Shah Jahan and went on to occupy pride of place in the kitchens of the nawabs (kings) and nizams of India. One of the most aromatic dishes, biryani is sprinkled with rose water, saffron and kewda.

Marinating the mutton:

To the mutton add the beaten curd, ginger-garlic paste, raw papaya paste, chilli powder, salt, lemon juice, garam masala.

Allow the mutton to marinate for 3 hours.

Making fried onions or Barista:

Slice 2 onions very thinly. Separate the slices.

In a pan or kadai add oil and fry the onion slices till nicely brown.

Take care not to burn them. Fry in small batches. Do not put all the slices at a time, that will lead to lumpy messy onions.

Make sure all the onion slices frying are dipped in oil, if needed add more oil. Keep stirring continuously but gently for an even brown color.

Take the fried onions out with a slotted spoon or ladle.

Keep them on a paper-towel lined plate. This crispy brown fried onion slices are called Barista.

Cooking the mutton:

Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed pan.

Add remaining sliced onions and green chillies. Cook, stirring continuously, till onions are light golden brown.

Add ginger paste and garlic paste and mix well.

Add marinated mutton and cook on high heat for seven to eight minutes.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder and red chilli powder. Mix thoroughly.

Stir in three cups of water, bring it to a boil, reduce heat and cook covered till mutton is almost cooked.

Add tomatoes, salt, garam masala powder and fresh coriander leaves.

Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. The ghee would be separated from the spices and there should not be any watery gravy to the meat.

Preparing the rice:

Use only good quality long grain Basmati rice. Soak the rice for 20 minutes in water. Wash well till the water runs clear. Drain all the water.

In a small piece of cloth take cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, javitri, jaiphal, black peppercorn, shahi jeera, star anise and tie a knot to make a bag (potli).

Bring 750 ml water to boil, add rice, bay leaf, salt and potli, cover and cook till rice is done 1/3rd.

Drain the water & remove the whole masala potli.

Preparing the saffron-milk:

Take 1/4th cup warm milk in a cup and dissolve saffron strands in the milk.

Cover and wait for 20 minutes. Add rose water and kewra essence in the milk. Mix well and cover. Keep aside.

Layering the biryani:

Take a large heavy bottom pan with tight fitting lid.

Add 2tbsp ghee to the pan. Melt the ghee on low heat. Turn and rotate the pan carefully so the ghee can coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Switch off the heat.

Add a layer of cooked rice, then cooked meat pieces, sprinkle saffron water, add fried onion slices and ghee.

Again add a layer of rice, then meat…go on like this till you are done. Top and bottom layer will be of rice.

Cover with chopped pudina and coriander, fried onion and slit green chillies and juice of half a lemon.

Put the lid on. Seal the pan with flour dough or aluminium foil, then put the lid. Keep the heat to lowest. And cook the Biryani in this ‘Dum’ process for 40 minutes.

Make sure your pan is heavy-bottomed or the rice will burn. Or you can place a flat tawa then keep the pan on that tawa.

After 40 minutes switch off the heat and let the biryani stand for another 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Serve with raita and salad.

Cucumber Raita Recipe :

2   cucumber – peeled, seeded and thinly sliced

2 cups Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Method:

• Stir together the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, mint, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

 

Share this:

To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl, add the chicken pieces to it, mix well and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
When you are ready to cook your biryani, prepare the rice. Wash it and soak it in cool water for 30 minutes. Fill a big pot with water, add salt and oil and bring it to a boil. Cook the rice in it for 4 or 5 minutes.
In the meantime, take another big pot, spray it with some oil and add the chicken and its marinade to the bottom. Make sure to spread it all around.
When the rice is ready, drain it and spread it on top of the chicken.
Add the mint and coriander leaves, the fried onions and the saffron water.
Put a tight lid on and put the pot on the fire, on top of a tawa or flat pan (this will help the heat to spread uniformly).
Put the fire on high for the first 5 minutes, then keep cooking the biryani on a medium fire for 15 minutes and on low for the remaining 10 minutes (for a total of 30 minutes).
Serve warm with some raita on the side!

Share this:

Put the onion, ginger, garlic, chillies and coriander stalks in a small food processor, or pestle and mortar, and mix to a paste. Meanwhile, heat the butter or ghee and oil in a large pan. Add the paste to the pan and stir-fry for 5 mins to soften. Add the garam masala and cook for a further 2 mins until aromatic.
Meanwhile, toast the cashew nuts in a small pan until golden. Tip half into the food processor and blend until finely ground. Set aside the remaining cashews.
Add the blended cashews, the tomatoes and the chicken stock to the pan. Season and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered with a lid, for 45 mins. Add the prawns and cook for a further 2-3 mins until they turn pink, then add the yogurt and double cream and stir well. Scatter with the coriander leaves and the remaining cashew nuts, and serve with rice and naan bread.

Share this: