Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Meal So Delicious It's Sinful

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Meal So Delicious It's Sinful

Our foodie friends Dan and Lisa, who are part of the Secret-Secret Geography Club with us, were brainstorming with us one night about a super fun themed dinner party. We came up with an idea for a meal based on the 7 Deadly Sins. To our surprise, Foodbuzz thought it was a great idea too and sponsored our meal as part of the event 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs. We were so thrilled to be a part of this awesome event.

Menu planning was so fun for this meal, as each course was based on a deadly sin. The actual shopping and cooking on the other hand was STRESSFUL to say the least. I've learned over the years to use the advice I posted here, yet my week threw at me subbing for some Grade 8 hooligans for two days, and then catching a virus from my sick baby. I DID NOT shop for my ingredients the day before like I had planned, I DID NOT prepare my recipes ahead of time, and I DID NOT choose all recipes that I had made before.

Note to self: Don't do that again.

Even though I started off stressed, my worries quickly melted away when we got to Dan and Lisa's place. They are such a fun couple to eat and prepare food with and there is no expectation or stuffiness for everything to be done exactly at a certain time. We just cook and enjoy each other's company.

To begin our Sinful meal, we started with Wrath. We played up on the idea of the grapes of wrath and drank very delicious wine all evening, appropriately named "7 Deadly Zins"

I could probably also attribute my stress melting away to a glass of this bad boy ;)


For our first course, Dan prepared large prawns by frying them in butter. This course was based on the sin of Pride, so Dan and I very artfully and skillfully arranged the prawns on top of a mirror.
Among the sauteed prawns were raspberries, mini key lime wedges, cubes of cantaloupe, chives and ribbon roses of Westphalian ham (like prosciutto, but smokey).


Dan had also prepared a mango-chili reduction and a raspberry-lime coulis to drizzle and paint amongst the creation.



I can't even describe to you how wonderful the combination of shrimp, smokey ham and mango-chili reduction was. Click here for a simplified version of this amazing appetizer.

We all had fun raising our noses in the air and pretending to be quite pretentious and prideful in the spirit of our over-the-top pompous appetizer.



After devouring the incredible prawns, we began preparations for the salad course. This focused on Envy (green with envy) and was one of the courses with the most work involved.


Before the dinner party, I asked each of the guests what their favorite salads were:

Lisa's favorite was Spinach Strawberry salad.


Mine was Blackened Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey-Dijon Dressing.


My husband Steve is in love with Steak & Lemon Salad.


And Dan requested Cobb Salad.

I really wanted to play up the theme of envy, so even though I prepared everyone's favorite salad....I served the salad to someone else!

Not to say that all the salads weren't delicious, but we really were envious not being able to eat our favorite.


After all the work of preparing four separate salads, it was quite nice moving onto the next course of the meal and the next sin: Sloth. And what better way to be lazy?

Prepackaged macaroni and cheese!

There she is in all her unadorned and lethargic glory....even too lazy to take it out of the pot it was cooked in ;)

In quite a severe contrast to an .89 cent box of KD, was the next sin of Greed. We bought THE MOST EXPENSIVE cut of meat, beef tenderloin. Dan seared it in a frying pan with butter and then placed it in the oven to finish cooking, until it came to an internal temperature of 130 degrees. Beautifully medium rare. He then deglazed the pan with a glass of red wine, and let it simmer and reduce, then added a silky texture by dropping in a pad of butter at the end. We served the beef medallions with the red wine reduction drizzled over the top.

It went surprisingly well with white cheddar macaroni.


Between each course, we took a break from eating to rest, relax and visit with each other. There was no waiting for the next course Lust. My husband was breaking out my homemade truffles so fast I'm not sure I had finished swallowing my last bite of steak.


Some women say that chocolate is better than sex. And while I'm not so sure about that one, we were all lusting after these truffles made of milk chocolate and dark chocolate. I coated some in cocoa powder, some in crushed pecans and another I flavored with peppermint and drizzled white chocolate over the top.

There was some definite lusting going on at the table.


For the last course of the evening, after consuming 6 other amazing courses, what was left to focus on except for Gluttony.

We created a ridiculously over-the-top and rich dessert of Deep-Fried Cheesecake. Steve and Dan worked together to slice a store-bought cheesecake into small chunks and wrap them in spring roll wrappers. Dan deep fried them for 30 seconds and then immediately after coming out of the hot oil, placed them in a bowl of cinnamon sugar.

The end result was a rich and creamy cheesecake with a crispy sweet coating on the outside, topped with vanilla ice cream, melted chocolate, whipped cream and strawberries.One word: In-freakin'-credible.

Devouring this I really did feel like a glutton. There was no two ways around it; we had taken an already rich dessert and sent it into the realm of Excessive Indulgence. But....I wouldn't hesitate to make it again. It was soooooo good.


Our night of clever references and scruptious food was a complete success. 7 courses and 5 hours later we had finished our meal and were so satisfyingly stuffed.


Lisa loved our totally decadent experience. Our food was delicious and spending the night with friends and a great theme was lots of fun.


I felt the same way. Yes I was stressed at the beginning of the night, but it all melted away when I realized that the process of cooking with friends, eating, cooking some more, eating, chatting and cooking some more is so wonderfully enjoyable. It definitely helps having such great friends to cook and eat with :)

Dan thought that it was neat to push the limits of our theme in certain areas and be completely over the top. It was obviously lots of work to prepare a meal with so many courses, but was nice to have the opportunity to do it.


My husband Steve loved the meal so much he said it was the best meal experience he'd ever had. The meal may have been a lot of work, but it was WELL WORTH IT.


The night was such a fun way to have a double date. I definitely encourage you to plan your own couples dinner party....you may want to alleviate some stress and take this advice though. I already can't wait for the next dinner idea to pop into one of our heads.

Remembering the half -saree

Remembering the half -saree

Half-saree was still the official dress for most teenagers in Madras in the early 70s. (Pic courtesy:Kenny Wordsmith.)
Girls from liberal families wore western clothing. Salwar-kameezes were still not very popular. Mass produced salwar sets hadn’t begun flooding the market and local tailors lacked the skill to stitch them. Plump heroines in Tamil films sported tight versions of this 'north Indian' dress in duet songs which emphasized their fake breasts and fat thighs so much that they were definitely not a favorite with middle-class parents. I am pretty positive that I could have persuaded my conservative parents to let me wear a loose kurta over jeans rather than one of those salwar suits.

When I was growing up, middle class parents had just one rule by which they decided what their girls could wear. Anything that did not show off their shape in a flattering light was acceptable. I am reminded of my friend Anuradha who was an irrepressible rebel. When we were about 14, she wanted to wear tee shirts over her trousers which set off a volcano in her house. After losing the fight she told us “My mother thinks it is my fault I have breasts”. We laughed but soon I began to notice a similar subtext in the statements that my grandmother or mother made about how a woman is supposed to carry herself or walk. ‘Don’t push your chest outside. walk modestly’. When we were in class 7 and 8, the class teacher would have a talk with some of the girls and a few days later they would come wearing half-sarees. This went on till we reached class 9 when half-saree was compulsory for everyone. We experienced freedom only on the games field where we were allowed to wear divided skirts and a loose shirt. Otherwise we hid the contours of our frame behind 3 metres of cloth which covered us over the long skirt and long blouse.

When I was about 18 an older friend asked me if I had ever seen myself in the mirror without clothes and I was shocked that she could talk like that. Of course I had not. And I was not sure I could even do it because there was a kind of shame and fear associated with one’s body . It was safer behind those layers of clothing. But in college there were many times that I wished I could wear western clothing and ‘belong’ to the hep crowd. Many of us wished we were flatter so we could venture beyond the half-sari and wear smart western clothing. Like Anuradha said it seemed that it was our fault that we had breasts.

Looking back I can laugh at these memories. There was a time when I would have cringed to use the word ‘breast’ in public and here I am writing about it in a public blog. Our perception of our body and exposure norms have changed a lot in these 3 decades. Today people have no hesitation about flaunting their cleavages or wearing tight clothing to show off their shape and size. Breast implants and enhancement procedures have become as common as laser treatment for excess hair. I laugh thinking of the time when we would have been happy to delay the growth of mammaries just to be free from the restrictions that society around us imposed on us.
The dhavani or half-saree symbolized our suppression or lack of pride in our forms.
I didn't realize that there would come a time when I'd actually be grateful for the concept of a half-saree.

On friday, there was a documentary on national geographic channel on body modifications in different cultures and times . They showed the neck rings used by the Kayan tribe of Tibeto_burmese origin now living in Thailand.
and the footbinding custom that was prevalent in China for a long time.
While the former is largely voluntary and footbinding is not prevalent anymore, I was shocked to learn hear about a practice called breast-ironing practised in western Africa.
Breast ironing is exactly what it says - the flattening of a young girls’ breasts with a hot and heavy wooden rod or stone to push the breast muscles back in order to delay their development. YOu can see in the picture some of the tools used in the process and they are usually heated before applying on the breast
But why this brutality? Mothers subject their daughters to this barbarity in order to delay breast growth in their daughters in order to prevent rape and early marriage. Even when they feel their pain, they think it is for their own good in the long run.

"Before this breast band, my mother used the grinding stone—heated in the fire—to massage my chest. Every night my mother examines my chest (and) massages me, sometimes with the pestle," Matia adds. "Although I cry hard because of the pain, she tells me: 'Endure, my daughter; you are young and there is no point in having breasts at your age'."
Josaine Matia, 11 years old
Yaounde, Cameroon

This is precisely what I saw in the visual in the documentary and the victim didn’t even look like she was 11.
Read on more here:
www.unfpa.org/16days/documents/pl_breakironing_factsheet.doc

The study also gives the following facts:

Some 24 per cent of girls in Cameroon, about one girl in four, undergo breast ironing.
Breast ironing occurs extensively in the 10 provinces throughout Cameroon.sample survey published in January 2006 of 5000 girls and women aged between 10 and 82 in Cameroon, estimates that 4 million women had suffered the process.
Today, 3.8 million teenagers are threatened with the practice.
Up to 53 per cent of women and girls interviewed in the coastal Littoral province in the southeast, where the country's main port, Douala, is situated, admit to having had their breasts 'ironed'.
More than half (58 per cent) of cases breast ironing were undertaken by mothers. Other relatives also participate

.

The documentary was traumatic. It brought back memories of my own childhood and the difficulty in coming to terms with the changes in one’s own body made more difficult by the society’s ideas about a woman’s body at that time - that the more attractive it is, the more vulnerable it made its owner to predatory males. Men could not be trusted to obey rules so it was the woman’s responsibility not to attract their attention.
The ideas themselves were not very different from those of the Cameroon mothers. And I am grateful that in my culture they came up with the half-saree as the solution even though a wooden pestle was readily available in my ancestor’s backyard too.


Here's a video on the subject:
http://current.com/items/88852332_breast-ironing.htm
(Thanks Praveen.)

How To Plan a Dinner Party

How To Plan a Dinner Party

I'm sorry this post comes so late this week...I'm not gonna lie to you, I planned to post this on either Monday or Tuesday, but instead I got called in to sub Monday and Tuesday in a middle school. Those kids took the life right out of me! So much yelling and office sending and "go sit in the hall" it made my head spin. Each night I came home so lifeless and drained I could barely move.

Now that I've caught my breath and things are back to normal around here, I thought I'd share with you how I've been preparing for my dinner party on Saturday. This is called "How to plan a dinner party" but I think I'd rather just throw out ideas for what I'm doing. Here goes:

• Plan your menu at least a week in advance

You want a clear idea of what you will be doing, how you need to prepare and which groceries you need to buy. Planning your menu at least a week in advance will alleviate stress. I'm very much a procrastinator and most of the time I push things off to the last minute, but I like to enjoy myself in the kitchen so if I can do things ahead of time I do. Picking your menu last minute is a sure-fire way to stress yourself out.

• Choose recipes where the majority of the cooking can done ahead of time

When planning your menu, this is a good tip for choosing your recipes. If you can get lots of prep work out of the way beforehand things will go more smoothly.

• Choose recipes that come together fast

My other suggestion when planning your menu, is to choose items that cook quickly. Choosing something such a seared steak with some kind of sauce, means you can prepare the sauce ahead of time, and when your guests arrive take a few minutes to cook the steak. Although, I wholeheartedly suggest that ALL your dishes are not ones that require last minute cooking. The stress of doing five different things for 4 different dishes is not appealing. Stagger your cooking methods: one dish in the oven that was premade and is just being warmed, a salad that you prepared ahead of time and just need to add dressing to, and something quick cooking on the stove top will ensure you aren't running around with your head cut off when your guests arrive.

• Choose recipes you have made before

In my opinion, this is really not the time to try new things. Not only will you have no idea if the dish will actually be edible, but you won't have worked out the kinks for prep time, etc. Pick dishes that you love and that your guests will love.

• Choose a fun theme for added interest

Of course this isn't a must, but it helps. If you are feeling lost as to what to make for dinner, or how to decorate or what entertainment you will have, choosing a theme for the night to center around will help you narrow down those choices. This includes regions or countries such as a night of Spanish Tapas or Swiss Fondue, seasonal themes like an Autumn feast or a Summery Beach cookout, or fun random themes like Retro 80's Night.

• Shop for ingredients at least a day ahead NOT the day of

Anytime I go grocery shopping, come home and put the ingredients away and then later start cooking I feel exhausted! I don't even want to start cooking. Even better than shopping the day before, is to get the groceries you need with your weekly grocery shop. If you've planned your menu out ahead of time, this would be totally doable.

• Write yourself a schedule for the day of game plan

If I have a lot of things to cook and need to go in the oven early and some I need to prep and some will be cooked last minute, I write out a game plan with times. This ensures that everything is staggered out and nothing gets forgotten. I did this for Thanksgiving:
11am - preheat oven

11:30am - prep turkey and make sure it goes in the oven.

12 pm - cook and mash potatoes, place in casserole dish.

You get the gist.

• Don’t be afraid to involve guests in the kitchen

Don't feel like everything has to be prepared exactly for when your guests arrive. You may not be able to time everything perfectly and allowing your guests to be involved in the preparation adds interest and takes some of the pressure off your shoulders. Going to our friends place, chatting in the kitchen while they cook, chopping a green pepper for them if they ask...it's all part of our rapport as friends.

• And last, but possibly most important: Don't get in a fight with your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend in front of your guests. It's true that hilarity will ensue, but mostly everyone will just feel awkward.

Ha! There were so many great moments from this episode, but this was one of the only clips I could find. Other contenders were:

• Don't serve a slow-roasted dish that takes 4 hours to cook if you don't plan on putting it in the oven 4 hours before your guests arrive.
• Don't describe the wine as having an "oaky afterbirth"
• Don't tell your host their meat is dry and then dip it in your glass of wine.

I definitely don't pretend to KNOW ALL about planning a dinner party, but just take these as some suggestions I have picked up along the way. It really doesn't have to be a big pretentious production; it should be about friends enjoying good food, good conversation and good company.

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients:

* 4 cups cold cooked rice
* 8 ounces cooked chicken (or substitute cooked turkey, etc.), chopped
* 2 eggs (more if desired)
* 1/2 cup green peas
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 green onion, diced
* Seasonings (add according to taste):
* Light Soy Sauce
* Oyster sauce
* Salt
* Pepper
* Oil for stir-frying, as needed

Preparation:
Beat the eggs lightly with chopsticks, add a dash of salt (Add a bit of oyster sauce if desired).

Chop the chicken meat and dice the onion and green onion.
Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, pour 1/2 of the egg mixture into the wok and cook over medium heat, turning over once. Cook the other half the same way. Cut the egg into thin strips, and save for later.

Stir-fry the onion on high heat for a few moments, remove and set aside. Do the same for the green peas.

Add oil, turn down the heat to medium and stir-fry the rice. Add the soy sauce, salt, pepper and oyster sauce. Add the chicken, onion and green peas and combine thoroughly. Serve chicken fried rice with the strips of egg on top and the green onion as a garnish. (Alternately, you can mix the green onion and egg in with the other ingredients).

CHINESE CHILI CHICKEN

CHINESE CHILI CHICKEN

Ingredients for chinese chilli chicken:



500 -600 gms Boneless Chicken
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
1 Egg
2 tbsp Corn Flour/Corn Starch
5-6 Chopped Green Chilies
2 Green Onion Chopped
1 tsp Garlic Paste
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp White Pepper Powder
1 tsp Sugar
A pinch of ajinomoto
2 cups chicken Broth/ Water
1 tbsp Oil
Oil to fry


Preparation:

* Cut the boneless chicken pieces into1 " cubes.
* Take 1tbsp. Soya sauce, 1tbsp. corn flour, salt, egg in a bowl and marinate chicken pieces in the the mixture for about 10-15 minutes.
* Heat oil and deep fry the marinated chicken pieces till golden brown.
* Now in a separate wok / kadhai heat 1 tbsp. oil and add garlic paste and green chilies and sauté for few seconds.
* Add 2 cups of chicken broth or water. Bring to boil and add sugar, pepper powder, salt , ajinomoto and remaining Soya sauce.
* Add fried chicken pieces to it and cook for few minutes.
* Dissolve the remaining corn flour in 1/2 cup water and add to the curry stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
* Cook for 2-3 minutes.
* Serve chinese chili chicken hot garnished with chopped green onion tops.
* Chinese chili chicken goes well with steamed / boiled rice.

GOBI MANCHURIAN

GOBI MANCHURIAN

Ingredients of cauliflower manchurian :


1 medium Gobhi (Cauliflower)
3/4 cup Flour (Maida)
1 tbsp Corn Flour
Salt to taste
1 Chopped green chili
11/2 tbsp Garlic Paste
11/2 tbsp Ginger Paste
1 cup finely Chopped Onions
Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
1/4th tsp Ajinomoto
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
2-3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
2 tbsp Oil

Preparation of gobhi manchurian :

* Make a paste of maida, corn flour and salt using water.
* Take a tsp. of ginger and garlic paste, add it to the paste.
* Dip the gobi florets in the paste and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.
* Heat oil in another pan and add the left ginger & garlic paste, chopped onions and green chili to it.
* Now, mix aginomoto, soya sauce and tomato sauce to it.
* Add fried Gobi kept aside and mix well. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi manchurian hot.

PUA

PUA

Ingredients
Maida (refined flour) - 200 gm
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Cloves (lawang) - 10 (powdered)
Chhoti Ilaichi - 3 (powdered)
Milk - 1 cup
Saunf - 1 tsp
Cocoanut (grated/powder) - 2 tbsp
Refined Oil for deep frying - As required

Method of Preparation
1. Add 1/2 cup water in 1 cup sugar.
2. Heat to dissolve sugar and make one string syrup.
3. Add lawang and ilaichi powder. Keep the syrup aside.
4. Mix ghee thoroughly in maida.
5. Add 1 cup water and 1 cup milk. Mix well to make a smooth pua batter.
6. Leave the batter for at least 2 hrs.
7. Heat oil in a shallow Kedahi.
8. Pour one big spoonful of batter in the hot oil one by one and fry puas till golden brown.
9. Take out puas and dip in the syrup.
10. Soak for 1 minute, remove puas from syrup and serve hot.

Mathari/Matthi

Mathari/Matthi

Ingredients
Maida - 6 cup
Suji - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup
Kasoori Methi - 1 cup
Ajwain - 1 tbsp
Mangraila - 1 tsp
Black Pepper - 1 tbsp (crushed)
Oil or Ghee for frying

Method of Preparation
1. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
2. Make a hard dough with warm water.
3. Divide the dough into small balls, flatten and prick with a fork to make holes.
4. Deep fry to golden colour.

Dal Puri

Dal Puri

Ingredients
Aata (wheat flour) - 2 cup
Chana Daal - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1 tsp
Haldi Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Power - 1 tsp
Tejpatta - 2
Red Chilli - 2-3
Pure Ghee - 50 gm
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation
1. Knead the aata with water to soft dough and keep aside covered.
2. Soak chana daal in water for 2-3 hours.
3. Heat 1 and a 1/2 tsp ghee in a kadahi. Add jeera, tejpatta and red chillies.
4. When colour changes, add soaked chana daal, salt and garam masala.
5. Cover and cook daal with some water.
6. When done, evaporate any remaining water to ensure that cooked daal is completely dry.
7. Cool and grind in a mixie or silbatta.
8. Now, divide dough into pedas (loyia) and roll out small puris.
9. Put a little daal in the centre of puris and close from all sides.
10. Roll out again to spread daal filled puris to convenient size and thickness.
11. Deep fry like puris in a kadahi or cook like parathas on a tawa.

Fish Curry (Bihari Style)

Fish Curry (Bihari Style)

Ingredients
Fish (preferably Rahu) - 1 Kg
Mustard Paste - 2 tbsp
Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Haldi Powder - 2.5 tsp
Mustard Oil - as required
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Methi - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilli - 2
Tomato - 2 (medium size, chopped)
Salt to Taste

Method of Preparation
1. Cut, clean and wash fish pieces.
2. Mix thoroughly 1.5 tsp haldi and 1.5 tsp salt in the fish pieces.
3. Deep fry in mustard oil.
4. Heat 4 tbsp of mustard oil in a Kedahi. Add mustard seeds, methi and green chillis.
5. When seeds crackle, first add 1 tsp haldi, tomato and salt.
6. Stir fry till tomato is tender. Add garlic paste and stir fry thoroughly for 5 to 7 minutes.
7. Add mustard paste and red chilli powder. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
8. Add 3 cups of water and let boil for 5 minutes. Add fried fish pieces.
9. Allow to boil for 10 minutes on medium heat, then leave for 5 minutes on low heat.
10. Remove from fire and serve with rice.

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

* Marinade
o 2 lbs Chicken cut up into 2” pieces
o ½ cup Yogurt
o 1 1/2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
o 2 – 3 tsp Chili Powder
o 2 tsp Coriander Powder
o 12 small Chilies split into two
o 1 cup chopped Mint Leaves
o 1 cup chopped Cilantro
o ½ tsp Turmeric
o Garam Masala Powder
+ 10 Pepper Corns
+ 10 Coves
+ ½ tsp Cardamom Seeds
+ ½ tsp Sahajeera or Black Cumin
+ 1” Cinnamon Stick
o Juice of 1 lime
o Salt to Taste
* 1 Large Onion sliced
* 1 cup Oil
* ½ tsp of saffron strands
* ½ cup milk
* 4 cups Basmati Rice soaked for 30 minutes
* Spices for boiling rice
o 6 Cardamoms
o 3 Cloves
o 2 Bay Leaves
o 1 Bay Flower or Biryani Flower
o 1 tsp Sahajeera
o ½ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
o 1 tbsp of Oil
o First Full of Salt

Method:

* Clean the chicken and cut it into 2” pieces. Wash the chicken and squeeze all the water from it. This is very important that you squeeze all the water away from the pieces or put it a colander to let water drain away.
* Grind all the ingredients listed under garam masala to a fine powder.
* Mix all the ingredients of the marinade and marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.
* In pan heat oil and fry the onions until light golden brown.
* Soak saffron in hot milk.
* In a big pot bring water to a boil, add all the spices for boiling rice and mix well.
* Add rice and continue to cook until you get a one good boil, i.e rice should roll over with boiling water. It takes about 2 ½ – 3 minutes on my stove. Drain the rice and keep aside.
# Now its time to arrange chicken and rice in layers, one layer of chicken and two layers of rice. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, pour ½ the oil at the bottom, arrange the chicken pieces and sprinkle some oil on top of the chicken.
# Arrange ½ the boiled rice on the chicken pieces, sprinkle some oil, ½ the fried onions and ½ the saffron milk.
# Repeat the above step for the last layer, I.e, arrange the last layer of rice. Spread the rest of the rice, sprinkle all the oil, fried onions and the saffron milk.
# Now, we need to seal the the container and make it air tight so that the steam doesn’t escape when we cook. In India, flour dough or a big cloth is used to seal the container and the cover together. Here, I use an aluminum sheet. take 2 sheets of aluminum foil (the sheets should be bigger than the diameter of the sauce pan) and place it on top of the sauce pan and then cover it with the lid. We will have aluminum sheets between the pan and its lid. Since we took the sheets bigger than the diameter of the pan, we will use that to seal the pan and the lid.
# Put a heavy object (motor pesto or heavy pan or skillet) on the top of the container, so that the steam doesn’t escape easily.

# Cook biryani for 8-10 minutes on high until stream escapes from the foil seal. Then reduce the flame to medium low and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. 
 Let it sit for 10-15 minutes before opening it.
# Mix the rice and serve it hot with raita or chicken shorva or mutton shorva.

Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

Milk Powder : 12 Tablespoons
Curd : 2 Tablespoons
Thick Cream : 2 Tablespoons
all purpose flour : 1 Tablespoons
baking soda) : 1/2 tsp
butter –melted : 2 tablespoons
Syrup

2 cups Sugar : 2 cups
Water : 4 Cups
Oil for frying

MethodMake the dough by combining the milk powder, butter, KDD Cream, Curd, flour, Baking Soda. Make medium-hard dough. Divide the dough into 20-25 portions. Cover with a damp yet dry kitchen towel.
Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Fry the balls till light brown.
The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.
Syrup:
The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat..
Transfer this hot syrup into a Corning serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab jamuns in syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

Naan Khatai

Naan Khatai

Ingredients Of Naan Khatai

150 gm flour 120 gm ghee or unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten 85 gm sugar, powdered
1 tsp baking powder
50 gm semolina

Method Of Naan Khatai

Mix sugar and ghee in a bowl till they form a smooth paste. Mix flour, baking powder and semolina in other bowl. Now add flours mixture in ghee and sugar mixture and knead it with your hands to form a dough. Now take a small portion of dough and make a small balls and then flat it with your hand, make the shape of naan khatai. Make as many as you want and brush them with beaten egg in the end. Preheat the oven at 375 degree and bake them at 180 degree on greased baking tray for 15 minutes. Tip: You can also place crushed almonds and pistachios on top instead of egg if you like to.

Bhel Puri

Bhel Puri

Ingredients Of Bhel Puri

1 packet puffed rice
1 packet bhel mix
2 cups boiled potatoes, cut in cubes
3 tbsp roasted and ground cumin seeds
2 green chilies chopped
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chat masala
4 tbsp tamarind, soaked in water Salt to taste
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves,chopped

Method Of Bhel Puri

Sprinkle salt and pepper on boiled potatoes and set them aside. Remove seeds from tamarind and simmer it to thicken on low heat. Add sugar and little salt in it and cook for 2-3 minutes. It should not be too thick. In a bowl mix puffed rice and bhel mix. Take a plate, serve bhel mixture, add potatoes, onion, tomatoes and chilies. Dust it with chat masala and cumin powder. Pour the tamarind sauce and garnish it with green coriander. You can also serve it with green chutney or some yogurt on top.

Doughnuts

Doughnuts

Ingredients Of Doughnuts

3 cups flour
1 cup icing sugar
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Oil for deep frying Cooking

Method Of Doughnuts

Take all ingredients in a bowl except the oil for deep frying. Knead them in a dough. Now make it in a thick round shape with help of rolling pin. Cut them with doughnut cutter. Make as many doughnuts as you want. Deep fry them in hot oil. Sprinkle little icing sugar over them. Serve hot.

Ras Malai

Ras Malai

Ingredients

1 cup dry milk powder
1 Egg
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 egg 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 liter milk Sugar as required
1 tbsp oil Almonds and pistachios for garnishing, chopped

Method

Mix the powdered milk, egg, oil,baking powder. Knead it well.
Once the dough is done mold it into small balls and then flatten the balls slightly.
Boil the Water with sugar. Boil the milk with half suger and cardamom powder. As When the Rasogulla is done soft. put it in boiling milk.
The balls will tend to swell up , Lower the heat to simmer.Cook the milk with the balls for another 8- 10 minutes.
Remove it from the heat and let it cool.
Just before serving add some pistachios and almonds. Serve chilled.

Malai Kebabs Curry

Malai Kebabs Curry

Ingredients

2 large potatoes,boiled
1 packet cottage cheese
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup boiled peas
4 green chilies.finely chopped
1/2 bunch coriander,chopped
2 tomatoes,finely chopped
2 slices of bread,remove edges
1 onion,sliced
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp garlic ginger paste
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1 egg,beaten
1 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp corn flour
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
1 tsp black pepper Whole spices as required

Method For Kebabs

Mash potatoes and add chopped onion,cottage cheese,peas,bread slices,egg,salt and black pepper. Mix it all well till all things bind together. Now make the shape of kebabs, you can make any shape,long,flat or oval. Sprinkle corn flour over kebabs and deep fry them. Don’t fry more then 1-2 minutes. For Gravy

Heat 3 tbsp oil, fry 1 sliced onion it in on medium heat. When it turns into brown color then add garlic and ginger paste and whole spices. Now add tomatoes and green chilies. Dip poppy seeds in little water for 1 hour and then mash them with the back of spoon. Add mashed poppy seeds in the tomatoes and cook till it becomes a paste. Add salt, milk and cream. Cover it and let it cook for 5-10 minutes. Add cumin seeds and kebabs in this gravy.Garnish it with fresh coriander and grated cheese. Serve it with boiled rice or chapatti.

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken

Ingredients

300 gm chicken
2tbsp butter
2tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup fresh cream
1 tbsp red chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masla
Salt to taste
3tbsp oil

Method

Heat the oil in pan, add garlic and ginger paste and stir fry it. Sauté chicken in it until its tender and done. Now add tomato paste, red chili, cumin powder, garam masla, salt and butter. Mix it well. Now add cream and cook for 1 minute. Dish out and garnish with fresh green coriander and grated ginger.

Meal Plan Week 23

Meal Plan Week 23

It's gonna be a busy week! I have a really fun dinner party coming up on Saturday so I'm devoting this upcoming week to "How to Meal Plan for a Dinner Party" as well as sharing with you the recipes I will be using on Saturday. In the meantime, hopefully these family favorites will get you through the week :)


Day 1: Sweet & Smokey Turkey Chili with Cornbread Muffins
This is a delicious change from chili....and we can never seem to have chili without cornbread in our house.


Day 2: Tortellini Soup with Garlic Bread
Super easy, throw in the crock pot kinda meal that my fam just gobbles up.

Day 3: Vietnamese Crispy Chow Mein with Beef Stir-Fry
Just as good as in the Vietnamese restaurant ;)

Day 4: Sweet BBQ Tater Tot Casserole with Garden Salad
This one brings me back to my childhood.

Day 5: Blackened Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing
Love, love, LOVE this salad!

Day 6: Super Special Fun Dinner Party
All details to come later this week!