Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Arabic Samosa's: (Tea Time Snacks)


Ingredients:
For Filling:
1 or 2 packets of fresh mince meat ( chicken or mutton) or the long frozen ones in freezers-your choice.
2 large onions finely chopped
2 spring onions (long green onions)
Handful of chopped parsley & Coriander (little of each to make a handful)
4 Crushed garlic glove (optional)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste ( if you want them extra spicy add a level tablespoon of curry powder and 1 chopped green chilli)
For the Samosa:
Packet or two of Sambosa leaves.
3-6 large boiled and mashed potatoes
Small bowl of water and pastry brush
Flour Dredger
Plastic bags if freezing - your choice


Method:
The potatoes:  First boil and keep them aside. Then peel potatoes and cut into medium sized chunks.
Return to the still hot pan (heat off though). Add more salt to taste, add a tablespoon of soft butter to enhance the taste and make it a just little creamier. Smash with a potato masher. There should be no lumps.
 
The Filling:

Wash the mince a little and leave aside to drain. I always wash the mince a little.
Hot olive oil 2-3 tablespoon, in a non-stick skillet
Add onions and green onions and cook till slightly golden at edges. (add chilli here if you want chilli)
Once onion is red at the edges, add garlic, cook for a minute and then add the drained mince meat, stir with a wooden spoon and mix well. Cover for a few minute while mince cooks in its own juices and the water inside it.Every couple of minutes just stir and mix it so it evenly gets done. All in all this should take at least 20-30 mins for the meat to get done.
Towards the end while it still has some juices in it, add the salt & Pepper, and the curry powder ( if you want the spicy version) stir again well, and add 1/2 cup of water-let it simmer and when the meat mixture is done there there should be just the little oil to be seen, add the herbs ( Parsley & Coriander)Mix well just for a few seconds. Switch off heat, leave aside and in a stainless steel colander drain off excess oil, leave in colander and cover with foil until it is cool. DO NOT used hot mixture on Sambosas leaves.

While you are waiting for this, flour a large round tray, take out Sambosa leaves, open packet and wait a little a couple of minutes or so for the layers to loosen, cover with cling wrap or damp tea towel all the time to prevent them drying out and cracking.

Take the mince mixture, add mash potatoes to it. Sit down for the next step as it takes some time. Note: You can keep the fillings in the refrigerator for the next day if you haven't had time to complete them all-but only one day.

Making the Sambosas:
Take one sheet of Sambosa leaves. Brush the edges with water, place a tablespoon of filling from the mince meat filling first on the near to the corner of the edge at one end and fold continuously into triangles until complete. Rest on the tray with the last fold down so it doesn't open up. Press the edges down as you go along. Then sprinkle with a little flour and put in a plastic bag again with the last fold down-keep in bags to stop drying process of the leaves (Napco bags are good). Put about 12 in each bag. Don't worry about them sticking to each other as the flour prevents that, plus when frozen, just a little tap will separate them all.

Deep fry when required until golden brown.


Monday, July 25, 2011

Paneer Flutes

Paneer lovers i hope your listening. Yes, if your a paneer lover am sure you will definetly love this easy recipe. Its also a easy snack to prepare for the kids once they get back from school.

Ingredients:
For Wrapper
2 cups all purpose flour (or use wheat flour)
1 tbsp ghee/oil (optional)
salt to taste 
For the Stuffing
1 cup crumbled paneer
1/4 cup approx of v finely chopped red onions
1-2 green chillies, chopped finely (or as per taste)
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced (or as per taste)
1/4 cup fresh mozzarella, crumbled (or use grated mozzarella)
1/4 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
1-2 drops of rice vinegar (or use regular - optional)
few sprigs of cilantro, chopped
salt to taste (little since wrapper also has salt)

Best tip: if your short of time you can easily buy the ready made sheets available in the markets for the wraps.

Take the wheat flour in a bowl. Add enough water to mould it into a soft dough. Knead till its smooth and fluffy. Meanwhile prepare the filling. On a stove top in 1 tsp oil, add all the ingredients together except the cheese. Saute until soft. You can do a taste test and change the seasoning according to your taste. Remove from heat and add fresh mozzarella along with cilantro. I find that adding the fresh ones make this so much more tastier. But regular grated one will work just fine. Toss until well mixed.Take the dough (divide into two or  three smaller pieces) and roll it out into a large rectangle. Cut them into smaller rectangles.Take one piece. Add the stuffing in shorter end of the rectangle making sure to leave few inches near the edges.



Roll it twice, bring the edges of the filling together (this is to prevent the filling from seeping out during frying). and then continue rolling until you reach the end. You can use a beaten egg or water mixed with flour mixture to bind the dough. I applied flour water mixture at the end. Now fry these up in hot oil.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

.....Stacky Baby......

From past weeks, I've been watching Huda being obsessed with stacking stuff. Lets call it the phase of growth or development. She's been stacking any stuff which she gets her hands on....and I just love watch her grow....
There's two more picture of her stacking my Idly and her stacking cups, guess i have lost the picture in hard disk which apparently she dropped her milk..... anyways will post them when we recover them soon.....Till then happy stacking for my bebe.!!

Mothers & Babies

Its a treat to have parents stay with us. And i was lucky to have my mom come and stay with me as well post delivery. Once was mother was here,I happily went back to being my lazy self. Now after she left i had to remind myself, that I'm a mother and i have a daughter who needs to be cleaned, fed and looked after! I hope Huda doesnt have such high expectations from her mother !!!
Huda is a busy body now,running and playing and messing the home all the time. We have been keeping our ears open to a little sound going "dummm" announcing there is an accident :-)

All accidents need great pampering accompanied by a kiss from both her parents. But Little Hudu has been in great play all the time right from the young age.

These moments will be cherished my entire life and I just wish a re-union with my mother takes place soon.... Are you listening mom..??

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Black And White: I Love these Click..!!!

If ever I would stand a chance to take part in a photo challenge, this would be my pick from the lot.





This snap was clicked on a lazy friday morning when poor little dada did not want to wake up and the little one was too way excited to wake her daddy up...I was quick enough to grab my digital and tadaaa.... a great pic for my lovely collection...



The above pic's were clicked while I was putting her dress on when i just felt like clicking a picture of my little doll. Just as she is looks, naughty as ever. Getting the clothes on her is a pretty difficult task and looks my days ahead is going bad again. Well what more can i say.


 Before I end here, would love to add in a pix of mama and baby...

Unexpected Surprise Dinner- Authentic Hyderbadi Biryani

I am always known to do things in a frenzy..!! I love suprising my spouse by the time he bangs back home. And this is just what happened last week.

Cooking though not my passion, i am a lazy self, and tend to look for easy-way-round to cook up my lunches and dinner. We always love biryani dont we?Who doesnt anyways. I dedicate this recipe to our dear friend Rafi who is in all praise of his hometown biryani. Rafi i hope your listening..! Though my effort to find an authentic hyderabadi biryani recipe from many people found no resuts I finally turned up to Rafi and asked him to get a recipe from his mum. But there too I gave up as he said it doesnt match the biryani they sell back in hyderabad... So, here's a treat for the hyderabadi biryani lovers. I'm sure you will truely enjoy this one.

When I was young, i used to be amazed about how much goes on in the kitchen just to cook up a meal and its just eaten in seconds..!!;-) Yes i said it well its really eaten up rather fast than its cooked up.
Well this recipe is a mind blower,can be cooked up in 1 hour straight away (please note, that's if you have everything ready)

Let's begin:
Ingredients:
For the Spice mix- 1/2tsp shahi jeera, 5 green cardamoms,1 cinnamon stick, 10peppercorns and 10 cloves.
For rice- 1.5cups of rice, salt, 2 bay leaves, 5 green cardamom, 10peppercorns, 1" cinnamon.
For marinade- 2 1/2 onions birishta (deep fried onions), 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste, salt, 1 tbsp red chilly powder, spice mix powder, 200ml curd, 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, 2 tbsp mint leaves.
For cooking mutton- 21/2 onions birishta, 2 black cardamoms and 1 cinnamon stick, salt if required (as we already add salt while marinating mutton)
For settinng rice and mutton- biryani colour or food colour, chopped coriander and mint leaves and ghee.
                          
Firstly powder the spices for the mix and keep it ready. Take mutton, add ginger garlic paste and salt and mix well. Add the birishta, spice mix, chilly powder and the fried onions to it and mix again. Add beaten curd, mint and coriander leaves and let it refrigerate overnight or atleast for 2-3 hours.
                         
Now lets prepare the mutton first. Meanwhile you can heat water with spices and soak rice for the biryani. In a heavy bottomed cooker, take ghee and add cardamoms and cinnamon and fry till the spices releases it aroma into the oil. Add 2 1/2onions and fry till golden brown. (Please note, if using fresh onions fry till golden brown, if using ready made birishta no need to fry again. Alternatively, I make about 5-10kilos of birishta and store in a air tight contanier which i later use for my cooking. Preparing the birishta on the very day for cooking takes ample time and is very time consuming as the onions need to be fried on medium flame and they should not be burnt). Add the marinated mutton and cook till mutton is done. The gravy should be thick and not be too water in consistency.
                          
Meanwhile when the water boils add the rice and cook till 3/4th done. The rice should not be fully cooked and it should be removed off flame and drained once the grain is break-able by teeth and fingers.
                        
This is my style for the setting of the hyderabadi biryani. I usually use a non stick vessel and put about 2tbsp ghee and spread it to the base of the vessel. I add little gravy from the mutton to it as well. I layer half the rice to the vessel and drop in food colour, chopped coriander and mint leaves over it. Then I layer the entire mutton gravy over the rice. And finally pour the balance rice on top of it and again sprinkle the colour and the coriander and mint leaves over the rice. Add little more ghee on top so that rice is not too dry. Keep on dhum for 30 mins or till steam comes out.  Open and serve hot with any raita of your choice.
Marination process

Spice mix ingredients

The marinated mutton
The biryani... I clicked it after we both ate our share.!!          





Saturday, July 16, 2011

Blogging Virgin

I've always been thinking of starting my own blog. I've been inspired by so many people out here blogging and I'm already blogged..!! Just that I have no clue what to blog about now. Should my blog be about myself as a home-loner, or the 'run around mom of a one-plus baby, or the cooking wifey thing!! Let me start doing all the stuff here now, what say??
Hope my blog gets a good shape unlike me ;-) Just wondering how people work out thier blogs and any suggestions are welcome.



Now this is where I live, Abu Dhabi. Its the capital of United Arab Emirates and a wonderful home to so many expats. Has a great outdoor life and loads of entertainment.