Shish Taouk (Lebanese Chicken)

This is one of my favorite Lebanese dishes to make.  I got the recipe from Nita Mehta's Lebanese Cooking for the Indian Kitchen.

This will require some planning ahead because you will have to assemble your Lebanese spice mix and also marinate your chicken for at least 4 hours (I usually marinate overnight), but the results are well worth the extra planning. I usually double this for my family.





Serves 3-4
250 gms boneless chicken - cut into 3/4" pieces
1 medium sized onion- cut into 8 pieces

Marinade
1 egg
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste (I usually just use fresh grated ginger and minced garlic)
4 Tbsp. thick curd (yogurt)
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. salt
1 onion, grated
1 tsp dried thyme or oregano
1 tsp Lebanese spice mix
1 tsp roasted cumin (bhuna jeera) powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder or paprika (degi mirch) powder (I always use paprika b/c of the little people)
2 tsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp oil

1. Mix all ingredients of the marinade in a bowl.
2. Add chicken pieces and onion.  Keep in fridge covered for at least 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven at 180 C for 10 minutes.
4. Grease the wire rack with oil.  Place the chicken pieces on it. (I always use the skewers that came with my oven.)
5. Bake at 180 C in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is well cooked.

This goes great with some hummus, and carrots, cucumbers, and Megan's pita bread for dipping.

Greek Pizza

Normally when I make leftover pita pizzas, I do a simple tomato sauce with some mozzarella and toppings.  This weekend, however, I had so much feta cheese left, I thought I'd try something different.

Here's what I came up with that we will definitely be adding to the regular rotation.  My husband loved it!

Greek Pizza
3/4 of a green zucchini, halved and sliced
3/4 of a yellow squash, halved and sliced (feel free to change up these vegetables to things you can find!)
1 onion, halved and sliced,
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 slices cooked bacon, chopped (this was leftover too, so we thought why not? Easy to omit for a veg meal)
Seasoning of your choice (I used a seasoning jar called "Montreal Chicken", no idea what's in it!)
1 T. olive oil
1-2 tomatoes, sliced
Feta Cheese
Leftover pita bread

Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Add onions and garlic and sauté 3-4 minutes until tender.  Add zucchini and squash and bacon, and seasoning. Sauté until vegetables are cooked.

Divide cooked vegetables between two pita bread rounds.  Top with sliced tomatoes and crumbled feta.  Bake in 180 oven for 5-10 minutes.

Really, could it be any simpler?  But oh my, was it amazing! 

My Favorite Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I have tried dozens of baked macaroni and cheese recipes and just had never found the perfect (to my taste) recipe.  When we were back in the states last summer, I picked up a box of macaroni pasta at Winn Dixie.  On the side of the box, it had a recipe.  So I tried it in my quest for the perfect recipe.  And I found it!  : ) Who knew it would be on the side of a Winn Dixie box? : )

Macaroni and Cheese
16 oz. macaroni (about 500 grams)
1/4 c. (50 g) butter
1/3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
3 c. milk
2 c. shredded Cheddar
1 c. shredded swiss cheese (or just use all cheddar, or any other cheese you have)

Preheat oven to 375 (190C).  Cook macaroni in boiling water, drain.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Stir with a whisk and gradually stir in milk.  Cook until thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Add 1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese.  Stir until melted.  Stir in macaroni.

Spoon half of macaroni mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.  top with Swiss cheese, remaining macaroni mixture, then remaining cheddar cheese.  bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bubbly.  

Moroccan Stew with Couscous

This is a new favorite recipe.  My husband totally loves it, and I do too. It's a bit too spicy for the kids though, so I have to tone it down by either removing some for them before adding all the curry powder, or reducing the curry powder.  So good, though!

Moroccan Stew
2 T. olive oil
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 large green bell pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 medium red onions
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. curry powder
10 ounces of tomato soup
1/2 c. golden raisins
1 c. cooked chick peas (optional)
1/3 c. toasted slivered almonds (optional)

Heat oil in a large wok or saute pan over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook until well browned on both sides.

Reduce the heat to medium.  Add onions, pepper, and garlic, and cook five minutes or until tender crisp. Add cinnamon and curry and cook and stir one minute.  Stir in soup and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 15 minutes.

Add raisins and chickpeas to saucepan.  Cook ten minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Stir in almonds.

For couscous:  boil 1 1/2 c. water with 1 T. butter and 1 block of chicken bullion.  When water is boiling and everything is melted, add 11/2 c. couscous.  Shut off the heat and cover the pot and let it sit 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and serve.  If you don't have couscous, serving with rice would be good.

Notes:  I usually omit the chickpeas because I don't plan enough ahead.  But you could easily make this an all veg. meal by omitting the chicken and doubling the chickpeas.  If I have slivered almonds, I use them.  If not, obviously, I leave them out.  : )

Also, for the tomato soup, you can use either leftover tomato soup, or just two boxes of tomato puree and season it a bit with salt and pepper and maybe some basil and cumin.  If it's too thick, thin it down with some water.  I've done both, and both come out great.  

7-Layer Tortilla Pie

1 T. olive oil
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
3/4 c. chopped green bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. chopped seeded green chile OR 1 t. chopped pickled jalapenos
2 T. minced fresh cilantro
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
2 c.  tomato juice
2/3 c. dried kidney beans
2/3 c. dried pinto beans
2 c. shredded cheddar
7 8-inch tortillas

1. Combine beans in a pressure cooker.  Cover with 3-4 c. water.  Cook 45 minutes if not pre-soaked.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add bell peppers, onion, and chiles/jalapenos.  Saute.  Add spices.  Cook a total of five minutes.  Add tomato juice.  Cook 8 minutes or until reduced to 2 1/2 cups.

3. Drain beans and add to the tomato mixture.

4.  Grease the bottom of a round 2 quart casserole dish, or some thing else you can bake it in with high sides. Place one tortilla in the bottom of the dish.  Place 3/4 c. bean mixture on top of the tortilla.  Top with some cheese, about 1/4 c.  Repeat layers, tortilla, beans, cheese.  Finish the final layer with the rest of the cheese.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 150 oven. Serves 6. 

Pav Bhaji-Indian Street Food!

Shortly after we arrived in India, we began big fans of pav bhaji.  It's our Indian sloppy joe. : ) And because it is, we eat it with a slice of cheese on it. :)  (At least, I grew up eating sloppy joes with cheese...)

Pav Bhaji
3 small potatoes
1 small head of cauliflower
2 carrots
Handful of fresh peas (200 grams)
1 onion, chopped
1 t. garlic paste
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 T. pav bhaji masala
1/4 t. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
Fresh cilantro
8 pavs (dinner rolls)
Cheese slices, optional

Chop the potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots, and place it all with the peas in the pressure cooker.  Add about a 1/2 c. of water and cook for 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 t. oil in a skillet.  Add the garlic paste and fry a minute.  Add the onions and fry till soft.  Add the tomatoes and fry until softened.  Once the vegetables are done, drain water if there's a lot, you want a little bit, but not more than 1-2 tablespoons.  Mash the veggies with a potato masher until, well, mashed. :)   Add the mashed vegetables to the onion and tomato mixture.  Add the pav bhaji masala, chili powder and salt.  Stir to combine and cook until no longer soupy, but holds together. Turn the heat off and add the chopped cilantro.

Next, slice the pavs in half.  Throw some butter on your tawa, and grill each tawa until nice and brown on the inside.

Eat 'em up! :)  

Remy's Ratatouille

A few weeks ago, the kids watched Ratatouille for the first time in a long time.  Afterwards, they were begging to eat Remy's Ratatouille.  I looked for a recipe online and found it!  Here is a link, and a picture of what I did, just so it's documented, because I'm never doing it again. :)  And after all that work, after a few bites, my daughter said, "Mom, I only like ratatouille at Gusteaux's restaurant."  Niiiice. :)

http://www.grouprecipes.com/15255/remys-ratatouille.html

Caribbean Beans and Rice

This is a recipe I relied on during our first few months in South Asia.  Easy. Simple.  All the ingredients on hand, or easy to get. 

Caribbean Beans and Rice
1 1/2 c. uncooked rice
2 t. vegetable oil
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 chopped green peppers
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. coarsely chopped tomato (about 2-3 tomatoes)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. red pepper (lal mirch)
1/2 t.+ ground cumin
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3-1/2 c. dried kidney beans
1/2 c. mozzarella or cheddar cheese, shredded


Boil water for rice and cook it till it's done.  Duh. 


If you forgot to soak the beans like I always do, you can do a quick soak before dinner by boiling some water, throwing the beans in (after the gas is off) and covering the bowl or pot with a lid for an hour. Or, if you forget to do that, then put the beans in the pressure cooker, and put a whole lotta water in.  Like four to five times as much as the beans.  So, 3 cups or so. Then cook them and listen.  Check after 20 minutes or so to make sure there's still water in there. (I usually pick it up and slosh it to see if I can still feel the water moving around.  If so, keep cooking.)  Beans that are totally dry usually take about 45 minutes to cook.  Ugh, I know. :) So don't forget to soak them, is the moral of the story. 


On to the recipe. 


Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add onions, green peppers and garlic.  Saute 5 minutes or until tender.  Add chopped tomatoes, red pepper and cumin.  Saute another couple of minutes.  Add the cooked beans and stir to combine, adding water if you need to to get a good consistency.  Add the chopped cilantro and cook one more minute. Serve over rice, topped with cheese.  Easy peasy! :) 
*adapted from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook

Daal Makhani

Here's another Indian recipe, daal makhani. This is my absolute favorite daal! Wonder why, with all the cream and butter! : )

Dal Makhani

1 cup black lentils (kaali sabut dal)

1/2 cup red kidney beans (rajma) (Pressure cook dals together for about 45 minutes)

2 T. ghee

1 t. cumin seeds

2 big onions, finely chopped

1 t. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder

1/2 t. turmeric powder

salt to taste

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped

¼ cup butter

1+ tsp garam masala powder

2-3 tbsp malai (fresh cream)

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Pre-heat ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add cumin seeds and let them saute for a minute or two. Add the chopped onions and sauté the onions till pink.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 mts. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt and combine.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-6 mts. Now add the pressure cooked dals along with a cup of water and mix well till they are well coated with the masala mixture. Cook covered for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add water if necessary to get the consistency you'd like.
Add butter, combine and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add malai and garam masala and mix well. Serve with hot rotis or steamed rice.

Paneer Butter Masala

Living in South Asia, I think it's a good idea to have a handle on at least a few traditional South Asian recipes. Friends and neighbors here are always so impressed that I'm even trying to make Indian food! Here's one of our favorite recipes... (I usually double this recipe to feed our family served with rice). You can also substitute chicken for the paneer if you'd like, just don't soak it in water after you cook it.

Paneer Butter Masala

250 g. paneer

2 big onions

1 T. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder (I usually do about 1/4 teaspoon)

3 big ripe tomatoes

1 t. coriander powder

Pinch of huldi (turmeric)

½ t. kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Garam masala powder(about 2-3 teaspoons?)

Salt to taste

3 T. butter

2 T. fresh cream

Cube and sauté paneer in a T. of ghee til golden brown. You want them to be nice and crispy, like this. If they loose water as they're cooking, just let it cook off... eventually they'll start to brown. Remove into a dish and add a cup of hoter water to the fried cubes and let them sit in it for 5 minutes. Then drain the water and keep aside.

Blanch the onions for ten minutes and then puree. Blanch tomatoes as well, remove skins and puree. I usually just do this together, throw them all in a big pot and boil for a few minutes to get the cooking started. Them remove and peel them all. Puree the onions first, then the tomatoes.

Heat 2 T. of butter in a pan, add the onion paste and sauté til brown. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for three minutes. Add chilli powder and combine, followed by the cashew paste and combine.

Add tomato puree, crushed kasuri methi, coriander powder, huldi, garam masala, and salt. Stir and let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add the paneer and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and let it cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or till you get the desired curry consistency. Remove from fire, stir in remaining butter and fresh cream.

Let the curry sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve hot with rotis, naan, paranthas or simple steamed white rice.

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Copy Cat Recipe

Pizza is an easy dinner to make. Lots of places in India have delivery, for sure. But it's much cheaper (and healthier!) to make it at home!

Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Pizza Crust

3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1-1/4 tsp. yeast (Solar brand works great, but keep it in the freezer between uses)
1 Tbs. sugar
2-1/4 cups bread flour (I always just use Maida)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil

Preparation for the Crust:

First prepare the dough for the crust. You might want to prepare the crust one day prior to baking the pizza. To get the best dough, you need to allow it to rise in the refrigerator overnight. This procedure will produce a great commercial-style crust.

Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup, and stir until the yeast and sugar have dissolved. Let the mixture set for approximately 5 minutes. Foam should begin building up on the surface. If it doesn't, either the water was too hot or the yeast was dead. Throw it out, and start again.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and the salt. Make a depression in the center of the flour, and pour in the yeast mixture. Add the olive oil. Use a fork to stir the liquid in the center of the flour. Slowly draw in more flour, a little at a time, until you have to use your hands to completely combine all the ingredients into a ball.

Dust a clean, flat surface with flour, and with the heel of your hands, knead the dough on this surface until it seems to have a smooth, consistent texture. This should take approximately 10 minutes.

Rub a light coating of oil on the dough, then put it into a tightly covered container and in a warm place to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size. When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down, put it back into the covered container and into the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have time for that, you can use the crust at this point. Without the long rest, however, it won't have the same texture as the original.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

One box tomato puree
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf (called Tej Patta here)
dash onion powder
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 ball Amul pizza cheese or 2/3 package of Flanders Mozzarella

Preparation for the Sauce:

You can prepare the pizza sauce ahead of time as well, storing it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pizza. Simply combine the tomato sauce with the spices and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for 30 to 60 minutes until it reaches the thickness you like. When the sauce has cooled, store it in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

When ready to assemble, spread the dough out in the rectangle pan that came with your oven. You can grease the pan with butter, and if desired, throw a handful of sooji (which is semolina in the states) on the pan, which will make it taste a little bit like Uno Chicago Pizzeria pizza. Fork the dough after it's spread out a few times to prevent air bubbles. Spread sauce on top. Spread one ball of shredded Amul PIzza cheese on top. Top the pizza with whatever toppings you want!

Bake at 225 for 15-20 minutes, till crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.

(If you want a thicker crust, make the recipe using 1.5 times the ingredients, or double the recipe, and freeze half, wrapping it in plastic wrap and sealing in a Zip Pouch to use next time for a really quick and easy dinner!)

Recipe taken from Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur

African Peanut Soup

From AndreaS:

Here’s an easy recipe I made the other day. I thought it was really good J I’ve never been to Africa, but that’s what my friends call this soup, so I have no idea if it is “authentic” in any way, but it’s good! J

African Peanut Soup

8-10 Roma Tomatoes (chopped with liquid)

½ cup (uncooked) brown rice (cook separately)

1 large bell pepper (red peppers are the best, but green work great)

4 Cups vegetable (or Chicken) broth (I used 2 Maggi bullion cubes b/c I didn’t have any broth handy)

4-5 Medium/Large Onions

2 green onions chopped (optional)

2-4 Garlic cloves

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Chili Powder (if you have it – if not, paprika works great)

(Add seasonings according to personal preference)

½ cup Peanut Butter (crunchy or creamy depending on preference – I use creamy)

Cook the Brown Rice in a separate pot or pressure cooker. While it’s cooking, put the tomatoes, bell pepper, garlic cloves and broth in a big pot on the stove. Once the tomatoes have cooked a while (15 min or so) add the salt, pepper, garlic powder & chili powder/paprika. I usually wait until this point to add the onions (I like them to have a little crunch. If you like them without crunch then add them when you add the tomatoes. Add the rice and the peanut butter. Heat and stir until the peanut butter is dissolved.

I think this is a really good and hearty soup. It’s even better and thicker the next day. I think it would be good with about a half a kg of shredded chicken too!

Broccoli and Red Pepper Quiche

Brocolli & Red Pepper Quiche with a Mustard Crust

Crust (MindyW's recipe)
1 ¾ c flour

½ t salt
½ c oil

4 T Ice water

Sift flour and salt. Add oil and water. Mix well with spoon. Dough should form
in a ball with consistency of playdough. If the dough crumbles add a few drops
more of water. Place ball of dough in the center of a round glass pie plate. Press from
the center outward to form piecrust. Fill with favorite filling. Bake as directed for filling.

Quiche
Mustard (I just used the Fun Foods brand)
500g Cheddar cheese, shredded (I used the Milk Man Natural Cheddar)
3-4 T. olive oil (I used half olive oil and half melted butter)
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped or sliced
2 c. chopped broccoli florets
3 eggs, large
1 c. whole milk
1/2 t salt
Pepper & nutmeg to taste (I used about a ¼ tsp of black pepper and no nutmeg)

Directions:

Lightly brush bottom of unbaked pie shell with mustard, prick and bake in 200 degree celsius oven for 8 minutes. Remove and let cool.

While crust cools, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook 2-3 minutes. Add bell pepper and saute till crunchy tender, then add broccoli and cook till just beginning to turn bright green.

Beat eggs with salt and spices. Add milk and beat again to combine.

Layer cheese and vegetables in pastry shell, ending with enough vegetables to show a little color after the filling sets. Drizzle egg/milk mixture over all.
Bake in 175 degree oven for 35-45 minutes, until fairly well set, maybe a bit soft in the middle. Top should be golden and puffed up.

Let cool, if you can bear to wait, 15-20 minutes before cutting. It's great cold if any left over.

Rhonda’s Note: I don’t even own a pie pan so I used a square casserole dish so it was a “deep dish” quiche. I used 2 red peppers and an extra egg and I definitely cooked it for the full 45 minutes. It was great.

Megan's Favorite Tomato Sauce

I have come to the conclusion that in South Asia, there are certain things that I used to make with beef that just don't need any meat at all. :) I'm not a fan of substituting ground chicken because I find it to be really dry, and honestly never buy it. Instead, I often substitute for ground beef beans, or whole black lentils, or just nothin' at all. Spaghetti sauce is one thing that we have learned to love without any kind of meat, but if you need protein, whole black lentils make a great substitute. Here's my favorite quick pasta sauce. It's great over any kind of pasta, with Parmesan Chicken, in baked spaghetti, in lasagna, or any other way you would use a jar of sauce.

Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce

1 t. olive oil

1 c. chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 t. salt

2 t. dried oregano

2 boxes tomato puree

1/2 t. dried Italian seasoning (I use either Daily Needs brand Pasta Seasoning or Garlic Bread seasoning)

1/4 t. black pepper

6 average sized tomatoes, chopped

1/4 c. water

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, saute 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and next 7 ingredients through water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium/low and cook, uncovered, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley. Makes 3-4 servings

This is a tangy sauce. If you prefer a sweet sauce, substitute 1 T. sugar for the 1 1/2 t. salt, and switch out the oregano for basil. :)

Kushiri-A traditional Egyptian Street Food

I went to Cairo on vacation when I was single. I spent a whole day wandering around the Khan-Al-Khalili, an ancient market in the middle of town. It was totally enchanting, and I ended up eating lunch at a little stall in the market. They specialized in one dish: kushiri (pr. koo-shi-ree). When I got home, I searched the internet for several years, trying so many different recipes, until I figured out how to get it to taste like it did on the streets of Cairo. This dish has become a staple dinner in our house, and I was even pureeing it for our kids by the time they were 11-12 months old. Now it's one of their favorite dinners. It uses a lot of pots, but it's well worth it. :)

Kushiri

1 c. uncooked brown or white rice

1 c. brown lentils

1 lb. pasta (spaghetti, angel hair, macaroni or combination, whatever you've got!)

1 ½ T. olive oil, divided

2-3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 boxes tomato puree

½ c. water

¼ c. white vinegar

2 medium onions

Cook rice according to directions. Cook the pasta according to the directions. Rinse lentils and put them in a pot, covering them with water and bring to a boil. Then simmer on a low heat until almost all water is absorbed and lentils are well cooked (or cook in pressure cooker). Add extra water if longer time is needed. To make the sauce, first sauté the garlic in ½ of the oil until golden. Add all of the tomato sauce and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add water and vinegar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and add salt to taste. Finally, slice onion in thin, small pieces and sauté in the remaining half of the oil until brown and crispy.

To assemble, in individual serving bowls, arrange a layer of lentils on the bottom, followed by a layer of rice, then pasta, then sauce. Repeat the layers, and top with more sauce and onions before serving.

I'm pretty liberal with my oil in this recipe, I don't measure when I'm sauteeing the onions. :) I also have found that occasionally throwing a little salt on them while they're cooking makes them nice and crispy. I have started cooking the pasta first, then dumping it into another bowl to keep warm and cooking the rice in the same pot, just to reduce the number of dishes. Usually these two things take about the same amount of time as the lentils alone. In the meantime, I'm making the sauce and sauteeing the onions. Also, I realize it's a double carb with the rice and pasta and only one protein with the lentils, so you can go easy on the rice and pasta and double up on the lentils if that's better for you.

I hope you all end up loving this comfort food as much as our family does!