Food + Creative

Let us be brave!

2017-11-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

Starting this post on Wednesday and hoping to have a finished result by the weekend...

After a successful bread, the very first item in the book, I am now moving to page 124, Christmas Buns, well you might ask why? and aren't you afraid that this will be a total sugary disaster, and my response is a simple shrug and a "because I can".

OK, it is now Sunday and I just finished cleaning the kitchen, had a good FaceTime session with my mom and off I go to the shops to buy the ingredients for the Christmas Buns.

So back from the shops with icing sugar, cranberries, apricot, brown sugar and a whole bunch of other stuff. In our house we shop once a week and hence today the fridge was absolutely empty. Lunch was whatever that was left over which included eggs, lettuce, pepper, ended up being nice really. So as a result of having a very light lunch we ended up ordering a pizza and eating it outside, in the supermarket's parking lot. I don't know why, but my husband feels a bit more adventurous and its actually fun seeing people going towards their cars with a purpose and then shocked by us munching on our food...

The dough was very wet, and when I melted the butter in the milk, because I am generally an impatient person did not wait until it was lukewarm, so it was pretty hot to mix and then I remembered, there is this thing called spoon... adding the egg to the mixture happened after I was sure that the dough is cooled. After the dough was prepped, I kneaded for a good 10 minutes, it was very wet and had to really add flour at different stages of the kneading, then I left it in the corner of the kitchen to rise and rise it did.

2 hours later I ended up with a nice dough, without taking the air out, just laid it and rolled it and started adding the lovely christmassy ingredients.

After everything was added, I started rolling the dough, I had to add a bit more flour as some bits were stock to the working surface.

and then cut the dough into 9 pieces and laid them over the tray ready for the second rise.

25 minutes later they were ready, I added the glaze, the recipe said apricot jam, but all I had in my fridge was orange jam and I reckon that is also very Christmassy, so added the glaze and let it cool down and then added the icing. I guess my adding the icing skill is not very good. but it did the job I guess. Here's the finished product.

The taste was really good, so good that there are only 8 left now and I cannot wait until it is morning and I am planning to wake up 6:30 am to get my coffee and bun.

Will see what the book calls for next week...

When there is a will...

2017-11-14T03:59:00.004-08:00

So last week's attempt at bread 101 was a total disaster, I figured it was because I used dried active yeast without mixing it in the water first. So this past weekend I repeated the recipe and went for it again, on Sunday after a nice 4 hours road trip to Portsoy ice-cream and filled with happy thoughts, I started mixing and kneading with high hopes. Around 11 pm the hopes were shattered and I was once more left with a flat dough. At this point you can imagine how I felt... maybe I should stick to cake and perhaps its better to just buy from the shops and support the food manufacturing industry instead.

Monday night, a day of working on a project and having a good meeting with clients. I like it when people are good at what they do. The afternoon was spent on correcting and editing a paper. I really am blind when it comes to typos and grammatical stuff (be-ware readers!), so by 8 pm I announced that I will try the bread once more, I figured my yeast is out of date and not functioning, so head out to the shops for a fresh batch of this time instant yeast instead of active dried yeast, new ingredients and help from my husband with fierce kneading .... and 4 hours later, et viola. The crusty golden dome appeared from the oven, with the most magical smell that could probably rise me from the death bed.

Here it is the proud, third time is the charm, home made, white loaf bread...

Hello world!

2017-11-07T01:46:00.001-08:00

After almost four years after my last post, I am back... what happened in the last four years is a blur... meeting new people, doing new and old things. But I am back and relatively happy! So I am taking on a mission, have you watched Julie and Julia? Its a story of a woman making Julia Child's recipes in 365 days. Its a true story and you can see Julie Powell's blog here. Its full of interesting life stories and funny things... I am gonna do the same thing (minus being funny and minus a lot of life stories, despite being a blogger (or trying to be), I am still quite private person.) So this won't be a book or a movie or my source of fame... its an exercise for sharing and its mainly for me (sorry to be quite rude about this), but I am doing this to make me happy, I feel I need a mission and I need to keep it tracked using this blog.

What else?... oh right, its not going to be Julia Child's recipes, its going to be Paul Hollywood's and its not got be in 365 days, its going to be once a week... so we are in (or I am in) for the long run. Why I am doing this?? I want to learn how to bake... I am pretty basic, only a few cakes and perhaps once or twice biscuits... So I want to practice proper baking and who is better than Paul's stuff?
So from this week forward, I will bake one thing from his book (How to Bake). Also I am not going to repeat the recipe etc exactly like the book... I will mention top ingredients and basic how to and then mainly talk about my experience and feelings and thoughts about how the recipe went and how I felt about the whole things, plus other chit chats etc. So Mr Hollywood can rest assured that there are no copyright issues...

So today I will start with the very first recipe.... Basic White Tin Bread.

Main thing is that I need white bread flour... all I have in my cupboard is plain flour... so of to the shops to get some white bread flour. I am however quite proud that I have instant yeast in my cupboard... (I am that good!). But I cannot go to the shops right now to be honest.. I have a deadline, need to review three conference papers for EHF2018 and I think the chair is going to send me a very angry e-mail if I miss today's deadline. So will save this post and return in about 3-4 hours...

More like 5-6 hours and a trip to the shops, I ended up buying the right flour... instead of strong, I went for very strong (with 14% protein). Mixed it with salt (8grams seems like a lot of salt) and kneed for about 10 minutes... It is right now resting and rising in a bowl while I am seated at the kitchen table working on a proposal that is due tomorrow...

Here is the dough... not that you don't know what a dough looks like, but I think it will make a nice before and after shot.

You see there are some olive oil bits at the base, I may have over used olive oil, but its fine. Nobody complained about too much olive oil (ever!) and if they did, they are not worth listening to.

OK, back to proposal and then I have a project meeting at 9 pm (the meeting is with GBC people in Toronto) and after that we might have a doubled in size dough ready for the next bit.

2.5 hours, a few paragraphs added to the proposal and one project meeting later, the dough is now doubled in half and then off to the rising stage. So knocking the air out ( which is a lot of kicking and hitting) and then putting the dough in the tin for another hour of proving and rising. (I am not going to take a photo of this bit, think dough in a tin and you are there!).

Another hour of working on the proposal and then we are ready for the oven.

... it is around 11 pm, the proposal not going as planned, somehow I need to think about a two pager diagram that summarises the innovative approach... On another note the dough is resisting any form of rise... I had glorious plans for this pan, alas! I may ditch both (proposal and the bread) for tonight, go take refuge in my book (Lee Child's Echo Burning) that neither disappoints nor confuses. I will store the dough in the plastic bag in the tin in the fridge and return in the morning... who know maybe the universe is calling for hot bread for the morning rather than a late night snack.

Ladies and gentleman, instant yeast is not the same as active dried yeast... so in effect my bread had no rise whatsoever... (for information about the difference between yeasts see here).

The bread is however delicious and as you can see half of it was gone in no time.

I will repeat this experience (same recipe, correct yeast interaction) and post the updates next week.

Lamb tajine with cous cous

2013-03-19T02:56:00.002-07:00

You know when it is very cold and you want something warm and a little bit sweet. Well this tajine inspired dish is to do just that.
Ingredients:
Lamb shoulder (diced): 300 grams
Carrot: 2 medium (chopped)
Courgette: 1 medium (chopped)
Onion: 1(chopped)
Chopped almond: 30 grams
Chopped cashew nuts: 40 grams
Quince jam: 2 Table spoon
Water: 1 cup
Stock cube :1
Vegetable oil: 1 Table spoon
Cous cous: 250 grams
Parsley
Pepper and turmeric

Method:
Fry the onion in a pan for a short time until it start getting golden, add the lamb and fry it for another 5 minutes on each side , add turmeric and pepper ( never add salt to lamb at the beginning it will make it hard and chewy). Add the carrot, courgette and fry them with the rest of the mixture for a further 5-7 minutes, add the nuts ( almonds and cashew nuts) and let them get comfy in the pan before you add the quince jam ( you can use any jam really but I like the texture of quince jam). add the water, put the lid on and let it cook for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes add the stock cube, because the cube is salty, you wont be needing to add any salt.
Prepare the cous cous, add some parsley to it and serve it with the lamb.

Schnitzel with Chips and Courgette

2013-01-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

It has been a horrendous week. I've probably had only one and a half nights' worth of sleep and my flatmate is not in much better shape! So, we decided we needed some fuel in the form of oil. However, it's possible to soak up some of the oil on a kitchen towel and use a good oil such as grapeseed to cook.

Ingredients
4 small chicken fillets, flattened
5 medium-sized potatoes
Half a courgette
1 medium egg
Breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper
Pinch of saffron
Splash of milk
Cup of vegetable oil

Method
Put oil into 2 frying pans and heat
Cut potatoes into thin chips of equal size
Shallow fry the chips for approx 20 mins until golden. Leave to fry for first 5-7 mins until sealed.
Beat the egg, add salt, pepper and saffron and stir in a little milk
Dip fillets into egg mixture. Coat the chicken fillets well with the breadcrumb mix. Repeat the process again to ensure a good covering.
Fry fillets in the pan on a high heat for 10 mins then turn and reduce heat until brown and cooked through.
Meanwhile, cut courgette into thin slices and fry in a separate pan, adding a little margarine or butter and black pepper.
When cooked, drain oil on a sheet of kitchen towel and serve.

Serves 3.

Lamb casserole

2013-01-29T12:59:00.000-08:00

Feeling in need of some comfort food to banish our troubles before the start of a new week, a nice, hearty casserole was the order of the day after a long Winter's walk along the canal. Can't beat this meal with a nice plate of creamy mashed potato. You can even add some Yorkshire puds if the mood takes you.

Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced
2 red peppers, cubed
1lb/450g cubed stewing lamb
1 400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tblspn olive oil
1 clove garlic or dried garlic powder
Mixed spices:
Rosemary
Salt & black pepper
1 tspn paprika
Mixed herbs
150 ml water

Method
Pre-heat oven to 190 deg C/375 deg F/Gas Mark 5
Prepare vegetables
Place all ingredients into a casserole dish
Cover and place in oven for approx one and a half hours, or until lamb is tender.
Serve with mashed potatoes and green veg.

Serves 4.

Courgette & Cheddar Frittata

2013-01-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

You know when you have eggs which need eating and you don't know what to do with them? Also, I have been marking coursework all week and I want to indulge in some fried food. Bless my flatmate who doesn't object! Basically I asked 'would you like courgette'? and then said what I was going to do with it to make it less healthy. That said, it's very tasty and goes very well with rosemary sauce.

Ingredients
2 medium courgettes (grated)
Breadcrumbs from 1 piece of toast
Approx 70g grated cheese
2 eggs
Half teaspoon turmeric
Salt & pepper
2 tblspnsVegetable oil

Method
Heat oil on a high heat
Mix ingredients together
Scoop mixture up into balls and press flat into hot pan
Cook until golden brown on both sides.

Green Bean and Mince Pilau

2013-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

My friend has submitted her PhD today. That means 10 days of 2 hours of sleep! So I invited her over for dinner and have promised her some comfort food which is tasty and goes well with red wine. Don't be afraid of the lengthy method - it is quite simple.

Ingredients
1 can green beans
1 medium/large onion, chopped finely
400g lamb mince
2.5 cups of Basmati rice
1 potato, thinly sliced
1.5 tablespoons tomato puree
1 chopped tomato
1 tspn salt/pepper
1 tspn turmeric
Vegetable oil

Method
Shallow fry green beans and put aside
Fry onion until golden in a large frying pan
In a deep pan boil some water with a little salt and vegetable oil
Add 2.5 cups of rice to boiling water. Cook for approx 10 mins until rice is al dente
Rinse rice and set aside
Add lamb mince to the onion and reduce heat
Add spices and seasoning
Add chopped tomato to mince until lightly fried. In a mug, mix tomato puree with a little boiling water to make a sauce then add salt and pepper.
Add fried green beans to mince mixture then add tomato puree sauce.
Reduce heat and simmer until boiled down
Turn off heat. Add al dente rice to mixture.
Add vegetable oil to a separate non-stick, deep pan, heat and add potato
Layer thin potato slices all over base of pan and cook for 3-4 mins on high heat
Reduce heat to no 4 (electric)
Add lamb and rice mixture on top of potato
Put on low heat until rice is cooked (approx 30-40 mins).
When cooked, turn upside down onto a plate, so that the browned potato slices are facing upwards and serve.
If desired, serve with pickled vegetables and a little Greek yoghurt.

Herb & almond omellete

2013-01-26T03:25:00.001-08:00

Cooking is best on impulse. It's a great way to clear your mind of the day's problems by using your brain cells on matching flavours and ingredients together. So, one very cold night when we needed the heat of the oven, we decided to go for a dried herb and almond omelette. It worked quite well and we made some small dishes for lunch the following day.

Ingredients:
Dried herb ( parsley, dill and coriander): 200 g
Almond( flaked):30 g
Egg: 4 large
Baking powder:1 tea spoon
Salt and pepper: 1 tea spoon
Veg oil:1 table spoon

Method:
Put the herbs in some cold water for 1-2 minutes and then drain it. Add the herbs and almonds with salt and pepper, add the eggs to the mixture and finally add the baking powder. In an oven proof pan add the oil and fill it with the herb mixture. Put int in a pre- heated oven (200 degrees C) for about 30 minutes until golden on the top, serve it with some yogurt and naan bread.

Avocado Salmon with Creamy Pasta

2013-01-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight, something quick and easy was the order of the day after a long day at work. Avocado goes really well with salmon (take my word for it)! - so we decided to get creative and this is what we came up with. Make sure you have an oven glove in the house - we got a bit over-excited about this one and one of us got burnt on the grill pan!

Ingredients
2 fresh salmon fillets
1 medium avocado
Juice of half a lemon
150 pasta
1 pint chicken or vegetable stock
25g butter
Approx 50g grated cheddar cheese

Method
Pre-heat grill on a medium heat
Boil the pasta in the stock for 10-12 mins. Add a little olive oil to pan.
Meanwhile, put salmon until grill and cook for4- 5 mins
Peel, stone and mash avocado flesh in a bowl.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and mash or blend until smooth
then remove salmon fillets and spread mashed avocado on top.
Replace salmon under grill for a further 8-10 mins.
When pasta is cooked and stock almost boiled away, stir in grated cheddar, a little knob of butter and ground black pepper. Mix until creamy consistency.
Serve pasta on a plate with salmon fillets on top and garnish with a little mixed salad.
Enjoy!

Egg-free butter-free choc biscuits

2013-01-21T01:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

180g all-purpose flour
180g sugar
30g Cocoa powder
25g ground almond
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup almond milk

Method

Mix all dry ingredients slowly. Add oil and mix again. Finally, add almond milk until a soft dough forms. It will not be as hard as a usual biscuit dough simply because it does not contain any butter. Not to worry, trust me - it will taste really good! Use a pint glass to cut the dough into circle shapes and put onto a tray in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees C for around 20 minutes. Enjoy while it is warm with a nice Espresso or a well-brewed Iranian tea!

Broad bean surprise (Baghali Ghatogh)

2013-01-21T01:30:00.001-08:00

It's a cold Winter's day. It seems like it will rain all day and I fancy a warm meal to eat with a chunky piece of bread! Such days call out for pulses. This is a traditional, northern Iranian dish which my aunt perfected and which she taught me last time she was in Nottingham. It's quite simple, and doesn't need many ingredients... and here's the recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups broad beans (fresh or dried)
2 tablespoons Dill (fresh or dried)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves
2 medium eggs
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Salt & pepper

Method

Chop the garlic finely and fry in a pan. Add the broad beans and fry for 5-7 minutes then add the chopped parsley, turmeric, pepper and dill. Fry for a few minutes. Add the water and reduce down by half. Add eggs without stirring and allow to cook before mixing in.

Poached egg salad

2012-11-18T10:00:00.001-08:00

It's Sunday and I had a very heavy day yesterday with steak dinner and drinks and etc, so today I decided its going to be salad, but as it is a Sunday you want to make some effort for your meal. Here is the recipe for what I have made, poached egg salad.
Ingredients:
For the dressing:
Balsamic vinegar: 2 table spoon
English mustard: 1 tea spoon
Mayonnaise: 1 tea spoon
Salt& pepper

For the salad:
Cucumber:1/2
Yellow pepper: 1/2
Celery: 1 stem
Lettuce: 3 leaves
Egg:2 poached

Mix the dressing ingredients and pour it at the bottom of the plate you are serving the salad in. Add the lettuce, for extra oomf grate the cucumbet, pepper and celery and pile them in the middle, put the poached egg on top of them, add some fresh chopped mint to garnish and dig in!

Plum khoresh

2012-10-29T09:02:00.001-07:00

This is my all time favourite and my mom's is the best, so why not sharing the joy. Here is the recipe, it is for 2-3 people.
Lamb(diced): 300 grams
Dried plum: 200 grams
Onion: 1 medium
Tomato puree: 1 Table spoon
Sugar:100 grams
Cinnamon:2 tea spoon
Turmeric, salt and pepper
Veg oil: 1-2 Table spoon
Water( boiled): 1 cup
Dice the onion and fry it in some veg oil, add turmeric and fry it for 30 seconds with the onion, add the lamb and let it brown. Add the tomato puree , dried plums, cinnamon, salt pepper and fry for a couple of minutes, finally add the sugar to the mixture. Add the boiled water until it covers the ingredients. Put the lid on and let the heat do its magic for around an hour until the lamb is soft and tender. Serve with fluffy rice with a glass of cold ice tea.

Chicken pie with almond, pear preserve and saffron

2012-10-14T07:15:00.001-07:00

I have never made pie crust, the idea of 1/2 cup butter was never very encouraging. But I found this butter less pie dough recipe and also had some cooked chicken around, so thought why not give it a try. I have also made it a bit differntly so that it has an Iranian twist on it. So here is the recipe, this makes two individual pies.

For the pie crust:
Flour:1&1/2 cup
Almond (ground):2 table spoon
Sugar:2 tea spoon
Salt: 1tea spoon
Veg oil: 1/2 cup
Saffron:1/4 tea spoon
Water:1/3 cup
Milk:2 tea spoon

For inside of the pie
Chicken(cooked & shredded):1 cup
Pear preserve:2 table spoon

Add the flour, salt, sugar, ground almond and saffron, mix all the dry ingredients. Slowly add the oil and work the dough, add the milk and water and work it until it looks right. Thin the dough and lay it in the oven proof indivual pie pan. Add the chicken and put one table spoon of the pear preserve on the top and cover with another layer of pie crust. Put in a pre- heated oven (190 degrees) for around 25 minutes unril golden. Serve with fresh green salad.

Olive meze pizza

2012-10-12T10:45:00.001-07:00

I have bought olive meze from a shop in Nottingham and it was too good, I thought I had to share and even more make a greco-roman feast, an olive meze pizza. Here is the recipe:

Lamb: 4-5 pieces
Olive meze: 1/2 jar
Cheddar:150 gr
Pizza dough

I made the pizza dough by mixing normal flour, olive oil, salt, baking powder and water. Cook the lamb and shred it.
On a pizza dough spread a good amount of olive meze and then add the shredded lamb and cover with good old cheddar. Put it in an oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and by then the house smells heavenly. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Leek & onion spaghetti

2012-09-24T12:58:00.001-07:00

It has been a very long time since my last post, but the schools are open, the weather is cool and it is time to cook. What better than some comfort food, spaghetti. Here is the recipe:
Onion: 1 medium
Leek: 3 stems
Milk:1/2 cup
Soft cheese: 1 table spoon
Spaghetti: 100 g
Veg oil: 1 table spoon
Salt and pepper
Water: 4 cups

Boil the water and add spaghetti, salt and some oil, cook it until soft and then drain the spaghetti.
Chop the leeks and the onion, fry them in a pan with a little veg oil, when slightly golden, add the milk and the soft cheese, let it cool for 3-4 minutes and add the cooked spaghetti to the mixture, the only thing left is to enjoy!

Zereshk polo- Chicken with barberries sauce

2012-05-26T08:01:00.001-07:00

This is my all time favorite and I have not put it on the blog so far because I thought it is far too simple, but then I thought it is way too good not to be shared. This serves 2-3.
Ingredients:
Barberries: 1 cup
Chicken: 2-3 pieces
Onion: 1 medium
Water: 2 cups
Turmeric: 1 tsp
salt: 1 tsp
pepper: 1tsp
Butter: 1 Tsp
Sugar: 2.5 Tsp

Fry the onion for 2-3 minutes, then add the chicken and fry it for 10-12 minutes until golden. Cover it with boiled water and let it cook thoroughly. In a small pan, add the butter and fry the barberries for 1-2 minutes then add the sugar and 1 cup of the water from the chicken mixture and fry them all together for 5-7 minutes. If you like add more sugar ( I personally like it very sweet) towards the end add a dash of saffron to the chicken.Cook some fluffy rice and dish it up. Enjoy!

Lamb lever scotch egg

2012-05-20T05:42:00.001-07:00

There is a nice and local butcher which I get all my meat from and occasionally they have lamb lever, nice and shiny, I know the best way to cook lamb lever (at least for Iranians) is to dice it and skew it and grill on a BBQ, but at the flat I am living, I cannot BBQ (sigh) . On the other hand, I love scotch eggs, but to be honest the idea of it being deep fried does not go very well with my diet, so here is my oven baked lamb lever scotch egg. The recipe is for one (quite big) ball of scotch egg :-)
Lamb lever: 200 grams
Egg boiled: 1
Bread crumbs: 1 cup
Salt and pepper: to taste
Vegetable oil: 1Tsp

Chop or blend the lever until it is like a lumpy mash, add bread crumbs, salt and pepper to the mixture. Wrap it completely with a boiled egg. You don't need to dip it in beaten egg as the mashed lever is quite moist any way and you can just cover it with breadcrumbs. Put it on an oven tray covered with a bit of vegetable oil and let it be for around 20-25 minutes in a 190degrees oven. Serve it with nice greens with a dash of balsamic.

Celery Khoresh

2012-05-20T05:21:00.002-07:00

Celery is one of my favorite greens and they say they are really good for burning fat. This is recipe is a khoresh with celery and fresh/dried herbs, its tasty and refreshing and like other types of khoresh, its great for dinner parties as you can make it beforehand and it goes a long way. So here is the recipe for 2-3.
Onion: 1 medium
Celery : 4-5 sticks-diced (2-3 cm pieces)
Lamb: 5-6 pieces- diced
Dried herb (Dill, parsley): 2 Tsp
Dried lime/ lemon juice: 1-2 (to taste)
Water (boiled): 1 pint
Beef cube: 1
Turmeric: 1tsp
Salt and pepper: to taste
Vegetable oil : 1 Tsp

Fry the onion in the pan until nice and golden, add the celery and fry them as well. Add the lamb and a lot of pepper (black pepper), turmeric , do not add the salt yet or the lamb will go chewy, also the beef cube which we will add towards the end is quite salty, so taste before adding any more salt. Add the dried lime and the herbs and introduce them to each other in the pan, add the boiled water to the mixture and let it be until the lamb is tender (around 1 hour or so). Then add the beef cube and maybe some lemon juice to taste. Serve it with nice fluffy rice with maybe a dollop of yogurt.

Mirza Ghasmei- Aubergine , tomato and egg

2012-03-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy lately with my PhD work and spending most of the time eating soup, to make things nice and happy again my mom made this Iranian dish which is my all time favourite and mom make it really well. It is called Mirza Ghasemi and here is the recipe. It serves 3-4.

Ingredients:
Garlic: 5 cloves- crushed
Aubergine: 2 Medium
Egg: 2 Medium
Chopped tomato: 1 tin
Tomato pure: 1Table spoon
Veg oil: 2 Table spoon
Salt, pepper and turmeric : to taste

Grill the Aubergines in the oven until it is all smoky and burnt on the edges, it would be even best if you can grill them on the BBQ, the smoky taste is priceless :-), peel their skins and chop them and put them aside.
Fry the chopped tomato with oil, garlic , pepper, turmeric and tomato pure in a frying pan until it is all golden , add two eggs , do not scramble the eggs, let them get some sort of shape.Add the aubergines to the combination and let them all sweat for 5-10 minutes in the frying pan, serve it with rice or pitta bread. Bon appetit!

Chicken with prune and plum (Khoresh)

2012-02-21T02:26:00.005-08:00

My friend is gone now, but before she leave she cooked this fantastic plum khoresh with chicken, I myself cook it with lamb but this was something new for me and definitely worth sharing. This serves 2-3.
Ingredients:
Chicken: 6 pieces

Dried black prune and plum: 1.5 cup
Lime: 2
Salt, pepper, turmeric: 1tsp each
Tomato paste: 1Tsp
Sugar: 1 Tsp
Saffron: 0.25 tsp
Water:1.5 cup
Onion: 1 medium
Veg oil

Rob the spices on the chicken pieces really well, in a sizzling hot pan fry the chicken until golden on all sides. Mix the tomato paste, water and half of the lime juice and pour the mixture into the pan, add the saffron and reduce the heat for 15 minutes.
Chop the onion finely and fry them in a separate frying pan until golden, when its almost ready add the prunes and plums and fry them with the onion as well.
Add the plum, prune and onion mixture to the chicken and add 1Tsp sugar and the rest of the lime. Let it all steam together for about 10 minutes and serve it with rice or even naan bread. Enjoy!

Pomegrenate and walnut khoresh ( fesenjoon)

2012-02-19T08:43:00.001-08:00

My friends stayed over the weekend and she cooked this tradintional khoresh which is a nation's favourite and taste fantastic. So enough with the marketing and here's the recipe. This serves 3-4.

Ingredients:
Onion: 2 medium
Chicken: 5-6 large pieces
Pomegranate paste: 1 bottle
Walnut: 2 cups
Water: 2 cups
Salt, turmeric
Veg oil
Sugar : 1 Tsp ( optional)

Chop and fry the onion really well until golden add 1tsp turmeric , add the chicken mix it with the onion and add the water, let it half cook for 15 minutes. Crush the walnut really well and add it to the mixture, add the pomagrante paste, put the mixture on really low heat and let it be for 70-90 minutes, this is until the khoresh changed colour to darkish brown and the walnut oil is oozing out. If half way through you think that the chicken is melting and shreading remove it from the pan and add towards the end again. Serve it with nice and fluffy rice and dig in!

Ghorme sabzi khoresh

2012-02-16T11:14:00.001-08:00

This Khoresh ( Iranian stew) is one of my favourites and its packed with herbs and all the good stuff. This serves 2-3.

Ingredinets:
Onion:1 large
Diced lamb: 5-6 pieces
Chopped chives, coriander, parsely and fenugreek: 1.5 cup
Red kidney beans: 1 tin
Dried lime: 3
Stock cube:1
Rice: 2 cups
Veg oil
Salt, pepper and turmeric
Water

Chop the onion and fry it in a pan until golden, add the lamb and turmeric, pepper. In a seperate pan fry the chopped herbs and add it to the lamb. Cover the mixture with water and add a beef stock cube and dried limes and let it stew for around 90 minutes on a low heat. When its around 70 minutes in add the red kidney beans.
Prepare the rice, cover the rice with water and add a dash of salt and veg oil, put the lid on until the rice is nice and fluffy. Now all is ready, enjoy!

Saffron blast -Meshkoofi

2012-02-16T01:47:00.001-08:00

Meshkoofi is an Iranian dessert and is perfect for dinner parties because you can make it the night before. Well I have a guest coming over tonight and this is going to be the dessert, although its going to be the two of us, this is easily good for 4-5 people. I know I am greedy :-)

Ingredients:
Sugar : 5.5. table spoon
Milk: 1.5 pint
Corn flour: 4.5 table spoon
cold water: 1/3 pint
Rose water: 1 table spoon
Saffron: 1.5 tea spoon
Flaked almonds: a handful
dried rose for decoration

Mix the corn flour with the cold water and prepare the saffron ( as I explained before). In a large pan, add milk, sugar and the corn flour mixture, on a low-medium heat stir the mixture gently until it is thick like custard , add flaked almonds and rose water, the reason for adding the rose water towards the end is to keep the aroma as much as possible and not heat it all away. Pour the thick and beautiful mixture in something transparent (e.g. serving pyrex) and decorate it with almonds and dried roses. let it cool in the fridge for 3-4 hours and dig in.