Week 46 - Sweden and Turkenistan

Never heard of Turkenistan before, and I am not afraid to say that. There are so many countries in the world, that it has been nice to discover new ones and the locations of different places. To quote Lonely Planet's website "....plenty of visitors still think of Turkmenistan as a sort of totalitarian theme park. But the least-visited of Central Asia’s countries is far more than this – it's an ancient land of great spirituality, tradition and natural beauty" (accessed Nov2017). The images I found of Yangykala Canyon where amazing and it seems that gas and electricity are free! Another historic place is Ancient Merv, one of the most important cities along the Silk Roads of Central Asia. Founded around the 6th century BCE, it flourished as an administrative, trading, military& religious centre – becoming perhaps the third largest city in the world in the 10th century CE. Although some sites also say that it was in 330 BC, that Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria, which later became Merv. Regardless, it is an historic site, worthy of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We had Turkmen Shepheds pie! A specialty of Turkmen shepherds, ichlekli (pronounced ishlekli) is a meat pie that was traditionally baked by burying it in hot sand and embers. Nowadays, ichlekli is baked in the oven but the traditional technique is still kept alive by local enthusiasts.

Içlekli – Turkmen Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 4
For the filling:
500 g beef or lamb
1 tomato, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
½ bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
Pinch of ground red pepper
8 tablespoons water
For the dough:
50 g butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
300 ml lukewarm water
500 g flour

1. Begin by partially freezing the meat for easier slicing. Then cut the meat into thin slices. Stack the slices, cut them into thin strips, then cut the strips crosswise into tiny pieces. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. In another large bowl, mix all the dough ingredients together and work to a soft dough. Divide the dough in half and roll each half between your palms into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
3. Take one ball of dough, sprinkle some flour on it and roll it out to a circle of about 30 cm in diameter. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1 cm border.
4. Roll out the remaining ball of dough to the same size as the first and place it over the filling. Fold the edge over itself and press down firmly to seal.
5. Cut a small hole in the center of the pie to allow steam to escape, and prick the rest of the surface with a fork. Brush the top of the pie with water. Bake at 250°C (482°F) on the middle rack until the top is light brown, about 25 minutes. Serve right away.
Source: http://turkmenkitchen.com/en/2012/09/07/turkmen-shepherds-pie/ (accessed Nov2017)

We also had some delicious biscuits from Sweden, to make a change. The recipe did make quite a few and I did some thin, which is the traditional way and some thicker, which is our preferred way. To be fair, we liked them thick or thin; A picture of both options!

Pepparkakor (Swedish Cookies)

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, softened
150g castor suger
1 egg
1 tbsp. treacle
1 tbsp. syrup
250g plain flour (although I seemed to need much more, maybe too much syrup!)
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice

Method
1. With an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, syrup and treacle. Sift together the flour, salt and spices. Add the flour mixture to the biscuit batter and bring it all together to form a dough.
2. Knead briefly until smooth, place in a plastic bag and chill for 1 hour.
3. Pre heat the oven to 180C 350F Gas4. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 3mm, and cut out shapes with pastry cutters.
4. transfer the biscuits to several non stick baking sheets and bake in the top third of the oven for 10mins, until the edges darken slightly. Leave on the tray a few minutes to cool and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. ( I did my thins ones for 7 mins and the thicker for 10)

Source: 'Step by Step Baking' Caroline Bretherton, DK Books, 2011.

Week 45 - Spain

Just the one country this week, as it is a week that ends with a '0' or '5'. Spain, we love Spanish food; in particular Tapas. But, I have recently been sorting out lots of recipes collected from various magazines and I came across a Spanish meatball recipe, so I opted to do this one. It was enough for 8, so on the first day my husband and I had it with pasta and he scored it a 9, the only reason it didn't make a 10 was I had some Olives left over that I chucked it - and they were not part of the recipes and they are not his favourite. However, they added to the dish, in my humble opinion.

The left overs were had with small roasted pots, and a courgette and pepper tapas dish which is simply roasted veg in tomato sauce; sauce I used from the meatballs. All very tasty.





I am not sure how authentic these are, but they tasted as good as some we have had in Spain!

Albóndigas

Ingredients:
Meatballs:
85g Serrano ham
2 gloves of peeled garlic
50g white breadcrumbs
3tbsp milk
500g lean mince beef
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
large handful of chopped parsley (optional)
1 egg
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. olive oil

Sauce:
2 tbsp. olive oil
5 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 gloves garlic, peeled and crushed
large pinch chilli
2 x 400g tin of tomatoes
2 bay leaves
100ml white wine (optional)

To serve, chopped parsley

1. Pu the ham and garlic in a food processor and finely chop. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients, apart from the flour and oil and mix well.
2. Shape into about 36 meatballs, season flour with black pepper then roll the balls onto it. Heat the oil in a pan and fry some for a few minutes to ensure they are golden; put onto a plate and repeat until all of the meatballs are cooked.
3,. Meanwhile make the sauce, soften the shallots for 10mins in the oil. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and wine (if using) and cook for 10mins more.
4. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 15mins, until the sauce is thicker and the meatballs cooked.
Serve sprinkled with parsley, if you want.

Source: Co-op magazine

Week 44 - Slovenia and Thailand

Zlikrofi, again a good sound, and it was , what I know as, ravioli! (considering how close Slovenia is to Italy I should have realised!) but if you look at the recipe it does mention that you make 150 of these from the ingredients - that is going to take a long time. I made enough for 4; and they were bigger but that still took a little while. But it was a good excuse to listen to something on the radio as I rolled, filled and pinched together. I made a broth from lamb stock, carrots and mushrooms and cooked the ravioli in that for 10 mins, the pork in the ravioli was already fried off.

From Thailand my son picked out a pad thai recipe that we discovered from a previous challenge, so I will not replicate the recipe here - just search for Thailand and you will discover it too. It was lovely, as ever....

Zlikrofi

Dough
250 g flour
2 eggs
2 tbs oil
2 fl oz water
Mix this all together and leave in fridge for 30 mins.

Filling
pork 500g
Spices - chives marjoram

Fry off the prok 500g, which is mixed with chives and marajoram. Leave this to cool.

Broth
Lamb stock
carrots, sliced
mushrooms sliced

Assemble, in any way you fancy! I divided my dough in four. Rolled out two bits nice and thin, but teaspoons of mixture on and then brushed water around the them all and layered the other rolled out dough on top. I have a square cutter, so I used this to try and make them all the same size for cooking.

For cooking, I had lamb stock, carrots and mushrooms simmering for 15 mins, then added the ravioli until cooked. Served with the broth. It was very tasty indeed!

Week 43 Slovakia and Tajikistan

Halusky seemed a nice sounding name for a dish; and as you know I like nice sounding names for dishes! In essence it is gnocchi, now I have made gnocchi before, and last week I mentioned that we were finding this a little challenging, so I opted for bought stuff. To be fair it was fresh and not frozen. I fried up some bacon and piled it on with the cheese, just as most of the recipes appeared to suggest was all that was needed. Now, I don't eat cheese and I think I missed out, as gnocchi and fried bacon isn't something that the Italians would ever write about! The boys liked it with the cheese and bacon, country done....

On the other hand the lamb dish from Tajikistan was similar to that which we should have had from Syria, Plov - pilaf - I cooked the diced lamb for an hour in the oven, in lamb stock  with cumin, garlic, carrots and onions. Then I added the rice and barberries (currants soaked in lemon) and cooked for another hour. I served it all up on a central plate and we all dived in! It was a lovely Sunday meal, lots of chatter and a clean plate! It may not have the approval of the oshpaz, but it had our approval. Simple, but very nice...

I found this on The Guradian website, which sums up Plov nicely:
"Though served all over central Asia, plov is a national obsession in Uzbekistan and across the border in neighbouring Tajikistan, where people pride themselves on their skill in preparing the tasty dish. The most skilled chefs – called oshpaz – can serve plov for up to 1,000 people from a single kazan (cauldron) at weddings and festivals. For Uzbeks, arguably the masters of plov, the dish represents hospitality, community and identity.

Travellers have long noted the qualities – and quantities – of this rice dish. Arminius Vámbéry, in his 1863 book Travels in Central Asia, wrote of a plov prepared in Samarkand: “The princely pilow [plov] … consisted of a sack of rice, three sheep chopped to pieces, a large pan of sheep’s fat (enough to make five pounds of candles) and a small sack of carrots …”"

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jul/30/plov-rice-meat-dish-uzbekistan-national-dish-central-asia (Accessed Nov 2017)

Week 42 - Serbia and Taiwan

Wow, this Apple Pie was anything but lazy, but it was not difficult to make and it was lovely. My dough was more of a sponge than a pastry dough, so I couldn't roll it - even though I followed the instructions. So something went wrong, however it was delicious. A friend had a piece and she agreed, but also said it reminded her of an apple cake her Polish friend made.

I had also found a pineapple cake from Taiwan, but haven't yet made it although I have included the recipe. One day I will get around to it. [Have been reminded by my husband that I will not be making this cake, as he cannot eat Pineapple! We shall see....] We are all getting a little tired of this challenge, so many different foods and as my husband says, when we come across a gem (such as this cake) we never have it again! I think they are worried that they will get lost in my never ending pile of recipes. I hope that these logs will allow me to find them and do them again.

Lenja pita sa jabukama (Lazy apple pie)

(enough for 4 people) - I made a tray and cut into 9 pieces!

Ingredients:

• 200 g margarine,
• 100 g lard,
• 400 g sugar,
• 4 eggs,
• 2 cups of milk,
• 600 g flour,
• 1 sachet of baking powder,
• vanilla sugar,
• 1 kg sour apples.

Preparation:

1. Stir together 200 g of margarine and 100 g of lard, add 10 tablespoons of sugar and 4 egg yolks and continue stirring well.
2. Add 2 cups of milk, 600 g of flour mixed with a baking powder and vanilla sugar. Knead the dough.
3. Put more than half of dough in greased baking pan, then well beat 4 egg whites with 6 tablespoons of sugar and pour over the dough in the pan. Add 1 kg of sour grated apples to all of that.
4. Spread the rest of the dough to form the crust that fit pan shape and place it over filling.
5. Place the pie into the medium heated oven and bake until the crust is golden brown.
6. Sprinkle powder sugar over warm pie.

Source: http://www.serbiancookbook.com/food-recipes/desserts/page/2/ (Accessed Nov2017)

Taiwanese Pineapple Tarts/Shortcakes Recipe

Ingredients:
2 stick butter (1 stick of butter = 113 grams)
1/2 Tbsps shortening
2 Tbsp Icing sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pineapple essence (optional)
3 cups All-purpose flour
2 Tbsps Milk Powder
2 Tbsp cornflour

Method:
Cream butter, shortening and icing sugar till light and fluffy for around 8 minutes.
Add in egg and essence if using.
Fold in all purpose flour, cornflour and milk powder. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Divide dough into 30 pcs and wrap with the pineapple filling.
Press it onto the square mould and bake it at 170 celcius for 15 – 20 minutes and turn it around to bake for another 15 minutes or till brown.
Source: http://rasamalaysia.com/taiwanese-pineapple-tarts-recipe/2/ (accessed Nov 2017)

Pineapple Paste

Ingredients:

• 250 gm of fresh pineapple. Diced roughly
• Sugar
• Lemon (juice)
• Corn flour (mix ½ Tbsp corn flour with ½ Tbsp water and mix to a homogeneous slurry)

Method:

1. Homogenise the pulp in a kitchen processor.
2. Strain off the juice and retain the pulp mass.
3. Transfer the pulp with sugar and an amount of lemon juice, appropriate to your preference, into a brass pot. (Amount of lemon depends on the variable sweetness of the fruit)
4. Simmer for 30 minutes to cook and thicken the paste by reduction.
5. Add the mixed corn flour slurry and mix this quickly,  but completely into the pineapple jam.  Turn off the heat immediately to prevent scorching of the corn flour. Any uncooked flavour of the corn flour will be cooked out in the baking process. The cornf lour stiffens the paste making it somewhat easier to roll and hold the shape of the ball during preparation. It can be made without the corn flour.
6. The resulting paste is now suitable for making the Pineapple Tarts.

Notes:
Additional flavourants are added by many Asian and Eurasian cooks to this jam including cinnamon, star anise and pandan leaf during the cooking.

Source: http://ediblyasian.info/recipes/pineapple-paste-for-pineapple-tarts (Accessed Nov 2017)

Week 41 - San Marino and Syria

What a combination! San Marino a tiny little state that over the centuries has held on to its independence, and Syria (at time of writing Oct 2017) a place that even Lonely Planet hasn't got an entry about and advises to avoid at all cost.

However, my sister-in-law lives in Lebanon and she has been to Syria several times, saying that the place and people are just as nice as anywhere else. She gave me a wonderful recipe book, and in side there I found a lamb dish.

Pasta Roses with Cheese & Ham

Serves 6-8
Nidi di Rondine -” Swallow’s Nests” is a popular pasta dish in San Marino. It is a quick way of making a filled pasta. It is pretty and looks difficult to make but isn’t ! The classic rosettes are filled with a little béchamel sauce sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano and topped with sliced cooked ham and fontina cheese.
Ingredients:

• 1 Package lasagna pasta noodles
• 1 cup béchamel sauce, directions below
• 3/4 lb. prosciutto or ham, sliced thin
• 1 1/3 cup Fontina or Emmenthal cheese, thin slices
• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
• Parmigiano Reggiano to sprinkle on top

Directions:
To make the Béchamel:

• 2 tablespoons (Wondra) flour,
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup milk
• salt
• 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Whisk milk and flour in a saucepan together, add butter and place pan over moderate high heat.
Keep whisking until sauce thickens. Season with salt and the 2 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
To pre-cook the pasta:
Cook just 3 lasagna pieces at a time in salted boiling water. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen towels. Turn them over to dry on both sides.
Pre-heat the oven to 375° F.
To fill and assemble the Rosettes:
Coat the bottom of a large baking dish with 1 cup of the marinara sauce.
Spread a thin layer of béchamel on the pasta pieces, then sprinkle with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and place slices of prosciutto or ham and cheese on top.
Roll up each in piece into a cylinder. Place them close together cut side up in baking dish.  Continue the process until the dish is full – if you have space left use crumpled balls of foil to fill in the space and keep the rolls upright.
Use kitchen scissors to nick the rolls in a few places and pull out pasta “petals” turning them down a little so they stay open during baking. See picture above.
Dot the top of the pasta roses with the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the “roses” are crisp and golden.
Source: https://jovinacooksitalian.com/2012/10/31/the-cuisine-of-italy-san-marino/ (accessed Nov 2017)

Week 40 - Russia

Week 40, I am still behind as I should be on Week 44 - however I am slowly catching up. Russia this week and I used my mothers old cook book for inspiration. However, it did not turn out how it should have but it was really nice and scored highly. But, as my poor husband commented, it was probably one of those dishes we really liked but would never taste again.....

I have included a photo from my mums cookbook to show how it should have looked; however I forgot to take a picture of how it did look! But I love the comment attached to it....

Basically I did what the recipe said but I did not have as much butter to cook it in as they stated, nor did I have it as hot as they stated. So, I cooked it all on the outside until it held its shape. Then I cut it into bits, then continued cooking. I served on a Russian inspired rice, which was rice cooked in chicken broth with mushrooms, and peas and it was very nice indeed.

Here is the recipe...

For two, the original recipe said 1 chicken, and slice off the breasts - no wonder they thought it extravagant!

2 chicken breasts, 2oz butter, 2oz chopped mushrooms, egg and breadcrumbs, clarified butter for frying. salt and pepper.

Slice a thin fillet about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide from the breast (this was not easy!)
Run a sharp knife into the flesh of the breast and right round to make an envelope. Take the fillet and wrap it firmly around 1oz butter.
Put this inside the envelope with mushrooms and salt and pepper and close firmly.
Sprinkle the stuffed breast with flour, dip first in egg and then in breadcrumbs and fry in hot clarified butter for 5 mins.

It was nice and I would do a revised version again....

Week 39 Romania and Sri Lanka

We love sausages, and whenever I see a recipe linked with sausages I tend to steer towards it. These more so, as they had no skins which can be tricky if you do not have a nifty little machine that helps you out. The Romanian version did not let us down, they were easy to make as well as being very tasty. I did a sort of veg stew to go with them, based on ratatouille ingredients as well as a baked potato, delicious. We also liked the name of them, and I love a good sounding name of a dish!

Sri Lanka was a little different, we had a curry; which sounded like a good idea but exploring to find an 'authentic' recipe opened up the usual issue of there being so many slightly different versions of a theme. So, I decided - on this occasion - to join in and create my own version. The boys and I liked it, so country ticked off as done.  I used cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, coconut milk, dill and veg and served with plenty of rice. There are better recipes out there, but we liked this one.

The story has it a popular mid-19th-century Romanian Inn, famous for its sausages, was out of a customer favorite. To save time, the chef formed the unstuffed meat mixture into sausage-shaped cylinders and grilled them over charcoal. The customers delighted in "the wee ones without skin," and so these case less sausages became known as mititei or "the wee ones."

Mititei also can be made with lamb or pork or a combination, and formed into patties or meatballs and grilled, broiled, pan-fried or baked in the oven. Indoor grills work great, too.

Ingredients
1 pound ground chuck
1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
3 to 9 finely chopped garlic cloves or to taste
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or to taste
1 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika or to taste
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to Make It

Place 1 pound ground chuck, 1 pound ground pork, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons water, 3 to 9 minced garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons thyme, 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika, 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, 1 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl and mix thoroughly, wetting your hands frequently to keep the meat moist. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
Using slightly dampened hands, divide mixture into 18 equal portions and form into oval sausages about 3 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick.
Grill, broil or pan-fry 7 minutes per side or bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Serve with tomato and green onion salad, sour cream sprinkled with paprika, baked potato or french fries, or rice.
"Mititei" make great appetizers and are wonderful cold the next day in a sandwich.
Source: https://www.thespruce.com/romanian-sausages-recipe-mititei-1137277

Week 38 - Portugal and Singapore

Wow, what a week for food. We had some wonderful empanadas from Portugal, with tuna as the filling. My boys enjoyed having some the next day for their packed lunches. The Singapore recipe scored highly with my husband as he loves beef and found the beef not only tender, but also tasty. So, a good week all round; even the weather was interesting as this week we had a very orange day - caused either by sand from the Sahara or just a quirky nature day!

Recipe For Beef Kway Teow

Ingredients
300 g lean filet of beef
600 g rice noodles (fresh or dry) or kway teow (if dry, blanch them till they are 95% cooked)
100 g chinese chives (optional)
500 g bean sprouts, with roots and heads removed
6 tablespoons canola oil
4 slices ginger
5 garlic cloves, minced

Beef Seasoning:
1 1/2 tablespoons soya sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese wine
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:
Slice beef thinly against the grain.
Mix the beef with all the seasoning ingredients except the sesame oil and canola oil.
Leave the beef to marinate for 20 minutes; then add the sesame and canola oil.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a wok, stir fry the chives and bean sprouts till they are slightly limp. Set them aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok, fry the garlic till crispy and golden.
Add rice noodles and stir fry for about 4 minutes till lightly browned.
Set the noodles aside.
Heat remaining oil in wok, add beef, remaining marinade and ginger slices.
Stir fry beef till colour changes.
Add rice noodles and bean sprouts, stir fry till everything is well coated. Serve hot.
Source: www.singaporelocalfavourites.com/2009/09/beef-kway-teow.html

Empanadas

Makes 12

Dough
8 oz Plain flour
1.5 oz marg
1 egg
4 tbls water

Filling
1 small tin of tuna
1 small tin of tomatoes (or fresh)
basil and corander
(I also put a splash of chilli jam in mine!)
onion, finely diced

Fry the onion, then add the tuna and tomatoes and simmer for 8-12 mins. Once cooked, then let it cool completely.
Make the dough by sifting the flour and then rubbing in the marg. Add a beaten egg with the water and form a stiff dough. Pop the dough in the fridge for 30mins.
Pre-heat the oven to 190C, 350F.
I divided my dough into 12 pieces and roll out. You could roll the larger piece and use a cutter. I then divided my filling into 12 bits - which equalled roughly a teaspoon. Put the filling in each circle of dough and seal with water. Place on a tray and brush with eggwash. Cook for about 25 - 30 mins.
Serve warm, but can be eaten the next day in packed -lunches!
This is my own variation of several recipes.

Week 37 - Poland and Qatar

Wow, I nearly scored a 10 with the dish from Qatar and it had no meat in it! Those of you that have dipped into this blog will know that my husband loves his meat. However, I couldn't add it as I had pork and Qatar is pork-free; although we do not follow their beliefs; I felt I should follow it for their food. This meant a vegetarian dish for us.

It seemed that there were three dishes - all beginning with M - that were linked with Qatar (it is so strange typing that without putting in the 'u' after the 'q'!). Of these three dishes I liked the name 'Margooga' so I explored how to cook this. And, as is so often the way there are as many variations as there are families! So, I took the core ingredients and made it my own. I also did Batata b'kamun - again for the name - but also as it is potatates and my husband loves his spuds!

My Margooga

Ingredeints:
Cougette, diced
Carrots, diced
coriander - fresh
coriander - ground
lemon
chillies ( I used flakes)
ginger, ground
turmeric, ground
onion, finely diced

I fried off the onion, and then put in the spices and allowed them to become fragrant. Then I added the carrots, courgette and lemon and mixed them up a little. A splash of water just at the bottom and then allowed the veg to cook. As the water level lowered I added a little more so it was not all liquid and also not catching on the bottom of the pan.

Cumin Seed Potatoes | Batata b'kamun

Serves 4 -6

Ingredients

2lbs baby potatoes (red, gold, or mix)
1/4cup vegetable oil
1Tbsp cumin seed
1 onion, chopped
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp ground turmeric
chili powder, to taste
salt
pepper
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 lemons, sliced (for garnish)

Instructions

Set a pot of potatoes to boil and cook until tender. Our small golden potatoes only took about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, fry up those cumin seeds in some vegetable oil until fragrant and just beginning to color (30 seconds to a minute).

Toss on the onions and cook until “meltingly” soft. Then stir in all the spices, salt, and pepper.
Halve or quarter your potatoes, as desired, and add to the onion mixture. Squeeze on a little lemon juice, as desired.
Toss until completely coated with golden, sweet spiced goodness. Serve hot with fresh lemon slices.


Source: Recipe Copyright Sasha Martin, Global Table Adventure. For personal or educational use only.

 

Week 36 Norway and Philippines

We have eaten Norwegian food before, so I re-did the Lemon and Cardamom biscuits that we liked from the last time we did a food challenge. I have repeated the recipe below.

As for the Philippines, well I took several recipes and created my own spin on it, I needed to as there are various foods my dear husband cannot have. But, I did stay true to the core of the flavours. So much so, my son asked for this dish again on his birthday! I am so glad I noted what I did so I could repeat it for him.

We called it

Sausage Stir-fry...

Ingredients
Sausages (I used Lincolnshire, as I wanted them to be 'spicy', but not over spicy)
soya sauce
minced garlic
Pak Choi
Mushrooms
Red pepper
Noodles

Using scissors chop the sausages into 5 chunks.
Pop them into a plastic container with as much minced garlic as you like, as well as generous splashes of soya sauce. Put the lid on and shake! Then pop into the fridge for at least 3-4 hours.
Heat some sesame oil in a big wok and then drop the meat and marinade in; stir fry until cooked. Add the chopped mushrooms and peppers; then the pak choi. Lastly add the noodles.
Serve and enjoy!

Cardamom and lemon stamped cookies

Makes 24

Source: Hairy Bikers

Cardamom is a really popular spice in Norway, used in many cake and biscuit recipes. Some say the spice was first brought back to the country hundreds of years ago by Vikings who worked as mercenaries in what was then Constantinople (now Istanbul). 

Ingredients

225g/8 oz butter, softened

150g/5½ oz caster sugar

1 lemon, zest only

250g/9 oz plain flour

100g/3½ oz ground almonds

3 tsp ground cardamom or 1 heaped tsp cardamom seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment.
2. Using an electric hand-whisk, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the flour, almonds and cardamom until the mixture is well combined and comes together to form a stiff dough.
4. Roll the dough into 24 balls and place 12 on each baking tray – make sure you leave space between each one.
5. Press each cookie with a cookie stamp or the bottom of a glass to flatten and leave decorative indentations in the dough.
6. Bake a tray at a time for 12–14 minutes until the cookies are pale golden brown.
7. Leave them to cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. They will crisp up as they cool. Store the cookies in an airtight tin and eat within 7 days

Week 35 - Netherlands

Just the one this week, which takes the pressure off a little. We loved Netherlands when we visited there Summer 2016; we ate some lovely food and I think our favourite was the fish we had one lunch-time. A recommendation of my husbands cousin's son who lives there.   

                                       
                            

We had a chicken stew, which I have made before on a previous challenge. But on this occasion I made a couple of slight changes, based on the comments we made and we all loved it. It was very tasty, and just what we needed on a wet autumn day.

Oudejaarspot - New Years' Eve Chicken Stew

one chicken (at least 1 kilogram)
salt, pepper,
50 grams butter
1 small white or bok choy cabbage
2 large onions
2 large carrots
2 red bell peppers
500 grams potatoes
½ celery root
¼ liter chicken stock
½ liter red wine
2 cloves garlic
piece of mace aril
2 baguettes or French breads
butter


Thoroughly clean the chicken inside and out, then pat dry and quarter it. Rub the pieces with salt and pepper, heat the butter and quickly brown the four pieces on all sides in a large skillet or pot. Clean and dice the vegetables (discard the seeds of the peppers) and potatoes. Mince the garlic.

Add the stock, wine, vegetables, potatoes and garlic to the chicken, salt and pepper to taste and put in the piece of aril. Cover the pot or skillet, turn down the heat and cook the stew for 60-75 minutes on low heat. Stir the stew once in a while. Serve with oven-warm, crisp bread and butter.
Source: http://www.godutch.com/newspaper/recipes.php?id=45

Week 34 Montenegro and Pakistan

A successful week of food, a lovely curry and some nice rolled meat.

Pakistan was a biryani, using boiled meat. I wasn't too sure how this was done. So, instead of boiling on the stove I put the meat in water in the oven and cooked slowly that way (as I was using the oven for something else, it made more sense and made me feel like I was doing something for the environment!) Mine did not look quite like the pictures I saw, however we all really enjoyed it and I will use it as a basis for another curry.

So, we had an experiment this week from Montenegro. A dish I found reference to on the
http://balkans-guide.com/montenegro/montenegrin-cuisine/ website, but I couldn't find a recipes. So, using the description I came up with my version - now I don't deep-fry, so after browning I popped it into the over for half an hour and we all enjoyed it!

Podgorica popeci is prepared with a piece of cheese or ham wrapped in the steak veal, then breaded and fried. I flattened out beef steaks, as I couldn't get veal, then put some cured ham and then some smoked cheese for the boys. I rolled this up, dipped in egg and then in breadcrunbs. Fried it off, then in the warmed oven for 30 mins. I did serve it with Blitva, which my husband thought was a poor version of bubble and squeak and Ajvar - which I thought was amazing and good for a BBQ!

Blitva (chard and potatoes)

500g potatoes cut into 1-2cm pieces
3 tbsp olive oil, for frying
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
200g chard, leaves shredded (I would urge you to pick out stalks, as these tasted foul!)

1.  Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 10 minutes, or until just cooked. Drain well.
2.  Heat the oil in a large pan and add the garlic. Stir-fry for a minute before adding the potatoes and tossing them in the garlic oil until lightly browned.
3.  Add the chard and cook with the potatoes until wilted. Season well.

Ajvar

4 red peppers
1 aubergine
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt and black pepper

1.  Heat a griddle pan (or grill) until hot. Add the peppers and grill on each side until charred all over. Remove and put in a bowl. Cover with clingfilm.
2.  Prick the aubergine all over with a fork, and grill on the griddle until charred all over. When the aubergine is soft, remove from the grill.
3.  Remove the skin and seeds from the peppers. Skin the aubergine and put its flesh in a food processor with the garlic. Blitz until smooth.
4.  Add the peppers to the food processor and pulse until combined, but still a little chunky. Season and stir in the paprika and vinegar to taste.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/11/blitva-ajvar-recipe-stuffed-cabbage-montenegro-adriatic-feasting-henry-dimbleby-jane-baxter

Chinioti Biryani

Ingredients

• Rice (soaked) ½ kg
• Beef (boiled) ½ kg
• Yogurt 250 gms
• Tomatoes 250 gms
• Green Chilies Powder 2 tbsp
• Coriander Powder 2 tsp
• Salt 2 tsp
• Red Chilies Powder 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder ½ tsp
• Mix Garam Masala 1 tbsp
• Star Anise 4
• Nutmeg Powder ½ tsp
• Mace Powder ½ tsp
• Finely Chopped Ginger 1 tbsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste 1 tbsp
• Plum 50 gms
• Coriander Leaves ½ bunch
• Mint Leaves ½ bunch
• Yellow Food Color ½ tsp
• Oil 4 tbsp oil
• Onions (fried) 1 tsp

Cooking Directions

1. In a pan, add 2 1/2 glasses water, yogurt, turmeric powder, red chilies powder, salt, oil, mix garam masala powder, ginger garlic paste, nutmeg and mace powder, star anise and mix it.
2. Add boiled beef in spice mixed water and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Then add yogurt, yellow food color and rice. Cook until water dries and rice 80% cook.
4. Now spread fried onions, tomatoes, plum, coriander leaves, mint leaves, finely chopped ginger and oil.
5. Let it simmer for 10-12 minutes, removes from the stove. Dish out and serve.

Week 33 - Monaco and Oman

We should be on week 36, but I have only reached week 33 as I have had some time of from doing this. I will still do all the countries, but sometimes life is way more important and it does not mean I have given up it just means I had to focus my attention elsewhere for a bit. Whilst I have been updating this blog from week 20, which has taken a bit of doing. I have been very aware of how dry it is and the lack of pictures. Some blogs have too much information, but I think this lacks. So, I felt I ought to explain. This is not a fancy site, it is simply a means to record the recipes we have done while doing a family challenge.

So, week 33 over half way and Monaco and Oman, what have we got...

O'man, is what my husband had to say for the dish from here. Both he and my son loved it, in particular the chicken. I think I scored 10's for this one. I discovered that I don't do lentils, my tummy was really poorly after this so I scored it low. However, the chicken was a winner and I am sure I will do that again and a tummy-friendly version of the rice to go with it and maybe some veg; but not sure what.  For the same meal we had s dessert from Monaco, which apparently was a favourite of Prince Albert; hence the use of strawberries. Well, we prefer cherries, so I used them instead. This scored 10's all round too - plus I have a picture!

Monaco Millefeuille

Serves: serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 C milk
• ¾ C sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthwise
• 3-1/2 TBS corn flour
• ¼ C butter
• ⅔ C whipping cream
• Other needed ingredients:
• 1-1/2 LBS fresh strawberries
• Puff pastry sheets
• ½ C White Frosting recipe follows:
• Recipe for White Frosting:
• 1 C milk
• ¼ C all-purpose flour
• ½ C shortening
• ½ C butter
• 1 C white sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Slice vanilla pod lengthwise; add to a pan along with the milk and 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, beat together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl. Whisk corn flour into egg mixture. Remove milk from heat and add the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Remove vanilla pod and return to low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for about two minutes. Pour mixture into a bowl; add the butter one small cube at a time. When butter has been incorporated, set aside to cool. Stir occasionally so mixture cools and thickens evenly.
2. Prepare Puff Pastry. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Roll out puff pastry into three sheets. Layer with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least thirty minutes. Layer each pastry sheet on waxed paper and set on baking trays. Place in oven and bake for thirty-five minutes. When pastry rises and turns golden, remove from oven. Set a plate on top of each pastry sheet; set aside to cool.
3. Make the White frosting
4. In a small saucepan, combine milk and flour. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. When milk mixture is cool, add butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer for ten to twelve minutes, scraping the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Refrigerate frosting about thirty minutes before using.
5. After pastries have cooled, spread icing on smoothest side of each pastry sheet. Place in a preheated 425-degrees F oven. Bake for about four minutes, or until lightly caramelized. Allow the pastry to cool, then proceed to assemble the cake. Whip the cream; fold through the custard mix.
6. Place a sheet of pastry on a serving plate; add layer of cream. Clean and snip strawberries; slice and add a layer to cake. Repeat layering until three sheets of pastry have been assembled. Use whole strawberries to decorate the top of the cake. Cut into slices and serve.

Source: http://www.internationalcuisine.com/monaco-fraise-millefeuille/

Maqbous

Source: https://blog.arousingappetites.com

Prep 30 mins

Cook 1 hour

Inactive 4 hours

Total 5 hours, 30 mins

Yield 6 people

Ingredients

For the Chicken and Spice Marinade

• 5 chicken thighs (approximately 1 lb)
• 1/2 teaspoon Allspice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon lime powder
• 1 tablespoon salt

For the Rice and Braising Stock

• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 6 pieces cloves
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 2 pieces bay leaf
• 6 pods green cardamom
• 2 pieces white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 2"-piece ginger, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

For the Toppings

• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup chana dal, boiled
• a pinch of saffron
• 1/2 cup rose water

Instructions

Stage 1: Marinating the chicken

1. Start by combining all the spices for the marinade in a bowl. 
2. Place your chicken thighs in the bowl and coat them evenly in the spice mix. Once they're coated, cover the bowl and let it marinate for at least four hours in the refrigerator.
3. At this point, rinse the chana dal and leave to soak in a bowl.

Stage 2: Cooking the chicken

1. Combine your white onion, garlic, ginger, and olive oil in a food processor, and pulse it into a smooth, non-clumpy paste.
2. Roast this paste in a braising pan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Be sure to stir constantly to keep it from burning.
3. Add your cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, and cardamom pods into the pan and roast for 2 more minutes, still stirring constantly.
4. Next up, add in your marinated chicken thighs and sear for about a minute on each side.
5. Pour in just enough chicken stock to cover the chicken about 2/3 to the top.
6. Raise your stovetop heat to bring the stock to a boil, and then cover the pot with a lid and braise on a simmering heat for 20 minutes.
7. When the chicken is done, pull them out of the stock (which you'll save for the rice) and set them on a colander or cooling rack to air-dry for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken skins to draw out any excess moisture.

Stage 3: Cooking the Rice

1. Put the basmati rice in a large bowl and rinse it under a cold running tap until the water runs clear.
2. Next, soak the rice in water for 15 minutes and let it sit.
3. As your rice sits, drain your chana dal and place it into a pot, then cook it on a simmering heat for about 45 minutes after bringing the water to an initial boil.
4. Returning to the rice, drain your bowl and allow the rice to air-dry for 10 minutes.
5. Place your braising pot back on the stovetop and heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir in the rice, coating the grains evenly with oil.
6. Ladle in 4 cups of the cooking stock, including the whole spices.
7. Bring the stock to a boil, put the lid on, and then cook for 18 minutes over the lowest possible heat setting.
8. After 18 minutes, turn off the stovetop heat and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes.
9. After 10 minutes, take off the lid and fluff the rice gently with a meat fork.
10. Soon thereafter, your dal should be fully cooked, so take it off the heat and set aside.

Stage 4: Finishing and Assembling your Maqbous

1. Preheat your oven broiler to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (~220 Celcius)
2. Arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil, then broil for 10-15 minutes.
3. As your chicken broils, soak the raisins in rose water for 5-10 minutes, then drain.
4. Next, soak a pinch of saffron threads in warm water for 5- 10 minutes.
5. Take a pan and heat it over medium-high heat then add a tablespoon of olive oil.
6. Sauté your raisins and almonds for 2-3 minutes. The raisins should puff up. Once they have, take them off the heat and set aside.
7. In the same pan, sauté your cooked chana dal, adding a tablespoon of the saffron-infused water, then set aside.
8. Tint about half of the cooked basmati rice with the rest of your saffron-infused water.
9. Finally, top the basmati rice with dal, raisins, almonds, and the chicken pieces, and enjoy!

Week 32 - Moldova and Nepal

The plachyndy from Moldova was nice, mine did not have the cheese but the others did. Instead of using sorrel, I used spinach and we all enjoyed it. I did a light salad to go with it. The ones which looked as thought they had been over cooked actually tasted better, as the pastry was cooked throughout. So be brave, and let it cook!

The chicken tarkari from Nepal was lovely, I do not normally like putting yogurt in things, but I did and it worked a treat. I did rice to go with it and a roti, using the recipe from a previous country. We all really enjoyed this meal and as my husband said it would be one he would like again - if I can remember to do! The only thing they did not like was the fact I hadn't removed all the cardamom pods, so someone had a nasty surprise...

Chicken Tarkari

Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken, black and white, skinned, boned, and cut into 1.5-in. cubes
2 cups onion, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
5 dried red chilies
1 bay leaf
4 green cardamom, bruised
1 cup yogurt
1 cup broth or water
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 tablespoons cooking oil
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish

Cooking Instructions:

In a large bowl, season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil and brown chicken. Reserve brown chicken in a plate. Drain excess oil.
In a non-stick sauce pan, heat oil. To the hot oil, add whole red chilies and bay leaf; fry for 30 sec. Add turmeric and chopped onion, and fry until brown. Put garlic and ginger into the onion mixture; fry for 30 sec. To this mixture, add cumin powder, curry powder, chili powder, bruised cardamom, salt and pepper; mix well for a minute or so. Transfer browned chicken pieces into the spice mixture; stir well. Add yogurt and broth to the chicken mixture; set heat to low and let simmer until chicken pieces are tender, and the sauce has thickened up to a desired consistency, about 35-45 min. When cooked, turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro to garnish. Serve hot with rice and roti (flat bread).
Source: http://www.explorenepal.com/recipes/polutry/chicken_tarkari.php

Plachyndy

Makes 4
250ml kefir or buttermilk
½ tbsp distilled vinegar
½ tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the filling
50g sorrel, finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 small bunch of dill, chopped (stalks and all)
1 small bunch of parsley, chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp sunflower oil, plus 100ml for frying

1 Add the kefir, vinegar, sugar and salt to a large bowl and mix well with a fork. Sift the flour with the soda into the kefir mixture and mix to obtain a soft and pillowy dough.

2 Heavily flour your work surface, tip out the dough and start kneading, incorporating more flour as needed. The dough should stop sticking to your hands, but it should also remain soft.

3 Mix the sorrel, spring onions, dill and parsley together, then stir through the eggs. You can gently heat this mixture in a pan to help the egg coagulate a little bit, so it’s not too runny when you put it on the pastry.

4 Divide the dough into four equal pieces and flour the surface really well. Roll out each piece of dough, one by one, into a 20cm disc.

5 Moisten the surface of the pastry with about 1 tbsp sunflower oil and spread equal quantities of the filling over the whole surface of each circle.

6 Now for each flatbread, fold opposite sides of the pastry to make a parcel. Then fold the parcels corners into the centre, creating a moneybag shape.

7 Make sure all of the edges are firmly pinched inside, flour the top lightly and gently flatten the moneybag with your rolling pin or with your hand.

8 Heat the remaining 100ml of sunflower oil in a pan until hot and gently lower in each flatbread, one after the other. The first one will take around 4 minutes per side but, as the oil heats up, the next ones will take around 3 minutes per side. You can also brush them with oil and cook them under your grill. The result will be a bit different, but still delicious.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/11/moldovan-recipes-plachyndy-flatbread-olia-hercules

Week 31 - Malta and Mongolia

The boys loved this did, I didn't get a chance to sample it as I do not eat cheese. My husband is a Mac'n'cheese fan, and he rated this highly. We not only loved the name of the Mongolian dish but - despite its look - loved the dish. It was a Russia meets Chinese dumplings meal and was really nice. Two meals that I would never of thought of, and both very successful. Neither of which use unusual ingredients but are just made differently. This is why I wanted to do this challenge and why I continue to do it, even though sometimes it can be very tough.

Imqarrun il-forn - bake macaroni in the Maltese way

Imqarrun il-forn is one of the most favourite dishes for the Maltese; it is very often eaten as a Sunday Lunch. Macaroni with a special bolognaise sauce are baked in the oven until they're golden brown and smelling delicious. This dish is a variety of Timpana, where the macaroni is comes covered in pastry.

Ingredients

      500g dried macaroni
      200g beef mince
      200g pork mince
      200g chicken livers, diced (optional)
      200g bacon, finely diced
      100g onions, finely diced
      4 cloves garlic, crushed
      50g parmesan cheese, grated
      50g Edam cheese, grated
      4 eggs, beaten
      100g tomato paste
      200g tomato purée
      500ml chicken or beef stock
      50g butter
      Salt and pepper 

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Fry onions and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes, add the bacon and pork mince and stir well to separate from each other. Add the beef mince and cook for another 10 minutes. If you want to keep to the tradition, add the chicken liver and cook for 5 more minutes. Pour the stock, mix well and bring to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes and then you can add the tomato paste and purée. 

In the mean time, boil salted water in a large pot and let the pasta cook for a little while. Don't let it cook completely as it will continue cooking in the oven. A bit before al dente is good enough. Drain the pasta and mix with sauce, add the parmesan and the rest of the cheese. Beat the eggs and stir win the mixture to give a thicker consistency.

Take a baking dish and spread some butter so that the pasta doesn't stick. Pour the pasta and add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours and enjoy a delicious traditional Maltese dish!

Source: http://www.malta.com/en/dining/maltese-specialities/imqarrun-il-forn

Buuz – Бууз

Ingredients

Dough

250g Flour

1.5 dl water

Filling

300g Minced lamb (Traditionally, mutton is used, other types of meat such as beef work just as well.
Mongolians consider fat meat to be of higher quality, but there's no problem in using western style lean meat.)

1 onion, minced

2 garlic gloves, minced

3-5 tbls water

Salt pepper caraway seeds

Prepare the filling

Mix the meat onion and garlic, add enough water until the mixture is smooth to work with and salt and spices.

Prepare the dough

Mix the flour and water to create a pliable dough and leave to rest for 15 mins.

Cut the dough into 2cm thick slices and roll.Cut the rolls into pieces of 3 cm, and flatten with a finger.

There are several styles for the pockets, but this is what I did:

Roll each piece into a 7cm circle, making the centre slightly thicker than the edge. Only roll out a couple at a time.  I then put some mixture in the middle and folded up opposite sides and pinched, so I had a ‘square’ shape.  With practice I got the pattern to work well!

The Buuz are cooked in steam and NOT a pressure cooker. Brush the bottom with a little oil and place without touching another. Steam for about 15mins without looking. The mongolians are not known for their vegetables, so two of these are ample for a meal.

Source: http://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/buuz.html

Week 30 - Macedonia

I needed to back these for longer to get the crust all over; as the crusty bits tasted the best, specially with the sausage. The lot was eaten and the boys thought it was good, nothing really wow, but then they are getting a little tired of all the different meals. As my husband said, we have some stars, never to be seen again.....

Tavche Gravche Recipe (Macedonian Baked Beans)

 

These beans can be made as written below, or you can add sliced fried polish sausage. NB: We had sausages with them!

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups white beans
• 2 medium onions (chopped)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 dried red pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons high temperature oil (sunflower, peanut, canola)
• 1 sprig fresh mint or 1 teaspoon dried mint
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried coriander seed
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse beans and place in a medium pot and cover with about six cups water. Water should twice the height of the beans.
2. Add chopped onion, dried pepper, bay leaf and garlic.
3. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to simmer until soft. The required time will depend on the freshness of beans used, usually no more than three hours. (If you want to speed them along, soak the beans in water the night before.)
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
5. Once the beans are soft, heat oil in a small frying pan. Quickly stir in paprika and allow to sizzle for about 10 seconds (or less) until the paprika just begins to change color. (Do not let the paprika get too dark. If it looks dark brown or black it is best to start over with fresh paprika.)
6. Add oil and paprika to the beans, then stir in coriander, mint, salt, and pepper.
7. Pour the bean mixture into an oven safe pan. In Macedonia, an earthen pot would be used, but a cast-iron braising pan works just as well.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a dark brown/black crust forms on top of the beans.

3.2.2802

Source: http://www.thewanderingfig.com/tavche-gravche-macedonian-baked-beans/

Week 29 - Luxembourg and Maldives

The apple cake was lovely, very wet going into the oven but splendid when it came out! This is one that I wish I had taken a picture of.

The curry was good too and I am glad I went to the trouble of making the roshi to go with it; although I only cooked them in the oven so I didn't get the authentic look, however they tasted fine.

Chicken Curry (Kukulhu Rriha)

Even though the ingredients are pretty similar to the fish curry, the chicken curry offers a quite distinctive taste. The following ingredients will amount for a double portion of chicken curry.

• 100g chicken (any part will do)
• &fraq12; tbsp chicken curry powder
• 1 tomato
• 1 medium shallot
• ½ garlic clove
• ½ tsp ginger
• ⅓ tsp turmeric powder
• ⅓ tsp cumin powder
• 1-2 curry leaves
• ½ pandan leave
• ½ Small cinnamon stick
• ½ cardamom
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp coconut cream ( or coconut milk)
• 1 cup Water
• Salt to taste

Cut the meat and vegetables into bite sized pieces and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sear the chicken meat for a couple of minutes. Next add onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, curry and pandan leave and fry until the ingredients are lightly browned. Add the turmeric, cumin, curry powder and tomatos and cook the mixture for a quarter hour. Lastly add water and coconut milk to cover the ingredients and simmer until the gravy thickens. Serve the curry with steamed rice and Roshi.

Roshi              

• 1 cups flour – sifted
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• Warm water

Mix the oil, salt and flour. Then add water while kneading the dough until soft but not sticky. Leave the dough for about an hour before forming equal sized balls and flattening them with a rolling pin. Roast the flattened dough on an oiled metal surface until moderately browned.
Source: http://www.roomsmaldives.com/about/foodandcuisine#curries

 

Dainty Apple Cake | Äppelkuch

Ingredients

Dough

2cups all-purpose flour
2Tbsp baking powder
1stick butter(salted), cubed
1/2cup milk
2 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced in 1/4" pieces

Topping

2 eggs
1cup milk
3/4cup sugar

Garnish

apricot jam, thinned in a little hot water
powdered sugar
ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with dough blade, add flour, sugar and baking powder. Pulse to combine.
Add hunks of butter and pulse until pea sized pieces form.
While pulsing, stream in the milk until a soft, shaggy dough forms one that can easily be pressed together into a ball.
Take the dough and press it into a greased and floured 8" cake pan.
Then slice the apples and press them firmly into the dough, overlapping as you go.
Whisk together the topping ingredients and pour it on top of the cake.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Recipe Notes
Use a 8" cake pan with standard 2" inch sides (no shorter). Do not use a springform pan, as the milk mixture will certainly leak out. The easiest way to remove the cake from cake pan is to let cool until just warm, run a butter knife around the edges, invert onto one dish, then quickly onto a second dish (the serving platter). Comes out perfect every time!
Source:Recipe Copyright Sasha Martin, Global Table Adventure. For personal or educational use only.