Maqluba

Maqluba 

It is a traditional dish of Jordan and Palestine. The dish includes meat, rice, and fried vegetables placed in a pot, which is then flipped upside down when served, hence the name maqluba, which translates literally as "upside-down".When the casserole is inverted, the top is bright red colour from the tomatoes  and rest covered with other vegetables. It is usually served with either Yogurt or simple Arabic salad...

Net Source
 
Today I have made Veg Maqluba..and have adapted the recipe as per the availability of the ingredients in my kitchen...
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Basmati Rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
2 big size Potatoes peeled and cut into thick rounds
2 Eggplants cut into thick round
1 Cauliflower cut into medium florets
3 Tomatoes cut into thick rounds
1 Onion chopped
2 Garlic Clove chopped
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 1/2 tbsp Baharat powder
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
1/2 tsp Allspice powder
Or
***1/2 tsp Cloves powder
     1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder
     1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder***
2 Bay Leaves
Salt to taste
4 1/2 cups of Vegetable stock or water
2 tbsp Oil
Oil to fry the Vegetables
1 tbsp Butter, melted
1 tbsp Almond and Pistachio flakes
Few Raisins and dry Berries  for garnishing

Method
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot, add bay leaves, onions and garlic, stir for 2 minutes.  Add salt, pepper, turmeric powder, cumin powder, allspices powder and baharat powder. Add 4 1/2 cups vegetable stock and let simmer for 10 minutes. Keep it aside.
Take another pan, heat the oil for frying. Add the  eggplant slices and fry it from both sides until golden brown. Take it out and on an absorbent paper, keep it aside. Fry the cauliflower florets and keep it aside. Fry the potatoes and keep it aside.
Take a heavy bottom pot. Grease it with butter. Arrange the tomato, eggplant, potatoes and cauliflower in layers. Pour 1/2 the stock, add the rice and then pour the remaining stock. Cover it and cook it on a low flame. Till the rice is cooked. Let it cool a bit, then carefully flip it up-side down on a serving platter. Garnish it with raisins, berries, almond and pistachio flakes. Serve hot with fresh yogurt or Arabic salad.

Baharat Spice powder
Ingredients
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
2 tbsp Cumin seeds
2 tbsp Pepper Corns
1 tbsp Cloves
2 to 3 sticks of Cinnamon
4 Cardomom
2 tbsp paprika / chill powder
1 small Nutmeg

Method
Blend all the above spices in a blender. Store it in a dry glass container.

   

Cheesy Herb Balls

Cheesy Herb Balls....

This dish can be served as an appetiser.  

 For the Cheese Herb Filling 

Ingredients 

2 cubes Cheddar Cheese grated 

2 Garlic Clove 

1 Green Chilli 

1/2 cup Mint leaves 

1/2  cup Coriander leaves

1/2 cup Spring Onions 

Juice of 1/2 Lime 

Salt to taste

Method 

Add all the above ingredients in a grinder and grind it. 

For the Cottage cheese and Potato Shells

Ingredients

5 medium sized Potatoes boiled 

2 cups Cottage cheese 

4 tbsp All Purpose Flour 

1/4 tsp Cumin powder 

Salt to taste

Method 

Mix and knead all the above ingredients together to form a dough.

To make it....

Ingredients 

Filling 

Dough

6 tbsp All Purpose Flour + 1/4 cup Water -  mix it 

1 cup Bread Crumbs 

Oil to fry

Method 

Divide the dough into equal portions like lemon. Take a portion and flatten it, add 1 tsp of the filling and close the edges of the dough properly and give it a round shape. Repeat the same process. Now dip each balls in the all purpose batter and coat the balls with the bread crumbs. Repeat the dipping and coating process once more. Let it refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Heat oil in a pan. Fry the bombs till golden brown in colour. Serve hot with tomato sauce...

Chicken Massaman Curry...

Chicken Massaman Curry... 

While browsing through the net, I found this very interesting write up regarding this dish. 

Massaman or Matsaman is not a native Thai word. It is generally thought to refer to the Muslims with earlier writers from the mid-19th century calling the dish "Mussulman curry". According to Thai food expert David Thompson, as well as Thai journalist and scholar Santi Sawetwimon, the dish originated in 17th century Central Thailand at the cosmopolitan court of Ayutthaya, through the Persianmerchant Sheik Ahmad Qomi from whom the Thai noble family of Bunnag descends. Other theories contend that massaman is a southern Thai dish, influenced by Malay and Indian cuisine, or that its name is derived from the Malay word masam, which means "sour". The curry is extolled in a poem from the end of the 18th century, attributed to Prince Itsarasunthon of Siam, the later King Rama II (1767-1824). It is dedicated to a lady who is believed to be Princess Bunrot, the later Queen Sri Suriyendra, wife of King Rama II. The second stanza of the poem reads.....

- Massaman, a curry made by my beloved, is fragrant of cumin and strong spices.

- Any man who has swallowed the curry is bound to long for her.

Due to its Muslim roots and therefore Islamic dietary laws, this curry is most commonly made with chicken, but there are also variations on this dish using duck, beef, mutton, goat, or, less commonly so, pork.  As pork is haram meat - forbidden food in Islam - this last variant is of course not eaten by observant Thai Muslims. Vegetarians and vegans have created their own versions of this dish..
The flavors of the massaman curry paste (nam phrik kaeng matsaman) come from spices that are not frequently used in other Thai curries. Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cumin, bay leaves, nutmeg and mace would, in the 17th century, have been brought to Thailand from the Malay Archipelago and South Asia by foreigners, a trade originally dominated by Muslim traders from the Middle East, Indian subcontinent and from the archipelago itself, but increasingly threatened by the Portuguese, the Dutch and French East India Company.These are combined with local produce such as dried chili peppers, cilantro (coriander) seeds,  lemongrass, galangal/ ginger, white pepper, shrimp paste, shallots and garlic to make the massaman curry paste. Massaman curry paste is first cooked with coconut milk, before adding in the other ingredients. Massaman is usually eaten with rice, in a meal together with other dishes. There are also traditional versions using oranges, orange juice, or pineapple juice as additional ingredients.

Net source........

I have adapted this recipe as per the ingredients available in my kitchen.. 

For the Curry Paste
Ingredients
4 Dried Chillies 
1 small Onion sliced 
6 Garlic cloves 
1 small piece Ginger 
1 Lemongrass stalks sliced
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
2 tbsp Dry Peanuts 
2 Cardomom
2 Cloves 
4 Pepper corns
1 small Cinnamon stick 
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
2 Pinch Nutmeg powder 
1/2 tsp Shrimp paste
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Oil 

Method
Take a pan, add oil. Add chillies, garlic, lemongrass,onions and ginger. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Remove it and keep it aside. In the same pan add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and peanuts. Sauté it for 2 minutes, let cool. Mix in all the remaining ingredients and grind it in to a smooth paste.

For the Curry 
Ingredients 
500 grams Chicken pieces
2 medium size Potatoes, peeled and cubed 
1 Onion sliced
6 tbsp Massaman curry paste
1 tetra pack Coconut milk
1/4 cup Chicken stock
1 tsp Fish Sauce
1/2 tsp Tamarind paste 
2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts 
Salt to taste 
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Coriander leaves 
2 tbsp Oil

Method
Heat oil in a pot. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pot and keep it aside. Add the potatoes in the same pot and cook until brown. Remove from the pot and keep it aside. Add the onions. Cook the onions for a few minutes, until they begin to brown, and take it out and keep it aside. Add the Massaman curry paste and the coconut milk. Stir it for 5 minutes on a low flame. Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, chicken, potatoes and onions and bring it to a boil on medium flame.  Reduce the flame, cover and cook until the chicken is tender and the potatoes are cooked, stirring it occasionally.  Add the tamarind paste, salt, sugar and the peanuts. Stir in well.  Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves. Serve with hot rice. 

Whole Wheat Mango Cupcakes with Cottage Cheese Cream Frosting...

Whole Wheat Mango Cupcakes with Cottage Cheese Cream Frosting...

It is raining mangoes, and my family likes to have the mangoes as it is, the stone of the mango remains. It has so much of flesh attached to it, so I managed to take out some pulp from it and used it up to make these mango cupcakes. These cupcakes are made with whole wheat and frosted with Cottage Cheese Cream... 

Ingredients 

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 

1 tsp Baking powder 

1 tsp Soda bicarbonate 

1 cup Condensed Milk 

1/2 cup Melted Butter (Room Temperature)

1/2 cup Mango puree 

1/4 cup Curd + 1cup Milk mix together 

1 tsp Mango Essence

Method 

Sieve the flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate. Add all the wet ingredients together in to a mixing bowl. Beat it well. Add the flour little at a time and beat it. The batter has to be thick dropping consistency.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Take the cupcake liners. Fill in 2/3 of the batter in each of the liners. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 40 minutes depending upon the oven temperature. Check after 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick and check. If it comes out clean then the cupcakes are done. Cool it completely before frosting.

Cottage Cheese Cream Frosting 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Cottage cheese crumble 

1 Tetra pack chilled Amul cream (remove the excess water in the cream)

1 1/2 cup Icing sugar 

Few drops of Mango Essence 

Few pieces of Mangoes

Some sprinkles 

Method 

Churn the cottage cheese in a blender with 1 tbsp milk in to a paste. Beat the Amul cream till soft peaks form.

Sieve the icing sugar and beat it. Add the essence and cottage cheese. Beat it well. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes to set. Then add the frosting on the cupcakes. Decorate it with chopped mangoes and some sprinkles on top.

Lau Matar Daler Bora diye Ruhi Macher Jhol Ruhi Fish Gravy with Bottle Gourd and Split Green Pea lentils Fritters....

Lau Matar Daler Bora diye Ruhi Macher Jhol

Ruhi Fish Gravy with Bottle Gourd and Split Green Pea lentils Fritters....

 Usually bottle gourd and prawns or bottle gourd and bori is very famous among the  Bengali  dishes. This time I wanted to try a bit different dish. Tried to recreate this dish. This dish is eaten with steamed rice. Hope you will like it. 

 

For the Matar Dal Fritters 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup  Matar dal / Split Green Pea lentils  washed and soaked for 4 hours

Salt to taste 

1 small piece Ginger

1 Green Chilli 

1/2 cup Mustard oil

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients except the oil in a grinder. Don't add extra water. Mix the batter very well in one direction. Heat oil in a wok till the smoking point. Lower the flame. Add half tsp spoon of the batter. Add the batter 8 to 10 times in the oil, fry till brown in colour. Remove the fritters and keep aside.

For the Fried Fish 

Ingredients 

6 pieces of Ruhi Fish 

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 

Salt to taste 

Use the same mustard oil for frying the Fish

Method 

Take the fish and marinate the fish with turmeric powder and salt for 15 minutes. 

In the same wok, heat the oil.  Fry the fish until brown in colour from both the sides.

For the Gravy 

Ingredients 

Fried Fish 

Dal Fritters

1 small size Bottle Gourd peeled ( I have not peeled it ... Depending on the tenderness of the bottle gourd) and cut into chunks 

 2 Green chillies slit 

1 tbsp Ginger and Chilli paste

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

2 Bay Leaves

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 /2 tsp Cumin powder 

1 / 2 tsp Garam Masala powder 

Salt to taste 

2 tbsp Ghee

Method 

Take a wok. Add ghee. Let it heat. Add the cumin seeds and slit green chillies. Let the cumin seeds crackle. Add the ginger chilli paste. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the bottle gourd.  Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of water. Let it simmer. Add the salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder and garam masala. Cover and let it simmer till the bottle gourd is almost cooked. Add the  fish. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add the Matar dal fritters  and simmer for another 2 minutes. Once done. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp  Garam Masala and drizzle 1/2 tsp ghee before serving.