Roasted Tomato & Garlic Soup

One of my favorite meals to eat is tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. This particular soup recipe is not only for the health conscious eaters, but also for all the lazy folks out there who prefer not to slave in the kitchen:) The majority of the work consist of peeling the garlic, slicing the tomatoes, and chopping the onions and basil leaves... the rest you can let the oven/stove do ;)


Ingredients:

• 2 bulks of garlic
• 12 Roma tomatoes
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• a handful of fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp. of herbs (ex. rosemary, parsley)
• 1 can of crushed tomatoes with italian herbs
• 4 cups of vegetable stock 
• 1 onion

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven 425F. Peel dry layers off of garlic cloves. Place cloves on aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap the cloves with the aluminum foil. Cook for 40-45 minutes. 

2. In the meantime, clean tomatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place halves faced up on foil on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs. Then, set the oven to 300 F and cook for about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

3.When the tomatoes are done, on medium heat, saute chopped onions with olive oil until soft for about 10 minutes.

4.Place the roasted garlic cloves, half of the roasted tomatoes, the sauteed onions and the canned tomatoes in a food processor/blender. Puree until smooth. Place the mixture in a pot with the vegetable stock. Stir and simmer on low heat.

5. Chop the remaining roasted tomatoes and stir them into the soup to add texture. Sprinkle in half of the shredded basil leaves.

6. Chop the remaining basil leaves more finely, and sprinkle on top of soup when serving. 

Costs:

• 2 bulks of garlic- $1.00
• 12 Roma tomatoes- $3.40
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• a handful of fresh basil leaves- $2.47
• 2 tbsp. of herbs (ex. rosemary, thyme, parsley)
• 1 can of crushed tomatoes with italian herbs- $1.24
• 4 cups of vegetable stock - $2.45
• 1 onion- $0.27

Approximate Total Cost: $10 for a serving of 7-8

xoxo,

Amy

Mamma Carmela's special Sicilian pesto sauce - The video of April

This recipe is really unique. It is called Sicilian pesto sauce but it's not the famous pesto trapanese (even if ingredients are very similar) and it is obviously not the renowned pesto genovese with basil. It is a pesto sauce created by Mamma Carmela, a lady who used to have a lovely little Trattoria in Palermo. Her husband and her run that place for more than 40 years. There they met actors, singers and thousands of tourists who went to taste her typical dishes.

Her Trattoria was renowned for the Sicilian dishes and the familiar way of cooking them, infact going there was like having lunch at home. Last year unfortunately after a gas explosion this restaurant was destroyed and Mamma Carmela with her family decided not to continue the activity with a new one, being already in advanced age.

Exclusively for the Sicilian Cuisine Blog her daughter Patrizia gave me the recipe of her famous special pesto and we also did a short video. This is the way I want to remember the lovely evenings spent at their trattoria. Thank you so much!

Ingredients & preparation for 4-6 people: 6-7 big tomatoes - 2 cloves of garlic - fresh mint - fresh basil - 50 gr almonds - half of a dried red pepper - salt - sunflower oil or olive oil (about a glass). She used to put sunflower oil because "it was a bit lighter" - she said.


1. Wash the tomatoes, the basil and the mint.
2. Put all the ingredients together in the blunder, just like shown in the video here on the right.




Now: if you want to eat it with pasta, just prepare it as usual, drain it and place it in a bowl, mixing the pesto with the pasta well, and serving straight away. 

If you want to use it for bruschettas, toast your sliced bread (better if the rustic type) and put the pesto on top of the toasted slices. It will be a scrumptious starter for your guests with such a strong character!




*Warning: This pesto is really strong, so careful because it is going to be hot and tasty! Just try and see for yourselves!


Thanks to Patrizia Laria for the video editing.

Fennel and orange salad, the ideal mix after a big meal

Do you know how to prepare fennel and orange salad? In my family we love to prepare this dish for big occasions, not only because it's light and tasty but also because in this way you don't have to think of preparing another course for fruits. 

Besides, fennel is widely known for its healthy properties: is very digestive, make increase energy and help to eliminate the excess of liquid in the body. 
Orange is sweet and juicy and this salad is always the perfect solution to finish a three or four courses meal or in general a big lunch, just before landing on the sweet sugary world of desserts.


For 6-8 people you will need:
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 3 oranges (better if the sweeter quality)
- olive oil
- salt
- olives at will


1. Cut the fennels in quarters, removing the hardest part on top and bottom. Soak them in water for about 15 minutes, then with a sharp knife cut them quite thinly.

2. Peel the oranges removing also the white pulp and the seeds, then cut them in small pieces.

3. Place both in a large bowl and dress the salad with olive oil and salt and add some green olives if you like. Better if you don't keep it in the fridge more than 2-3 hours. Serve fresh at the end of your meal and enjoy!!!

Chicken Biryani in Pressure Cooker

I don't usually make biryani using cooker but my readers were asking for the recipe using cooker as many don't have the big vessel or arrangement for keeping dum.For a long time I too wanted to make a false proof biryani using cooker. The problem with the cooker is that if we are not sure about the time and water ,there are chances of biryani getting burnt or overcooked. So I wanted to make sure of the cooking time and proportion of water (coconut milk) to rice so that the biryani is the same each time we cook. Even then I think that the proportions may vary for a different quality of rice. I have tried with the usual India Gate Basmathi rice. So for basmathi rice this proportion will be fine I guess.Ingredients

Basmathi rice -2 cups (400 gms)

Chicken - 1/2 kg (500 gms)

Big onion-2

Tomato-2

Coconut milk -1 cup or milk taken out of a small coconut

Ingredients for grinding masala

ginger -3 small pieces

garlic-10 pods

fennel seeds-1 teaspoon

green chili-4

red chili-4

Cinnamon-small piece

Mint leaves-handful (gives the real flavor)

cloves-3

Ingredients For Marinating the Chicken

Curd -1 tablespoon

Chili powder -1 tablespoon

Coriander powder -1 1/2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder-1 teaspoon

Grinded masala- half portion

Items for seasoning

Brinji leaf- 2 small pieces

cinamon-2 pieces

clove-3

Marudani mokku -2

Curry leaf-little

Mint leaf-handful

Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon

Procedure

Marinate the chicken with the items given for marination.

Let the chicken stay marinated for at least 30 minutes.

Mean while wash the rice and soak for 10 minutes.

Drain the rice and roast in a kadai in little butter or ghee (1 tablespoon)

The rice should be roasted in medium fire for 3 or 4 minutes till rice don't stick to the kadai.

Keep the cooker in the stove.

In 2 tablespoons of cooking oil mixed with little ghee season the biryani with the items given for seasoning.

saute the minced onions and tomatoes for 3 minutes.

Add the grinded masala (the remaining half) and saute well.

Now add the marinated chicken and saute well.

Keep the flame in medium and just keep the lid on top of the cooker.

No need to lock the cooker or put weight.

Cook the chicken for 6 minutes or till it gets half cooked.

Make sure that there is not much water in the chicken

Now add 1 cup of coconut milk mixed with 2 cups of water.(1:1 1/2)

Those who want the rice to be well cooked can add 1/2 cup more water.

Add the salt needed and the rice.Mix well.

Close the cooker.

When pressure starts coming put the weight.

Keep the flame low once the whistle comes.

In medium fire cook for exactly 8 minutes.

Once the pressure gets released open the cooker and mix well without smashing.

Your biryani is ready.

Garnish with coriander leaves while serving.

Chettinad Crab Masala / செட்டிநாடு நண்டு மசாலா

First time i am posting a seafood. Learnt this recipe from my mom. The way seafoods are being cooked in chettinad are very spicy and different. I would suggest this as a side dish for a bowl full of creamy curd rice.

Ingredients:

Crab - 1/2 kg
Cooking oil - 8 tbs
Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1 tbs
Fennel seeds / Saunf - 1/2 tbs
Curry leaves - few nos
Chopped onion - 3 nos
Chopped tomato - 3 nos
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chicken masala (or) red chilli powder (or) garam masala - 1/2 tbs (choose the masala powder according to ur taste)
Salt
Chopped cilantro - 1 handful

To grind:

Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Pepper corns - 4 tbs
Fennel seeds - 1 tbs

Method:

• Clean the crab as u like. Some like to have the whole crab, some people like to broke crab into small portions. Wash well the crab in water 2 - 3 times.
• Grind into fine paste the ingredients mentioned under to grind and keep aside. Grind into fine paste the 3/4th  portion of chopped onion + all the tomato seperately.
• Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal + mustard seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves @ 30 sec interval.
• Add remaining 1/4th portion of chopped onion and saute for a min.
• Add onion-tomato paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Now add the crab and mix well.
• After 2 mins add pepper-coconut paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt + 3 cups of water.
• Cook in medium flame till u get a tight gravy consistency.
• Sprinkle chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Marsala cream pudding with strawberries, a spring version of Tiramisù

Do you know how to prepare a Marsala cream pudding? I sometimes like to post recipes that are not necessary of the strict regional tradition (we obviously eat Italian dishes too!!!) but sometimes I do like to experiment introducing a Sicilian ingredient or product in a popular recipe.

This is the case of this kind of "Spring Tiramisù" as I like to call it, because has strawberries (and strawberry juice) instead of coffee and above all it has a delicious cream made of mascarpone cheese plus the unmistakable flavor of Sicilian Marsala wine.


Ingredients & preparation for 8 people:
- a classic sponge cake cut in four thin layers**
- fresh strawberries (3 small baskets)
- 3 eggs
- 10 ts of sugar
- 500 gr. mascarpone cheese
- 4-5 ts of Marsala wine (more if you like a stronger taste)
- cocoa powder


For the cream: 
1. In a large bowl mix the eggs with the sugar until they become homogeneous.

2. Add the mascarpone and the Marsala wine and mix well the ingredients together until the cream become light and fluffy, then place it in the fridge.


For the dessert:
1. Gently wash the strawberries. Remove the leaves on top and select the ones that are riper and squashier.
2. Blend these last ones with a 1/4 cup of water to make it less dense. You will use this juice with a kitchen brush to moisten the sponge.

3. Cut the rest of the strawberries into pieces, but leave aside 2 or 3 strawberries for the final decoration. 

4. As soon as you finish with the strawberries, take a bowl or a deep plate with high rims and start making the tiramisù.

5. First put a thin layer of cream mix, then the first layer of sponge cake, then moisten with some strawberry juice, using a kitchen brush (because it cannot be too much), then 2-3 spoons full of cream to cover all the sponge surface and finally the pieces of fresh strawberries. Keep doing the same thing for the second layer and the third one.


6. Cover with the last layer of sponge, moistening again with the strawberry juice and finish all the cream. It has to be all covered in cream in the end. Sprinkle abundant cocoa on top and decorate as you like with 2 or 3 strawberries. Put in the fridge for at least one hour and serve cold. 


It is not a local dessert but it definetely has a lovely Sicilian flavor. I am sure you will go crazy for it!!!


**Sponge cake is very similar to our "Pan di Spagna" the basic recipe we use for many cakes and desserts in Sicily, the only difference is that we make it with starch instead of normal flour.

Pineapple-Coconut Gelato

Yesterday, I had the joy of guest posting for my friend Amber over at This Mommy Cooks. I shared this recipe with her readers and now I am sharing it with all of you!

You know that whole thing about pregnant women and ice cream cravings? Well, I must be here to prove that it's true, because I'm just about to have another baby and in the past  two weeks, I've made several batches of the stuff! I just cannot get enough fruity, frothy desserts lately, and this is the most recent recipe I've tried. When I came across the recipe, I immediately knew I had to try it because it just sounded so good and refreshing, not to mention extremely easy to make. I'm not normally a huge fan of coconut on its own, but I do love it when added to other tropical flavors, so the coconut milk base in this recipe is, in my opinion, a wonderful compliment to the pineapple. This dessert is just so tasty yet not too rich or heavy, and the texture could probably be described as in between a sorbet and sherbet. My family just loves this recipe, so when I talked to Amber about guest posting today, my mind went immediately to this one as a great dessert to share with you all. And with warm weather finally here and summer just around the corner, it is a great one to try out.

One other reason that I thought it would be fun to try this recipe is because growing up, I always loved getting the famous Dole Whips at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I've searched for a good recipe to compare it to, but have never had any luck (mostly because the whip is actually a prepackaged concoction that you have to order rather than simple ingredients...as you can tell, I've done some research ;)!). So when I saw this recipe, I had that delicious Dole Whip in the back of my mind in hopes that it might taste similar. Well, I thought it did, and without even saying anything to him about it, my husband said it kind of reminds him of a Dole Whip. I started laughing and told him that is what I thought, too! So, if you like Dole Whips, you will most likely love this recipe. And if you've never had one but love a good refreshing, fruity dessert, this one will not disappoint! 

I recently made a strawberry gelato that we can't get enough of as well-I've made several batches of it and everyone who has tried it has loved it, so I highly recommend it, especially with strawberries being in season. For that and other recipes, feel free to visit my cooking blog, Casual Cuisine. I love trying new fun, practical, family friendly recipes and sharing them!

Pineapple-Coconut Gelato

Slightly adapted from this recipe from Cooking Light, found on Myrecipes.com

I N G R E D I E N T S :
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup coconut milk (I bought reduced fat coconut milk in a can, which can be found in the asian food section of the grocery store.)


D I R E C T I O N S :
Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; cool completely.
Combine the pineapple and milk in a large bowl; stir in sugar syrup (I actually blended it together in a blender for a smoother texture, but either way would probably be fine).
Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon gelato into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

• 
  

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I went to P.F. Changs recently, and I always order the lettuce wraps for an appetizer. These lettuce wraps are amazing and extremely delicous! So I decided to look up the recipe and make them myself! :)


Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup water chestnuts
• 2/3 cup of mushrooms
• 3 tbsp. chopped onions
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce Ingredients(optional): 
(I didn't end up making this sauce, so I can't tell you how it taste.)

• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbs. soy sauce
• 2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbs. ketchup
• 1 tbs. lemon juice
• 1 tbs mustard
• 2 tbs. water
• 1-2tbs garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 tbs. soy sauce
• 2tbs. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

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Preparation:

1. Special Sauce- Dissolve the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, and lemon juice. 
2. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Combine the hot water with the mustard and set aside.
4. Stir Fry Sauce- Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
5. Chicken Mixture- Chop onions. Mince garlic. Chop water chestnuts and mushrooms to the size of your pinky nail.

Instructions:

1. Chicken Mixture- On medium-high heat, pour oil into a skillet. Saute chicken breasts for 4-5 minutes per side or when fully cooked. Remove chicken and lay on paper towels on a plate to cool.
2. Keep oil in pan, hot. 
3. When chicken is cool cut it into the same size pieces as the water chestnuts/mushrooms.
4. Lower temperature to medium. Add another tbs. of oil to the pan.
5. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts, and mushrooms to the pan. Add the prepared stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a few minutes.
6. Top with the prepared special sauce.

Costs of ingredients:

• 3 tbs. oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts- $3-4
• 1 cup water chestnuts- $0.50
• 2/3 cup of mushrooms, 4-5 medium mushrooms - $0.70 ($1.87 for 8 oz)
• 3 tbs. chopped onions-$0.08 ($0.47 for an onion)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic(1 clove)-$0.12 ($0.50 for 1 bulk)
• 5-6 leaves iceberg lettuce- $0.99 for a head of lettuce

• 2 tbs. soy sauce
• 2tbs. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

Approximate Cost: $6-7 for a serving for 2-3

xoxo,

Amy

Yogurt Dip

Yesterday we were invited to a potluck Easter egg hunt party, and I remembered about the potluck part of it about five minutes before leaving. Thankfully we had all the ingredients I needed for a quick yogurt dip. I combined the ingredients listed below in a glass jar, cut up young and juicy carrots from our organic CSA box into strips, and I even got the time to take a picture! Now that's fast...

• 1 6-oz (170 g) plain yogurt (Clover organic for instance)
• 1 lemon (or Meyer lemon), juiced
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, crushed
• salt

This also makes a great sauce for grilled lamb chops.

A few years ago I blogged about my childhood Easter memories.

Pigs in a Blanket with Chorizo

These are great snacks for parties, or even game days at the house. These are similar to your everyday pigs in a blanket except there's a bit of a kick from the chorizo ;)


Ingredients for pigs in a blanket:

• A package of 6oz chorizo sausage( usually comes in 12)
• A package of Puff Pastry Sheets(usually comes in 2)
• 1 egg

Instructions for pigs in a blanket:

1. Preheat oven 400F. Thaw 1 puff pastry sheet. Unfold and cut in 4ths hamburger style, cut in thirds hotdog style. Now you should have 12 small rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally into 2 triangles. Refrigerate triangles until needed.
2. Cut 6oz sausage into 24 pieces. Working with one triangle at a time, arrange a piece of sausage at the base of the triangle and roll up snugly. Seal the triangle with a dab of beaten egg. Brush triangle with beaten egg. Bake all until golden brown for about 20-25 minutes. Then cook for another 5-10 minutes on 300F.

Costs for pigs in a blanket:

• A package of 6oz chorizo sausage( usually comes in 12)- $$0.75
• 1 sheet of Puff Pastry (package usually comes in 2)- $2
• 1 egg-$0.08

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Dipping Sauce

Ingredients for dipping sauce:

• 2 1/2 cups of herbs such as cilantro and parsely
• 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 gloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 1/2/ tbs. of red wine vinegar
• 2 tbs. warm water

Instructions for dipping sauce:

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Serve with pigs in a blanket.

Costs for dipping sauce:

• 2 1/2 cups of herbs such as cilantro and parsely- $0.29
• 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 gloves of garlic- $0.15
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 1/2/ tbsp. of red wine vinegar
• 2 tbs. warm water

Approximate Cost for 24 pigs in a blanket: $2.82

Approximate Costs for dipping sauce: $0.50

xoxo,

Amy

Garlic Fries with Pesto Sauce

So I went to Mandola's, a great Italian restaurant, and I had garlic fries for an appetizer. These fries came along with a pesto dipping sauce, and were delicious! I loved them so much, I decided to make these at home:) These are great along burgers, or even as party appetizers!


Ingredients for fries: 

• 1/3 a bag of shoestring fries
• 1 tbsp. of vegetable/canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsely 
• 1 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions for fries:

1. Place oil and garlic in a large nonstick skillet, and cook over low heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Once the garlic is toasted, pour the garlic oil into a small dish.
2. Follow the directions to cook the shoestring potato fries. Once cooked, toss with the garlic oil mixture, parsley, and parmesan cheese.

Costs for fries:

• 1/2 bag of shoestring potatoes-$0.59 
• 2 tsp. of vegetable/canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced-$0.10---$0.50 for 1 bulk
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsely-$0.20(1 sprig)---$2.47 for 12 springs ( you only need 1)
• 1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese-$0.10---$2.48 for 1.5 cups

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Pesto Dipping Sauce

Ingredients for pesto dipping sauce:

• 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup of parsely leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 lemon, and its lemon zest
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
• 1/3 walnuts (optional)

Instructions for pesto dipping sauce:

1. Pick parsely leaves from stems and discard stems. Zest lemon and set aside lemon zest. Squeeze lemon and set aside juice. 
2. In a food processor/magic bullet, combine basil, parsley, garlic, lemon zest and juice and grind. Add cheese and nuts(optional) grind again to combine them into the paste. Pulse in the olive oil until it is combined. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Costs for pesto dipping sauce:

• 1/2cup of fresh basil leaves- $1.24---$2.47 for a package(1 cup)
• 1/4 cup of parsely leaves- $1.20(6 springs or so)---$2.47 for 12 sprigs
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 1/2 lemon, and its lemon zest-$0.20
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese- $1
• 1/6 walnuts (optional)

Approximate Cost for fries: $1 for a serving of 3 


Approximate Cost for pesto sauce: $3.50 for a serving of 3-4



xoxo,
Amy

Strawberry Gelato

Oh my goodness. This is definitely my favorite thing I've made in a LONG time. I came across this recipe about a couple of months ago and bookmarked it because it looked good. Strawberry gelato- How could it not be good?! I made this the other night when I was on my strawberry recipe kick. I used an ice cream maker, but I would venture to say that you could make it without one-just use a food processor for all the ingredients and freeze in the freezer.

I was a little leery of using buttermilk because I wondered how it would make the flavor, but this gelato is nothing but yummy and sweet and you would never know you are using buttermilk. And apparently you are supposed to use low-fat buttermilk but I forgot to note that and bought whole milk buttermilk at the store. It was wonderful. It has a great flavor but is almost like a mix between ice cream and sorbet-has a slightly creamy texture but is not heavy or too creamy. By using the buttermilk, even if you use whole buttermilk, it's a lot less fattening than regular ice cream, which is a bonus for sure. I absolutely LOVE this stuff and am so glad I bought a bigger carton of buttermilk than I needed, because I am going to be buying more strawberries and making this stuff to keep for after the baby comes. My ice cream maker didn't get it quite frozen enough-maybe because the recipe filled up the whole container; I'm not sure. But, the directions on my ice cream maker always say to continue freezing it in the freezer if it's not done after the time is up, so this might have been normal and the other times I've used my ice cream maker, I've had to do the same thing. It froze well and all I do is sit it out for a little while before I serve it so that it will be easy to scoop. This is a wonderfully refreshing treat for a spring or summer day!

Strawberry Gelato

from Cooking Light on My recipes.com

Original recipe here

• I N G R E D I E N T S :
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 5 cups quartered strawberries (about 4 pints or 2 16-ounce cartons)
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk (I used whole milk buttermilk)
• 
  

D I R E C T I O N S

• Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour into a large bowl; cool completely.
• Place strawberries in a blender, and process until smooth. Add strawberry purée and buttermilk to sugar syrup; stir to combine.
• Pour the strawberry mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Paal payasam / Vermicelli milk gheer / பால் பாயாசம்

தமிழ் நண்பர்கள் அனைவருக்கும் இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

Today is Thamizh new year. The 'Vikruthi' year ends and 'Kara' year starts. I wish all the thamizh readers a very happy new year ahead.  Here comes the special recipes of new year. From the menu shown above the one is steel tumbler is new year chutney, then vermicelli milk gheer and the bottom one is urad dhal vadai.

1. New year chutney

Learnt this recipe from my ugadhi (ughadi is telugu new year) celebrating friends. This chutney is made from ingredients of 5 prime taste (sweet, salt, bitter, sour and umami). An indication that life is filled with diff experiences (tastes).

Ingredients:

Jaggery or sugar - 2 tbs (Sweet taste)

Tamarind extract - 1 tbs (Sour taste)

Finely chopped raw mango - 1 tbs (the skin of raw mango gives umami taste)

Crushed neem flower - 1/2 tbs (Bitter taste)

Salt - a pinch

Mix all the above ingredients in 1 cup of water. Stir till jaggery dissolves.

2. Vermicelli milk Gheer 

Ingredients:

Vermicelli - 2 cups

Milk - 4 cups

Sugar - 1/2 cup (we eat less sugar. adjust for ur taste)

Cashew nuts - 10 nos

Dry graphes - 10 nos

Ghee - 1 tbs

Method: 

1. Boil milk in a thick bottom vessel .
2. In the meantime, heat 3 cups of water in a vessel. Add vermicelli and bring them to boil & vermicelli gets cooked well. Drain water completly. We can cook vermicelli in milk also, but milk may curdle sometimes. Better cook them separately.
3. By this time milk may came to boil and reduced its quantity. Now add cooked vermicelli and cook for 5 mins in medium flame.
4. Add sugar and mix well. Do not cook for long after adding sugar.
5. Roast cashew nuts n dry graphes in 1 tbs of ghee and garnish. Serve hot / cold. 

3. Urad dhal vada.

Please refer my previous post Urad dhal vada.

Lemon Marmalade

Are Meyer lemons and navel oranges still in season? They were a couple weeks ago. Trees in our neighborhood were bending under the weight of hundreds of brightly colored fruits. A friend brought us a bag full of them, picked up in her backyard that very morning. And what do you do with citrus that has been lucky enough to grow without pesticides? Eat them with the skin! I made lemon marmalade that weekend (and brought a jar to my friend as a thank you gift), using a recipe from my mother-in-law*.

For about 8 jars
(I often reuse empty 13-ounce Bonne Maman jars.)

• 6 Meyer lemons (organic or pesticide-free)
• 2 navel oranges (organic or pesticide-free)
• 1.5 kg (6 cups) sugar
• 1 liter (about 1 quart) water

 

Day 1

1. Rinse the fruits under running water. Pat them dry.
2. Cut them in 4 lengthwise, then take the seeds out and place them on a square of cheese cloth that you tie with a string (in French it is called un noué). If you don't have cheese cloth, you can put the seeds in a tea ball.
3. Thinly slice each fruit quarter (about 3-5 mm or 1/8-1/5 " in thickness).
4. Place the fruit slices and the pocket of seeds in a large pot (I use my pressure cooker without closing it, althouth une bassine à confiture—a jam pan—would be more authentic...). Pour 1 quart (about 1 liter) water on the fruits. Place a lid on the pot.
5. Wait for 24 hours.

Day 2

1. Place the pot or pan on the stove on medium-high heat, lid on. Boil for 50 minutes. Turn off the heat.
2. Wait for 24 hours.

Day 3

1. Find 8 or 9 empty glass jars with lids. Clean them if necessary and boil them in water for 5 minutes to sterilize them. Let them dry on a clean dish cloth.
2. Open the pot or pan and remove the pocket of seeds. Pour the sugar and stir until it dissolves in the fruit juice.
3. Bring to a boil and cook without lid for about 35 minutes.
4. Use a ladle to pour the hot marmalade in the jars. Fill the jars up to the bottom of their rim. Close immediately. As the jam cools down, the air inside the jar will retract and the lid will pop. Store the marmalade for up to one year in a kitchen cabinet (or a cellar if you have one). Refrigerate after opening.

I use this marmalade just as any other jam, spread on whole wheat walnut bread for breakfast.

* I actually modified the recipe a little bit. Gisèle uses 12 true lemons, 2 oranges, and 1 peeled grapefruit with 2 liters of water and 3 kg (12 cups) of sugar. Her recipe yields about 16 jars. Since Meyer lemons are sweeter than true lemons, the grapefruit wasn't really necessary in my case.



         

Vendakka pulikari / Okra sour sauce (semi gravy)

This is a karaikudi special recipe. Will be of good combination with paruppu soup.

Ingredients:

Vendakka / Ladies finger - 1/4 kg (chopped into small pieces)

Cooking oil - 3 tbs

Big red onion - 1 (chopped)

Big tomato - 1 (chopped)

Tamarind juice / paste - 3 tbs

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbs

Coriander powder - 1 tbs

Red chilli powder - 2 tbs

Salt to taste

Chopped cilantro - 4 tbs

For seasoning:

Sesame oil - 3 tbs

Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1 tbs

Vendhayam / Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tbs

Curry leaves - 5 nos

Method:

• Heat cooking oil in a pan and stir fry the okra till the sticky liquid goes off. Keep it aside.
• Heat sesame oil in pan and add the ingredients mentioned under for seasoning @ 30 sec interval.
• Add chopped onion & saute till tranparent. Now add chopped tomato and saute till the juices oozes off.
• Add tamarind paste & all powders + salt + 3 cups of water. Bring them to boil and add sauted vendakka/ okra.
• Close the pan with lid and cook in medium flame. Stir consiously at regular intervals.
• Once the veggie is cooked and gravy turns to semi solid, sprinkle chopped cilantro & serve hot. 



strawberry bread

It's that time of year when strawberries can be found in abundance at great prices. I love, love, love strawberries and that they signal the coming of summer! I must be having some intense pregnancy cravings for strawberries, because yesterday I spent the evening making three different recipes with strawberries as the main ingredient! Being in my final weeks of pregnancy, I was definitely worn out after my cooking frenzy, but at the time it seemed very necessary to make all three strawberry recipes at once, and the end results were worth it. This is one of the recipes I tried, and the other two will come soon.

This bread is delicious! My friend Sara gave me the recipe and I had to try it after hearing how tasty it is. This quick bread is super easy to make, makes enough for two loaves, has a great flavor, and is super moist. Great for a breakfast bread, or just because!

No picture-it's raining and the lighting is bad, and you can probably picture what strawberry bread looks like anyway. But do try this recipe!

Strawberry Bread

Makes 2 loaves and freezes well.

I N G R E D I E N T S :
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups mashed strawberries ( you can use either fresh, or frozen and thawed)
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional-I didn't have any)

D I R E C T I O N S :

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. 
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
Add the strawberries, oil, and eggs.
Mix just until moistened.
Fold in the pecans, if using.
Pour into greased and floured loaf pans.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, or cooked through (it took me a little longer than an hour.)

Fruit Kabobs Infused with Passionfruit Vodka

Fruits are always great at barbeques and pool parties, but they are even better when infused with passionfruit vodka! In this particular fruit kabob, I used cantaloupe, mango, and strawberries and soak them in fresh citrus juices from oranges and limes. I think watermelon would also work really well because they're succulent and absorbent.


Ingredients:

• 10 small navel oranges
• 6 key limes or 3 regular limes
• 1 cantaloupe
• 3 mangos
• 1-2 lb. of strawberries
• 20 wooden skewers
• passionfruit vodka
• cranberry juice

Instructions:

1. Rinse and clean all of the fruit.
2. Slice the oranges and 2 limes. Squeeze the juices into a medium size bowl. Add a splash of cranberry juice and add however much vodka your heart desires. 
3. With one skewer, poke holes in the strawberries, and toss them into the bowl to soak. Next, cut the cantaloupe into squarish pieces, and toss them in with the strawberries. Lastly, peel the skin off of the mangos with a vegetable peeler, slice the mangos into squarish pieces, and add them to the fruit mixture. Mix well.
4. Let it sit in the fridge over night or for a few hours, so the fruit can soak up the juices and alcohol.
5. Slide the strawberries on the skewers first and last so it can hold the rest of the fruit in place. Drizzle the remaining juices and the last lime over the skewers, and chill them in the refrigerator until your party starts!

Costs:

• 5 oranges- $2.00
• 6 key limes or 3 regular limes- $1.00
• 1 cantaloupe- $0.77
• 3 mangos- $1.50
• 1-2 lb. of strawberries. $2.00
• 20 wooden skewers
• passionfruit vodka, I used three olives vodka

Approximate Total Cost: $7 for about 15-20 skewers 
(+ $ of alcohol)

xoxo,

Amy

Baked Ziti

I ran across this recipe a while back and decided to try it out tonight. We really enjoyed this dish and it wasn't hard at all to make. The original recipe calls for turkey italian sausage but, since I'm not usually a big fan of sausage unless it's in breakfast food, I decided to go meatless. The taste was great, it was filling, and we didn't miss the meat at all (and it also made for a cheaper meal, which is always a plus!). I made this but, since we couldn't possibly eat the entire dish and I'm in the process of stocking my freezer, I froze half of it, and we still had enough left over from dinner to have for leftovers later this week. If you are looking for a recipe for baked ziti, this is a great one to try. 

Baked Ziti

Recipe here from Annie's Eats

My changes/comments are noted below in italics

I N G R E D I E N T S :

1 lb. whole milk or 1% cottage cheese (I used cottage cheese but ricotta would be great as well.)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
Table salt
1 lb. ziti
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
20 oz. turkey Italian sausage (I did not use any meat and it was great. Just depends on if you want meat or not.)
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
5 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves, divided (I only had dried basil, so I used 1/3 of the amount it calls for)
1 tsp. sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk) (I used whole milk)
8 oz. low-moisture mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

D I R E C T I O N S :

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5-7 minutes.  Drain the pasta and leave in colander.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Crumble in the turkey sausage and cook until nearly browned.  Add in the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is softened and the sausage is completely browned.  Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup basil and the sugar, and season with salt and pepper.  

In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and heavy cream.  Transfer the mixture to the now-empty stockpot over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes.  Remove the pot from the heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and 3/4 cup mozzarella.  Stir to combine.  Add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce.

Transfer the pasta to a 9×13″ baking dish and spread the remaining tomato sauce evenly over the top.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top.  Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil from the pan and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer.  Cool for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.