Category Archives: Foodie

Blueberry muffins

When I was in Nepal, I baked blueberry muffins in my new home. All the family members loved it so I am sharing the recipe here. It is really easy and simple.

Makka ku (7)

Ingredients

  • 2½ cups self-rising flour
  • 90g butter, chopped
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 125g fresh blueberries (I used canned ones as I couldn’t find fresh ones in Nepal)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Steps

  • Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan-forced.
  • Lightly dust muffin tray with flour.

Blueberry muffin (4)

  • Sift flour into a bowl. Add sugar and butter and mix well with hand.
  • Make a well in the centre of flour mixture.

Blueberry muffin (1)

  • Add blueberries, milk and egg. Gently stir until just combined using wooden spoon

Blueberry muffin (2)

Blueberry muffin (3)

  • Spoon mixture into prepared holes.

Blueberry muffin

  • Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in center of 1 muffin comes out clean.

Blueberry muffin (5)

  • Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Blueberry muffin (6)

  • Enjoy with tea or coffee.

Blueberry muffin (7)

Enjoying exotic cuisine in Paris

On the last day of our tour in Paris, we had a farewell dinner in one of the restaurants called L’Escarmouche. It was a five course dinner. The restaurant looked nice like a historical building from the Middle Ages with large tables under a beautiful stone arched roof.

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We were seated in one corner and handed a menu. There were wines already on the table for us to start with.

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While we were deciding on what to eat, we were served French bread to start our dinner.

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The menu was

Entrée

French Onion soup

Snails in garlic butter

Prawn cocktail

Frog’s legs a la Provençale

Duck liver mousse

Main

Filet of Salmon

Beef n Burgundy wine sauce

Filet of Chicken in mushroom sauce

Flambéed prawns

Fine roast duck

Cheese platter

Deserts

Chocolate Mousse

Caramel Crème

Apple Tart

Profiteroles

Peach Melba

Of course me and AS being us, we had to try something we hadn’t tried before so we went for Frog’s legs a la Provençale and Snails in garlic butter. Of course it was our first time eating frog but it was the second time for me eating snail. I had deep fried snails in Malaysia before.

Anyway, when the dishes were served, they looked better than I thought they would.

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The frog looked like a small chicken. Frog legs are one of the better-known delicacies of French cuisine. Frog’s legs have a texture just like chicken, and a taste that is similar but with a little fishy taste and it is somewhat tougher. Believe me if it was serve as chicken, no one could tell the difference.

Snail was a different story.

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The snail I had in Malaysia was a small one whose shells were crisp and deep fried and you could eat it as well. As they were spicy as well it didn’t taste any different than other spicy deep fried stuff but the snail we were served in Paris was a bit bigger. It tasted like a salty, buttery and oversized gummy bear. That is probably the best way to describe it.

I’d say an experience you only do once, but worth doing. They are an acquired taste so not everyone will like it.

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I also tried French Onion soup and Duck liver mousse and they tasted good too. Overall I was very happy with the starters.

It was followed by the main. I had Filet of Chicken in mushroom sauce while AS had Flambéed prawns. Both of the dishes were yummy. I looked around the table and everyone’s main dish looked nice and everyone was happy with what they got.

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When we were done with the main, we were served a chees platter. There were cheese like Aged Cheddar, Goat Gouda, Swiss, Brie, Camembert, Constant Bliss, Gruyere, Jarlesberg, Monterey Jack, Provolone, Blue Cheese to choose from. By this stage I had no room for anything else in my tummy.

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While we were dinning, there were musicians who were singing Australian songs like Waltzing Matilda and Still Call Australia Home for us as there were lots of Aussies in our group.

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During the singing session, the guys asked a few girls including me to come on the floor and dance with them. It was fun to try and do some can can with them J

In that mean time desert was served and they were mouth-watering dishes. I and AS shared our dessert with each other which were Apple Tart and Chocolate Mousse. It was a fantastic way to conclude our dinner.

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It was a great night out and a nice way to farewell our tour friends who were great to travel with around Europe.

Nepali style Goat curry (using a pressure cooker)

goat curry (1)

Ingredients

  • 2 red onions sliced
  • 2 tomatoes dices
  • 500gm goat meat
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of coriander powder
  • 2 tablespoons of garam masala
  • 3 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
  • 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh coriander to garnish

 Steps

  • Take a pressure cooker and heat oil in it.
  • When the oil is hot add curry leaves and the finely sliced onions.

goat curry (2)

  • Add a pinch of salt so that the onion will get cooked quickly and becomes golden brown.

goat curry (3)

  • Add Ginger Garlic paste, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, chili and let it cook for 2 mins.

goat curry (4)

  • Add finely diced tomatoes and let it cook completely, with the onion.

goat curry (5)

  •  Add the goat meat  to this mixture.
  • Let it cook for 10 min .
  • Add some water, close the cooker lid and keep the flame on medium
  • After 6 full (long) whistles, turn the heat off
  • Let the pressure in the cooker dissipate by itself; do not force the steam out by lifting the whistle etc.

goat curry (6)

  • When the pressure has dissipated, open the lid and check if the mutton is tender enough if not add some water if required and let the curry cook for about 3-5 min on low to medium heat
  • Garnish the goat curry with fresh coriander and it’s ready to server!

goat curry (7)

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Bhogate Sadekoo

One of the things widely eaten in Nepal after the festival of Tihar is, Bhogate Sandheko. Bhogate is called Pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) in English and is used in Nepal during Mha Puja and Bhai Tika. Bhogate Sandheko roughly translates to marinated pomelo in English.

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Pomelo is a crisp citrus fruit native to South and Southeast Asia. It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white (or, more rarely, pink or red) flesh and very thick albedo (rind pith).

Pomelo tastes a bit like grapefruit but is sweeter, less tart, and is not bitter. In Australia, we can’t find pomelo so the closest thing to Bhogate is grapefruit which is what I used in Bhai Tika during Tihar.

So like my mum used to, I tried to make Bhogate Sadekoo and am sharing my recipe here.

Ingredients:

  • 1 grapefruit/pomelo
  • 2  oranges  (I used oranges but you can use any fruit)
  • 4 tablespoons of  plain yogurt
  • 2 teaspoon of red chili powder (or to taste)
  • 2 tablespoon of sesame seeds, roasted and ground
  • Salt to taste
  • Sugar to taste (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons of mustard oil
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric

Process

  • Peal grapefruit/pomelo and oranges and put it in a bowl .

  • Roast sesame seeds in a pan stirring constantly making sure it turns golden brown, not black.
  • Cool it and grind it.

  • Add yogurt, salt, sugar, sesame powder, red chili powder in the bowl with the pomelo and oranges and mix well

  • Heat a pan with mustard oil in it
  • When hot put fenugreek seeds in it
  • When the fenugreek seeds turn golden brown, take it off the heat and pour oil with fenugreek into the Bhogate mixture in the bowl

  • Mix it well

  • Bhogate Sandheko is ready to serve, yum yum yum 🙂

Aloo dum (Nepali potatoes curry)

Aloo dum is a very popular dish in Nepal. My mum used to cook it almost every day when we were little as both me and my brother were very spoiled and didn’t eat most of the other veggies except potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 4 medium potatoes
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 tablespoon of crushed ginger and garlic
  • 2 tomatoes diced
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin seed
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon of coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoons of unflavoured yogurt
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoon of oil

Steps

  • Boil potatoes and cut into cubes.
  • Heat oil in a wok.

  • When oil is hot, add cumin seeds and let it fry for a few seconds.

  • Add onion in the wok and fry till they are brown.

  • Add diced tomatoes and turmeric powder and fry some more.

  • When the paste starts giving out oil that mean it is cooked so add the boiled potatoes to the wok.

  • Just toss potatoes around and add salt, cumin, chilli, coriander powder and a half cup of water and let it boil.

  • Now add the unflavoured yogurt and mix it well.

  • Take the curry out of heat and serve with rice or roti.

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