Category Archives: Foodie

Jamie’s Crackin’ Crab Briks, Couscous Salad & Salsa

Posted on November 19, 2012 | 5 comments

Here is another great recipe from my favorite chef, Jamie Oliver. This recipe from Jamie’s’ 15 minutes meals. It is really easy and yummy.

Briks 

  • 1–2 preserved lemons
  • 2 spring onions
  • ½ a bunch of fresh coriander
  • 400g crabmeat (I used tin crab)
  • 2 tsp harissa, plus extra to serve
  • 4 large sheets of filo pastry (from a 270g pack)
  • olive oil
Salad

  • ½ tsp caraway seeds
  • ½ a mug (150g) of couscous
  • 2 tsp sun-dried tomato purée
  • ½ a bulb of fennel
  • ½ a bunch of fresh mint
  • 1 lemon
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pomegranate ( I didn’t use)

Salsa

  • 1 large ripe tomato
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
  • ½ a lemon

To serve

  • fat-free natural yoghurt

Procedure

  • Finely chop the preserved lemons, trimmed spring onions and coriander (stalks and all).
  •  Mix in a bowl with the crabmeat (I used can crab meat) and harissa.

  • Lay out a sheet of filo pastry, add ¼ of the mixture and shape into the size of a packet of playing cards at the centre of the bottom of the sheet, then push your thumb into the centre of the filling to make a space for it to expand as it cooks.
 

  •  Fold in the sides, then fold them up.

  •  Repeat until you have 4 briks.
  • Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, then add the briks and cook until golden and crisp on both sides.

  • Add the caraway seeds to the side of the pan and toast for a minute, then scrape into a salad bowl.
  • Put ½ a mug of couscous (I used wholemeal one ) , 1 mug of boiling water, the tomato purée and a pinch of salt into a bowl and cover.

  •  Pick and reserve the fennel tops, then roughly chop and grate the bulb in the processor.

  •  Tip into the salad bowl, then chop and add the top leafy half of the mint.

  •  Squeeze in the lemon juice and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
  •  Season to taste and toss everything together.
  • Finely grate the tomato and ginger into a little bowl.

  •  Add a pinch of salt and pepper, a good squeeze of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and mix together.

  •  Fluff up the couscous, then tip on to a platter.
  •  Pile the salad in the middle, then bash the halved pomegranate over the top so the seeds tumble out.
  •  Scatter over the reserved fennel tops, pop the crab briks on a board and serve with dollops of yoghurt and the salsa.

You may also like :

*Jamie Oliver Szechuan stir fry with chicken and brown rice *Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Tikka Masala *Jamie Oliver’s Dan Dan Noodles

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Chicken choila / chhoela / Choila

Posted on November 11, 2012 | 3 comments

I learned this recipe from my BIL (K didi’s husband). He is one of the best cooks around us and he loves cooking. I am sure it is true when they say that when you cook with love, it tastes better. He does put lots of time and effort in his cooking as well.

Ingredients

  • 500gm boneless chicken
  • Few stems spring onion
  • 2 small green chilies
  • 1 red onion finely sliced
  • coriander leaves
  • 5 cloves of fresh garlic
  • 2 inch on fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoons chili flakes
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (Methi )
  • salt to taste

Steps

  • Cut chicken breast into thin layers.
  • Heat the non-stick frying pan and sauté the chicken until cooked.

  • Cook on both side and make sure, the chicken doesn’t get burnt.
  • Once both sides are golden brown, repeat the process with all the chicken.

  • When you are doing this in batches, make sure you cover the cooked chicken in a container so it doesn’t become dry. This will also make the chhoela juicy and tender.
  • Once all the meat is cooked let it cool down for few minutes, slice the chicken into small diagonally into inch size pieces so it looks better for the presentation. Put all the meat in a big bowl.

  • Make a paste in the blender using fresh garlic, fresh ginger, fresh chilli and fresh coriander. If you don’t have fresh ginger and garlic, you can used readymade paste but fresh always tastes better.

  • Then add this paste along with sliced onions, chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, chili flakes, turmeric powder and salt into a bowl with the chicken. Mix it well.

  • Now heat up the pan, add oil and fenugreek seeds and fry it till it turns dark brown. Make sure it doesn’t burn and turn black otherwise it will have a bitter taste.

  • Pour the oil over the chicken and mix it properly.
  • Cut the stem of the green onion into about 2 inch long sizes. Slice it into thin slices and add it to the chicken.

  • Add finely sliced red onion to the chicken

  • Garnish with fresh coriander and Chicken chhoela is ready to be served!

You may also like :

*Chicken chili *Goat curry *Momo

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How to make Chicken chili – Nepali Style

Posted on November 4, 2012 | 48 comments

This used to be one of my favourite entrée served in Nepali wedding parties back in the day when I was a kid. I still love them and I learned this from my BIL, my cousin K didi’s husband. It is simple, quick and yummy.

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breast, boneless
  • 1 Spanish Onion
  • 1 large capsicum
  • 4 Green chilli
  • 2 big tomatoes
  • 1 table-spoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 table-spoon turmeric powder
  • 1 table-spoon cumin seed
  • 3 table-spoon Tomato ketchup
  • 2 table-spoon plain flour
  • 1 table-spoon ginger garlic paste
  • Few stems of green shallot chopped
  • 1 small bunch of fresh chopped coriander
  • 2 cloves of fresh garlic crushed
  • 1 inch of fresh ginger crushed
  • 1 egg
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil to fry

Steps

  • Cut the onion into quarters and take off each skin one by one.

  • Cut capsicum and tomatoes around 1 inch square in size.

  • Cut the chicken breast around 1 inch square in size.

  • Cut the green chili into 2 pieces length wise,
  • Put chicken breast in a big bowl and mix well with cumin, chilli, turmeric powder, salt and ginger garlic paste.

  • Then add plain flour and egg and mix it. Make sure to coat all the chicken pieces well.

  • Heat oil in a pan.

  • Fry the marinated chicken cubes in the oil.

  • Once it turns golden brown, take it out from the heat and put aside.

  • In a wok heat 2 tablespoon of oil and add sliced green chilli, cumin seed, crushed ginger and  garlic and fry for about a minute.

  • Add tomato ketchup in the wok and let it cook for a few minutes.

  • Add fried chicken and mix it well with the sauce.

  • Now add Spanish onion, tomatoes and capsicum.

  • Give it a quick toss we don’t want the onion to cook.

  • Add green shallot and coriander and give it a quick toss and take it off the heat.

  • Serve it as an entrée or with rice.

You may also like :

* *Goat curry *Momo

48 Comments

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Gundruk Aloo Bhatmas Curry

Posted on November 2, 2012 | 13 comments

Gundruk is fermented green vegetables like mustard, turnip, radish, cauliflower leaves or any green leaves like spinach (Saag). It is one of the famous foods in Nepal. It can be made as a curry or as achar. It has a characteristic sour taste and gives an acidic and cured smell. It is Brownish Black in colour.

Gundruk is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes in Nepal. In Nepal you can buy it or you can make your own. If you are interested in making Gundruk, please click here for the steps . It is really easy.

The gundruk in this recipe was made by my cousin K didi in Sydney but we can also buy Gundruk in Nepali grocery stores these days.

It is served as a side dish but it can be made into an appetiser as a soup. Gundruk is an important source of minerals particularly during the off-season and green vegetables are not  available in rural areas when the diet consists of mostly starchy tubers and maize which tend to be low in minerals.

Today I am sharing the recipe for Gundruk with potatoes and soybean curry.

Ingredients

  • Gundruk (2 fist full)
  • 4 potatoes
  • 2 tomatoes chopped
  • 100 gm. of soybeans
  • 5 cloves of fresh garlic
  • 6 tablespoons of oil
  • 2 teaspoons cumin powder
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • Salt to taste

Steps

  • Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes.

  • Heat 1 table spoon oil on a pan and fry the soybean.

  • When it is soft take it out of the pan and keep it aside.
  • Peel fresh garlic and use pestle and mortal to crush them. If you don’t have fresh garlic, use 1 tablespoon of garlic paste.

  • In a pan, heat 1 table spoon of oil and fry the gundruk.

  • It will take only a few seconds for it to be cooked. Take it out of pan and keep it aside.
  • In a pot, heat remaining oil. Add dried chilli.

  • Add crushed garlic and potatoes with turmeric powder and salt.

  • Fry it for a while and then add chopped tomatoes, cumin, coriander and chili powder.

  • Fry it for a while. If potatoes start sticking to the pot, add a small quantity of water and keep frying for 5 minutes.

  • Now add 2 cups of water into the pot and cover it with the lid. Let it cook for 5 more minutes.

  • Now add the fried soybeans and gundruk into the pot and mix it well.

  • Remove the pot from the stove. Take some potatoes out of the pot and smash it and put it back into the pot. This will thicken the gravy.

  • Server with rice. Yummy!

You may also like :

*Aloo dum *Aloo ko achar *Aloo chop

13 Comments

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Chocolate cupcakes

Posted on October 14, 2012 | 2 comments

Ingredients (make 12 cupcakes)

  • 80g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cups plain flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • ½ cup milk

Icing

  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • Sprinkles or lollies to decorate

Steps

  • Preheat oven with fan to 180°C or without fan for 200°C.
  • Place cupcake papers in two 12-hole cupcake trays.

  • In an electric mixer, beat butter for 2 minutes until pale in colour and creamy. Add sugar one third at a time and cocoa beating well between each addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute between each addition. Add the vanilla essence and beat until combined.

  • Sift flour and baking powder and add half to butter mixture with half the milk, mix until well combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk.

  • Divide batter evenly between 12 patty cases.

  • Bake for 15-20 minutes, Cupcakes are baked if they spring back when lightly touched in the centre. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring.

Icing Steps

  • In an electric mixer, beat Cream butter until pale and smooth. Add the milk and half the sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder. Beat until well combined. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. The mixture should be a spreadable paste; if it is too dry, add some more milk, if too wet add more icing sugar.

  • When cakes are cold, spread generously with icing and dip into sprinkles or decorate with small lollies.

Rose cupcake icing

I also decided to do a rose swirl with the icing. As it was my first attempt, it was not very good but here are the steps.

  • Start from the middle and pipe a small amount of buttercream into the centre.

  •  Slowly work your way around going anti-clockwise until you reach the outer edge of your cupcake. Remember to apply even pressure to your pipping bag, this insures an even swirl all the way around.

Here is the YouTube video if you want to try.

I made them for Teej along with Vanilla cupcakes.

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