Friday Food Feature – August 21, 2015 blogging 101

Recipe for lentil soup:

Ingredients:

1. red lentil–(masoor daal) 1 cup

2.yellow lentil(moong daal) 1 cup

3. onion – 1 medium(finely sliced)

4.cayenne pepper- 1/2 teaspoon

5.salt to taste

6.curry powder- 2 teaspoon

7. garlic powder-1/2 teaspoon

8. ginger powder– 1/2 teaspoon

9. olive oil– 3 tablespoon

10. tomatoes- three whole tomatoes diced

Method:

wash the lentils thoroughly, until the water is clear, put aside. Heat the oil in the pot, add onions, fry until the sliced onion pieces are slightly brown. Do not burn it. Add all the spices including the salt, fry for one minute. Add the washed lentils with the water and the diced tomatoes, let it boil for five minutes, turn the heat low to simmer. When the grains of the lentil mixes with the water and looks like a paste, the lentil soup is done taste for salt if it is salty enough, take it off the stove.

Lentil soup can be served as soup or eaten with plain boiled rice as we do in Bangladesh. They are also eaten with chapatis( Tortillas) in Punjab. Lentil is considered a poor man’s protein.

Lentil soup

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365 Writing Prompts: Food for the soul(and the stomach)

Tell us about your favorite meal, either to eat or to prepare. Does it just taste great, or does it have other associations?

My favorite meal is the one my mom cooked for our special celebration of “Eid al Fitr,” it’s a day after one month of Ramadhan, there was a lot of things about this day which made us happy, we wore new clothes,my Dad gave us money and my mom cooked the most delicious meal for us.

Now when I think about  those days it makes me sad , because our parents have passed away and we the siblings live in different cities.

I try to cook the same meal Mom cooked, it’s probably not as good as my mother’s but I do try.

Rice is our staple food, so the menu will always have rice, because it’s a special day I cook rice pilaf.

Recipe for rice pilaf:

Ingredients:

1. Rice–2 cups basmati rice( wash and drain the water an hour before cooking)

2. onion –1 small( slice small pieces)

3. Clarified butter– half cup

4. salt — one and a half teaspoon

5.peas fresh or frozen — 3/4 cup

6.water– 3 cups(boil before pouring on the rice)

Spices:

1. cinnamon stick– one, half inch long

2. whole cardamom– 4

Method:

In a saucepan pour the clarified butter, onion, cinnamon,cardamom, salt , fry the spices and onion until the onion is transparent. Pour the two cups of washed rice for about two to three minutes to fry it in the same saucepan. Pour three cups of water and let the ingredients come to a boil, finally add the peas and continue to boil for another minute. Lower the heat to simmer , cover the saucepan and let the rice simmer for twenty minutes.Turn the heat off  remove the saucepan and place it on a mat for five minutes. Then serve.

Next is chicken korma recipe the way my Mom cooked it.

Ingredients:

1. One whole chicken—cut in small pieces

2. Yoghurt– half cup

3.Onion– two medium size(blend into a paste)

4. ginger fresh— two tablespoons

5. fresh garlic paste — two teaspoons

6.ground coriander–one teaspoon

7. ground cumin—one teaspoon

8. salt to taste

9.clarified butter or oil—quarter cup

10. sugar– one and a half teaspoon

11. cinnamon stick–1 inch long ( break it into smaller pieces).

Method:

Heat the oil or clarified  butter in a wide pot on top of the stove, put the onion paste, garlic and ginger, fry for five minutes, add the cumin , coriander , cinnamon sticks  and salt , fry two to three minutes more, gradually pour half cup yoghurt stir gently while pouring, next put the chicken pieces, stir until the pieces are coated with the onion mixture. Cook it in medium heat for twenty minutes, uncover and sprinkle the sugar, turn down the heat to minimum and cook about ten minutes more.Serve it in a dish.

My mom cooked chicken and rice, it was our favorite meal, she also cooked beef which was hot and spicy, for salad she used cucumber, tomatoes, onion, salt and lime juice and a few hot green chillies. they were sliced and tossed in a bowl . We enjoyed the meal with our family and always looked forward to next year.

p://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/365-writing-pr…nd-the-stomach/

 

 

 

 

DP Daily Prompts: Soulful Machines

Machines, appliances, and gadgets sometimes they feel like they have their own personalities– from quirky cars to dignified food processors. What’s the most human machine you own?

My human machine I think is my little chopper, I use it often when I chop onions, garlic and ginger, it’s helpful for small things I do not have to go down to the basement to get the large food processor. It works like a charm and does it fast. This is the only gadget I think helps me out in times of need.

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/09/12/dp-daily-promp…ulful-machines/

NaBloPoMo Nov.3rd curried beef recipe written and Posted by Ranu https://sabethville.wordpress.com

Today for NaBloPoMo,I am posting a recipe.I had good success with it.All my friends and family love it.Try it you may like it too!

Bhoona Gosht(Fried beef)

Ingredients:

1. Boneless blade roast—2 pounds

2. Onion—2 medium chopped

3. Fresh garlic—2 cloves, minced

4.Ginger— half inch piece minced

5. Salt—to taste

6. Curry powder—one tablespoon

7. Cayenne powder— one teaspoon

8. Oil for frying— quarter cup, olive oil or canola oil

Method:

Use an oven proof cook pot with lid ( le creuset or something similar).

Heat the pot at medium heat on top of the stove. Pour oil and add the chopped onions. Fry until the onion is transparent.Add all the spices,ginger,garlic,salt, curry powder and ground cayenne. Fry the ingredients for a minute. Add the beef,stir it till all the spices are coated,leave it for five minutes.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Before placing the beef in the oven, cover it with the lid. Bake for an hour. Turn off the oven and leave the beef for an additional hour.

Serve it with rice and an yogurt salad.

Recipe for yogurt salad;

Ingredients:

1. English cucumber—one whole

2. plain yogurt—- 2 cups

3.green onion— half a bunch minced

4. salt —- 2 teaspoons

5. tomato– 1 small (chopped)

6. sugar— 1 teaspoon

7. lemon— half

8. green chilly-  – a small one minced(optional)

Method :

1.shred the cucumber,put the contents in a fine mesh colander,add the salt and leave it for a few minutes . The salt will squeeze out the water in the cucumber.If necessary squeeze the remaining water with your hand.

2. Add minced tomato,onion and green minced chilly if you want it slightly spicy. Mix it with a spoon.

3.Add the two cups of plain yogurt,mix it well with the above ingredients.

4. add the sugar,taste it,it should not be too sweet.

5.squeeze the half lemon and mix it with the yogurt.

The lemon juice gives a very pleasant taste.

DP Daily Prompt: You,the Sandwich Post by Ranu

Garam Masala-spice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If the restaurant were to name something after me,what can it be? I am thinking,it has to be something the customers would like to eat.I got it ,it will be Ranu’s bhoona gosht. It is a meat dish. The following is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 pounds of blade roast—sliced into one inch pieces

5 small onions–chopped

4 cloves of garlic– chopped

one inch piece of ginger–chopped and blend into paste

1 table spoon– curry powder

half tsp. cayenne powder

1 tsp. coriander powder

half tsp. cumin powder

quarter tsp. cinnamon powder

1 tsp. garam masala  powder

half tsp. paprika powder

3 tblsp.  olive oil or canola oil

salt to taste

Method:

1.Wash the meat thoroughly,remove excess fat.

2. heat the oil in a sauce pan.

3. put the onion,ginger and garlic,fry it until the onion is transparent.

4. put all the spices and fry it for a minute,do not let it burn.

5. It should be cooked in medium heat.

6. put the meat and stir it . Cook it for five minutes.

7. Transfer the meat into an oven proof pot.

8. preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

9. place the meat in the oven,leave it to cook for an hour.You should check it every twenty minutes, do not let it burn.The finished meat dish will be dry.This is why it’s called ‘Bhoona Gosht’.

You can serve it with rice or chapati( something like tortilla)

If you follow it according to the instructions given it will be a very tasty dish. Your friends,provided they like spicy food will ask for the recipe. Keep it a secret,what do you think?