Friday Food Feature

Every Friday, I hope to feature a special food with pictures and a recipe.  This Friday, I made some ground beef curry and spicy vegetables.

Here is the recipe for spicy  ground beef  curry:

Ingredients:

1. ground beef– one pound

2. onion- two medium size(chopped)

3. garlic( Fresh)- three cloves,minced

4. ginger(fresh) – 1, 1/2 tsp. paste

5. cayenne pepper- 1 tsp.

6. ground turmeric–1/2 tsp.

7. ground coriander– 1 tsp.

8. ground cumin– 3/4 tsp.

9. garam masala- 1 tsp.

10. ground cinnamon– 1/2 tsp.

11. ground clove–1/4 tsp.

12. ground all spice– 1/8 tsp.

13. cooking oil- 2 tbsp

14. salt –1 tsp.(or use as much as you think is enough)

15. 2 Medium tomatoes(chopped)

16.– one cupfrozen peas

Method:  Heat the oil in medium high heat in a wok , put the chopped onions in the hot oil, stir it . Make sure the onions are transparent, add garlic and ginger, mix it thoroughly for one minute, add the rest of the spices, stir for a minute. Add the ground beef and mix it with the spices. Cook until the beef  does not look raw(about ten to twelve minutes). Finally add the chopped tomatoes, stir until the tomatoes mix with the beef.( lower the heat to simmer).Add frozen peas, leave it for five minutes and lastly take the wok off the burner.

Ground beef curry can be served with plain boiled rice or naan. It cooks faster if you are pressed for time, it’s an ideal dish for those moments.

My next recipe is spicy vegetables:

Ingredients :1. Mixed   frozen vegetables : one small bag

                        2. 2 tbsp oil

                        3. 2 tsp.– curry powder

                       4. salt to taste

                       5. 1/2 tsp– cayenne powder or 1/4 tsp, if half a tsp is too much.

                       6. 1/2 tsp garlic powder

                       7. 1/2 tsp— ginger powder

                       8. 1 small onion chopped

Method : heat oil in a pot , add onions , let it cook until it’s light brown, add the rest of the spices stir until all the spices are mixed,add the frozen vegetables, mix it properly with the spices, lower the heat to simmer, cook until the vegetables are tender. Serve with rice or chapati( flat Indian whole wheat bread).

Sorry I wasn’t able to post this on Friday. Next time I do hope to post it on Fridays.

Daily Prompt: A Mystery Wrapped in Enigma

Tell us something most people probably don’t know about you.

I have two names, one is Ranu which is a nickname, my family members and close relatives call me Ranu. Most of my relatives do not know my second name.

My second name is Chaman, my classmates and my school friends call me Chaman.

I do not have too many friends, because I’m not outgoing. I like spending time at home. I dislike going out in the evening, sometimes I’m forced to go out.

Rice is my favorite food. I love spicy food, I avoid eating bland food.

I love vegetables, but I do not care for fruits.

Among proteins I enjoy any kind of fish. I am not fond of chicken, I eat it. I find chicken tasteless, no matter how many different spices I use to cook it, I do not find it that good. Beef is my favorite meat. I can cook it many different ways.

I love learning languages, lately I haven’t tried to learn a new language. I find Spanish easier to learn than French.

I am very fond of music, my favorite singers are Mohammed Rafi, Lata, Tagore, Talat Mehmood and Celine Dion. Celine is a French Canadian singer, the rest are from India.

My favorite pastime is blogging, reading novels in three languages, the languages are: Bengali(my mother tongue) Urdu I learned to speak, read and write in school . I have tons of novels in English.

Right now I’m reading, “The American Dervish”, I read almost all the books written by Paolo Coelho.

I spend a lot of time with my feline friends : Gabriel and Raphael.

This is all about me.

……………………………….:)

 

DP Daily Prompt: Someone Else’s Island

We’ve all been asked what five objects we’d take with us to a desert island. Now it’s your best friend’s ( or close relative’s) turn to be stranded.What five objects would you send him/her off with?

I am thinking of so many things to send with my best friend, but I’m allowed only five items. I need to think of the items she cannot do without.

I thought of a rice cooker, it wont be feasible, how will she plug it on in a desert, I know there will be no electricity, I wonder if there are battery operated rice cookers or better yet will the sand get warm enough to cook the rice? My friend cannot live without rice.

Rice cooker is out, I cannot send her with rice either,what’s the alternative she needs to eat something to live. I think a box of rice cereal is awesome, it’s as close to plain rice as one can get. Milk is not a problem I’ll give her a package of milk powder for her cereal. There is plenty of water in an island, she can mix the milk powder with water and voila she’s got milk for her cereal.

Let me see she’d need a bowl for her cereal, she can use it for any other food such as berries if she is lucky enough to find some.

It will be useless to give her money where will she spend it on a desert island?

She’ll need a set of clothes and a towel. I’ve already got the five items that I’ll send with her, let’s see they are:

1. one box of cereal

2. milk powder–one package

3.bowl—one

4.set of clothes — one

5. towel– one

I am checking the list, I am horrified to see the things I’m sending with my friend to a desert island.But they are very important, food and clothing everyone needs it.

Wait a minute if she knowingly goes to a desert island as a precautionary measure wouldn’t she herself take things she needs, when we go somewhere we take things with us we might need if we stay longer and run out of medicine, extra money for food and even more clothes?

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/dp-daily-promp…e-elses-island/

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 Prompt: Unlikely Pairinghttps://sabethville.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=25279&action=edit&message=10#post_name

Bacon and chocolate Caramel and cheddar— Is there an unorthodox food pairing you really enjoy? Share with us the weirdest combo you’re willing to admit that you like— and how you discovered it.

I am not sure how weird is my choice of liking beef and salmon. I cook them separately but I take them on my plate at the same time. My favorite  carbohydrate is rice, both salmon and beef stew is delicious with rice. I eat a slice of salmon with rice then I switch and the next morsel is beef and rice. I’ve been told it’s weird to eat fish and beef alternately for a meal. However  my taste bud does not  disapprove.

link: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/dp-daily-prompt-5/

 

Blogger challenge letter R

It’s been a while since I 

Read a Recipe oh my

I am more than Ready 

Today to cook Rice so spicy

Biriyani with lamb completely groovy!

 

 

Real Reason for cooking 

 Is to vow everyone looking

I was not aware the realm 

Will be so ravenously hungry

The Royals are demanding I hurry!

 

The Rice is Raw and the 

 Lamb is not out of the box

The invitees are  Raucous

And I’m going  absolutely bonkers

Help me Reena  help me Robert

Keep these Ruffians in their motors!

 

Come one and come all

Let’s rejoice and thank the Lord

Relish the food at this moment

Remember I may not make it again

So Relish rejoice and revel this moment!

 

 https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/blogger-challenge-letter-r

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DP Daily Prompt: Food for the Soul(and the Stomach)Ranu’s post Ranu’s Post

Beef Curry (Photo credit: avlxyz)

My favorite meal is curried beef with mixed vegetables and lentil soup and boiled rice

Boiled rice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

. I like eating it more than preparing it. Since I can only eat ,if I cook it.I have no choice but to prepare it.

When I was young,occasionally my Mom used to cook beef.I thought she was the best cook in the whole world. My Dad was a fussy eater,if food didn’t look good or taste good,he’d call me and tell me to give it to my Mom.I of course thought what a nice gesture. One day at lunch he called me to take the food for Mom,I was  my jovial self humming a tune,Dad wants to share the food with Mom.

I was calling Mom from a distance,when I reached her,I gave her the food,I said,”Dad wants you to eat it”. Mom was so angry I

Lentil soup (Photo credit: fifikins)

thought she’d hit me. I didn’t know what I did wrong.She calmed down when she saw me crying. She said,”Don’t you know when the food is not tasty,he sends it to me”. How was I going to know,no one told me. I noticed whenever this happened the servants would disappear,and I’d have to take the brunt from both my parents.

But beef curry,my Mom made was so tasty,I’d go for seconds. My brother Rafique was irritated with my love for beef curry.He once remarked,” If you eat so much beef you’ll turn into a cow”.  Those were the days my friend I thought would never end.It did come crashing down to an unfortunate end!

D.P. Daily Prompt: Five A Day posted by Ranu

Uncooked, polished, white long-grain rice grains (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

I am exiled to a private island,I am allowed five foods daily.Food is not what  comes to my mind. I am thinking why am I here in this island and for how long? Of course food is one of the most important thing a human being will think about just to survive.

 

These captors seems to me are very considerate.They are actually giving me a choice of five foods I can pick for my daily consumption. There is something odd about this whole thing. Anyway while I am thinking what can I pick,one of the captors  a big burly fellow who seems to have little or no patience ,gives me an evil look.While all the others have made their choice,I am the only one still trying to make up my mind. He takes his whip and hits me and says: “woman you have taken enough time, tell me at once what you want or you’ll get nothing to eat”.  This scares me a little,suddenly I have a mental block,I cannot think of anything.I get a second warning,’you have five minutes to decide’ I get anxious and spit out five foods ever so quickly,’I want tea,okra,egg plant, guava and rice’. The man gets impatient,’are you sure this is what you want’? I say,”yes, besides you only gave me five minutes and my brain is in knots.I cannot think .” After making my choice known I began to feel terrible.I wish I could think of more appealing foods than the ones I listed. It was time for breakfast,I noticed the others were having mouth-watering food and I was served tea and guava.I do like guava, but not for breakfast. The evil man came around to watch us eat,he noticed I was sitting quietly.Immediately he bawled and said,’ Why aren’t you eating, you got what you wanted,I’ll give you two minutes to finish your food? I felt like crying, I knew it was not going to make a dent in his system. I did what I had to do,drank my tea and ate the guava which was hard and green and totally bland.

 

I didn’t look forward for lunch,my choice was either okra ,rice or egg plant,out of the three rice was fine but out of egg plant and okra ,my fear was how are they going to cook it,do they know how to cook these vegetables. I didn’t have to wait too long,my lunch was rice and okra.The cook never saw okra before,he had no idea how to cook it.He took the easy way out,he boiled the okra. I was served sticky boiled okra with rice. Okra is a vegetable which is prepared with special care,it requires spices,oil  onion and salt,if you want to eat it with rice.This was beginning to be a nightmare for me.To avoid being bawled at or whipped by the giant,I slowly started swallowing the food.This was worse than medicine.

 

I knew what was left for me to eat for supper.I sat on the floor of the room and began to visualize what I want for supper.I would like some beef biriyani, a cucumber salad and for dessert a slice of cheesecake and water.I felt sleepy and went to sleep on the floor.I dreamt I was in a large dining hall,there were all kinds of food for us to eat.The waiter to my dismay brought me a large purple eggplant on a plate and handed it to me. I immediately screamed and told him to take it away,’I am not going to eat this useless thing’,I said.Suddenly I heard a thundering voice,’Yes you are,this is your choice.’ I slowly opened my eyes and saw him standing on top of me and pointing at the egg plant he said,’now eat’. This time I could not control my tears, I said ,’Oh God please don’t punish me,I’ll try to be a good person’. The whole five a day seemed to be a test for me.

 

Guava fruit on white background (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Eggplant (Photo credit: AsianLifestyleDesign)

 

 

Bucket of raw Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) pods (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Food Post by Ranu

Food is something our body needs to maintain life,growth and nourishment.

Boiled white rice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Bengal our staple food is rice.It is grown in large quantities and the weather

is suitable for growing it. We eat a lot of rice.The best combination of rice is

fish.We have several kinds of fish,they range from very tiny ones to very large.

Not all the fish is available throughout the year, some of them are seasonal.

We  grow a variety of vegetables and they are available in particular seasons.

In winter we get all our favourite vegetables,e.g   tomatoes,potatoes,cauliflower,

lettuce etc. We  grow variety of lentils; the most popular lentil is masoor,it is

Masoor dal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

cheaper than moong .Masoor dal(lentil) is cooked  daily in our homes. Masoor dal

is called the poor man’s beef. Among fish, Hilsa fish is very popular.

English: Smoked hilsa cooked with mustard seed in Dhaka. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)