Daily Prompt : Fragrance

In response to daily prompt : Fragrance

When I think of fragrance, aroma, or a pleasant smell,  I think of my mom’s chicken in yogurt sauce , instantly it awakens my appetite, I cannot  wait to taste it.

Chicken by itself has no pleasing qualities, whether I look at it or smell its flesh, it turns me off. I turn around  to see something more pleasing to my eyes than a body of a chicken. It is so strange when this same animal when it’s smeared with the spices in my mother’s cupboard, cooked by my mom, I forget an hour ago, I disliked it  and now am eager to eat it.

The spices my mother uses are, ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, cardamoms green and brown, cayenne, cinnamon stick and the bay leaf,mixed together with fried onions, clarified butter and yogurt, they give  the most heavenly aroma.  These are the ingredients my mom uses to cook the chicken.

This is the   recipe to cook  chicken in yogurt sauce. It’s flavor is unbelievable and it is very tasty!

…………………………………………. 🙂

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: Smell You Later

Humans have very strong scent memory.Tell us about a smell that transports you.

My mom’s preparation of Turki kebab takes me back all the way to my hometown Comilla, Bangladesh.I can still imagine my mom slicing the beef, the potatoes, onions and the tomatoes. They all had to be the  same size. My mother placing a layer of meat, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes and on top the yoghurt spice  mixture and then some whole red dry chilly peppers and on the very top the oil in a round aluminum pot large enough to hold all the ingredients with a lid.. She’d continue until all the ingredients were used.

She’d  put the pot on the stove and leave it for an hour. The aroma of this dish filled the kitchen and the veranda.We’d sit patiently for mom to call us for dinner. When we were called we’d sit and wait for mom to serve. This is such a pleasant memory, it seems to me when I think of it, I’m back home relishing the food, each morsel had such a divine taste.

……………………………….. 🙂

Daily Prompt: Next in Line

Given the choice, would you rather be heir to the throne , or the (probably) off-the-hook younger sibling?

First of all let me quote the phrase, ” Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Heir to the throne is not an option for me, given the fact I have four older siblings who’d like nothing better than to assume the role of an heir to the throne themselves.

I’d like to be the bystander, who gets to enjoy the jealousy of the older siblings towards each other. There is nothing more enjoyable than this.

I’ve experienced the heir to the throne facade by my my elder sister, although it was short-lived she made every effort to make my life a living hell.

Mom went to see her siblings for a few days, she entrusted dear old sister to keep house. She sat on the stool every day and ordered me to do the chores of the house while she was having a grand time being the task master. I had to wash, clean, and grind the spices, no we did not have an electric grinder, this was manual labor. I remember my hands used to burn after I’d finish grinding the red hot peppers. While she would order me to hurry.

Those were the days I’d wish mom would hurry home!

…………………………….. 🙂

Daily Prompt: You, the Sandwich

If a restaurant were to name something after you, what would it be? Describe it( Bonus points if you give us a recipe!)

This is quite an interesting prompt. If a restaurant names something after me, it is : “Ranu’s Biriyani Casserole”

“Ranu’s Biriyani( Rice meat and vegetable casserole)

The following is the recipe and ingredients:

1. beef- two pounds boneless blade roast, slice into one and half inch

2. rice : two cups basmati rice, washed and drained one hour before cooking–one and a half cup of water

3. potatoes: 6 medium regular potatoes, sliced into four each

4. onions– five medium diced

5.tomatoes: six medium, sliced in quarters

6. yoghurt: half cup

7. garlic: 4 cloves, make a paste

8. ginger: one inch piece long, make a paste

9.cayenne : one teaspoon ground

10. ground coriander: one teaspoon

11.ground cumin: one teaspoon

12.ground turmeric: half teaspoon

13.ground cinnamon: half teaspoon

14.ground clove – one-fourth teaspoon

15.ground allspice: one fourth teaspoon. 15 b. salt– two teaspoons

16. Clarified butter or vegetable oil — half cup

17. cooking pot with cover (oven proof)

18. Method:

Place the cook pot on the stove at medium heat, put the vegetable oil or clarified butter in the pot to heat for two minutes. Add onions and fry until it is transparent, add ginger and garlic and fry for a minute, add the rest of the spices including salt, fry for an additional minute and a half. Add beef slices, potatoes, tomatoes, and one and a half cup of water, stir until they are all mixed with the spices, add the rice last and let all the ingredients come to a boil.

Place the pot with its cover in a preheated 350 degrees oven for thirty minutes. Enjoy it with a cucumber yoghurt salad.

………………………………… 🙂

 

 

 

Writing 101, Day Ten Happy( Eid-al-Fitr meal)

Today’s prompt: Tell us something about your favorite childhood meal— the one that was always a treat,that meant”Celebration” or that comforted you and has deep roots in your memory.

Free free to focus on any aspect of the meal, from the food you ate to the people who were there to the event it marked.

Today’s twist: Tell the story in your own distinct voice.

Every year after a long fasting month, we celebrated “Eid-al-Fitr.” My mom was a good cook and my Dad was a fussy eater. We the kids, all twelve of us anxiously waited for the day which meant new clothes and delicious food.

On this day Mom cooked Chicken Korma, Spicy Mutton, heavenly Pilaf and Salad. The salad was prepared with sliced tomatoes, cucumber, thinly sliced onions and hot green chillies, mom took special care for making this one, she’d slice the vegetables, combined them and sprinkled lime juice in the end.

For my mom cooking was a pleasure, the chicken she cooked was not spicy, she used onions, garlic, ginger, salt, a dash of sugar, ground coriander, cumin, clarified butter and little pieces of cinnamon sticks, green and brown cardamom.When she had all the ingredients ready she’d put it on the stove, while the chicken was simmering, she’d turn her attention to mutton.

Mutton was the dish we all loved, it had all the hot spices, when it was nearly cooked, she’d add some sliced potatoes and tomatoes. All the dishes she cooked she always used yoghurt, let me tell you this ingredient  was the reason why the food tasted so good.

The last thing she cooked was pilaf, she used a special rice named Basmati.

My mom was an expert, she always completed her cooking in an hour. When all the food was cooked, the table was set and we all sat down to eat.This was a special meal for a special day for us it was heavenly and when the day was over we’d look forward to the next ‘Eid-al fitr!

Kindly leave your feedback, it will be greatly appreciated.

Food Image from wikipedia

365 Writing Prompts:Simply Irresistible

Tell us about the favorite dish or food that  you simply cannot turn down.

My favorite dish is biriyani, it is a casserole dish. It has a fine  mixture of ingredients, the most important is  beef, close second is basmati rice, followed by potatoes, tomatoes,onions,yoghurt, clarified butter and all those spices that enhance the flavor of this awesome casserole.

It can be cooked in the oven or on  top of the stove, the spices give it the aroma and once it’s done, it is difficult to wait!

I cooked this several times for my daughter’s friends, they love it a lot.

ink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/365-writing-pr…y-irresistible

 

DP Daily Prompt: Ring Of Fire

Do you love hot and spicy foods or do you avoid them for fear of what tomorrow might bring?

If I’m ever given a choice between spicy or bland food,my choice would be spicy, there is no doubt about it. I grew up in a family where any kind of meat,fish , or chicken was cooked with a lot of spices. I also ate green hot chillies with my food.  The chillies did not agree with my stomach but I did not stop eating them until I got sick. Every time I was sick I promised not to eat those green chillies, it was an addiction  I could not give up completely. 

When I moved to Gander with my husband,there was no such thing as green chillies, the locals did not know them and it was not available. So my obsession with chillies came to a screeching halt. What was available in the store was black pepper and salt. I couldn’t imagine cooking with salt and pepper only, so we asked our friends in Montreal to send us some of the spices we use in our cooking.

This is how things worked out for us as far as cooking goes,there was no other issue, we took trips to the mainland each year and bought our supplies and clothing. 

We moved to the capital within a few years,here we can buy anything we need,all kinds of fruits and vegetables and spices too.

The only food I eat without any spices is steak,to me it ruins the taste completely.

Image from wikipedia

 

k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/dp-daily-prompt-ring-of-fire

Writing Prompt: Seconds

I always loved spicy food. Once our whole family were invited to dinner to my parents friend’s house.  The lady whom we addressed as auntie was a very good cook. I was excited, I knew she makes everything tasty, we were looking forward to this dinner. When we got there our aunt told us her daughter-in-law cooked the meal. I was somewhat disappointed to know she was not the cook. Anyhow I was anxious to find out if she was as good as her mother-in-law or better.

Dinner was served, the main item was  “Seekh Kebab”( seekh is an Urdu word which means, skewer). The aroma of these kebabs were out of this world. Talk about spicy the lady was not skimpy as far as the spices were concerned. She was very generous with the most important spice ,cayenne powder.

Seekh Kebab is a dish where spices are important,too much or too little ruins the taste. Our hostess was a seasoned Chef , the kebab’s were so tasty, I still remember the taste after such a long time. They were served with Parathas( flat bread made with white flour and pan fried in ghee( clarified butter).

All we were interested in was the above two items. I cannot remember what else was there. We talked about this meal for days. We were invited again to have this meal,it wasn’t the same something was missing, maybe it was missing the love or our hostess wasn’t in a good mood.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/365-days-feb22-seconds/

Kebab Recipe Ranu’s post https://sabethville.wordpress.com

English: Glögg recipe: spices used, clockwise from top, Cinnamon, Ginger (sliced), cloves, cardamom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

1. Meat(beef) two and a half pound roast,sliced into three-fourths of an inch,size of each piece , length= 3 inches, width= two inches.

2. Onion– 5 medium size, the slices should be same as beef pieces.

3. Potatoes_  5 large, sliced the same as beef  pieces.

4. Tomatoes__6, medium size; sliced same as beef pieces.

5. Yoghurt– 2 cups; plain

6. Oil or Clarified butter– three-fourth cup

7. Whole spices—  a. red dried chillies– 12

b. pepper corn( black pepper) 15 pieces.

c. cloves–12 pieces.

d. whole green cardamom—12

e. cinnamon stick— 6 half inch pieces.

f. bay leaf—6 to 8

8. Ground spices:

a. cumin– 1 tsp.

b. coriander–1  tsp.

Ginger and Garlic– it is best to have them fresh.

1. ginger– 1 inch piece crushed into a paste.

2. garlic–5 cloves, crushed into a paste.

1. Salt– 2 level teaspoon

Mix the the ground spices,fresh garlic and ginger with the yoghurt and put it aside.

Utensil— one five quart round pot with cover.

Method :

Grease bottom of pot with two tablespoons of oil or clarified butter, carefully put the slices of onion,followed by two tablespoons of spiced mixed  yoghurt, three whole chillies,four pepper corns,three whole cloves,three cardamoms,two cinnamon sticks,and two bay leaves  and two tablespoons of oil .Cover this layer with beef and follow the same method as the top layer with the yoghurt,spices , one teaspoon salt and oil. After beef next is potatoes, put  same amount of spices ,oil, yoghurt as on the first layer.The last layer is tomatoes, put the remaining spices,yoghurt,oil and the second teaspoon of salt.

If there is beef, potatoes, onion and tomatoes left, Do the same as in part one but do not use extra spices ,just use less for the part one layers and use them in the second part.

place the pot in a pre-heated oven 350 degrees for approximately an hour. Check after thirty minutes to see everything is working well. turn off the oven and leave the pot for 45 minutes  more. This will help to dry the liquid.

I’m reposting a recipe of mine instead of today’s writing prompt, this will I hope explain why I will not settle for red or blue pill, as a substitute for real food.

nk: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/kebab-recipe-r…-wordpress-com/

 

 

Freshly made clarified butter, still liquid (Photo credit: Wikipedia)