posted September 26, 2007 12:43 PM              

Chicken Kashmiri

Ingredients
2.0 lbs of chicken breast skin removed Ê
1/2 cup yoghurt Ê
1 cup ground onion Ê
1/2 cup ground cashew nut (soak cahew for an hour or more to make grinding easier) Ê
2 med tomatoes cut into small pieces Ê
1" square of fresh ginger ground Ê
5 -6 cloves of garlic ground
6-7 whole green cardomom
1 tsp (more or less) of cayenne pepper or red chilli pwd Ê
2 tbsp of sliced almonds Ê
2 tbsp of corn oil

Preparation
Heat the oil, add the ground onion and stir till rose colored. Add garlic & ginger continue to fry till light brown. Add the cardamom and chicken cook for about 15 - 20 minutes on medium high flame. Add yoghurt tomatoes, red chilli powder. Keep cooking and stirring constantly for another 20 - 30 minutes or till the chicken is fully cooked and browned. Add ground cashew and cook for another 3 minutes. Garnish with almond slivers and serve.

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Pecan Pie ..
~ http://www.myhouseandgarden.com/recipes/Pecan_Pie.htm ~

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding ..
~ http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/roastbeefandyorkshir_72053.shtml ~

Steak and Kidney Pie ..
~ http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/steakandkidneypie_1318.shtml ~

once watched a friend prepare some steak 'n kidney pie ..
he added a drop or two of vinegar .. to which part i don't remember ..
but he said it would make quite a nice difference .. and it sure did :-)

posted September 26, 2007 06:55 PM            

here's a condiment/garnish we eat with most everything

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients
* 6 medium Tomatoes diced
* 1 medium Onion diced
* 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro chopped.
* 2 Fresh serrano peppers seeded and minced
* garlic salt
* fresh squeezed lime to taste

Put all ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Let set a few minutes.

posted September 26, 2007 09:59 PM              

Serves 8

adapted from a recipe on the Finnish Pirkka site

300 grams puff pastry*
150 grams spinach, leaves only
200 grams finely chopped onions
2 Tbsp oil
200 grams feta cheese, cubed
200 ml single cream
3 medium eggs
a pinch of salt
0.25 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
a quarter of a nutmeg, freshly grated (or a very, very generous pinch)

Roll puff pastry into 4-5 mm thickness and line a pie dish with it (you can use a round, 23 cm pie dish, or a square dish). Put aside.
Wash the spinach, do not shake too dry, put onto a hot frying pan and heat, until spinach has wilted. Refresh quickly under cold running water, then drain thoroughly and chop spinach roughly.
Heat the oil on a heavy frying pan and saute onions on a gentle heat until softened. Do not brown!
Spread spinach on the puff pastry, then scatter fried onions and feta cubes on top.
Whisk eggs with single cream, season with salt**, pepper and nutmeg, pour the mixture over the quiche.
Bake at 200 C for about 45 minutes, until the egg mixture has set and puff pastry is lovely golden shade.
Cool a little and serve as a light meal.

* I use the leavened one with yeast, as it gives a lighter and puffier texture, but plain puff pastry would work, too.
** The amount of salt depends on the saltiness of the feta you're using, so be careful here.

posted September 26, 2007 10:12 PM              

Pastry
1 lb. phyllo pastry sheets
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1-1/2 cups melted sweet butter
Dash of ground clove
5 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups walnuts, pistachio nuts or hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Syrup

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey
3 slices orange & lemon rind
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 tsp. lemon juice

Pastry: Place sheets of phyllo pastry in a 13x9x2 inch pan, brushing every other sheet evenly with butter. When ten or twelve sheets are in place, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and clove, and spread 1/3 of this mixture over the sheet. Place another five or six buttered sheets of phyllo on top of nut mixture. Repeat this process two more times, alternating nut mixture with five or six sheets of buttered phyllo. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (180 deg C). With a sharp knife, cut baklava into diamond-shaped pieces. Heat remaining butter (there should be about 1/2 cup) until hot and light brown. Pour evenly over the baklava. Sprinkle a few drops of cold water on top and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 300 deg F (150 deg C) and continue to bake for one hour.

Syrup: In a saucepan combine water, sugar, honey, lemon juice, orange and lemon rind, cinnamon stick and cloves. Heat mixture until a drop forms when placed into a cup of cold water, then simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Strain. When the baklava is baked, pour syrup over it. Makes

30-36 pieces.

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Pecan Soup

1 cup pecans, chopped finely
1 cup milk
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. butter
3 cups vegetable stock, ideally home-made
1/4 tsp. mace
1/3 cup light cream
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Put the pecans, milk, breadcrumbs and flour in a saucepan and bring just to the point of boiling, stirring constantly. Remove immediately from the flame. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the milk mixture. Slowly blend in the stock and mace. Bring to a boil and immediately lower the flame and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream, salt and pepper, pour into individual serving bowls and garnish each with parsley. Serve hot.

posted September 26, 2007 10:27 PM              

i'd love a good recipe for dolmas.....(veggie of course )

posted September 26, 2007 10:42 PM              

I pulled this recipe off google... my bad.

Pine nut dolmades with yoghurt feta dip

1 14 1/2ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup (packed) finely chopped fresh mint (about 3 bunches)
1/2 cup (packed) finely chopped fresh dill (about 4 bunches)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced

52 (about) grape leaves from jar (about two 2-pound jars)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Yogurt-Feta dip
1 cup plain yogurt (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 large green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel

For pine nut dolmades:
Place tomatoes with their juice in large bowl. Add next 7 ingredients and mix to blend. Season with salt and pepper.
Rinse grape leaves under cold water. Drain. Cover bottom of heavy large Dutch oven with grape leaves (about 6). Place 1 grape leaf on work surface, vein side up; cut off stem. Place about 1 tablespoon rice mixture in center of leaf toward stem end. Fold sides over filling. Starting at stem end of leaf, roll up tightly as for egg roll. Place in Dutch oven, seam side down. Repeat with more leaves and rice mixture, layering dolmades when bottom of pot is filled.

Pour lemon juice over dolmades. Cover with grape leaves (about 6). Add enough water to pot so that dolmades are almost covered. Place heatproof plate atop dolmades to weigh down. Cover pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until rice is tender almost all liquid is absorbed, about 35 minutes.

Remove from heat; uncover. Allow dolmades to cool in pot. Drain any liquid remaining in pot. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead, Cover and chill.) Arrange dolmades on platter. Serve with Yogurt-Feta dip.

Yogurt-Feta dip:
Place all ingredients in processor and puree until almost smooth. Season with pepper. Chill until cold, about 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Makes about 40.

posted September 26, 2007 10:47 PM              

it seems as though dolmas have some of sort secret about them though...don't know if i could make them properly without the authentic mediterranean sun.

posted September 26, 2007 11:30 PM              

the thread list so far ..

.. thread .. page one :

Aloo Gobi .. potato and cauliflower
Peanut and Jelly Toast Mountain .. fit for a king ..
Peshwari Naan .. naan bread ..
Chicken Tikka
Achar .. pickles
Chicken Korma
Gulab Jaman .. desert
Rogan Josh
Mattar Paneer
Zucchini Slice
Chicken Biryani

.. thread .. page two :

Chicken Kashmiri
Pico de Gallo .. condiment/garnish
Baklava .. honey and nut pastry
Pecan Soup
Feta, Spinach and Onion Quiche with Nutmeg .. feta-spinatipirukas muskaadiga
Pine nut dolmades with yoghurt feta dip
Chess Pie
Dolmades
Tiramisu
Lentils and Rice with coconut 'n cream
Eggplant (Turkish Style)
Burekas
Burekas
Piri Piri Kari (Fiery prawn curry)

.. thread page three :

posted September 26, 2007 11:50 PM              

Chess Pie
SUBMITTED BY: T. Knecht

"This is a very old southern recipe. It's a very sweet, rich pie which cannot be described as anything but marvelous. This is not my personal recipe but was passed to me by my grandmother and from her grandmother and so on and so forth."

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla together. Mix in the eggs, then stir in the cornmeal, evaporated milk and vinegar until smooth.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 40 minutes. Let cool. Cut and top servings with whipped cream. You will think you have died and gone to heaven.

posted September 26, 2007 11:51 PM              

These are really easy to make.
My father taught us, as children to make these.
Fresh grape leaves are necessary to make these taste right.
Just go pick some yourself they seem to grow everywhere.

If you really are unable to find any,
I'll be more than happy to send you some myself.

posted September 27, 2007 03:07 AM              

yourfriendinspirit, thanks! And, do you think you would be able to send those leaves to Australia? You said fresh is best, but I would probably look for jar grape leaves at the health food store.

posted September 27, 2007 03:18 AM              

But, really...
Do you think you could find these growing in your area.
It does make a HUGE difference in taste.

I love these!!! Yummy!!!

oh, and does anyone have a tried and true recipe for Tiramisu?
[
an Italian dessert typically made from sponge finger biscuits,
espresso coffee, mascarpone cheese, eggs, cream, sugar, Marsala wine,
cocoa, and rum. The Italian name tiramisù means "pick-me-up"
(metaphorically, "make me happy,"), a reference to the two
caffeine-containing ingredients, espresso and cocoa.

posted September 27, 2007 10:12 PM              

Last night I made some tasty lentils and rice.
2 c. lentils (we have a family of 5 so that's why I use so much)
2 c. rice

Add 2 c. water to both the rice and lentils.
I add 1 tbs. powedered veggie stock to the water, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the rice until fluffy.

I add 2 tsp. curry powder to the lentils and water, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the lentils until tender.

After cooking I added to the lentils, 1 c. cream, and about a half cup of toasted coconut.

It was really good.

posted October 01, 2007 12:01 PM              

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 medium eggplant
1 onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
chopped mint to taste
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup cooked rice
3 tbs. oil
3 tbs. white wine
juice of 1 lemon

posted October 01, 2007 12:06 PM              

( site text )
This is a dish which is quite similar to the Turkish "burak." Burekas can be prepared with various types of dough: strudel dough (thin leaves), rising dough or with types of prepared dough found in the market. To be tasty, it must be served hot and fresh.

Dough

1/2 lb. margarine
1 tsp. salt
3 cups self-rising flour
warm water

Stuffing

1/2 cup cheese (feta)
1 cup cooked spinach
3 egg yolks

Garnish

1 egg yolk
sesame seeds to cover

Dough: Melt the margarine and mix with flour and salt. Add warm water until able to roll dough. Roll it, cut a leaf, and cut circles with a cup.

posted October 02, 2007 08:27 AM            

Piri Piri Kari (Fiery prawn curry)

700g large prawns, peeled and de-vained (retain tail)
1 tsp Malawi Curry Powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp unsalted butter (or groundnut oil)
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp Piri Piri paste
2 medium-size ripe tomatoes, minced
1 tsp lemon thyme (or ½ tsp thyme + ½, tsp lemon zest)
2 tbsp finely-chopped parsley
2 tsp paprika
120ml chicken broth (or water)
coarse sea salt to taste.

Toss together the prawns and the curry powder and lemon juice in a bowl then set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a large frying pan over high heat. When hot add the garlic and the prawns, toss until the crustaceans turn pink (about 2 minutes) then transfer to a bowl.

Add the remaining butter to the pan and when melted add the onions. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring continually, until the onions soften and begin to brown (about 4 minutes). Stir-in the piri-piri paste, the tomatoes, lemon thyme, parsley, paprika and the broth. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the tomatoes soften and the sauce thickens.

Return the prawns to the pan and cook until heated through (about 2 minutes). Check the seasoning and add salt to taste. Serve on a bed of rice.