Sultan's Kitchen

[sereia 0]

Thanks girlie. I must not have noticed the others! I apologize. hehe!

That pilav looks good. I make something similar with dried fruit/nuts but never with the assorted peas/carrots/corn. That would be a good addition and to get some veggies in!

Also the tahini cake sounds yummy! I love anything sesame! DEFINITELY going to try that. Was it a moist cake?

[RAKASA 0]

Thanks girlie. I must not have noticed the others! I apologize. hehe!

That pilav looks good. I make something similar with dried fruit/nuts but never with the assorted peas/carrots/corn. That would be a good addition and to get some veggies in!

Also the tahini cake sounds yummy! I love anything sesame! DEFINITELY going to try that. Was it a moist cake?

It was moist, but nice & light. I also really liked that the tahini/honey sauce on top got a little hard/crispy. It reminded me a little of the consistency of a nice pound cake.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Ooo, those look great. I'll have to pick up a new jar of tahina from the ME grocery store next weekend. The one we have is kinda ew. It's fine for the husband's needs, but I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I've been trying to make a hearty vegetable dish or 2 each week. My thought is to try to make the veggies the main dish and the meat the side dish, so that we can reduce our meat consumption. This week, it's Curried Vegetables and Dahl, from Moosewood Cooks at Home. I love the Moosewood cookbooks, but my sister tells me the restaurant is a bit of a disapointment, especially with all the hype around the cookbooks.

Some changes I made to the recipe:

*I added aleppo pepper from Penzeys in place of the chopped chili. I just don't keep chilis on hand. The Aleppo Pepper adds just a little bit of spice, but not too much. The husband can't deal with typical indian spiciness, so I usually use this in my indian dishes.

*Frozen and cauliflower instead of fresh, worked out just fine

*I didn't have enough red lentils, and no yellow split peas on hand, so I used 1.5 c of split chana dahl and the rest of the red lentils (about .75 c). I cooked them seperately, since they have different cook times.

*I add a shake of black pepper to my bowl, to add a little more zip to it.

*I didn't serve it with any other grain, since the lentils gave it enough in that vein, I thought.

[RAKASA 0]

Well, I am making the tahini cake tonight (it's in the oven now) and I'll be making the Ic Pilav sans meat since we'll be having some steaks. I think I'll also steam some kale for me since the hubby doesn't like it and I need more green than what will be in the pilav.

Cake is smelling good!

[RAKASA 0]

Well, I am making the tahini cake tonight (it's in the oven now) and I'll be making the Ic Pilav sans meat since we'll be having some steaks. I think I'll also steam some kale for me since the hubby doesn't like it and I need more green than what will be in the pilav.

Cake is smelling good!

OK, I just tried the cake and it is really tasty (again!). However, I found that it needed more time than listed in the recipe, but I just kept adding 5 min and after an additional (maybe)15 min, I turned the oven off and left it there til I finished cooking dinner. The pilav didn't come out as well, but I tweaked it and I think my tweaks were a little off. It wasn't bad, just not as good as the one they made on Saturday. I'll follow the recipe next time.

[sara535 15]

Well, I am making the tahini cake tonight (it's in the oven now) and I'll be making the Ic Pilav sans meat since we'll be having some steaks. I think I'll also steam some kale for me since the hubby doesn't like it and I need more green than what will be in the pilav.

Cake is smelling good!

OK, I just tried the cake and it is really tasty (again!). However, I found that it needed more time than listed in the recipe, but I just kept adding 5 min and after an additional (maybe)15 min, I turned the oven off and left it there til I finished cooking dinner. The pilav didn't come out as well, but I tweaked it and I think my tweaks were a little off. It wasn't bad, just not as good as the one they made on Saturday. I'll follow the recipe next time.

Noura that made me laugh. I seem to have some kind of serious mental block against actually following a recipe - I am a habitual tweaker. Often it comes out good but sometimes the recipe is just perfect as is Lucky for me my household is quite tolerant of my less succesful experiments......

having said that, I make (with my own tweaks) your lamb and apricot and chick pea tagine all the time and its one of my number one favorites. In fact I think I may have to do it later this week - so thanks for that recipe!

[MrsAmera 41]

Noura -

How about some Mardi Gras recipes? Or some good Louisiana ones in general? I watched Top Chef in N.O. last week and have been itching for some of that food every since!!! I think hubby would really be into that kind of food!

[RAKASA 0]

Noura -

How about some Mardi Gras recipes? Or some good Louisiana ones in general? I watched Top Chef in N.O. last week and have been itching for some of that food every since!!! I think hubby would really be into that kind of food!

I'll have to type some up. I think I sent Sara my mom's Crawfish (or Shrimp) Etouffee recipe. I also just heard chef John Folse (he's local here) this weekend on his radio show doing a King Cake bread pudding. It's on his website, which I think is www.johnfolse.com

But I'll see what I can wrangle up for you. My grandmother wrote a cookbook too and I treasure it. It's called "Kissing Don't Last, Cooking Do!" by Nora Miranda.

[Henia 11]

Ye really I want some good old Southern, Cajun and Creole recipes ... I miss that! :::: HELP NOURA!

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I made north indian style chicken curry last night and it was

http://recipes.recipeland.com/recipe/v/Chi...ndian_Style_333

The recipe is a bit hard to follow. I used black mustard seeds and ground cloves and cardamon. I also didn't brush off the excess yogurt - I liked to keep that flavor in the sauce.

Overall, definately in the "to make again" pile.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Bamia Khuta - Sweet-and sour chicken and okra, from the jewish kitchen of the Varied Kitchens of India. I'm totally NOT an okra fan, so I never eat this myself, but the okra loving husband adores this dish.

• 1 chicken, 3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, loose skin and fat discarded (yeah, most of the recipes in the book call for chicken like this. I tried it a few times, but I'm not a big fan of trying to chop up a whole chicken. So, I just use boneless, skinless chunks of meat).
• 1 cup thin-sliced onions
• 1 teaspoon crushed fresh gingerroot
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 pound okra (I use frozen, usually a whole pound, since the husband really really likes okra)
• 1/4 cup corn or peanut oil
• 1/2 cup chopped ripe tomato (I used canned)
• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste, soaked in 1/2 cup water for 30 minutes
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh hot chili or 1 small whole chili (I don't keep chilis on hand, so I use aleppo pepper, not too hot for the husband's bland arab palate).
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1. Put the chicken, onions, gingerroot, garlic, salt, turmeric and 1 cup water together into a pan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat and simmer until the liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes. Stir from time to time.

2. In the meantime, trim the ends off the okra and cut a slit 1 inch long in each pod. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet and fry the okra over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside (Since I use chopped frozen okra, the first few times I made this recipe, I defrosted it and then fried it. However, the last time, I just defrosted and didn't fry, and it turned out just fine. A good way to save a little fat).

3. Add the tomato to the chicken pan and stir-fry the mixture (hamiss) to reduce the remaining sauce to a thick paste. All the liquid should be evaporated at this stage and the chicken should begin to brown. Add the other cup of water.

4. Rub the tamarind paste and soaking water together with your fingers and strain the liquid into the ciken through a metal sieve (I don't have a sieve, so I just take the tamarind out of the water with my fingers and squeeze. If little pieces are left, I don't worry myself with them). Bring the sauce to a boil and add the okra, chili and sugar. Cook over moderate to low heat for 10 minutes.

5. Add the mint. Adjust the sugar, should you wish a stronger sweet-sour flavor.

Serve warm. There will be plenty of sauce (I usually serve it with rice or warm whole wheat pita bread).

Phing -

Bean Threads with Beef, a recipe from the Tibetan Kitchen of Darjeeling, from my all time favorite cookbook, The Varied Kitchens of India.

• 1/4 pound bean threads
• 1 T corn of peanut oil
• 1 T minced onions (I used a whole lot more, as I loooove onions - probably a half an onion worth)
• 1/2 pound flank or sirloin steak, cut into thin 2-inch slices (didn’t have this on hand, so I used half a pound of ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped fine
• 1 t minced fresh gingerroot
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1/4 t salt(I omitted this, as I had already seasoned the beef with salt)
• 1/8 t five-spice mix

1. Soak the bean threads (phing) in hot water for 15 minutes. The threads will swell slightly and become translucent. Drain, and cut into 3 inch pieces with scissors.

2. Heat the oil in a skillet and stir-fry the onion over moderate heat for 1 minute. Add the beef and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the garlic and gingerroot and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute (I cooked the beef for much longer, as the husband likes meat well done).

3. Add the broth, soy sauce, salt, five-spice mix and bean threads, and cook for 3 minutes.

Serve warm with the traditional accompaniment, rice (didn’t serve with rice, as the noodles were enough starchiness for the meal).

[RAKASA 0]

My blog is finally up. I'll keep posting recipes there as I can. Enjoy!

http://moroccanwife.blogspot.com/

Noura

[sara535 15]

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

• 4 eggs

• 1 quart buttermilk

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• ½ cup applesauce (optional, I just like the extra moisture)

• 1-2 cups sugar (I use brown sugar, amount depends on how sweet you like them)

• 6 cups raisin bran cereal

• 1/2 cup raisins or craisins

• 5 cups all-purpose flour ( I use 2 cups whole wheat and 3 cups unbleached all purpose)

• 6 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together eggs, buttermilk, oil and sugar. Stir in cereal and raisins. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture. Stir just until all ingredients are moistened. If desired, store batter, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. To bake, gently stir batter; fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Muffins also freeze well, so you could bake them all at once and then thaw when you need them.

[Meriem_DZ 37]

For the Shawarma lovers. I tried this shawarma recipe a few days ago and it was delicious. I did not however use the expensive meat that she suggested. I just happened to have Chuck eye steaks and I sliced it really thin and it worked out great.

Enjoy!

Meriem