HCF: January 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Panang curry with Tofu and Vegetables

I’m a friend for curry and Thai curry is one of my favorites. There are many different Thai curries (Massaman, Panang, Red, Green, Yellow, Karee, Kaeng Kua, Khing, etc.), each with a unique flavor that stems from the different ingredients in their pastes. If I was an authentic Thai chef, I’d grind my spices in a pestle and mortar and crack a coconut and strain its milk. Since I’m a house wife with two young kids, with no time, the following recipe is one that I've made up over the years and is as convenient as can be without sacrificing taste. You can use any vegetables or fruits you want (sweet potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, green beans, etc).

Concept: curry paste + coconut milk + protein + vegetables = delicious curry.

I always use Maesri brand curry paste, which I get from Asian grocery stores, but Thai Kitchen curry pastes are good, too.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil

1 can of coconut milk

half can of panang curry paste

2 cups of your choice of vegetables ( i used onion, capsicum, carrot, broccoli)

1 block of firm tofu

1/4 cup cashews (fry in tsp of oil)

10-12 leaves of Thai Basil

few mung bean sprouts for decorations

Method:

Heat a pan with oil in it.

Stir fry panang curry in it. Add coconut milk and mix it with curry paste.

when the mixture boils add tofu and vegetables.

All veges has to cover by the sauce and coconut milk mixture.

Cook for 5 minutes , if you are adding potatoes in it you have to add potatoes first cause it's take more time to cook.

Take it out in a bowl , add Cashews and thai basil and sprouts on top of it.

Serve it with white rice , brown rice or stir fry rice.

Enjoy.

http://caroleschatter.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/Coconut-recipe-links-Food-Friday.html
SARA'S CORNER & Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes
Foodelicious: ‘Only’ Event Announcement For January’13 & The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!
Sumee's Culinary Bites

Preeti's Kitchen Life

Gayathri's Cook Spot
Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey:

Cooks Joy

Food Corner: Cook Like a Celebrity Chef - 3
Priya's Versatile Recipes
http://www.zestysouthindiankitchen.com/2013/05/flavors-of-cuisine-thai-event-coming-at.html and http://www.erivumpuliyumm.com/
PJ's event and Sandhya's event

Monday, January 28, 2013

Soy Chorizo and Vegetables stuff Enchiladas

Chorizo is a Mexican Sausage, which is all ready cook and ready to use in any dish. Now a days in a market there are lot of soy based products available which vegetarian can use and get the taste or color or texture of meat product. This product is one of them. It made of soy granules with spices like Mexican chili, garlic , salt and other spices. It come in a sausage package also so it looks like sausage but it is 100% vegetarian. Since it is very much used in Mexican cooking I also use it to make my Enchiladas. This dish is like stuff burritos but then it has it's sauce and cheese and it's baked so it's much better then plain burrito. You can use your choice of vegetables, I use red and green capsicum, carrot, onion, garlic, Jalapenos, broccoli.

Ingredients for stuffing:

Half of Soy Chorizo

1 each Red & Green Capsicum Chopped
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
few flowers of broccoli
7 cloves of Garlic chopped
1 jalapenos Chopped
half zuchinni chopped
1 tsp oil
2 tsp taco seasoning

For Enchiladas

6 Whole wheat Tortillas
8 oz package of cheddar cheese
6 tooth picks

Ingredients for Sauce
8 oz of tomato puree can
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 Jalapenos finely chopped
1 tsp oil
1 tsp taco seasoning
salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a non stick pan.
Add oil in it, then add onion, garlic and jalapenos. cook for 1 minute.
Remove chorizo from casing and add in the mixture. Because it has spices in it , it will become red.
Cook for 2 minutes and add rest of the vegetables along with seasoning.
Check for the salt and add it.

Stuffing is good for 6 tortillas

Cook for 3 minutes covered until vegetables leave their water and cook it till it's gone.
Keep it aside and let it cool. you can not put hot stuffing in tortillas.

For sauce :
Heat a small pan, add oil in it.
Add ginger and Jalapenos in it.
Cook it for 2 minutes and add tomato puree.
Add little water and taco seasoning and boil it for 5 minutes.
Sauce has to thicken so when you baked it water don't spread out from sauce.
Keep it aside.

Assembly:

You can make it on oven too as a casserole but I like to use my toaster oven. If you are using oven preheat at 350 and then take baking dish.
Spread some sauce on bottom.

Put stuffing on tortilla with cheese

Take one tortilla and take big spoonful of stuffing in it. spread cheese on it.
Fold it from two sides and attache toothpick so it doesn't open. Do for the rest of it.
When all is done, spread sauce on top of it and cover it with cheese.

Ready to bake

Bake it till cheese melt.
Serve it with Guacamole , sour cream, salsa.
Don't forget to remove toothpick before you eat.

Diner is served.

Foodelicious: ‘Only’ Event Announcement For January’13 & The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!
SARA'S CORNER & Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes
Sumee's Culinary Bites
Preeti's Kitchen Life

Gayathri's Cook Spot
Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey:

Cooks Joy

Food Corner: Cook Like a Celebrity Chef - 3
erivumpuliyumm & My Food Treasures
Priya's Versatile Recipes
http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.com/2013/04/dish-name-starts-with-s.html
Spice Trail to Mexican spices

Chef Mireille's East West Realm: Mexican Recipes for #Food of the World

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Tawa Pulav with Masala Papad

Chats, Pani puri stalls, tawa pulav and pav bhaji stalls on street, who doesn't like those foods. We all know how unhealthy those stuff are but still we crave for that. For me it's been almost decade and half since I am in other side of the world and I crave for this street food so much, I make them as often I can make. I already made Ragda Pattise, Chole chat and now this Tawa Pulav another dish from Street Stalls. It's so easy and chatpata you don't need anything else with it. But I had it with side dish with Pavbhaji. But you can have it with simple raita or pickle or just as it is. It is good if you have leftover rice or you can make fresh one too. I made fresh rice.

Recipe adopted from Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients:
3 cups boiled basmati rice
1 cup mixed vegetables(carrot, capsicum, sweet peas)
1 chopped onion
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3 finely chopped tomatoes
1 tsp each fresh grated ginger and chopped green chill
2-3 tsp Pav bhaji masala
1 tsp Red Chili powder
salt to taste
1 small stick cinnamon
1 star anise
2-3 cloves
1 green cardamom
salt to taste
Lime juice to taste.
3 tsp oil

Method:
To cook rice put enough water in it, add star anise, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Add peas and carrot in it too so it's cook with rice and you don't need to boil separately cook it till it's perfect , strain the extra water and put it aside. we need cold rice. Remove whole spices from it.

Heat a oil in non stick pan, add cumin seeds, when it changes the color, add onion and sauté till it's lightly browned.
Add tomatoes and cook it and mashed it with back spoon so its become mushy.
add ginger and chilies, pav bhaji masala. salt, red chili powder and mix it.
add capsicum and cook for two minutes only, you need crunch in it.
Then add rice with carrot and peas in it. mix it well , make sure you don't broke rice.
cook for 2-3 minutes and serve it warm.
Before serving add lime juice and cilantro if you like.

I served it along side with Masala Papad

Ingredients :

6 roasted Papads
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
1 green chili finely chopped
15 chopped cherry tomatoes (or 1 medium tomato)
1 medium onion finely chopped
salt and chat masala as per taste
Lime juice as per taste