31 Days of Simple Recipes: A Review

Oh my, I can't believe it's actually the end of October AND the end of this series! Phew! (wiping sweat off my forehead)

I'am proud of myself for sticking with my goal and not giving up. I'am also relieved that it's over.. hee :D Looking around for simple recipes, trying them out in the kitchen, taking photos, writing them up on the blog can be a bit taxing, specially when you have to do it day in and day out. But it was worth all the effort and energy spent.

So what did I achieve from this series??

#1 I've 20+ recipes on my blog which were all posted in a time span of 'one month'. It's a huge achievement for me as I'am a bit lazy when it comes to typing out recipes

#2 I've a total of 100+ blog posts

#3 I got a guest post from Shab's Cuisine!

#4 The guest post as well as being a fellow 31 Dayer resulted in HUGE traffic on my blog!

#5 My food photography has improved - I would like to believe ;)

#6 Number of followers on my blog has increased

#7 Number of comments per day has also increased

That's all I can come up with right now. But I'am sure this series is going to do my blog a lot of good in the long run. You never know, right? :))

Thank you Nester for starting this awesome series and I will surely join you again next year! Insha Allah :)

Day 31: Paneer, Marrow and Red Bell Pepper on Toothpick: 31 Days of Simple Recipes

Since it's the final day of the '31 Days of Simple Recipes' series, I would like to share one more with you...

I had a pack of Paneer (cottage cheese) cubes in my freezer that I've been wanting to cook with. I looked around for recipes and couldn't find anything enticing. So I decided to get creative and come up with something myself.

I've been going crazy over marrow this week. Used them in pizzas, ate them raw! haha.. I'am also a huge fan of bell peppers. Love their crunchy texture. And they are loaded with anti-oxidants - good for healthy skin. I knew that paneer, marrow and bell peppers cook easily and would be great if put together. Now I had to decide whether I should do a basic stir fry sort of thing or should I put them on skewers? I didn't want to do anything fancy and wanted a quick snack with tea. That's when I remembered how my mom makes kebabs on toothpicks. And she used to cook them on stovetop, not in the oven! cool, ha!

So I made a paste with some red chilli powder, chaat masala (a seasoning used in salads and curries), salt, juice of a lime and olive oil. Then I coated paneer cubes, marrow and red pepper chunks with the paste. Got them on toothpicks and left them sitting for a couple of minutes (didn't have the patience, hee). I shallow fried them in olive oil, covered, until brown on both sides.

My advice is to pop them in your mouth as a whole and pull out the toothpick - I absolutely loved the taste of these three together - rather than eating them separately! Oh and when my hubby tasted them, he nodded in appreciation. And said something that sounded like yumm! haha!

Day 31: Garlic Prawns: 31 Days of Simple Recipes

Ingredients

100grams of Prawns (or Shrimps)

2-3 cloves of garlic - crushed/minced/finely chopped

1 tbsp of red chilli powder (adjust according to taste)

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

Vegetable oil for frying

Method

Wash and devein the prawns. Pat them dry.

Combine all the ingredients except prawns and make a paste. Coat prawns with the paste well and leave for 10-15 minutes.

Shallow fry them in a frying pan or skillet.

Done!

A Quick Layout

I made this layout for Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party.

The pattern paper is from Studio Calico's Field Guide Kit. It was one of my favourite PPs and I had seen many gorgeous layouts come out of it. It kind of intimidated me. I was nervous whether I would do justice to such a beautiful paper. I decided to just go ahead and give it a try...

Day 30: Homemade Tomato Sauce: 31 Days of Simple Recipes

Few days earlier I had shared a recipe for Homemade Pizza Dough. That day I didn't feel like making the tomato sauce myself and cheated by using Pomi Strained Crushed Tomatoes. ;)

But for yesterday's brunch I wanted to make quality stuff. I decided to make Chai, Non Alcholic Sangria for drinks. For main I wanted to make atleast four different pizzas with baked potato wedges for sides. Couple of my guests had informed me that they would bring a dessert and a pasta salad. Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about that! I did try making pistachio macaroons... Didn't work out. :( Will try making them again in a couple of days...

Coming back to the tomato sauce... I know buying a jar of pizza sauce was an easier option. I didn't want to. There's something about the smell of store bought pizza sauce that puts me off. Moreover, making your own sauce isn't that difficult. You would have most of the ingredients in your pantry. Yes, you will have to spent about an hour in the kitchen unless you want your sauce burnt! That's the only downside. But then, is it really?

I've tried couple of recipes for tomato sauce and so far this is the best! I don't think I will ever try another recipe again. You may think that I'am exaggerating when I say that this sauce instantly reminded me of the sphagettis and pizzas I had in Italy when on vacation. Trust me, I'am not! I was immediately taken back to Italy and the thought that crossed my mind was 'Oh, so this is how they make tomato sauce in Italy!'

Fresh Tomato Sauce (Recipe Courtsey: Smitten Kitchen) 

Ingredients

Yield: About 4 cups sauce

4 pounds sad, unloved tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

Small onion

2 to 3 small cloves of garlic

1/2 medium carrot

1/2 stalk of celery

1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste

Slivers of fresh basil, to finish (I didn't have any basil, so skipped them)

Method

Peel your tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to boil. Cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato. Blanche the tomatoes in the boiling water for 10 to 30 seconds, then either rinse under cold water or shock in an ice water bath. Peeling the tomatoes should now be a cinch. If one gives you trouble, toss it back in the boiling water for another 10 seconds until the skin loosens up. Discard the skins (or get creative with them).

Finish preparing your tomatoes: If using plum tomatoes, halve each lengthwise. If using beefsteak or another round variety, quarter them. Squeeze the seeds out over a strainer over a bowl and reserve the juices. Either coarsely chop you tomatoes on a cutting board or use a potato masher to do so in your pot, as you cook them in a bit.

Prepare your vegetables: Finely chop onion and mince carrot, celery and garlic. Or pulse all four on the food processor to form a paste. All of these methods work.

Cook your sauce: Heat olive oil in a large pot over meduim. Cook onions, carrots, celery and garlic, until they just start to take on a little color, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer, lowering the heat to medium-low to keep it at a gentle simmer. If you haven’t chopped them yet, use a potato masher to break them up as you cook them. Simmer your sauce, stirring occasionally. At 30 minutes, you’ll have a fine pot of tomato sauce, but at 45 minutes, you might just find tomato sauce nirvana: more caramelized flavors, more harmonized texture.

If your sauce seems to be getting thicker than you want it to be, add back the reserved tomato juice as need. If your sauce is too lumpy for your taste, use an immersion blender to break it down to your desired texture. (This is what I did)

Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and more to taste. Scatter fresh basil over the pot before serving. Taste once more

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My sauce was a bit dry. I guess the tomatoes I used weren't juicy enough. Next time I will look for more juicy tomatoes. :)

I made the sauce a day earlier and stored it in my fridge. It was just as tasty the next day and I received many compliments on the flavour. ;) So give it a try and let me know!

Day 29: Non Alcoholic Sangria: 31 Days of Simple Recipes

I had some fifteen guests yesterday for brunch. Scary? Yes, it was a bit scary. When you have that many guests coming home for lunch/brunch/dinner, the only way to work around it is getting organized and doing all the prep work a day or two ahead.

I knew I had to make a hot drink (Chai / Indian Tea) and a cold drink. And Sangria is one of the most easiest cocktails / fruit punch you can make. And the best part is that it tastes better if made a day earlier!

This is recipe is for 'non-alcoholic' Sangria as my family and I don't drink. :)

Ingredients (Serves 8)

2 cups cranberry juice

2 cups grape juice 

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 pear, diced

1 apple, diced

3 cups 7Up of other plain soda

Method

Combine cranberry juice, grape juice, orange juice, fresh lemon juice, diced pear and diced apple.

Refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, stir in the lemon-lime soda and some ice.

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You could make this recipe your own by adding other fruit juices, fresh mint, strawberries etc.

Day 28: Quesadilla: 31 Days of Simple Recipes

Quesadilla is a quick snack you can easily make at home. All you need is a pack of Tortilla wraps and a bit of shredded mozarella (or any other cheese that works for you). You can then add whatever veggies (tomatoes, jalapenos, marrow etc), fruits (I've used pineapples ;)) or leftover meat (chicken, turkey etc) you have in your fridge. Put it on your griddle and grill! That's all, you are done!

So where did I get this clever idea from? Nigella ofcourse! ;) I've made these yumm snacks over a hundred times and I never get tired. You can take this to work or school and even picnics! I'am sure you would love them too. Here is the recipe that inspired me...

Ingredients

For each flour tortilla wrap -

30g thinly sliced/shredded cooked chicken

3 coin-sliced slices of pickled green jalapeno chilli peppers from a jar

50g grated cheese

1 spring onion, finely sliced few leaves of coriander

1 teaspoon olive oil (not extra virgin)

Method

Makes 1 quesadilla

1. Heat a ridged griddle.

2. Place the tortilla wrap on the counter in front of you and cover with the chicken.

3. Over one half only, sprinkle the pickled jalapeno slices, grated cheese and chopped spring onion. Scatter the coriander leaves over the top.

4. Carefully fold the tortilla wrap in half, that's to say, fold the un-cheese-topped half over the cheese so that you have a fat half moon.

5. Lift this up carefully and brush each side with the oil before putting it on the hot griddle; grill for a minute each side.

6. Using a steady hand and a wide fine spatula or fish slice, transfer the tortilla to a board or plate and cut into 3 triangles. Eat with some salsa on the side. And please feel free to play with the fillings as you wish.

Day 27: My favourite Cupcake Recipes: 31 Days of Simple Recipes with Neelu

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes for Birthday Parties

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Day 26: Simple recipes from other food blogs: 31 Days of Simple Recipes with Neelu

Today I would like to share few simple recipes that I found on other blogs...

Quick Zuchini Saute

Apple Kums / Apple Pola

Flourless Almond Honey Cook (In other words 'three ingredients only' cake)

I'am truly madly deeply in love with you Mister Huey!!

And no, Mister Huey isn't my hubby or any other human being I can address as 'Mister'. Mister Huey is Studio Calico's Spray Ink / Mists. And oh boy, are they awesome! When I purchased SC's October kit, I also added Mister Huey's Lemonade and Bonnyblue to my shopping cart.

When the package arrived and I finished drooling over all the items, I decided to get to work immediately. The first thing I did was take a cardstock and use the doilies that came with Perennial Add-On and mist with mister huey's Bonnyblue. When the mist landed on the cardstock, my reaction was "oh my!". Literally!

Then few days later I decided to stock up on some watercolour paper and put to use some of the techniques I had picked up at Paperlane's cardmaking class with Lidiya. While playing with different Tim Holtz's Distress Inks and Distress Stains and madly spritzing with Ranger Perfect Pearls (mixed with water ofcourse), a thought struck. Why not make cards with Mister Hueye mists? I mixed and matched both distress inks, stains and mister hueys. Some of them came out really well and here are three cards I've finished making. I still need to put the rest into card form. Will post them here once I'am done. Let me know what you think. :)

I'am also entering these cards for Simon Says Stamps' Anything Goes Challenge; Wee Memories' Free for All Challenge; and as a second entry to Young Crafters Unite's Masculine Cards Challenge.

Who wouldn't want a gift certificate from Simon Say's Stamp?? They have the best collection when it comes to stamps and other papercraft goodies. What I like the most about them is their flat rate shipping fees. ;)

Day 25: Jumbo Shrimp on toothpicks: 31 Days of Simple Recipes with Neelu

Another favourite cookbook of mine is Madhur Jaffrey's An Invitation to Indian Cooking. This is the best cookbook for those who are new to Indian Cooking and are finding it hard around some of our ingredients. Though this book has no pictures, I would still recommend this book to anyone as it has loads of notes on Indian spices and flavourings, sample menus - veg and non veg, tips on kitchen utensils and other equipments etc.

A short blurb from the back cover - This seminal book, originally published in 1973, introduced the richly fascinating cuisine of India to America - and changed the face of American cooking. Now, as Indian food enjoys and upsurge of popularity in the United States, a whole new generation of readers and cooks will find all they need to know about Indian cooking in Madhur Jaffrey's wonderful book.

Oh, by the way, she also happens to be an award winning actress. ;)

So is a simple recipe for an appetizer from the same cookbook- Jumbo shrimps on toothipicks. I will upload some photos here in a couple of days, Insha Allah.

Ingredients

5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

A piece of fresh ginger, about 1-inch cube, peeled and chopped

11/2 pounds (680grms) jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 tsp salt

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Method

Put the garlic and ginger in the container of an electric blender along with 3tbsp water. Blend at high speed until you have a smooth paste.

Wash shrimp well and pat them dry. Cut each shrimp into three sections. Set aside.

Heat oil in 10-12 inch skillet over medium flame. When hot, pour in the paste from blender and fry, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and turmeric. Fry and stir another 2 minutes. Add 4tbsp water, the lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes. (This much can be done in advance).

Five minutes before serving time, lift off cover, put in the shrimp and turn heat to high. Stir and fry the shrimp for about 5 minutes or until they just turn opaque.

To serve: Place on platter and stick toothpicks into each shrimp piece. Serve hot.

Day 24: Pistachio Macaroons: 31 Days of Simple Recipes with Neelu

Photo taken from How to be a Domestic Godess by Nigella Lawson

Isn't there something about cookbooks? Specially if it's Nigella's? I got her book How To Be A Domestic Goddess for my birthday this year as a gift from my hubby and I've tried just ONE recipe from it so far. :D Not that her recipes aren't doable or anything. Not at all. I just didn't get around it. ;)

That doesn't mean this book has been collecting dust on my shelf. Nope. I've gone over it a million times. Everytime I open it, I would find something new. It's a book that I love to read when I'am having tea in the afternoon. For some odd reason I find a lot of comfort in this cook book...

Let me share a recipe for Pistachio Macaroons that I've been 'meaning' to make for a long time. Hope you like it!

Ingredients

for the macaroons

75h pistachios

125g icing sugar

2 large egg whites

15g caster sugar

for the buttercream

55g pistachios

250g icing sugar

125g unsalted butter, softened

2 baking sheets, lined

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Grind the pistachios in a food preocessor along with the icing sugar (this stops them turning into an oil mess), until as fine as dust. Whisk the egg whites until fairly stiff, but not dry, sprinkle the caster sugar over and whisk until very stiff. Fold the whites into pistachio-sugar dust, and combine gently. Pipe small rounds onto your lined baking sheet, using a plain 1cm nozzle. Let them sit for about ten minutes to form a skin. Then put in the oven and cook for ten to twelve minutes: they should be set, but not dried out.

Remove from the oven and let cool, still on their sheets, while you get on with the filling. This is simple work: grind the nuts and icing sugar in the processor as before; then cream the butter and continue creaming as you add the nut dust. Make sure you have a well-combined soft buttercream. Then simply sandwish the macaroons teogether.

Makes twenty, i.e., forty sandwiched together.

Day 23: Garam Masala: 31 Days of Simple Recipes with Neelu

Woah, its 26th of October and I'am three days behind with my 31 days series! I've been such a lazy bum lately! heee B-)

Today, I'am going to share a very very simple recipe - a recipe for Garam Masala.

Garam Masala, as most of you would already know, is a mixture of hot spices that is required/used in almost all Indian recipes. Those of you who already know how to make garam masala - please don't smirk! :P There are many out there who would love to learn to make this spice blend themselves. 

What I normally do (being as lazy as I'am), I would buy a pack of whole garam masala from a local super market. Pick out all the bay leaves and dry roast the rest of the ingredients. Just for a minute. Take it off the heat immidiately and transfer it to a plate or aluminium foil. Let it cool for few minutes and the grind it in my coffee grinder. Store it an airtight container in a dark cool place. If carefully stored, you can use this spice blend for

You could grind the whole garam masala without roasting it. I personally prefer the roasted version. :)

PS. Sorry for such dull photos, it's past 8pm here and my camera just wouldn't focus without flash!

A Masculine Card

My sister asked me whether I could make her a 'happy anniversary' card for her husband and I immediately said yes. I'am not very good at cards and I thought this would be a good 'practice' for me. :) After a couple of minutes it hits me that the card is for a 'guy'. hmmm.. that was tough. And then I remembered that the next Young Crafters Unite challenge was to make a 'masculine' card. I had read about it on Britta's blog.  

The card is done and I'am still not sure whether it is 'masculine'. But I'am entering the challenge anyways. Atleast I will get a visit by Britta. teehee. Britta, if you are here - I'am a HUGE fan of your video tutorials! You rock!!

I used a sheet music background patterned paper that came with SC Field Guide Kit. Distressed the edges with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink. On a different pattern paper I stamped the background with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink - the stamp is from Hero Arts. I've been wanting to use it since I bought it couple of weeks back. Once dry, I distressed the edges with the same ink. Made a tag using some scrap paper and Shabby Shutters Distress Stain, wrote 'happy anniversary' myself (I still have no sentiment stamps!!). Then used a brad that came with the field guide kit.

So, what do you think? Is it masculine enough or is it too girly?

Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

Few weeks earlier I had written about ordering a monthly kit from Studio Calico. My box of goodness arrived last thursday (yaaay!!) just in time for Shimelle's PPP. Following are the layouts (and a card) I've created so far for the class. :)



Talha's first day of KG1/FS1





loved playing with Mister Huey :)



Tanzeela (whic means 'A Revelation) - new member of my husband's family :)



kind of went overboard with inks and paints ;)



A photo book in a layout, cool huh? got the idea from Shimelle ofcourse :)



A silly card made from some leftover scraps :)



Spicy Beef Masala: A guest post by Shab's Cuisine: 31 Days of Simple Recipes: Day 22

You read that right! I've a guest post from none other than Shab's Cuisine! Cool ha? If you have been following my blog for a while you would know that Shab's Cuisine keeps popping up in my posts. Yes, I love this food blog to bits. I love Shabeena's drool worthy photos even more! Go check her blog out - trust me, her photos and detailed recipes will blow you away!

Without further adieu, here is the post: -

Even though, officially winter starts in December, I feel it is already at the doorstep. Freezing breeze and chilly mornings, early sunset and late sunrise, bright blue sky to grey cloudy sky all ring a bell about onset of winter. It’s been really sunny and warm couple of weeks back and within a week it dropped from 21 degrees to 6 degrees Celsius! Ahh! After all, that is what UK is notorious for- its unsettled and unpredictable weather. Hence, that wasn’t a surprise, in fact, very much expected. Here we get to feel and see all the four seasons, with all the obvious seasonal changes. We also get different varieties of seasonal fruits and veggies, at low cost when they are in season.  Although I don’t really make use of the seasonal fruit and veggies in cooking and baking, I try to eat them raw. It is autumn now with beautiful colours of fall foliage around, yet the chilly weather just keeps u wrapped up in the comfort of home.

I am a beef lover and I prefer it to chicken. Or am I getting too bored of taking chicken all the time? I don’t really know. Even though beef is my favourite, I don’t prepare it on regular basis as my men are not great fans of it and its high cholesterol content. But nothing would taste better than some spicy, hot meal or a soup during these cold days. Snug yourself on the sofa, covered up in a blanket, with a plate of these beef fry with some chappatis or rice  is a means of simple pleasure for me. That’s what I did the next afternoon I cooked this! So delicious!

A bit of cooking, little bit of photography and a lot more of chit-chat; that’s pretty much all I do these days apart from taking some initiative on my career side. As my little one started his school full time, I got lot more of spare time in hand. But my blogging is still creeping slower than ever. Anyways, this is a very simple recipe that requires just less than 45 minutes to prepare, really! This preparation of beef is one of my favourites. You can serve them along with rice, chappatis, pooris, parattas etc.

Spicy Beef Masala

Serves 4

Ingredients:

½ a kilo beef, cut into 1 inch cubes

Marinade:

2 teaspoon red chilli powder (Mild)

1 ½ teaspoons Coriander powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

5 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced

Salt  - as required

Others:

110g, 1 large tomato,

230g, 1 large onion

A handful of curry leaves

½ teaspoon pepper powder

¼ teaspoon garam masala

3 tablespoon coconut oil

Salt, as required

1-4 green chillies slit (Add as per your preference. If you like it mild, add them whole without slitting. )

¼ cup water or more if required.

Preparation

1. Wash and drain the meat in a colander. Once drained, marinate with all the ingredients under marinade and leave it in fridge for a couple of hours of longer if you have time. You may cook it instantly if you are out of time.

2. Heat a pressure cooker, add meat along with chopped tomato and water and cook on low-medium heat until beef is 3/4th cooked with the pressure lid on.

3. Take off the lid and cook the meat slowly until the water is all evaporated and the meat is smothered in spices.

4. Heat another pan, add oil. Throw in sliced onions, slit green chillies and curry leaves and sauté till onion becomes golden.

5. Add meat along with the spices and cook slowly until it is dry and brown. Add pepper powder and garam masala and cook for 3-4 minutes.

The longer you cook, the darker the colour you get. Slow cooking usually brings darker coloured gravy. You can also cook this without pressure cooker which takes real long time, but always taste better than the pressure cooked one.

If you prefer, you can also throw in a handful of sliced coconut along with onions.

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So, do you like it?? Try and let me know. :)

Homemade Pizza Dough: 31 Days of Simple Recipes: Day 21

This '31 days of Simple Recipes' series will not be complete without a recipe for pizza right? So here is an easy to make pizza dough. I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and oh boy, is this easy?!! I've tried various versions of pizza dough recipes and this is the best and the easiest so far.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump all clumps and floury bits onto a lightly floured surface and knead everything into a homogeneous ball.

If you are finding this step difficult, one of the best tricks is to simply pause. Leave the dough in a lightly-floured spot, put the empty bowl upside-down on top of it and come back in 2 to 5 minutes, at which point you will find the dough a lot more lovable.

Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl (a spritz of cooking spray perfectly does the trick) where you had mixed it — one-bowl recipe! — dump the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.

Dump it back on the floured counter (yup, I leave mine messy), and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.

Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature.
Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like. 

Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered and impossible to resist

Inspired by her (Smitten Kitchen's) grilled eggplant and olive pizza, I made a grilled eggplant and jalapenos pizza (I didn't have any olives left in my fridge). I also tried out a marrow and tomatoes pizza - sliced thin circles of tomatoes and marrow and sprinkled jalapenos and shredded mozarella. In both cases I used the garlic oil found in the above mentioned recipe. It's absolutely amazing!! 

Do read her other pizza related artciles - 10 paths to painless pizza-making; pizza, updated.

Lamb and Pumpkin Couscous: 31 Days of Simple Recipes: Day 20

One of the reasons why I try to make dishes belonging to cuisines other than Indian is to make sure that my kids get a taste of all types of food - be it Italian, Chinese or in today's case Moroccan. I really don't want my kids to be picky when it comes to food and would love them to have a good palette. I'am trying really hard and hope it will show some results when they grow up. :)

I was introduced to couscous and lamb tagine by a bookclub buddy of mine. After seeing her cook a hearty and healthy couscous dish for us, I knew I wanted to try and make one myself. Following is the first ever couscous dish I made. And now it has become a household recipe.

It's a really simple dish. You just have to put together few ingredients. You can then relax and go back to whatever you were doing. A great dish for brunch or when having family or friends over for lunch or dinner. This recipe never fails to deliver!

Recipe from Best of Morocco Cookbook

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 can of chick peas (you could otherwise soak 75g of chick peas overnight and cook them yourself)

675g of lean lamb - bite size pieces (I use lamb pieces with bone)

2 red onions - sliced

pinch of saffron

1/4 tsp of ground ginger (I use crushed ginger)

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

450g carrots, cut into bite size pieces

675g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into good size chunks

75g raisins (I always skip them - it's too sweet for hubby's taste)

500g couscous

salt

fresh parsley or coriander to garnish

Method

Drain the chick pease and place in cold water. Remove the skins with your fingers. Discard skins and drain.

Place the lamb, onions, saffron, ginger, turmeric, pepper, salt and 1.2litres/5cups of water in a couscousier or large saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about an hour, until the meat is tender.

Stir the carrots, pumpkin and raisins into the meat mixture, cover and simmer for a further 30-35 minutes, until the vegetables and meat are completely tender.

Prepare the couscous according to the instructions on the packet. I usually use hot chicken/vegetable stock instead of salted water. Spoon on to a serving plate, making a well in the centre.

Spoon the stew and gravy into the centre of the couscou, arranging some carrotds down the sides, or alternatively stir the stew into the couscous. Pour extra gravey into a jug. Garnish with parsley or coriander and serve.

Enjoy! :)

Nigella's Watermelon and Feta Salad: 31 Days of Simple Recipes: Day 19

I know I've said it a million times before and I'am saying it again - I'am a huge fan of Nigella. She is my food idol. Just try this recipe and you will know why I go gaga over Nigella.

Recipe from nigella.com

Ingredients

1 small red onion

2-4 limes, depending on juiciness

1.5 kg sweet, ripe watermelon

250g feta cheese

Bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used coriander instead of parsley)

Bunch fresh mint, chopped

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

100g pitted black olives (I didn't have any olives, skipped them)

Black pepper

Method

Peel and halve the red onion and cut into very fine half-moons and put in a small bowl to steep with the lime juice, to bring out the transparent pinkness in the onions and diminish their rasp. Two limes' worth should do it, but you can find the fruits disappointingly dried up and barren when you cut them in half, in which case add more.

Remove the rind and pips from the watermelon, and cut into triangular chunks. I used a melon scoop instead. Crumble the feta into similar sized pieces and put them both into a large, wide shallow bowl. Tear off sprigs of parsley so that it is used like a salad leaf, rather than a garnish, and add to the bowl along with the chopped mint.

Tip the now glowingly puce onions, along with their pink juices over the salad in the bowl, add the oil and olives, then using your hands toss the salad very gently so that the feta and melon don't lose their shape. Add a good grinding of black pepper and taste to see whether the dressing needs more lime.

I can't put a finger on what I loved the most about this salad - combo of sweet watermelon and feta or the crunchy and sweet red onions or the freshness of mint leaves. The next time I make this salad I would add more onions. I would also look for really red watermelon. It was more pink than red this time.



You Pull On My Heart Strings

I've been dying to share this layout... It was finished couple of days back but I had to wait until the photo was printed.

I love I love I love this LO. This is the first time I've used a large photo on a layout. Since I wanted all the photos of Aisha on a single layout, I decided to make a collage (on picasa) and print it on A4 size. Isn't it supercute??

I wanted to go with the 'crocheted headband' theme and decided to crochet some hearts to use as embellishments. You can find the tutorial here. I then handstiched them onto the cardstock. I also used half of a border sticker next to 'strings'. ;) I'am also super happy with the way the title came together.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

14/10/2011 - An Eventful Day

Last thursday my sister turned twenty five. I wanted to throw her a surprise birthday party. It was a last minute idea and I couldn't put it together that day. Few days earlier we had planned to spend friday together. So I thought, I will just go ahead and do something nice for her even if it was a day late.

While browsing the www for cake ideas, I happened to spot Sasha's red velvet cheesecake brownies on her blog. I thought I will go with it. Then I changed my mind. Finally after a lot of browsing, I decided to bake some red velvet cupcakes. :D I've never baked them before and had seen them on Masterchef Australia S3.

look at that redness!!! oh my!

I was really happy with the way it turned out - moist and not too sugary. Just the way I love them! I have never frosted a cake before using a piping bag. Frosting a cake scares me. I usually ask Jamil to do it. hehe. But this was a special ocassion. And I wanted my sister to feel special and pampered. So I decided to get the extra mile and bought myself a Prestige piping bag set (I'am so happy that I did - it's so easy to use and cleanup later!).

After icing my cupcakes I sprinkled them with hundreds and thousands and then wrote 'v heart you tooyi aama' using a Dr Oetker designer icing tube. My sister's pet name is Noorie and my son started calling her 'tooyi' when he was a year old or so. hehe.

Oh btw, I baked the cupcakes thursday evening and left it on my counter. Icing was prepared the next day morning.

I was eager to see Noorie's reaction was hoping to make her happy. She was - thank God! Itseems she was planning to make Nigella's red velvet cupcakes and was glad to taste some before making them. :)

Talha happily gorged down five to six cupcakes!

bit cranky coz of the flu :(

roasted eggplant wth feta and mint

umma's biryani

We had loads of fun that day. And loads of food too. We had roasted eggplant with feta and mint as our mid day snack. Then for lunch we had mom's chicken biryani with salad. And then in the evening had some tea. We then decided to head to the pool/play area with Talha and Aisha. Spent some time strolling around.

  

grilled chicken tikka

Got back home and made some grilled chicken tikka for dinner. Ah, the good life. :))

a birthday card for my sis and a wall hanging for my mom - all handmade by me :D

Oh and when heading back home I also got stuck in the elevator - all alone - for a good fifteen minutes or so. I did get a bit scared to be honest. But I could hear my sister's and children's voices outside which was comforting.

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Recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes - taken from Joy the Baker

I followed the recipe to the tee. No changes whatsoever. My only advice would be to be careful while using the red dye. By the time I finished making my batter, there were sprinkles of red dye everywhere. :)

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
2  Tablespoons red food coloring (I used Foster Clark's Red Rouge)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Turn mixer to high and add  the egg.  Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste.  Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until completely combined.  You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.
Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk.  Add half of the flour and salt and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour.  Beat on high until smooth.
Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar.  Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.
Spoon batter into a paper lined cupcake baking pan and bake at 325 F for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.
Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them of a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, cold (I used room temperature)
scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed.
Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium to medium-high until incorporated.
Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.
Do not over-beat as the frosting can quickly become runny.