My Passion For Cooking: August 2014

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Rogan Josh

I found this recipe while my husband was going through the tv channels. It came up on a show called "Food Safari" on fox traveler. It was one of those recipes that they fast forward and make in like 5 minutes.

I usually don't like mutton, but this recipe is amazing, the meat literally falls off the bones.

So tender and juicy.

But definitely not something that you'd want to make often, as there is a lot of oil involved. But a great crowd-pleaser at a dawat or get together. And a great recipe for Eid-ul-Adha

For This Recipe You'll Need:

750 grams of Mutton

1/2 cup of Oil/Ghee (I used oil with 1 tbsp of Ghee)

2 large Onions chopped

1 tbsp of Ginger Garlic paste

1/4 tsp of Black Peppercorns

1/4 tsp of Cloves

2 Cinnamon sticks

3-4 Black Cardamom

2 Bay leaves

2 tsp Red chili Powder (adjust according to taste)

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Dried Red chilies (Kashmiri mirch/Talhari mirch)

1 cup of Yogurt

1/4 cup Milk

a few sprigs of Saffron

1/2 bunch of Coriander

Soak dried chilies in hot water for 15 minutes. Blend to make a paste. Keep aside.

Mix Red chili powder, Turmeric, Coriander powder and Garam masala powder in a little bit of water (to prevent burning in the pan). Keep aside.

Heat oil. Add clove, black peppercorns, bay leaves and black cardamom. Cook for a minute.

Add finely chopped Onion.

When golden, add ginger garlic paste. Cook for a minute till fragrant.

Add the masala with water and red chili paste. Cook for a minute.

Add mutton ad salt. Cook till it changes color, than add water and let it cook on low flame till tender.

Add yogurt.

Cook till the oil comes on top.

Than add the amount of water you want for gravy.

Soak Saffron in milk. And add this as well.

When ready to dish out, add coriander.

Serve with rice.

Linking the recipe to Meat Lovers Month

Thursday 21 August 2014

Baked Pasta

Hey you all !

I know its been a long time since I've posted anything. I went to Pakistan to spend Eid with my family, came back a few days ago. And than i got the flu, so a lot has happened.

The packing and unpacking kind of takes a toll on me. What to take from here, and what not to. Gifts for everyone. Going from Oman, i thought i wouldn't have a lot of luggage to bring back, as i'd give all the gift there but wrong again, me and J had 43 kgs of extra baggage :/ pretty crazy. And than after THAT ordeal we come here and we had to unpack, it took me about a week to do so. I was so tired by the time i was done !

It was the first eid after my wedding, so this trip was already really tiring. But there's one good side to all this, we did get a lot of Eidi (from my side of the family, lets make that clear :D ):D haha :D

Anyways, I made this recipe in Ramadan, hoping to post it sooner but just couldn't find the time. So here it it.

You'll need :

2-3 cups of RED MEAT SAUCE ( You can find the recipe by clicking on the link)

For White Sauce:

2 tbsp of Butter

2-3 tbsp of All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cup of Milk

1 cup of Chicken Stock (made with chicken powder or chicken cube)

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp of Black pepper

a pinch of Dried Thyme

a pinch of Dried Oregano

Other ingredients:

1 Carrot diced

1 Capsicum diced

2-3 Spring Onions chopped

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded

2 cups of Pasta

Make RED SAUCE, keep Aside

Stir fry Vegetables in a little oil with a bit of salt and pepper. Keep aside.

Boil any type of pasta you like. Keep Aside.

For the white sauce: Add butter in a pan, when melted add flour, cook till fragrant. keep stirring to prevent burning.

Add milk little at a time to prevent lumps from forming. It will instantly starts to thicken. If lumps are formed, dont panic, add a little bit more milk and blend everything together and pass through a sieve.

Add chicken stock, salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. Let it cook till it reaches a saucy consistency (not too thick, as you'd be pouring this over the pasta)