Brit Desi Chick in San Francisco

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May 18, 2010
 

Cherry Fruit Punch

I am back from London and after three days of rain the sun has finally come out. The best way to enjoy any warm day is to grab a book and a glass of my fantastic cherry punch and find the nearest pool.

This drink is naughty because I've taken a short cut (used concentrate) - however that means it only takes 10 minutes to prepare

*wink*

Ingredients:

Safeway Fruit Punch Frozen Concentrate
Hand full of fresh cherries - stones removed
One whole lemon sliced.
Half apple cut
Mint leaves

How:

Prepare the Fruit Punch concentrate and add the fruit. Leave in the fridge till cool (or add a few ice cubes) and drink with delight.

Sent from iPhone


Filed under  //   Cooking   drink   fruit punch  
Posted by fatemayasmine1 

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April 24, 2010
 

Chicken Curry with Sweet Corn and Saag

When it was time to cook dinner all I had in the fridge was chicken, frozen spinach and a can of sweet corn. I was feeling far too lazy to take the two minute walk to the grocery store. It was a boiling warm Friday. I was feeling hot and needed to get this out of the way as soon as possible, so I could hit the shower and head out - did I mention it was a Friday?

I have this terrible paranoia whenever I cook a curry that I will smell of a curry. The paranoia can be due to a few things, 1) The obvious racial slurs that were common in the early 90's 2) The smelly first generation Desi's badly dressed, with even worse hygiene 3) Having family members belonging to the catering industry and having awful flashbacks of them returning/visiting from work with the stale smell of curry on their clothes

Needless to say, I can go on.
 
Sorry, now you have the awful smell in your mind. 
 
Let's count to three, 
 
one
 
Mountain tops
 
two
 
Wild flower garden
 
three.
 
Sunny beach.
 
Back to the dinner I cooked, it was wonderful - husband approved wonderful. 
 
Ingredients 
 
Half Chicken - 1 cut into 10 pieces
Sweet corn - 1 cob, if using tinned, then strain and rinse
Spinach - three cups, finely chopped
 
Vegetable Oil - 2 tablespoons
Onion - 1 chopped into fine slices
Garlic - 1 clove grounded
Salt - 1/2 tablespoon
Curry Powder - 1 teaspoon
Chilli Powder - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tablespoon
Salt - 1/2 tablespoon
Lemon - 1 juiced.
Tomato - 3
Fresh Green chillies - 4 finely diced.
Coriander - 1 table spoons, finely chopped.
 
This is a very fusion dish, sweet corn is not used in curries. My mother would probably hit me with her Fatah in dismay. 
 
The Masala
 
Pour the oil into the pan and warm for 2 minutes on full gas. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Then add the onion and salt, cook till golden. Stir regularly. Once the onion and the garlic are soft and golden add the chilli powder, the curry powder and the turmeric powder. Cook the spices for another 3 minutes but keep mixing. This is all done on a high heat. Do not burn the spices.
 
The Salon
 
Once the spices have been cooked add the lemon juice and tomato. Simmer for two minutes then add 6 cups of water and the Chicken. Cook for 20 minutes on full gas with the lid on the pan. Add the sweet corn and spinach and cook for another 10 minutes.
 
The Garnish
 
The chicken should be soft and juicy. Finish by sprinkling coriander and fresh green chillies. Simmer for 5 minutes. Eat with Jasmine White Rice.
 
Enjoy Boys and Girls 
 
*smile*
 
 


Filed under  //   Brit Desi cooking   chicken   chicken curry   Cooking   indian cooking   saag   spinach   sweet corn  
Posted by fatemayasmine1 

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April 8, 2010
 

Agreed: Satni is the most mouthwatering Desi Dish.

   


Filed under  //   bengali cooking   Cooking   indian cooking   satni  
Posted by fatemayasmine1 

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April 8, 2010
 

Roasted Garlic and Red Grape Delight.

Perfect for a warms summers day with a  refreshing and strong taste. The smell alone will have your mouth watering. Quick to make and even quicker to devour. This is one of my favourites. 

Ingredients:

Red Grapes, Garlic, Coriander, Green Chillies, Red Dried Chillies, Lime and Salt - The proportion of each ingredient is relative to how prominent you want each flavour to be.

Ranah:

Satni - Roast the garlic on an open flame, using a kebab skewer once roasted chop into small pieces. Finely chop the green chillies, dried red chillies and coriander and mix with the garlic. Using a pestle and mortar  lightly smash the coriander, garlic and chillies together, do not make into a paste. Sprinkle 1/4 tea spoon of salt as you mash everything together.

Ungor (Grapes) - Cut the grapes into thin slices. Squeeze half the lime over the grapes. Place the grapes into a container with lid, add the Satni and close the lid. You can also use a bowl with a plate over the top if you don't have a container with a lid. Shake the contents for a few minutes. 

Boloh:

This is adapted from a very traditional Bangladeshi dish. My Grandmother would make this for me when I would visit her in Bangladesh as a child. However she would not use grapes but Boroy (a Bengali fruit), Boroy Satni. This is defiantly a feel great dish for me. 

What are your feel good/comfort Desi dishes?


Filed under  //   Bengali food   Cooking   desert   garlic  
Posted by fatemayasmine1 

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April 5, 2010
 

Traditional Bengali Squash, Prawn and Pea Curry.

When I left London I was not prepared for the cravings I would have for traditional Bengali food. The Indian restaurants are not able to replicate my desire for real Desi food. Not being able to find the authentic taste anywhere in San Francisco, I have had no choice but to cook-up my favourite recipes. 

Yesterday I cooked my Louw Oori Eysa Curry; I would rate this attempt a 7/10.

Do It Yourself

Ingredients: 

Marrow Squash (Louw) 1 finely chopped into cubes
Snow Peas (Oori) 2 cups left whole
Prawns (Eysa) 1 cup 

Vegetable Oil - 2 tablespoons
Onion - 1 chopped into fine slices
Garlic - 1 clove grounded
Salt - 1/2 tablespoon
Curry Powder - 1 teaspoon
Chilli Powder - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tablespoon
Salt - 1/2 tablespoon
Lemon - 1 juiced.
Tomato - 3

Fresh Green chillies - 4 finely diced.
Coriander - 1 table spoons, finely chopped.

You can interchange the type of Squash or Peas used. This dish is traditionally cooked very spicy.

The Masala

Pour the oil into the pan and warm for 2 minutes on full gas. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Then add the onion and salt, cook till golden. Stir regularly. Once the onion and the garlic are soft and golden add the chilli powder, the curry powder and the turmeric powder. Cook the spices for another 3 minutes but keep mixing. This is all done on a high heat. Do not burn the spices.

The Salon

Once the spices have been cooked add the lemon juice and tomato. Simmer for two minutes then add 6 cups of water and the Squash. Cook for 15 minutes on full gas with the lid on the pan. Add the peas and cook for another 10 minutes, you can use pre cooked frozen boiled peas but this will taste watery. Add the prawns and cook for another 5mins.

The Garnish

The squash should be soft but still in cubes. Finish by sprinkling coriander and fresh green chillies. Simmer for 5 minutes. Eat with Jasmine White Rice.

How would you change this recipe to make it a 10/10 ?

Facebook conversation: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11753190&id=803475337

 

 


Filed under  //   Bangladeshi   Bengali food   breakfast   Brit Desi cooking   Cooking   egg   frying   Indian   indian breakfast   Pumkin curry   Squash curry  
Posted by fatemayasmine1 

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