Double Choc Chip Cookies

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, well what more can I say! Highly indulgent for those days when you want a serious chocolate fix. What I love about home baked cookies is the rustic look to them, the rough and uneven edges and no perfect circles, not to mention the divine aroma the wafts around your home whilst baking!

So go ahead and indulge yourself, bake and then sit back with a cup of tea and forget your cares, while you savour every bite of this decadent piece of chocolate heaven! :)

Ingredients

125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
150g Plain flour
1 tspn Bicarbonate of soda
125g soft butter
75g light brown sugar
50g white sugar
1 tspn vanilla extract
200g dark choc chips or chunks
100g white choc chips
1 egg

Method

1. Pre heat oven to gas mark 4.
2. Melt chocolate over a pan of simmering hot water, make sure glass bowl is not touching water. When chocolate has melted remove and allow to cool.

3. In a bowl sieve all the dry ingredients, flour, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda. set aside.

4. In another bowl cream together the sugars and softened butter till light and fluffy. Then slowly add the melted chocolate. Continue to beat till well combined.

4. Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat together.

5. Now begin to add dry ingredients bit by bit.

6. Next add choc chips and mix well with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.

7. Now using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, scoop up and place on a baking tray with a lined baking sheet. Spread them out, make them in batches if need be, do not cram them all onto one tray, give them room to spread.

8. Bake for 15-18 mins. No more, do not worry if they look under baked, they need to be gooey from inside.
9. Leave to cool for at least 1o mins before transferring to a cooling rack.

10. Enjoy with a glass of cold milk of cup of tea!

Bil-hana wa ash shifa'a! :)

Garlic, mint and cucumber Raita

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Raita is a refreshing fragrant yoghurt sauce that is used to accompany rice and meat dishes. Simple ingredients that pack so much flavour! You can even use as a dip with carrots and peppers. Yum!!

Here is what you will need

Ingredients

( This is recipe for one 500g pot of yoghurt, if you would like more raita then double ingredients)

1 pot of Greek yoghurt 500g

1 cucumber

2 cloves of garlic

1 tspn ground cumin

1 tspn salt

2 tbsn crushed dried mint leaves.

Method

1. Put yoghurt, salt, cumins and garlic all into a bowl and mix well. 

 2. Now take cucumber and cut into half then quater, and remove the seeds from inside as this makes raita too watery.

 3. Then grate into the yoghurt.

4. Crush dry Mint between hands and add and mix well. Serve and sprinkle with pinch of ground cumin and some more crushed dry mint.

Enjoy!

Keema Kitchri

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This recipe was given to me by my wonderful Sister in Law. I love this dish, it's so much fun to make and you can experiment with so many different ingredients, every time I have made it I have used different spices. It is a versatile dish, you can serve on its own accompanied with cooling Cucumber Raita, or have as a side dish. Personally I prefer it as a meal on its own, as it is full of so many flavours and includes meat. But as with any rice dish choice is always yours!

Give it a try and see for yourself! :)

Keema Kitchri with Cucumber Raita

Ingredients

2 lbs mince meat (500g)

4 cups of rice (soaked for at least half hour)

1 cup of Toor daal (soaked for at least an hour)

Half cup of Ghee ( can be found at Asian grocery stores)

10 cups of water

2 medium onions

3 Black cardamoms

1 cinnamon stick

6 cloves

6 black  peppercorns

5 garlic cloves

2 Inch piece of ginger

Salt (to taste) but maybe around 2
1 tbsn cumin seeds

1 tbsn ground cumin

1 tbsn ground coriander seeds

1 tbsn fennel seeds

1 tbsn Ras el hanout ( Moroccan spice mix, you can omit if you do not have)

1 tsn Five spice

3 Tbsn salt or to taste

5 spring onions

2-3 limes

Method

1. Wash and soak rice in bowl for at least half hour, do the same with the daal, set aside. Next cook onions in ghee on high heat till nicely browned. Add cumin seeds. Keep stirring to avoid burning.

2. Have the lid of pan ready for this part as onions will splatter! Add half cup of water to pan and immediately cover, it will steam a lot and sizzle, this is normal, give pan a little swirl. It should look like the picture below.

3. Now add the garlic and ginger and all the spices except for the Ras el hanout. Cook for a few minutes until the spices release their aroma, if spices begin to stick to pan add about 2 tbsn of water. Cook till mixture begins to dry.

4.  Once mixture has dried add the daal and cook well for about 10 mins.

5.When daal is tender add mince meat and the ras el hanout, cook well till browned through.

7. Now drain the rice carefully and add to the meat mixture, mix gently to ensure the rice is evenly coated.

8. Now pour in the water and gently mix through

9. bring to boil and then turn down low and cover, after about 5 mins or so check and gently stir.

Rice will begin absorbing the water.

10. Cover and leave until water has almost all absorbed, then take a dish cloth and wet it, cover the top of rice and place lid on top, underneath place a heat diffuser, or alternativley you can put into oven. This is called the 'dum' process whereby the rice cooks and fluffs up.

Heat diffuser, can be bought from Lakelands

Covered with wet clean cloth

11. Leave for another 5 minutes, them turn off heat and remove the cloth and diffuser. Leave for another 5 mins before opening lid.

12. After lid has been removed take a fork and gently fluff rice. Do not be too hard as rice will break.
13. Serve Keema Kitchari with Garlic, mint and cucumber Raita, and some lemon or lime wedges, and sprinkle with spring onions.

For Raita recipe, click link below.

http://roosfoodfusion.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/garlic-mint-and-cucumber-raita.html

 

 

Enjoy!

Bil hana wa as-shifa!! :)

Layali Lubnan (Lebanese Nights)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحي

Layali Lubnan is a classic dessert of Lebanon. It is a Semolina pudding topped with delicious Astha and whipped cream, served with Atter, a simple sugar syrup. Ashta is a cream used in many other Middle Eastern sweet dishes, it can be eaten alone served with fruit or used to layer like in Layali Lubnan. This decadent sweet creamy pudding is Infused with the beautiful flavours and scents of Rose water and Orange Blossom water. It definitely is a perfect dessert to serve at dinner parties, just decorate as you wish, using nuts and fruit of your choice. Your time to get creative!

Ingredients

1/2 cup of fine Semolina
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
2tbsn cornflour mixed with 1/2 cup of water
2 Tbsn Rose Water
2 Tbsn Orange Blossom water
3 Cups of milk
Strawberries and Kiwis
Pistachios
300ml of whipped cream

For Ashta 

4 Cups of milk
1 cup of double cream
2 tbsn of sugar ( if you prefer sweeter you can add more sugar)
1/2 cup of cornflour mixed with 1/2 cup of water
6 pieces of White bread with crusts taken off
1 tbsn Rose water
1 tbsn Orange blossom


For Atter (Syrup)

1.5 cups of sugar
1 cup of water
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsn rose water
1 tbsn orange blossom

Method

1. In a pot add the milk and heat on medium till warm, then add the semolina and the sugar. Stir well for a few minutes until it begin to thicken.

2. The beat the egg and add, followed by the cornflour, cook again for about 5 minutes, keep stirring to avoid lumps.

3. When it has nicely thicken turn off heat and add the rose water and orange blossom.
4. Pour into a dish and leave to cool. ( You can if you wish pour into individual bowls)

5. Now to make the Ashta, in a pot add the milk, double cream, sugar and cornflour, stir well.
6. Take the bread and cut into small pieces.

7. Add the bread to the pot and stir.

8. Mix until it becomes thick. Turn off heat and add the Rose and orange blossom water. Set aside and allow to completely cool.

9. While that is cooling you can make the sugar syrup. Add water sugar and lemon juice to a pan and heat on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Then add the Rose and Orange blossom water.
10. To assemble take the dish with semolina and top with the Ashta and then whipping cream.

11. Now adorn as you wish with fruit and nuts of your choice.

12. Drizzle over the sugar syrup and sprinkle with Pistachio nuts.

Serve with more fruit and another drizzle of Syrup

Enjoy!
Bil-hana wa ash Shifa'a.

Shahi Lamb Qorma

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Shahi Lamb Qorma. Many dishes in the subcontinent are century old and were inspired buy cuisines from other counties. This Qorma owes it's ancestral inspiration to Persian food. It was a recipe cooked often in the Palaces of Mughal Kings. Shahi literally means Royal and with its rich creaminess and hearty flavours, this Mughlahi dish is definitely is a dish fit for a King!!

 

Shahi Lamb Qorma

What your beautiful selves will need:

Ingredients

2lbs boneless lamb
3 medium onions sliced
10 cloves of garlic
2 inch piece of ginger
8 green chilies
5 tbsn of slithered almonds
2 tbsn of pine nuts
1 tbsn of white poppy seeds.
2 cups of double cream
10 Cardamoms
6-7 cloves
2 inch piece Cinnamon stick
3 tspn of Ground Black cumin seeds (Shahi zeera)
2 tspn ground coriander
1 tspn garam masala
2 tspn of green chilies
Pinch of saffron
half cup of pine nuts
7 tbsn of ghee or sunflower oil
2 Cups of chopped Coriander

Method

1. Put garlic and ginger into blender and add half cup of water, grind to a paste.
2. Next add into this paste the almonds, pine nuts and poppy seeds blend again to a paste, add a little more water to loosen up if needed.

Slithered Almonds, White Poppy Seeds and Pine Nuts.

3. In a heavy pan add 4 tbspn of ghee or oil and brown meat in batches. ( Do not add meat all at once or it will stew rather than brown) Once nicely browned remove and set aside.

4. In same pan add remaining ghee or oil and cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon, saute until they release an aroma, when this happens add the onions and cook till they are dark golden brown in colour.

Camera didn't pick up colour too well but onions were actually darker than this.

5. Now pour in the garlic, ginger and nut paste and mix well, cook for about 3 minutes and then add your spices and salt. Mix well.
6. When sauce is well combined and slightly dried add the browned meat and cook well so that all the meat is coated in the sauce. Turn heat down low and allow to cook for a few minutes.

7. Meanwhile in a pot add the double cream and heat up, then add the saffron and let it infuse for a few mins.

8. Pour the cream into the meat and mix well for about 3-5 minutes.

9. Now add a cup of warm water and combine, cover and leave to cook on low heat for about 30-40 minutes or until meat is cooked. Keep checking and stirring every 5-10 minutes as creamy sauces burn easily. You will see by the end the fat will separate from the sauce. You may if you wish discard this, but I would recommend you leave it as it adds to the flavour of Qorma.

You can see fat separate from the sauce in above photo.

10. Qorma should be a thick creamy texture but if you wish for it to have more sauce then simply add water and cook to desired consistency. Add Coriander.

Serve with Chapatis or Basmati rice

Bil-hana wa ash shifa'a!