Moroccan kefta

I was browsing the web for cooking shows and I found this dish that seems to  be very interesting. I tried it the day after and found it really good!!! Of course I made some revision from the original recipe. Kefta is actually a spiced meatball. This was derived from the Persian verb “kuftan”, which means to grind. Have a look at this page for the original version of this recipe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5fpJQ4zX1I

So here is my version

Ingredients:

For the meat

1 pound of ground meat

1 small onion grated

1/4 cup chopped parsley ( it’s best if you add some mint leaves too along with the parsley)

3 garlic cloves diced

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp aji molido or chili powder ( optional )

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce

3 tomatoes grated

1 small onion diced

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup water

1  1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

Procedure:

1) Mix all the ingredients for the meat. Shape them into balls then set aside.

2)Mix the tomato paste in a cup of water, set aside.

3) Cut  tomatoesin half then grate it. Discard the skin.

4) For the sauce, you sauté the onions . After a few minutes add the tomatoes ,then add all the spices.

5) When it is boiling, add the meat. Pour the tomato paste mixture over it.

6) Reduce the sauce. Try the sauce and adjust the taste.

7) You may break an egg on top of the meatballs and let it cook. Do not stir it or the egg will break.

Serve with rice or bread. You can also have minty yoghurt dip. Get a natural flavored yoghurt then add some chopped mint leaves. Don’t put too much mint leaves and make sure the yoghurt is not the sweet one.

Now you are ready to eat!!!

BEEF CURRY!!!

There is a lot of good beef here in Argentina so I thought of making beef curry which turned out to be quite good. I do know that in India, they do not eat beef ,so you may substitute this with lamb too. By the way I read that there are components in the curry that can fight cancer!!!! Even a better excuse to be eating more curry!!!

Anyway here’s my version of the beef: )

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Crushed or ground coriander

1 Tbsp . Ground cumin

1 tsp. Turmeric powder or you can substitute this with curry powder

1 tsp crushed black pepper

1 tsp chili powder or aji molido

4 garlic cloves crushed

2 Tsp. Grated ginger

2 ½ Tbsp lemon juice

½ kg. beef cut into cubes ( make sure you use stewing meat, here I use osobuco)

2 Tbsp. Tomato paste

1 cup beef stock

salt

½ beef cube

olive oil

Procedure:

1. Combine all spices with lemon juice and tomato paste to make a paste. ,Mix it well.
2. To get the beef stock, Pan fry beef in olive oil for a few minutes then add a cup of water and let it boil . Remove beef from the stock when it is half cooked.
3. Sauté the spice paste in olive oil for a minute or until you smell the aroma then add beef. Mix together till beef is covered with paste. Then add the stock.
4. Add the beef cube and cook very well till meat is done.
5. Try the curry and adjust the spices. Then season with salt. Simmer some more to reduce the sauce.

Now you are done!!! This is always great with rice or naan bread or you can get those flat breads from Lebanese or Arab stores; )

Remember that you can reduce the beef stock if you like it a lot more thick. Also you may lessen the amount of black pepper or chili powder according to your taste.

The picture here isn’t the one I made but its almost similar. thanks to google for the pictures, the credits goes to the one who took this picture: )

My version of Chicken Curry

I HAVE REVISED MY PREVIOUS RECIPE SO PLEASE CHECK ON THIS AGAIN

Due to requests from some people, I am finally posting my chicken curry recipe.  I apologize for the delay. There are different types of curry, Malay, Indian, Bangladesh, Thai, even Filipino and others, but this version is more Indian and Malay. However this is milder than the original version, and I am using the available materials here.

I was first introduced to curry when I was 20 in an Indian Restaurant in Manila, called New Bombay.  Believe me this is even better than the ones in Brick Lane London. Brick Lane is the area where you can find a lot Indian Restaurants. The New Bombay curry is just perfect!!! It has the right amount of everything. I really hate it if I go to a restaurant and the food is bland. This is really common in London.

I think curry is at the top of the list as my favorite food, the Filipino Lechon as my number one though. For me the flavor of curry is just amazing, all that mix of spices. I haven’t been to India but I think that they have one of the best cuisines ever!!!! So here is my recipe. You can adjust the spices as you want it of course, but this is how I do it. I also use a lot of spices by the way. This is not a matter of just putting in the spices; you must put in the right amount of everything!!!

SPICES!!! This dish is all about spices!!!

Ingredients:

1  1/4 kilo chicken breast cut into cubes

1 ½ medium onions, approximately 172 grams (diced)

1 can of whole peeled tomatoes (230 grams can)

• Chopped the tomatoes and set aside juice

4 cloves garlic crushed

1 ½ vegetable cube

2 teaspoon coriander (crushed finely)

2 teaspoons black peppercorn (crushed finely)

4 tablespoon regular curry powder

2 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

½ teaspoon aji molido

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• You may use just cayenne pepper or just aji. I prefer to use both though: )

½ teaspoon cinnamon powder

2 teaspoon grated ginger

2 tablespoon white granulated sugar

2 teaspoon iodized salt

6 tablespoon coconut milk (90ml)

2 tablespoons water (30ml)

2 teaspoons flour  (optional for thickening sauce)

Coriander is my favorite spice: )

Procedure:

1) Mix grated ginger, crushed garlic, curry powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon powder, garam masala, aji molido, cayenne pepper, black and red peppercorns. Add a little of the tomato juice from the peeled tomatoes. Don’t put too much. Just add enough to make a paste.

2)      Sauté onions in oil. Use oil just enough for the onions not too burn.

3)      Add the chopped onions. Mix together with tomatoes. Add some juice, so it doesn’t stick on the pan. Let it cook.

4)      Add the spice paste. Mix well and cook for 1 minute or until you smell the aroma of the spice. Make sure that the spice paste doesn’t burn.

5)      Pour the rest of the tomato juice. Put in chicken and the vegetable cubes. Then add the water, coconut milk and sugar. Cover, and allow the chicken to cook. The longer you cook it allows the sauce to reduce and makes it stronger and tasty.

6)      When the sauce us reduced, add the salt. Mix well. Taste the curry sauce and adjust the taste if needed. You can add the flour here mix with water into mixture if the sauce sauce isn’t thick.

7)      Chicken is done!!! This is best served with good Basmati rice. Enjoy!!!!

Paella by NATS!!!

Learn to make PAELLA!!!!

Nats made this paella in London!

My good friend Nats finally sent the paella recipe that I have been asking for quite a while now: ) His version is the mixed paella. There are three kinds of paella, the valenciana, the seafood paella and the mixed one!!! So before trying the recipe, read on, I learned a lot about this tiny piece of history of the ever famous paella: )

For many of us we correlate Spain with paella a lot. WE THINK OF SPAIN, WE THNK OF PAELLA. It started on the eastern coast of Spain , the Valencian region. There are many adaptations to the original Paella Valenciana, which doesn’t even have seafood, In the other coastal regions, they replaced the beans and meat for seafood and that’s the mixed paella we have now. Although many restaurants claim the name paella Valenciana for their dish, for the people in Valencia, only the ones with the ingredients of the original recipe can bear such name. The ingredients are chicken ,rabbit, duck, snail,beans,rosemary, saffron, garlic, paprika and olive oil,

So here is Nats recipe  ( just do the math for the other ingredients because he didn’t write some of them). Olive oil is quite important. You use this oil to sauté.

Three Saturdays ago Pilar, the very nice neighbor of Ismael’s parents, invited us for paella lunch. It was not an ordinary paella lunch I may say. It was special because Pilar actually showed us how to cook paella and more! It was during Mae’s birthday party when Mae and I mentioned to Ismael’s mom that we wanted to learn to cook paella. Pilar happened to have heard our conversation. And so, we got our paella class. It was already 2 in the afternoon when we arrived at the house of Ismael’s parents. But Pilar didn’t seem to mind. Well, she only jested “Que verguenza!” (“What a shame!”) All the ingredients were already cut and sliced.

She had:

chicken ( sliced into big chunks )

1 onion

5 bulbs of garlic ( that’s a lot of garlic! The garlic is usually crushed)

green pepper ( sliced )

shrimps

squid

one tomato ( chopped)

clams

parsley

salt

lemon and of course, rice!!!!

Step by step, Pilar showed us what to do. First, fry the chicken. Then saute the onion, garlic and parsley. Then add green pepper and tomato. After which, the shrimps (without the shells) the small clams and the squids were added. Pour in the soup of the previously boiled shrimp with shells. Add rice. Add coloring.( This can be a food coloring or saffron) Put in salt and wait for 15 minutes. To add a little decoration, put red pepper and add a few shrimps (this time, with shells.) For the finishing touch, squeeze a lemon over the paella. And ya esta! Ready to be served.

For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella

http://www.xmission.com/~dderhak/recipe/paella.htm#PAELLA

ABOUT NATS:

having fun with snow!!!

Nats Villaluna lives in Barcelona, Spain now. We met in Madrid before and he is definitely the perfect tour guide!!!! He also teaches English on the side .However, I think the best thing about Nats, is that hes such a wonderful friend and certainly not boring!!!!He is just so great and heaps of fun: )  Now thats really super, two things in one: ) That is Nats, the Star: )