Lamb | Aapplemint

Keema Vol Au Vents … Continued from the last post

All, Featured, Non-Vegetarian 9 Responses »

Apr 172012

There are times when you have been doing some things a certain way, believing that it is the right way or what seems like the best thing to do at that point of time. And suddenly something happens and you change your way and realize its so much better and what the hell were you doing all this time. How you want to beat yourself up for not having thought of it earlier and wasting all this precious time. I’m sure all of you have gone through this at some point of your life.

Well I won’t beat around the bush. I’m talking about putting my 2 n half yr old to bed. All this time he’s been a late sleeper. Would sleep by 11 and 12 at night, and that would leave me with no time to do anything else. Now that the summer holidays have started we cut out his afternoon nap, stretched him up till night and have him sleep earlier. Bang and suddenly I have a couple of free hours to blog at night ! How wonderful is that. And how silly I feel for not having followed this routine all of his play school year. Well now with the spare hours on my hands I’m surely hoping to blog more often and find time to do all the other things on my to do list. Well most, if not all. I’ve been planning a trip to The Furniture Market for the longest time as I need to start buying the furniture for my new house. The excitement and joy of doing up your own place is unexplainable and having a brand new kitchen with all your favorite gadgets . A dream come true .

And not that todays dish is related to any of what I’m talking of at the moment. But here it is none the less. The last post was about Keema, and this one is this one is child’s play. All you need is the Keema ready and a pack of frozen puff pastry. The recipe for Keema is here.

For the Vol u Vents, pre heat your oven to 200 C. Roll out the pastry to a 1cm thickness. Cut out desired sized rounds and score an inner circle lightly so it can be removed after baking to make a hollow gap to put in the filling. Bake for about 10-15 mins or golden brown in colour. Remove , cool and store in an airtight container till ready to use.

To put them together, just spoon in some keema and garnish with sliced onions and corriander.

You can use these Vol Au Vent cases to fill in just about anything. Be it Veg or non veg, Sweet or savoury. They look great and are excellent for entertaining.

Harira (Moroccan Soup ) for Ramadan

All, Featured, Non-Vegetarian 6 Responses »

Aug 062011

It’s that time of year again. When the Masjids’ begin to fill and there is a Ramadan spirit in the air. Ladies are dawning their hijabs whilst the age old Qurans’ laying dormant on top of selves gathering dust, are lifted off the selves and people begin to recite the Quran for the next 30 days or so. It is the most holy time of the year for Muslims across the globe, and the atmosphere is literally buzzing with anticipation and the excitement of Ramadan. Muslims show their love to Allah, through personal sacrifice and self discipline. Its the ninth month of the Islamic year, and all Muslims fast for the entire month from dawn to dusk.

It was during Ramadan that the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). According to legend, he was sitting alone in the wilderness when suddenly the angel Gabriel came to him with a golden tablet in his hands. The angel told Muhammad to read what was written on the tablet. What was on this golden tablet is said to be the essence of the Koran, just as the Tablets of the Law that Moses received on Mt. Sinai were the basis of the bible’s Old Testament.

Ramadan, a month-long period of austerity that sees devout Muslims keep themselves away during the entire daytime, offering prayers and abstaining from almost every kind of enjoyment including drinking and abstaining from sex. For Muslims all over, it is a very special time – of introspection, meditation, self control, compassion, charitable activities, spirituality and of course, devotion to God. The fast provides many benefits and is full of wisdom. It purifies and strengthens your heart. It rids you of your baser tendencies like exuberance, arrogance, and stinginess. It reinforces good traits like fortitude, clemency, and generosity. You are supposed to be a better human being, be kind, don’t lie, cheat, steal, be more generous, and be a better person overall. It supports in your inner struggle to please Allah and attain nearness to Him. It shows how much Allah has blessed us. We are reminded of our brethren those who are less fortunate and are inspired to treat them well.

Having said all this, Ramadan is also a great month to enjoy all the delectable treats prepared for Iftar (breaking of fast). Be it home cooked meals – prepared with great care and love or slip smacking and tantalizing treats on the streets outside the mosque. Platters of fruits – fresh and dry, juices, hearty and nutritious soups, fried savoury snacks, curries, biryanis’, salaans’, rotis, tikka’s, kebabs, and desserts … the spread is unbelievable and never ending. Family and friends get together to eat, and spend time with each other. Every culture has its own specialties and localized dishes, and its wonderful to try what each one has to offer. One of my most favourite dish is Harira. Its very nutritious and wholesome; not to mention absolutely tasty. A one pot dish, which comprises of meat, pulses, veggies and rice, serves as a meal in itself. It’s the perfect thing to have after fasting the whole day. I came across this recipe in 2005, when I was in Ethiopia. One afternoon they showed it on BBC Food network and I’ve been making it ever since.

Harira is Morocco’s famous soup. It’s fragrantly seasoned with ginger, pepper, and cinnamon, and also boasts a robust quantity of fresh herbs: cilantro, parsley, celery and onion. Although made throughout the year, harira is best-loved by Moroccans during the month of Ramadan when it’s frequently served to break the fast at sunset. Some families also enjoy eating harira at suhoor, the meal taken in the early morning hours before a day’s fasting officially begins. Recipes vary greatly from one family to another. Some make the soup light in texture; others prefer a filling version with chick peas and rice or broken vermicelli. One Moroccan cook may favor more tomato; another more lentils; still another may add paprika. So there are no rules, feel free to change ingredients and proportions.

Wishing you all a blessed month of fasting.

“Ramadan Kareem”

Ingredients

100g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained

100g Masoor dal (Puy Lentils)

450g Boneless lamb, cut into 1 cm cubes

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp each ground ginger, saffron strands and paprika

50g butter

100g long grain rice

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

4 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

4 large ripe tomatoes , skinned, seeded and chopped

lemon quarters, to serve

Tip the chickpeas and lentils into a large saucepan or flameproof casserole. Add the lamb, onion, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, saffron strands and paprika, then pour in 1.5 litres/21?2 pints water. Season. Bring to the boil, skimming all the froth from the surface as the water begins to bubble, then stir in half the butter. Turn down the heat and simmer the soup, covered, for 11?2 -2 hours until the chickpeas are tender, adding a little more water from time to time as necessary. Towards the end of the cooking time, prepare the rice. Bring 850ml/ 11?2 pints water to the boil in a saucepan, shower in the rice, the rest of the butter and salt to taste. Cook until the rice is very tender. Drain, reserving 3tbsp of the liquid. To finish, put the reserved rice liquid in a small saucepan. Stir in the coriander, parsley (hold a little back for a garnish if you like) and tomatoes, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add to the soup with the rice, and then taste for seasoning. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken slightly. Serve hot, with a lemon quarter for each serving so guests can squeeze over lemon juice to taste.

Mutton Rara

Featured, Non-Vegetarian 25 Responses »

May 022011

Mutton Rara … the name makes you think, doesn’t it? Why Ra-ra? Why not Ba-ba? Or Fa-fa? There’s definitely got to be a story behind it. And so the legend goes … The Chhota Nawab of Awadh, and the Rajkumari of Jaipur were madly in love with each other. They wished to be together but life had other plans. They had a clandestine love affair and their families found out. The princess was whisked away to a fortress surrounded by deep waters and guarded by an evil witch. The prince yearned for his ladylove, but was unable to get in. The witch was clever and unforgiving, but she had one weakness: mutton. The prince called down the finest bawarchis of his great empire for one task only: to create a mutton dish so delicious that it would render the witch powerless. And so the dish was prepared near the moat of the bewitched castle … Cooked slowly and patiently in whole spices – spices that had made Hindustan famous all over the world – black cardamom, green cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, whole black peppercorns, star anise, cumin seeds and Kashmiri red chillis. They cooked and they stirred and as the masalas roasted the deep sensuous aromas arose and wafted through to the fortress. The meat simmered and began to tenderize, and the witch could not control herself and magically transported the pot to her chamber. She loved the preparation so much, that she actually gave the Rajkumari away to the Chhota Nawab and blessed them with eternal happiness. The magnanimous prince named the magical preparation after the witch, whose name was Rara … hence Mutton Rara.

Or so I’d like to believe. But the truth is, it’s most probably a concoction some North Indian dhaba-wala created for customers trudging across the Grand Trunk Road. No princely love story! The dish, however, is royal and extravagant in every way. It is a double whammy of meat – chopped up mutton leg and minced mutton, and needs to be made with a lot of love and a little bit of effort.

Ingredients

1 cinnamon stick
2 whole black cardamom
4 green cardamoms
4-5 whole black peppercorns
2-3 cloves
1 star anise
1-2 bay leaves
7-8 dry whole red kashmiri chillis – deseeded, soaked in hot water and ground to a paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
250 gms Mutton mince
500 gms leg of lamb cut into cubes (with bone n all)
2 onions finely chopped
3-4 tomatos finely chopped
2 tbps thick curd
1?2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp corriander powder
1?2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
3 tbs olive oil
corriander to garnish

Take a kadai with a heavy base, pour in the olive oil. As the oil begins to smoke, fry all the whole spices till fragrant, and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Sautee till soft and add in the mince, frying it well and continuously, till you can see each grain of the mince. Add the tomatoes and keep frying the mixture. You can very lightly beat the mutton pieces with a kitchen hammer if they are too big and the meat tough. Since a little mini kitchen makeover I did using kitchen ideas from My Hammer, I have all these wonderful new tools for tenderizing. Now add the mutton pieces as well as the remaining spices, and give it a good stir. Keep stirring till you see the tomatoes break in, absorb the spices, and start to form the gravy. Cover with a lid and let it simmer slowly for about 40 minutes, adding water when necessary. When the meat is tender and you begin to see the oil separating from the gravy, add the thick curd, stir, and turn off the heat after 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with Tandoori Rotis.

Lahme

All, Non-Vegetarian 3 Responses »

Mar 142007

Lahme in Arabic literally means meat.Traditionally we used to eat this at Al Reef bakery at Karama, Dubai.Made in kilns and served wrapped in paper with chilli pickles and olives this snaky item was our favourite, along with laban up(buttermilk).I don’t remember a time where i ‘ve not overeaten these.We’d decide before we went there that”today we’ll eat just 2, no more ok“….and before we knew it we had wolfed down 4.They come in a variety with cheese called Jibn, zatar and lahme.Its an Arab snack of Lebanese origin and world famous now along with hommus, shawarma…u know all the Lebanese stuff. So this is something D n me love to eat when we want to go easy on the spices and herbs … sometimes u just crave something that simple to the taste buds and yet satisfying at the same time.Here the main thing is good quality meat.Since we eat this at least once a week i like to try it with different meats.Like i even buy Ostrich fillet and mince it at home.You can even make this before hand and freeze them.When needed just thaw it in the microwave and toss it in the toaster.Personally i’ve never tried to mutilate this recipe by spicing it up because this is something we were brought up on and just love it the way it is.

Ingredients

minced beef / minced ostrich meat / minced lamb
chopped onion
chopped tomatoes
salt

That’s it ! nothing more to it.Natural flavours is what we are looking for here.Put these together on the chopping board and mince with your hand until the onion and tomatoes have mushed and blended into the meat.Spread this onto the homemade or store bought pita bread …..depends on the time you have at hand.

This is what the traditional one looks like which is baked in the oven for about 10 mins.Actually i over loaded this one not supposed to look like this.The bread is not very crisp so what i do is reduce the meat quantity a bit and then fold it over, drizzle some olive oil and toast it in the toaster.This makes the bread really crispy and the meat remains very juicy and succulent.And plus its easier to catch and eat.I haven’t mentioned any measurements as there is nothing to it. All i can tell you is make more than u think u’ll need as i assure you , you will end up overeating.