fatmanyash

this recipe owes a lot to le petit fleur de liban, M.ibrahim hadla, from the lush green mountains of lebanon.

yes, came out pretty good, even tho, we used a not so great fish.but this recipe is great for cooking even a not so great fish.the following recipe will serve 4 , if served on its own with some salad and rice, or upto 10 if u have a huge spread .

1. Whole fish – 1kg cleaned , and gutted , scaled, and washed with cold water. ideally use a fish like snapper, or grouper. but, any fish shld work. fresh is best, and minimal amt of bones ideal.if u are fussed abt bones, thenuse fillets, but just not the same.
2. fresh lemon-1 nos
3. onions peeled- 250 gms
4. bell peppers -150 gms or abt 1 good sized one.
5. chopped tomatoes – 400 gms can, or fresh abt 750 gms.
6. cumin pdr- abt 10 gms
7. coriander pdr- abt 20 gms
8. olive oil- pomace abt 20 gms, aand extra virgin abt 10 gms
9. fresh garlic – lots of it. atleast 35- 40 gms
10. fresh flat leaf parsley- lots.
11. fresh coriander – lots
12. salt and peppper to taste
13. roasted or fried pine nuts- to garnish, but not essential, just adds to the stuff clogging up ur arteries, and makes the fish even more tasty.

• umm now make the sauce first.
• saute chopped onions, garlic, in pomace, till lightly borwned. then add the bell peppers,cumin, coriander pdr, and tomatoes.
• simmer till thick,and pizza sauce consistency.
• pat fish dry, squeeze lemon, and salt and pepper on it.
• put in deep roasting pan, or ovenabale container ,and pour the sauce over the fish.
• cook at 350 deg F or 160 C, till half done.
• sprinkle with lots of fresh herbs , chopped, and the pine nuts,a nd the extra virgin olive oil
• finish to cook in the oven.
• serve with steamed rice, saffron rice, cuban bread, baguette, whatever u want to soak….up the oily rich sauce
• TAA DDAAA..

• 500 ml cream heat and add crushed lemongrass stems abt 5 .
• mix 6 egg yolks with 60 gms sugar and add the hot cream mix whisking well
• Divide into ramekins or oven proof ceramic bowls. then heat in a water bath for abt 25 mins at 300 F, has an amazing refreshing flavour. tastes even better if you let the lemongrass infuse for longer.
• chill overnight.then top with some brown sugar and dried lemongrass powder. caramelise with a blow torch or under a hot grill, in the oven,till it starts to get all nice and brown, and voila, ur done.

1. cous cous- 200 gms
2. stock to cook the cous cous-roughly double, also some stock for this and that.
3. onions peeled and chopped- 100 gms
4. garlic cloves crushed and chopped – 5 gms
5. saffron strands – 3-4 microwave for abt 15 seconds and soak in water
6. chilli flakes-pinch
7. olive oil- 20 ml , some pomace  and some extra virgin. the pomace to cook, and a final few drops of the extra virgin for the flavour.
8. vegetables cut in chunks- zucchini, potato, aubergine, bell peppers.tomatoes, cauliflower. these are just a guide, use whats fresh and in season.- abt 250 gms in total.
9. tomato paste- 2 tbsp
10. thats it really. u can also add some of the preserved lemon to the cous cous. but thats up to individual tastes. the recipe to make preserved lemons shall follow at some stage or the other.
11. fresh herbs- parsley, is good, basil can be fantastic, in Lil bits.maybe some marjoram.

• heat  the pomace olive oil, add garlic, onions, and saute saute add tomato paste and chili flakes and  hold. now 2 ways to go ahead.
• either you roast the vegeables in an oven and add or u blanch in oil, and add, all depends on which direction yr heart decides to take, burst the arteries, or not soo much.oh the tomatoes dont fry pls.
• then add some stock to the sauteed mix and simmer with the vegetables.add the saffron.hold.
• heat some more stock up and add the couscous. and some extra virgin olive oil this time. add just enough to cover up the cous cous, and let it soak in the stock. take off the fire and over and keep. stir through with a fork, and hope that you haven’t over cooked it.
• serve the cous cous with the vegetables on the side the juice of the vegetables should be nice and reddish , and little bit oily  u know just luscious..yeah yeah thats the way forward.

For kadai chole: which I( i as in sunainjee) make in the pressure cooker :

1.Soak the channa overnight .
2. Pound fresh coriander and red chillie together.
3. Put oil in a pressure cooker.Add garlic paste. Bhunno.
4. add the pounded spices
5. don’t let it become dark brown. Add tomatoes(finely chopped or paste)
6. add the channa, bay leaf , garam masala , salt and water
7. pressure cook
8. ready to eat.garnish with onion rings and coriander leaves

2nd one.

Make the chole –punjabi style

1.      put oil in a kadai. Add ginger and garlic paste and jeera whole Add onion. Let them become transparent
2.      add whole garam masala .
3.      add Punjabi chole masala (packet) or coriander pwdr,red chilli pdwr, turmeric powder, jeera powder, garam masala powder and tomatoes/ paste
4.      add the chole  and salt .
5.      Cook till done .
6.      garnish with onion rings and coriander leaves.

oh in this recipe we have omitted the fact that the chickpeas need to be soaked before , ideally a day before( but thats allrite, im getting a woderful recipe from sunaina.)then washed and pressure cooked, to save on heat , light , energy costs. for those guys like us in hotels, boil, boil boil, in a pot, sometimes with the addition of a few tea bags, adds to colour thats all.

in case all of u guys are confused thats allrite , that was the aim in any case. quanties are not mentioned because you shld know all these things, and unless you play along tweak things a few times its not gonna come out right.??

this recipe comes from vikram bindra’s sis, ashu

• fresh tomatoes halved- 1kg or can steal some from hillborough rd #354.
• olive oil- 25 ml
• fresh herbs chopped(in this case basil and thyme)- a few sprigs depending  on how much flavouring yu like
• salt and pepper
• garlic chopped- again depends on personal choice
• cottage cheese- to top the tomatoes.or could use feta..

the tomatoes marinate with the fresh herbs , olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

grill on chargrill till nicely coloured and flavoursome

crumble the cottage cheese add some more fresh herbs and top the tomatoes with it.

Voila.. u have a feast fit for us oldie buggers..

ingredients will serve abt 8

1. lamb cubes with bone /shanks or smaller ones- 1kg
2. natural yoghurt/greek yoghurt – 200 ml
3. red chilli powder- to taste. for the milder tasting ones use a mix of paprika, and chilli.
4. ginger and garlic paste- 20 gms

marinate the lamb with all the above stuff

next heat oil- abt 50 ml add few bits of green cardamom, 2-3 cloves , small stick of cinnamon, and a 1/4 tsp of fennel seeds 1 bayleaf. add 1 kg of sliced onions(brown or red ) and saute till nicely browned.add now abt  a spoon each of coriander and cumin powders, chilli if you want it hotter . add in the lamb, and abt  400 gms of canned tomatoes chopped.   simmer on low flame till lamb is nice and tender. the oil shld start to separate out from the lamb, but thats what its all about.

garnish with chopped coriander.

have fun mr cumbers, and u can make for the ole fella .

Ingredients:
Dry Prawns             200 gms
Turmeric                   1/2 tspn
Red Chilli Powder      1 tspn or as per taste
Lime Juice                1 tspn
Salt to taste
Garam Masala           2 tspn or as required (for spicy taste)
Onion Chopped          2
Coconut Paste          (Dry coconut 1/4 bowl. Heat little oil and roast dry coconut. Then add 4 green chillies, ginger garlic paste 2 tspn

  and grind to a smooth paste).
Rice                         300 gms (Basmati)
Potato                     3-4
Oil                          as required
Brinjal                     Small 8 or big 4 (cut into quarters or as required). Keep brinjal in salt water
Sprouted Methi Dana   2-3 tspn (Soak for 6 hrs and tie in Muslin cloth for sprouts)
Coriander for decoration.

Method:
Clean and soak dry prawns. Apply turmeric and lime juice for marination (1/2 hr)
Prepare dry coconut paste and add garam masala powder. Mix well
Soak rice for 1/2 hr and wash and drain well at least for 2-3 hours
Heat oil, saute chopped onions well till it gets crispy.
Add ground paste and saute well.
Add turmeric for color.
Add red chilli powder and salt.
Saute till oil starts separating.
Once done, add marinated dry prawns, brinjal, potatoes and methi dane. Saute well.
Add drained rice. Saute well. Then add boiled water (Proportion Rice:Water – 1cup: 1 1/2cup)
Bring it to a boil and then simmer on slow fire or pressure cook. (For pressure cook – very little water should be left on simmering rice)
Check for salt and other spices in between and adjust accordingly.
Once pulao is ready, decorate with coriander.

tough to say i have used victorinox, henckels, global, nogent, sabatier diamant, even fiskars in the early days.

best one i found for all purpose , cutting and stuff was the small victorinox paring knife.

for bigger tasks prefered using either the sabatier or the henckels.

love to use the chinese cleaver as well, very good for all kinds of things.

good to have is a knife storage roll, or suitcase, for travelling around.

and invaluable is to have a taylor thermometer. the dial type, very robust and can be easily calibrated .

15 egg yolk+150 g sugar

Whisk together till light and creamy

60g cornflour+100g cocoa powder mix together

900g dark chocolate+500g butter melt in microwave on low

15 egg white +150g sugar, beat together to form a meringue with stiff peaks

Before all the above things are accomplished,make sure yu have apre- heated oven to 200 C.

then add the melted butter /choc mixture to the eggyolks, incorporate the cornflour/cocoa mix, and finally fold in the egg white. grease about 40 ramekins ( 60-70gms mix )with butter , and grain sugar. pour in the mixture to about 3/4th of the height, then pop into the oven.Bake for 8-10 minutes, if you want it soft centered,or about 4 minutes more if you want it more dry.(good idea in this case is to cover the top with some foil.

serve hot with some vanilla ice cream..