Delicious Butternut squash soup with the best Garlic bread

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 16 fresh sage leaves
• 2 red onions , peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks celery , trimmed and chopped
• 2 carrots , peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary , leaves picked
• ½ – 1 fresh red chilli , to taste, deseeded and finely chopped
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 kg butternut squash, onion squash, halved, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 2 litres organic chicken or vegetable stock
• extra virgin olive oil
• For the croutons
• extra virgin olive oil
• 16 slices ciabatta bread
• 1 block Parmesan cheese , for grating

Method

This fantastic soup is best made with varieties of squash that have dense, orange flesh, such as butternut or onion squash. It’s important to use good chicken stock and season the soup well to bring out the nutty, sweet flavour of the squash.

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you’ll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.

While the soup is cooking, make your garlic bread. Drizzle a little olive oil over the french bread slices, pat it in and press some grated Parmesan on to each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry until golden on both sides.

When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with a hand blender or pour it into a liquidizer and pulse until you have a smooth purée (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it’s perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Pancakes with honey and mascarpone cheese

Our summer has finally come to an end. It’s been long and eventful. Filled with lots of travel, family visits, and reunions. And work too amongst all the play. We are celebrating Ramadhan. A few birthdays were dotted along the way. We ate a lot.

We visited the beautiful city of Sydney. One of the most amazing places I’ve been to. That’s when I realised how much I missed raw nature, the countryside, seafood, the mountains and rain. Yes, rain. And fog. And that light! Sydney has amazing light. And beautiful sky. Always a beautiful shade of blue.. When its not rainiing (pun intended).  Haa haa

And the best part of the summer holidays- long and leisurely breakfasts. We had eggs every way possible- baked, fried. Ofcourse scrambled ones always made it on the top of the list. They’re just the way I like it.  

But what we all did agree on and always have is, pancakes. They’re usually the Saturday pancake kind. Standard batter but different toppings. Hershey’s Chocolate syrup kids, Honey for me, Nutella for everyone. They loved it with peanut butter, cream, banana, walnuts you name it. Oh, and additional sprinkles for the kids. 

These are a slight variation though, semolina pancakes. I first had these in dubai at Al-barsha . I was smitten, still am actually.

They smothered theirs in honey butter. I decided to fill mine with honey sweetened instead. We were just leisuring actually so its seemed only appropriate. They went down well, really well actually. Although the kids would have preferred to have their topped with sprinkles. 

Pancakes with Honey

Ingredients:

250g (8oz) fine semolina

2 tsp flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

480ml (16fl oz) warm milk

500g (16oz) mascarpone cheese

4 tbsp honey, plus extra to serve

butter, for greasing

pistachio nuts, to serve

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the semolina, flour, yeast, baking powder and sugar. Put the milk in a blender and add the dry ingredients. Whizz until the pancake mixture is combined and no lumps remain. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave in a warm, dry place for 45 minutes, until slightly risen and bubbles have formed on the surface.

Meanwhile, whisk the mascarpone with the honey and set aside. When you are ready to cook, whisk the pancake mixture – it should be the consistency of double cream. If it is too thick, add a little water.

Put a large nonstick pan over medium heat and grease with butter. Ladle some batter into the pan, tilting and swirling it around for an even layer. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the bottom is set and many bubbles have formed on top. Using a fish slice, remove the pancake from the pan and set aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.

To serve, drizzle with a little more honey and scatter over the raisins, almond flakes.

Makes about 40 pancakes.

Dahl Or Lentil Soup.

Lentil soup as it is popularly known here.. Arabs love it. My neighbor whose an Arab loves it, she learn’t the recipe from me and makes it often..  Like many of you, I currently don’t live where I spent my childhood. Dubai is what I currently call home. My family and friends are all back home..

But still I have managed to make unbreakable bonds and loving relationships in just 3 years…

 

This is where I have made my home, my family. We moved to this apartment when three years ago when it was just a shell. With time, we have filled it up with furniture, love, memories and a growing family. And wonderful aromas of baking, play kitchen and a little bundle of joy cooing and crawling along….

 Learning and sharing new and old treasured recipes is what i like the most… collecting and sharing.

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  Arabs love this dish very much… it actually originates from India.. Its a famous indian everyday comfort food… most popularly known as Daal.. which is severd with rice or naan.. whatever an individual preference is..

I love daal too.. this is my version of it; 

Dahl or Lentil Soup.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow lentils (Moong/ Masoor Daal)

2 tbs butter

1 onion, sliced

1 tomato, grated

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp chili flakes (optional)

3-4 cups chicken stock (optional) use water instead

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

coriander or parsley to garnish

 

For Garnish Infusion:

2 to 3 cloves garlic crushed

1/2 tsp cumin,

1/2 tsp mustard seeds…

 

 

Directions:

 

 Rinse lentils soak for 15 min. prior to cooking in water . Add onions, tomatoes, cumin powder, chilli flakes, stock or water, salt. Pressure cook for 15 min. or you can cook it in the pot for around half an

hour.. I prefer the pressure cooker it makes the job easier… Once done nicely and lentils are cooked whisk for a smooth consistency or run a blender..

 In a seperate small pan add butter, add mustard seeds let crackle, then add cumin seed, add crushed garlic let turn golden and then add this infusion to the daal.. Mix everything well give one boil.. Garnish with coriander or parsley and serve with lemon.

Enjoy.

 Shaya.

Kofta Biryani

A special occasion tradition that we like to have once a while even when there is nothing in particular to celebrate. Whilst the recipe is the same whether I cook it with lamb or chicken, this smoke kofta version is my favorite. Smoked anything is a favorite of mine really. 

Then there is the kofta. Everyone’s family has a delicious biryani recipe.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t start that tradition with my own little family. This recipe is definitely a keeper and one I hope will evolve into an heirloom recipe. It is requested often and I have a feeling it will be one of the first recipes I lovingly hand down to my own children when they head off to greener pastures. 

Ingredients (serves 4)

oil, for deep frying

1kg (2lb) onions, finely sliced

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced

3 tbsp sunflower oil

2 cloves

1 small cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 cardamom pods

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2·5cm (1in) piece ginger, grated

250ml (8fl oz) tomato paste

75ml (3fl oz) yoghurt, whipped

1 tbsp brown sugar, plus 1 tsp extra

2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

4 tbsp fresh coriander, leaves picked and chopped

pickled onions, to serve

raita, to serve

For the koftas

300g (10oz) beef mince

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2·5cm (1in) piece ginger, grated

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

For the rice

350g (12oz) basmati rice, rinsed and soaked

1 cardamom pod

2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp saffron

20 minutes preparation time and 2 hours cooking time

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan. Deep-fry the onions, in batches, over a medium heat, until golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper, using a fork to separate any clumps (this will help keep them crispy). Repeat with the remaining onions and set aside, until needed. Using the same oil, deep-fry the potatoes over a medium heat until cooked through and golden. Drain on paper towel and set aside, until needed.

2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Meanwhile, make the koftas by mixing the mince, garlic, ginger, chilli powder and 2 tbsp water, until combined. Season well. Roll the mixture into small balls around 2.5cm (1in) in diameter and drop into the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain and set aside. For the rice, bring another pan of salted water to the boil and drop in a cardamom pod. Cook the rice following the packet instructions, then drain. Leave for around 20 minutes, until dry.

3. Put the 2 tbsp milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Crush the saffron in a pestle and mortar and add it to the milk. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds, then pour it over the dry rice; fluff with a fork. Set aside.

4. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the 3 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium heat and add the cloves, cinnamon stick, turmeric and cardamom pods. When the cardamom pods have puffed up, add the garlic, ginger and tomato paste. Add three quarters of the fried onions to the pan (reserving the rest to garnish), crushing them a little with a spoon, until they melt into the mixture.

5. Add 300ml (½pt) water and cook, partially covered, over a low to medium heat for 20-30 minutes. Add the yogurt and sugar; stir until combined. Add another 300ml (½pt) of water and simmer, covered, over a low heat for 30 minutes more (adding more water, if needed). Add the fried potatoes and koftas for the last 10 minutes of cooking, making sure not to stir it too much otherwise the koftas will break up.

6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to gas 3, 170°C, fan 150°C. Layer up the kofta mixture and rice in a deep, ovenproof dish. Start with a thin layer of gravy and koftas, followed by the rice, a handful of the reserved crispy onions, mint and coriander. Repeat, until everything has been used up, making sure the top layer is rice. Scatter over the remaining crispy onion, then cover with a lid or foil and smoke it with charcoal before sealing, cook bake for 20 minutes. Serve the biryani with pickled onions and raita.

Home Remedies for Cold, Cough.

Home Remedies for Cold, Cough..

GOOT – Natural Remedy for Colds, Flu

GOOT – Natural Remedy for Colds, Flu.

McArabia Sandwich

A While ago i had my first McArabia Sandwich.. and its really yummy…. One fine afternoon my cook bug kicked in and wanted to try this Delicious sandwich at home.. with all my home ingredient.. Seriously guys its worth a try.

McArabia Recipe

Pita Bread:
Ingredients:

All purpose flour: 1 and 1/2 cup
Instant yeast: 1/2tsp
Onion seeds/Kalonji: 1/2tsp
Oil: 1tbsp
Milk: 1/2 cup (Luke warm)
Salt: 1/2 tsp

Instructions:
Knead the dough and rest it for 30mins.
Knead it again to make it air free then divide into 4 balls and roll each one out like how we make rotis/chapatis but a bit thicker. Cook over your tava or pan on medium heat until done on both sides.

Secondly the chicken patties:

Ingredients:

Chicken minced: 1/2kg
Soya sauce: 1tbsp
Garlic paste: 1tsp
Onion: 1 medium finely chopped
Salt: to taste
Pepper: 1tsp
I added 1 green chilli chopped

Instructions:
Make 8 patties out of your mixture and to thin them just grease the bottom of a plate and squeeze down on each patty with it or just press with your hands to shape it. You will need 2 patties for each sandwich. Shallow fry them..

For the sauce:
mayo: 1tbsp
cream: 1/2cup
milk: 2tbsp
mix them together

Filling:
ice berg salad, sliced finely
1 onion cut into rings
1 no.sliced capsicum
tomato roundels
carrot jullienes
these you will use according to your preference..

Now take the pita bread..place the chicken patties top with the veggies and then the sauce..close it and serve with whatever you like fries or salad.

Lactation Cookies, or Galactagogues, mothers milk makers, milkin cookies.

I know what you’re probably thinking: lactation cookies?! Really?

Hey, I’m willing to give anything a try at this point if it might help us, even if it’s an old wives’ tale I read about on the internet. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again . It’s not like this is going to turn you into a milk cow if you’re not in a position in life where you’d like to increase your milk supply. But for those of us looking to promote healthy lactation, why not, right? Even though the recipe calls for some slightly unusual ingredients, these actually taste really good. Like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with a slightly nutty extra kick.
These are super yummy and help boost your milk supply! The recommended “dose” is 4 cookies per day (good luck limiting yourself to that many). This recipe makes a lot – about 60-70 cookies – so it can be halved if necessary.

I N G R E D I E N T S

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons flaxseed meal (no substitutions)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups thick cut oats
1 cup chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons Brewer’s Yeast (no substitutions)

I N S T R U C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Mix 2 T of flaxseed meal and water, set aside 3-5 minutes. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Stir flaxseed mix into butter mix and add vanilla. Beat until well blended.

Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and choc chips. Add butter mix to dry ingredients. Stir in the oats and then the choc chips. Drop on baking sheet and bake for 8 – 12 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.. Good Luck..

Update ( I have surely seen a boost in my supply within 48 hours… and am going strong… good luck hiding it from husbands… Hee hee… I have to actually save it in a box under my bed… other wise the first two batches just disappeared… !!

GOOT – Natural Remedy for Colds, Flu

When my kids go down with cold and cough the best i could do is give them the home made cure as much as possible…. couple of things which i have tried and vouch by it, i will be writing detailed blogs on them later but first one which makes on my list is Goot….

GOOT stands for Garlic Oil Ointment and is a herbal remedy consisting of unrefined coconut oil, cold-pressed olive oil and organic garlic.

Garlic has been used for hundreds of years to fight infections caused by colds and flu and has been given the name “King” for its ability to help the body to heal naturally. Raw garlic is chalked full of natural agents that help it function as an antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, antiseptic and a germicide. It is also an antioxidant and a diet rich in raw garlic fights against harmful free radicals. Garlic is also known to be a diuretic helpful in combating water retention and helpful in flushing toxins out of the body. Garlic has the ability to be effective against Candida, parasites, bacteria and viruses when directly applied. In addition, it treats systemic infections by absorption through the skin into the blood supply and travels throughout the body.

GOOT Recipe

Warm 3 tablespoons of unrefined, virgin Coconut oil in a small pan until melted and warm (don’t heat it too much).
Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil, and mix well.
Remove from heat and add 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped organic garlic. Allow garlic to “rest” for at least 3 minutes after chopping and before blending into oil.
Put mixture in a blender and blend at slow speed, and then at high speed for 2 minutes.
Strain the mixture to remove chunks of garlic that the blender may have missed.

Pour into a wide mouth jar and keep in a refrigerator.

GOOT will turn into a thick soft paste after 1 hour. After two weeks, discard and make a new batch.
How to Use it:
OOT, rubbed into the skin, transfers raw garlic oil directly into the blood stream. Raw garlic is a natural antibiotic that does not carry the bad flora that a Rx antibiotic will put into your intestines.

Apply on the feet of children or infants to fight infections. Rub on chest for chest colds, pneumonia or rub into nostrils for sinus infections. Place on cotton swab for ear infections. Apply directly to sores inside the mouth. Rub on Athlete’s foot or genital area for jock itch. Insert GOOT into affected area for yeast or other related infections. Apply on rashes any place. GOOT kills Candida, parasites, bad bacteria and virus by direct application.

In addition, it treats systemic infections by absorption through the skin into the blood supply and travels throughout the body. After two weeks, make a new batch of GOOT.
Most of this information is from Jacques Dixons, and By: Dr. Loretta Lanphier. Thanks for your information which i stumbled upon goolging cure for my little one cough.

Home Remedies for Cold, Cough.

Adults as well as the Kids often go down with cold and cough… to make matters worse it spreads throughout the household….
What i have personally found effective is that when there is a cold bacteria running in the household, the thing best to do is cut some red onions in halves and place it in different rooms… Drink plenty of water fluids, stock up on your vitamin C like fresh orange juice, chicken soup with lots of garlic….
Then there are couple of home made concoctions i try…

1) Goot  https://truepulse.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/goot-natural-remedy-for-colds-flu/
2) Red Onions And Honey Cough Syrup:
1 medium-large Red onion
1 cup honey (or sugar if you don’t have honey, though honey is best)

Peel and chop the onion, and place the slices in a small bowl or glass jar. As you fill the jar, layer the onion with the honey or sugar, topping off with honey. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and allow to sit on counter overnight. Juices from the onion and honey will mix and form a pleasant syrup; strain the onion pieces out. Take 1 tsp syrup every 4 hours, or as needed.
Chewing of plain onion for adults also gives a lot of releif from cold and runny nose… Ofcourse dont kiss your loved ones after eating them though LOL

3) Carom seeds OR Ajwain : Roast a palm full of Carom seeds and sea salt on the griddle, when its nicely hot and you can actually smell the aroma of this on the other end of your kitchen… put carefully the entire seeds in a large handkerchief, or large mulin cloth … tie it nicely so that it doesnt spill from the sack….
Now just let the kids inhale the aroma coming out of the sack… as well as also try to gently apply on there chest… like pressing the sack gently on the chest, back, their forehead… but beaware its “hot” so first check it on the back of your hand and then see if its bearable then apply for kids… better to wait a couple of seconds rather than burning thier skins…. its highly effective when applies warm. What carom seeds actually do is they produce aroma which clears the bacteria and congestion in the respiratory tract as well as when applied warm on the chest and back it dries the phlegm(mucus or bulgum) in the lungs and chest congesting due to the cold or cough its highly effective on infants and childrens.

4) Cold Potion:-Boil some carom seeds + ginger grated + 3 – 4 black pepper corns + 20- 25 leaves Holy Basil leaves 3 inch peice of aloe vera cut in half the gel layer exposed + and carom plant leaves 6 -8
Take around 250 ml of water and boil this syrup till reduced to say half a cup… if required add more water while boiling…. then strain the mixture through muslin cloth nicely squeezing the pulp, now for kids you can add few drops of honey to a tbsp full of this concoction and give them 4 times a day… For elders they can eat the pulp also as it is very soothing for the throat and they can drink half a cup of this potion 4 times a day with honey.
This way in kids the cold will get runny and get out of the system in a day or two..

5) Vicks Vapourub: Its my personal fav. apply on the their feets, chest, back, throat, even on the pillow while sleeping. the relief is instant… also you can give them steam with little vicks in the water.

6) Garlic : A well-known immune system strengthener, garlic shines as an antibacterial and antiviral herb for fighting colds, coughs and the flu. One of the best ways to take advantage of garlic’s healing properties is by drinking fresh garlic tea. Sweetened with a little raw honey, it’s delicious and helps to heal what ails you. Peel 2 to 3 cloves of fresh garlic and lightly crush them with the side of a wide knife blade. Add them to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for another 15 minutes. Strain the garlic and allow the tea to cool to mouth temperature. Add raw honey, a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Drink as much as desired.

7) Apple Cider Vinegar : The organic one works the best… at the first sign of cold like sneezing or sore throat… Take 1 Tablespoon of ACV(Apple cider vinegar ) + 1 tbspn Honey mix it and drink it… do this 3 – 4 times a day the cold will be nipped in the bud itself.

Hope this helps… will add more of my methods.