posted October 02, 2007 02:53 PM              

depends on who's cooking them .. i.e. hot spice quantity is variable at most restaurants .. one can ask for a medium .. hot .. or extra hot .. .. chicken tikka sauce is always firey red in colour .. if it ain't .. then it's probably fake .. .. around here .. going out for a hot curry after an evening of downing chilled ales is a tradition .. .. sort of like getting plastered on budweiser then eating a bowl or two .. or three .. of mighty fine texan chilli ..

this one aint spicy ..
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MOUSSAKA

( site text )
Moussaka is an authentic Greek dish. Each ethnic community tends to improvise and cover the moussaka in its own favorite way, topping it with cheese, gravy, etc.

1 lb. ground lamb
2 medium-large eggplants
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3 chopped onions
2 tbs. flour
2 cups water or vegetable stock
1/2 cup tomato paste mixed with 1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, crushed or cut into small pieces
1 tbs. corn starch
2 tbs. oil
1 tsp. salt

Cut eggplants (unpeeled) into rings. Sprinkle with salt and let stand for one hour. Wash under water and dry. Saut onions in one tbs. oil until soft. Add garlic and meat and fry until lightly browned. Remove from heat and add tomato paste/water mixture. Set aside.

posted October 02, 2007 03:01 PM              

This delicious dish is a favorite in the South-Indian state of Kerala. It is served not just as a snack when friends visit, but also as a main course dish with Dosas, Idlis or Appams.
INGREDIENTS:

* 1 kg beef cut into 2"-long, 1-thick strips
* 2 large onions sliced very thin
* 2 large tomatoes chopped fine
* 2 tbsps ginger paste
* 2 tbsps garlic paste
* 2-3 green chillies
* 3 tbsps coriander seeds
* 4 tbsps fennel seeds
* 8 cloves
* Seeds of 6 green cardamom
* 1" stick of cinnamon
* 25 black peppercorns
* For tempering: 1 large onion chopped fine
* 50 curry leaves
* 1 cup fresh coconut cut into 1"- long, thin slivers
* 1 tbsp mustard seeds
* 4 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil

PREPARATION:

* Heat a flat pan on a medium flame till hot. Reduce the flame to simmer. Put the fennel, coriander seeds, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom seeds and cinnamon on the pan. Roast, stirring often till the spices begin to get slightly darker and give off their aroma.

# Turn off fire. Allow to cool slightly.
# Grind the above roasted spices into a coarse powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
# Put the meat, sliced onions, green chillies, tomatoes, ginger and garlic pastes and ground spices into a large mixing bowl. Mix well till all the meat is coated. Keep aside to marinate for an hour.
# After an hour, put the above mixture into a large deep vessel and set up to cook on a medium flame. Do not add any water as the meat will give off its own juices. Cook till the meat is tender.
# In a separate small pan, heat the cooking oil on a medium flame till hot and add the chopped onions to it. Fry till transparent.
# Add the curry leaves and mustard seeds and cook till they stop spluttering. Now add the coconut slivers. Cook till they begin to turn a pale golden color.
# Add this tempering mixture to the meat and mix well. Turn on the fire (medium flame) under the vessel containing the meat and cook, stirring often, till the meat browns. The whole dish begins to turn a deep, dark brown in color. This dish traditionally has no gravy at all and is dry so if water is present, make sure to dry it off.

posted October 02, 2007 05:40 PM              

1/4 kg. dried prunes, pitted
1/4 kg. dried apples
1/4 kg. dried apricots
1 kg. beef for stewing
3 Tbsp. olive or corn oil
1 Tbsp. each sugar and cinnamon
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
75 ml. tomato puree
4 cups boiled white rice, for serving

In separate bowls, soak each of the dried fruits in water for 2 hours. Drain well. Cut the meat into cubes about 1" (2 1/2 cm.) square. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil and saute the meat until browned on all sides. Add the prunes and cook on a low flame, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Add the apples, apricots, seasonings and tomato puree. Stir well and cook uncovered another 10 minutes. Serve hot on the white rice. On each portion, distribute the fruits and ladle over an appropriate amount of sauce.

posted October 02, 2007 06:29 PM            

quote:

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Ewww. I hate curry.

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Well I guess that means more for me.

posted October 02, 2007 07:43 PM              

could have been 'post yer favourite food dish' ..
.. have tried all my posted dishes ..
so i guess they're just pasted ideas ..

my homemade curries come out like dogsbodys' chilli ..
absolutely no fine touches whatsoever ..
in fact the only reference to any known curry mix ..
is the bottle of 'whatever' curry paste is handy ..

am not far off from trying a cookup with some of the recipes here ..
start a lindaland retaurant ?.. psychic readings while u wait .. ?
your horoscope shows you are about to have one 'ell of a fantastic culinary experience ?
the local up-market french-english restaurant and bar has closed .. yet again ..
nice premises .. :-)

posted October 02, 2007 08:27 PM              

lol..... u r a master chef for sure i hope that truffle doesnt start dancing when it rains!

"for me it's been a nice distraction from the flaming grill posts"

typical male behaviour..when the women start fighting ,the men start finding comfort in food...lolz

SattvicMoon
your sister must be a good cook..that is a yummy collection she has...ok, we will hire her as the head of kitchen when happy D opens the 'lindaland restaurant '.
happy D will be the master chef and u can be the guy who comforts crying customers (crying due to excessive spicy curry intake!)

posted October 02, 2007 09:04 PM            

quote:

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my homemade curries come out like dogsbodys' chilli ..
absolutely no fine touches whatsoever ..
in fact the only reference to any known curry mix ..
is the bottle of 'whatever' curry paste is handy ..

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posted October 02, 2007 09:45 PM              

this was on a site regarding an eggplant dish .. ( more typical male behaviour. ;-) .. )
*A popular Arab proverb in the Middle East claims: "A woman who does not know how to prepare eggplant 101 different ways is not yet prepared for marriage." *

posted October 02, 2007 09:59 PM            

2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 T olive oil
1 can coconut milk
1/3 c chicken broth
1 ½ T Red Curry Paste (Avi adds 2T)**(Thai Kitchen-black/red label)**
1 T Fish Sauce**(Thai Kitchen-black/red label)**
1-2 T Brown Sugar
¼ to ½ c red onion
1 t minced garlic
1 large potato, cubed
½ each, green & red bell pepper, cubed
1 tomato, cubed

In dutch oven or large skillet with lid, heat oil – sweat onion
5 minutes, Add coconut milk, chicken broth, curry paste,
fish sauce, brown sugar, red & green pepper, garlic, potato
and tomato.

Bring to a boil & reduce heat. Let simmer 7-10 minutes or
Until potatoes are tender. Add chicken and heat briefly, only
Until cooked through.

Serve over jasmine rice.

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posted October 02, 2007 10:01 PM            

Moroccan-Style Chicken & Potato Stew
1 T olive oil
4 skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
4 medium potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
1 cup baby carrots & cut in half (peeled)
1/2 cup raisins
2 T lemon juice

In a dutch oven or large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken,
brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken from pot, set aside. In
same pot, cook and stir onion and garlic 4 to 5 minutes or until onion is
translucent. Stir in salt, cinnamon, cumin, curry powder, ginger and red pepper;
cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and
raisins. Heat until tomatoes just come to a boil (Mixture will look dry at first;
additional liquid will form as stew cooks).

Return chicken to pot. Cover tightly; reduce heat and simmer 35 to 45 minutes or
until vegetables are tender.

posted October 02, 2007 10:15 PM            

Cut this recipe in half – it makes quite a bit.

1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
2 medium onions – sliced thin & cut into strips
4 7inch pieces cinnamon stick
2 lbs Mansoor Dal (4 cups) (Mansoor Dal – tiny salmon-pink split mansoor)***
1 T ginger root, peeled & grated
5 cups chicken stock
Salt
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 lemon – juiced & remove seeds, set juice & rind aside
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 serrano chili, chopped
4 bay leaves
2 T chopped cilantro leaves

Heat ¾ cup oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions – cook until
Soft & transparent. Add cinnamon, lentils & ginger. Cook 10 minutes. Add stock,
4 cups hot water, salt & red pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat & simmer 10 minutes.

Add lemon juice & rind – Cook 50 minutes longer, stirring often.

Heat remaining ¾ cup oil; add onion, garlic, chili pepper, bay leaves. Cook until onion
Is brown.

Add mixture including oil to lentils. Remove bay leaves. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves
and serve.

***I use regular brown lentils in place of the pink ones

posted October 03, 2007 01:18 AM              

P.S. None of us give a flying F--k. [\quote]

posted October 03, 2007 08:08 AM              

ok people question to everyone (all chefs)
what is the diffrence between a 'stew' and a 'curry'?

posted October 03, 2007 10:54 AM              

1 lg. onion (finely chopped)
4 eggs
cooking oil
6 medium tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, saut onion until lightly browned. Grate tomatoes on largest holes of a grater. Mix grated tomatoes and onion, cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes. Remove cover and break eggs over the surface. Stir gently to break yolks, cover and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes until eggs are set. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

posted October 25, 2007 01:59 PM            

quote:

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Cosmopolitan, common talk among friends, in some cases a bit “abused”, moussaka, for years now, has found itself in the first place of the Pantheon of so called "national dishes” of Greece and Turkey along with souvlaki (skewer), tzatziki and Greek salad.

However, as is the case with all things, the essence of dishes appears to content neither the uniformity of national dishes, nor the determined biases, since it has been proved in our everyday life that cooking is a live and vibrant part of every country that develops not only in savour but also culturally as well.

First of all to the big disappointment of Greeks and Turks, the word "moussaka" is of Arabic origin!! The roots of the word “moussaka” which both nations claim, come from the Persian word "magouma'", a dish with layers of eggplants, onions and minced lamb meat. The word "moussaka'" in Arabic means "soaked" because this dish has to be eaten juicy, served with all the rich juices of its vegetables, meat and olive oil.

In Lebanon, people name “moussaka” a pot dish, which is served with layers of eggplants, a sauce of fresh tomatoes and raisins.

Many of us though ignore that our neighbours, the Turks, keep cooking moussaka in its Arabic and not in its European version, that is to say with plenty of eggplants or zucchini, minced meat and chickpeas. Eggplants or zucchini are not cut into slices but in small square pieces in the size of the head of a "bird" and they are cooked in a pot and not in the oven. As far as potatoes is concerned there is no way that they would be used since this vegetable of the "New World” has never managed to totally infiltrate the Middle East dishes.

The French educated chef, born in Sifnos, Nikos Tselementes was the one who added on the “top”of the dish the white sauce called béchamel. Thus, the “development" of Middle East moussaka in the beginning of the century, took a European version where all is covered with a sometimes thick or sometimes washy "sauce" depending on the mood of the chef.

The moussaka version which was not made with the classic béchamel sauce and its last layer was of rubbed rusk or hardtack or even beaten eggs and cheese was named in the Greek cooking guides of 1930-1950-1960 as "moussaka imitation".

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