Syrian Chicken

- 1 kg chicken, cut in cubes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon tumeric                                        
- 1 teaspoon ground chilli
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 small can crushed tomatoes
- 2 pinches of safron threads
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- chicken stock

1. Put the salt, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, tumeric and chilli into a large plastic bag and add the chicken. Toss well to coat and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a frypan. Add the chicken and cook until browned. Remove and set aside. Add the onions, ginger and garlic to the pan and cook until onion is softened.

3. Add the tomato, saffron, cumin seeds and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes.

4. Return the chicken to the pan and add the lemon juice, honey and enough chicken stock to just cover the chicken. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through, and the sauce is slightly reduced.

Butter Chicken

I decided to try and make a butter chicken from scratch. I had no idea what it was supposed to taste like when made from scratch, as I have only tasted the butter chicken from a jar. I fochilliund it was quite tasty. This recipe asks for a cinnamon stick as well. When I saw that, I got so excited, I've had a packet of cinnamon sticks for a couple of weeks I've been hanging to use, this time I finally got to try them out.

- 1/2 cup yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon tumeric

- 1 teaspoon cumin                             
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon chilli
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 kg chicken breast
- 125g cashews
- 60g unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoons paprika
- 425g tomato puree
- 150ml chicken stock
- 1 cup cream


1. In a bowl, mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, tumeric, garam masala, cumin, chilli, ginger and garlic together. Add the chicken and coat well. Cover and leave it in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour.

2. Process half the cashews with a food processor until it's finely ground.

3. In a large frypan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the onion, caramom, cinnamon stick and bay leaf for around 2 minutes or until the onion softens.

4. Lower the heat and add the chicken and marinade, paprika, puree, cashew powder and stock. Simmer until cooked.

5. Stir in the cream and cook for 10 minutes.

Paprika and Sour Cream Chicken

When I made this, I had left over mushrooms from the night before, so I thought I'd add them into the dish as well. I had around a couple of handfuls of mushrooms. Also, I didn't measure the ingredients exact, and it turned out quite tasty.

- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter                       
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- a couple of handfuls of mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons chopped oregano
- 150ml chicken stock
- finly grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- 140g sour cream

1. Heat oil in a large frypan and cook chicken until golden. Set aside

2. Add the butter, onion, garlic, and mushrooms (if using) and cook until tender.

3. Stir in the paprika, oregano, stock,  and some salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

4. Stir in the zest and sour cream. Serve over pasta or noodles.

Chicken Laksa

Yesterday a good mate of mine took me to China Town in Sydney to experience some new foods.
Of all the years just walking around Sydney taking random photos, I never realized past the 2 lions infront of a red arch there were many more streets of China Town. Apparantly I went there when I was little, but I can't remember.

 

I tried a chicken laksa for the first time in my life. The tastes exploded in my mouth. The smoothness of the soup, the mild spicyness, the crunch of bean sprouts, the chewiness of the tofu, it just all worked in so well together. I found a recipe for a chicken laksa today, but this one is much more spicy and doesn't have tofu. I could have added tofu myself, but I don't know whether to use soft or hard or some other kind, and not oo sure how to cook it yet. The last time I attempted to cook with it was a fail.

 

 

 

- 200g udon noodles

- 185g jar Ayam Malaysian laksa paste

- 5 shallots, sliced                          

- 1 litre chicken stock

- 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn

- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken

- 165ml can coconut milk

- 1/2 cup bean sprouts

- 1 small red chilli

- 1 lebanese cucumber julienned

 

 

1. Prepare noodles according to their packet. Cook chicken in the chicken stock. Once cooked, set aside and reserve the stock.

 

 

2. In a large fry pan, cook the laksa paste for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the chopped shallots and cook for 2 minutes until soft. Stir in the stock and 1 cup of cold water. Add the lime leaves. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

 

 

3. Add the chicken and cook for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove the lime leaves and stir in the coconut milk. Divide the prepared noodles into the serving bowls and ladle the soup of them. Top with bean sprouts, cucumber, chopped shallot tops and chilli.  

 



Beef Stir Fry

I found this recipe in Julie Goodwin's cookbook... Australia's first master chef. I was surprised at how tender my meat went. And the taste? The taste has only one word to descibe it. WOW. The only vegetable the recipe asked for was broccoli, but I added a few extras.

- 1 1/2 teaspoons light soy sauce              
- 1 1/2 sugar                                              
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 800g lean rump steak, sliced thinly
- 1 carrot, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, extra
- 2 tablespoons dark sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornflour, extra
- peanut oil, for stir frying
- 6 shallots, cut into 3 cm lengths
- 500g brocolli, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- noodles for serving

1. Combine the light soy sauce, sugar and cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water and mix well. Add the beef and toss well, making sure it all gets coated well. Refrigerate covered for 1 hour.

2. Combine the oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of water and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the extra cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large frypan and add the beef. Cook until browned and almost cooked through. Remove and set aside.

4. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil and quickly fry the shallots until they are a little tender. Add to the meat that's set aside.

5. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, and add the broccoli, carrot, garlic, salt and sugar. Fry for around 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup of water and cover for 3 minutes until broccoli is tender but still crisp.

6. Return everything set aside to the frypan. Add the sauce ingredients and the cornflour mixture and stir until it thickens.

7. Serve on top of noodles of your choice.

Plain Sweet Waffles

A few years ago, I tasted my first waffle. What an explosion in my mouth! The feel of the hot mixed with the cold of icecream, and the sweet mixed with plainness... What a combination. Well last week, I bought myself a waffle machine for only $20. It shocked me just how easy they are to make. It came with 3 different kinds of waffles to make, all of which I intend on tasting.

- 1 1/2 cups plain flour                        
- 1/2 cup self raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 100g butter, melted

1. Preheat your waffle machine for 10 minutes.

2. Sift the flours and baking powder together in a large bowl. Stir in sugar and combine well.

3. Combine the egg yolks with the milk and whisk until smooth.

4. To the dry ingredients, add the egg and milk mixture. Add the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

5. In a clean glass bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form Gently fold into the mixture in 2 batches.

6. When the waffle machine is ready and heated, pour 1/3 cup of your mixture onto the centre of the bottom plate. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Repeat with remaining batter.

8. Serve with a scoop of icecream ad a drizzle if your favourite topping.

vegetable curry

This was my first time using fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds. I had absolutely no idea what fenugreek seeds looked like. My mum thought they smelt a bit like celery, I thought they smelt a bit like curry. Cooking these seeds, it made me want to put sleeves on... they were popping out of my frypan left right and centre, pricking my arms with hotness. I found this recipe needed some salt added, and maybe some more pineapple juice and coconut milk. (or maybe I just cooked it a little longer than intended). I also added some broccoli to dish as well, as I'm not the biggest lover of cauliflower, but next time, I think I'll just use all cauliflower, it had a nice taste with the rest of the ingredients. Also, the recipe asked for 1 fresh red chili. Instead, I used a big pinch (maybe around 1/4 of a teaspoon) of chili powder, for my mum's taste buds.

- 1/2 a cauliflower                                          
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 heaped teaspoon of mustard seeds
- 1 heaped teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
- 1 heaped teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 small handful of curry leaves
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 shallots
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 1x400g can coconut milk
- 1x400g can chickpeas
- 227g canned pineapple chunks in juice


1. Slice the cauliflower in 1cm chunks. Pour the oil into a large frypan and quickly stir in the mustard and fenugreek seeds, turmeric, and curry leaves.

2. Pulse the peeled ginger and garlic and shallots in a food processor until smooth, then stir into the frypan as well. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them, pour in the coconut milk, add the drained chickpeas, and pineapple chunks with the juice. Add the cauliflower and bring to the boil.

3. Once vegetables are tender, serve with rice.