When Maya was 5 or 6 she added a recipe for frosting that she must have learned from my Mom, and she’s made it many times – it makes a delicious lemon glaze. Here is her exact recipe:
poutered shooger
lemen juns
water
Category: Gluten-free
Moroccan Squash & Chicken Tagine
A tagine is a stew that’s cooked in a ceramic dish with a conical lid that sits on top of it, but you can also just cook it in a dutch oven. The original recipe called for a cup of golden raisins and 3 Tbsp honey, but I found it too sweet, so I’ve cut them both in half. This recipe makes a nice, large batch.
Moroccan Spice Mix:
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
Blend and set aside.
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs, cut into large chunks
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, cut in wedges
6 cloves of garlic, halved
5-6 saffron threads
2 1/2 to 3 lbs. of butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1″ cubes
1 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
Rub 1 Tbsp spice mix on chicken. Heat oil in a dutch oven and saute chicken for 6-8 minutes. Remove and add a little more oil, than add onions, garlic and saffron. Cook 2 minutes and add squash. Add 2 tsp more of spice mix. Add chicken back in, and add broth and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer one hour, stirring very gently once in a while.
Add raisins and cook 10-20 more minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley just before serving with Couscous, or whole wheat flour tortillas warmed in the oven.
Mulligatawny Soup
I just learned this evening that this is Ali’s favorite soup. This version isn’t super traditional, but it’s still delicious.
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, well-scrubbed and chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and rough-chopped
Saute veggies in olive oil. Once veggies are soft, puree them in a blender or food processor.
1 can coconut milk
1 apple, peeled cored and diced
2 cups cooked basmati rice
6 cups chicken stock
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken meat
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1/8 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 cup red lentils
In a large stock pot, heat stock and add chicken, lentils and spices. Cook 25 minutes, remove chicken and shred it. Add pureed veggies and coconut milk to stock. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
Put rice, chicken and apples in bowls and cover with broth. Yum!
Samir’s Favorite Kitchiri
Kitchiri is a wonderful mix of rice and lentils that is a great, filling vegetarian main dish. It is kind of based on kedgeree, which is more soupy. But it’s easy, quick and definitely worth trying. It is also, as per the title, one of Samir’s favorites.
1 cup red daal, soaked for 30 minutes, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic puree
2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves
3 cardamoms
2 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon
5 cups water (or 5 cups chicken stock if not worried about being vegetarian)
2 tsp vegetable stock
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper
Saute onion and garlic in butter and oil for 5 minutes. Add rice and spice and saute for 1 minute. Add all else, stir well, cover and cook on low heat 20 minutes.
Thai Sticky Rice
We met Tao because her son Benson was a really good friend of Samir. She is a great cook and shared her Thai Sticky Rice recipe with me. Super easy and super delish!
2 cups sticky rice (it’s a sweeter rice but you could probably make it with jasmine rice, too or even regular long grain rice if you don’t have an asian market close by.)
water
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (not coconut cream)
1/2 cup plus a little more sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Soak rice in a glass dish in plenty of water for 30 minutes. Drain until there’s just a little water left. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Remove from microwave. Stir coconut milk, sugar and salt in a bowl and blend gently into the rice. You can add a drop of food coloring to the sticky rice if you like.
Put the cover back on and microwave for 5-10 minutes until the rice is done. Fluff gently with a fork and serve.
Little Brown Cookbook 