Category: International

Spaetzle

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Spaetzle is a delicious soft pasta that’s made fresh and then fried in butter.  It’s a German staple.  My  mom used to make Spaetzle when I was younger, using a metal colander and wooden spoon to push the super soft dough into a pot of boiling, salted water.  I have a way cool spaetzle maker (thank you Colleen B!) that looks like a grater with a hopper on top, but the colander and spoon method works just fine, too.

2 1/8 cup flour  (500 gms for anyone who cooks that way.)
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Butter

Mix the dough really well. It will be very sticky and soft. Start a large pot of salted water boiling, then turn down to a simmer. If you’re using a colander, dump about a cup of the dough at a time in it, and holding the colander over the simmering water, start scraping the wooden spoon back and forth across the bottom, so the dough drops out of the bottom holes. The noodles cook very quickly, so have a slotted spoon ready to take them out of the pot.

Meantime, melt some butter in a frying pan. When you pull the noodles out of the boiling water, shake as much water out as you can, and drop them into the melted butter to fry for a minute or so.

If you have an awesome spaetzle maker like mine, you just put the grater portion on top of the pot, dump in the dough in the hopper and slide it back and forth over the water.

Makes a ton of noodles and is so delicious.

Chicken Qorma

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Chicken Qorma is like Chicken Curry.  Ali and I made this several times and perfected the recipe on 9-12-04.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, and 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 onions, very thinly sliced, or 2/3 cup barista (Pre-fried onions)
1/4 cup or 2 Tbsp oil
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed ginger
1 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, stirred very well
3/4 cup water

Mix all spices with the 2 Tbsp water and set aside. If you are using fresh onions, add the oil to a dutch oven and fry onions until golden brown. Then follow recipe as shown below. (You don’t need to add more oil.)

If you are using Barista, heat 2 Tbsp oil in a dutch oven, and saute garlic and ginger for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the spice mix in water and fry for a couple more minutes. Add the barista (if you are using fresh onions, they will already be in the pan.) Add the chicken and stir to coat it with flavoring. Then add yoghurt and water and stir well. Cook 20 – 30 more minutes until chicken is done. Serve over rice cooked with peas.

This dish is even better the second day. It may seem like a lot of oil, but the all the good flavor of the spices is soaked into the oil and you won’t want to miss a drop!  Barista is onions that are already fried, and have quite a bit of oil in them already. They are not french-fried onions – rather they are just onions fried to a very gold brown.

Strawberry Trifle

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Trifle, which is a dish somewhat unfamiliar to most Americans, is a dangerous, dangerous dessert.

It starts off all pretty and shiny in a clear glass trifle dish, with bits of cake and strawberries creating a lovely layered display and a rich yellow custard and white fluffy whipped cream on top.  Soon though, it’s served and forms a rather untidy, gloppy serving of sheer heaven.  You have it once and think, I don’t have a trifle problem. Me? No – I can take it or leave it.  But then you see some strawberries with whipped cream nearby and suddenly you can taste the custard and cake, too.  There’s no getting away from it.

I’ve made trifle for years and it’s one of the most often requested birthday “cakes” from my family.  My recipe is a little different, but it’s what we like and what I find easiest to make.  You can substitute different fruits or liqueurs, and it is still wonderful. The most delightful part is the Rich Custard, but if you really must you can substitute vanilla pudding. Just add a bit more vanilla extract.

Ingredients:

Angel Food Cake, cut into 1″ thick slices
2 pints of fresh or frozen strawberries, halved and tumbled with 1/4 cup sugar for 15 minutes. (Or 1 large container of strawberries in syrup, thawed.)
Generous splash of brandy or sherry – say 2 Tbsp?  I’ve used Cognac in a pinch, too.
Whipped Cream (Home made Whipped Cream is easy.)
Slivered almonds, toasted in an oven for a few minutes.
Rich Custard (recipe below)

In a large, clear glass bowl, line bottom and sides with angel food cake slices.

Mix the brandy and sugar with the strawberries, and place the strawberries on the sides and on the bottom of the dish. You want the strawberries to provide a pop of red color. Pour any remaining liquid evenly over the bottom.

Pour cooled rich custard over the cake and strawberries, and top with whipped cream and slivered almonds. Serve immediately. If you have to wait to serve, refrigerate it and just hold off on the whipped cream and almonds until right before serving.

Rich Custard:

1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 cups whole milk
4 eggs, well beaten in a medium sized bowl
1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla

Blend sugar, salt, cornstarch and whole milk in a large saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly. Once the custard reaches the boil, remove from heat and add 1 cup to the eggs in the bowl, stirring vigorously so the eggs don’t cook. Add another cup of milk mix to the eggs, and continue stirring.

Return the whole thing to the saucepan and put back on medium/low heat. Heat for 1-2 minutes until the custard is just starting to bubble a little. Don’t leave it for a second at this point or it will curdle. Remove from heat and add in vanilla. Let cool before adding to trifle dish.  It will thicken as it cools

This recipe also makes a lovely pouring custard. Just add another cup of milk. We don’t eat pouring custard much in the US, but it’s delicious dessert sauce. Just a bowl of fresh fruit with pouring custard poured over – it’s simple and wonderful.

For a party, use nice clear wide plastic glasses and build the trifle in them. Just before serving add the whipped cream and almonds – it’s so easy and looks really pretty

There are so many wonderful kinds of trifle.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

Mango Cardamom Trifle

Variation:  Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

Make chocolate custard:  skip the Vanilla, add a generous 1/3 cup cocoa to the sugar and cornstarch, and pour in a little of the milk. Stir well until the cocoa is completely mixed in.  We didn’t increase the sugar and it tasted fine.

Use slices of unfrosted chocolate cake and fresh or frozen raspberries, and top with whipped cream and a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips.

I’ve made both of these for a large graduation party – see my tips here:

A TALE OF TWO TRIFLES FOR A GRADUATION PARTY

Irish Soda Bread

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Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread is a treat I have always looked forward to on St Patrick’s Day – since my friend Cathy is Irish and makes the most exquisite Soda Bread.

But I’ve now made this bread so many times and in so many places it’s kind of my signature dish. You’d think I’d be sick of it, but there is something about that first bite of warm bread with a little butter melting on it that is indescribable.

For me, the interesting thing about this recipe was a note that it was from Rania Bratberg (from the Internet).  I was so thrilled to find a recipe on the Internet – what an astonishing idea – but of course that was long, long ago!

4 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp caraway seeds

Blend in a large bowl.

1/4 cup softened butter

Cut butter into the flour mixture with a fork or knead it in gently with your hands.

1 box currants (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups)
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Add the currants to the flour mixture, and stir to break up any clumps.  Blend the buttermilk and egg well. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and blend oh so gently until everything is moist. Do not overmix this!

Turn out the dough onto a floured tray, and knead gently adding flour as needed for 30-60 seconds. (Or you can just flour your hand and gently knead the bread right in the bowl.) Form an oval on a baking pan and flatten it to no more than about 2″ thick. Slather the loaf with buttermilk and cut a couple of shallow horizontal slashes with a sharp knife.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with a clean, dry towel. Serve with lots of fresh butter.

Note: if you want, you can make two loaves – just bake them for 30 minutes.

Mummy’s Martian Rice

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Kumy’s Mom, Shamim taught me this recipe and we love it with fresh, plain yoghurt. The name is a kind of a joke, since the rice gets a green “Martian” color from the cilantro and jalapenos.  Mummy is a wonderful cook and has been the most loving person – a real blessing in my life.

4 cups rice – 95% cooked. (Just pull a piece of rice out and if it still has a tiny bit of hardness in the center it should be fine)

2 lbs. chicken cut into bite-sizes (I like to use a combo of boneless skinless breast and thighs.)
1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed ginger
1 1/2 cups water

Bring to the boil in a large pot and let simmer until chicken is cooked through.

1 lb. fresh cilantro (yes, I know that’s a lot)
1 tsp salt
50 gms of jalapeno peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks (about 1 large or 1 1/2 smaller peppers)

Buzz the cilantro, salt and jalapeno peppers in a blender or food processor with 1 cup of the broth from the boiling chicken.

1 Tbsp Oil

Heat oil in a frying pan, and add the cilantro mix.  Saute for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add to the chicken mix and blend gently, then add the rice and stir gently again. Cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Serve with fresh plain yogurt.

Tayebba Auntie’s Peas

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Kumy’s aunt, Tayebba Auntie is another amazing cook, and she taught me this recipe when we were living in Karachi. It’s zingy and delicious.

1 lb. English peas in shell, soaked for 15 minutes in cold water and then drained
2 Tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp whole cumin
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp)
1/8 cup water
juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat oil on medium heat in a frying pan, and saute cumin for a couple of minutes until lightly brown. Mix garlic, ginger, pepper, salt and water in a bowl, and add to frying pan. Cook for a minute and add the peas. Shake well, reduce heat and cover. Cook 15 – 20 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice over peas just before serving.