Spicy chicken & bulgur one-pot

I only just recently discovered the wonderful world of one-pots. A one-pot is a dish where everything is basically cooked in ONE POT. However, if you go to Wikipedia and search for one-pot, you get One-pot synthesis, which I guess after having read only the first couple of line, isn't too far from the truth. In a way....

Back to the subject of one-pots. When I say I only just recently discovered one-pots, what I  really mean is that I earlier today discovered and realized the wonderful world of one-pots. I was browsing through some cooking sites and, as always, stumbled across a recipe for the, said, one-pot. Not only did the recipe seem quick and simple to make, I also knew I had "all" but one ingredient already at home, which is a big plus in my book since my pantry and fridge/freezer are literally begging me to fill them. What I mean by "all" is that I actually did not have chicken thighs or couscous at home, as the original recipe called for. But I had chicken breast fillets and bulgur, so I simply substituted the couscous with bulgur and the thighs with breast fillets.And because I had some green lentils and some raisins in the cupboard I decided to add them to the recipe.

When I cooked this dish I feared it'd get too dry, and that I would have to have some kind of sauce or raita to go with it, but the lemon juice at the end really brightened the flavour and somehow made the dish moist. But by all means, go ahead and serve this dish with a raita or some other yoghurt-based sauce of your choice.
This one-pot is definitely a dish I'll be making again, soon. All the flavours worked really well together, it remind me a little bit of Middle-Eastern or North African flavours, and it was yummie!

Spicy chicken & bulgur one-pot
Adapted from BBCGoodFood
Serves 4

4 chicken breast fillets
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
500 ml chicken stock (I used stock from a cube)
10 black or green olives
1 dl raisins
1- 1½ dl cooked green lentils
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 dl bulgur
parsley

1. Start off by putting the chicken fillets into a plastic bag. Add in 1 tsp turmeric and ½ tbsp garam masala, also add in a pinch of salt. Close the bag and massage it so that the chicken fillets gets coated with the spices. Allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a saucepan or a saute pan. Add in the chicken fillets and fry for 2 minutes on each side. Take the fillets out of the pan and place them on a plate. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and tip in the onion and garlic, and fry until golden, about 8-10 minutes on low-medium heat. Stir in the remaining 1 tsp turmeric and ½ tbsp garam masala. Allow the spices to fry for 1 minute. Pour over the stock and add the olives and the raisins. Bring to the boil. Place the chicken fillets back into the pan and cover the pan with a lid, or some aluminium foil. Over medium heat, simmer until the chicken is done. This can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes, depending on how large/thick your fillets are.

3. When the chicken is done, take them out of the pan and place on a clean plate, cover with some aluminium foil to keep them warm. Add the bulgur and the lentils to the pan and stir. Cover and allow the bulgur to cook, check every now and then to ensure there's enough water in the pan. You can always add in a bit more stock or some water if the pan gets dry. Taste to check if the bulgur is done after about 10-15 minutes. Depending on the size of the bulgur used, the time may vary.

3. Place the cooked chicken back into the pan. Squeeze over the lemon juice, and sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley on top.

I had some sliced almonds in the cupboard that I roasted in a pan until golden. I then scattered them on top of the dish together with the lemon zest and the parsley.

Zucchini fritters

Tonight's dinner- Zucchini fritters

Zucchini fritters
Makes 4

1 rather large zucchini, about 30 cm long
½ red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
½-1 dl flour
salt and pepper

1. Grate the zucchini in the coarse side and place the grated zucchini in a bowl. Sprinkle with some salt, mix and set to rest for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, place the zucchini in a colander and press down to squeeze out any zucchini juices.

2. Place the zucchini back in the bowl and mix with the rest of the ingredients. The fritter "batter" should be quite loose.

3. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry as large or small fritters as you want. Flip over when the bottom has turned golden and crisp.

Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and your favourite topping, such as sliced chicken, bacon, prawns or eat them as they are.

Light Chicken Korma

I made a deal with myself a while ago not to eat too many carbohydrates in an attempt to loose some weight. So far I have more or less managed to stay clear of potatoes, rice and pasta, but the tricky part is really to stay clear of bread... And since I'm not much of a pulse person, I'd pretty much rather be fat than to eat beans and lentils. So, so far I have tried to make tasty dishes and have simply left out the high carb side-dishes . I don't know if that's how one does it, and I can't tell a significant weightloss as of yet, but I'm hanging in there.

Tonight's light chicken korma was low in carbs, if one left out the bread. But seeing since I didn't have anything even close to a lettuce leaf in my house at the moment I decided to serve the korma with a side of homemade naan-breads. I did however substitute half the flour with a store bought mixed rye- and wheat flour, which I guess made it a little bit more healthy...

Light Chicken Korma
Serves 4
Adapted from BBC Good Food

4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
a small knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 ½ tsp garam masala
150 ml chicken stock
3 tbsp fromage frais (I used quark)
2 tbsp ground cashew nuts
handful of baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
2 spring onions, the green bits only, cut into 1 cm pieces
corinader/cilantro leaves
1 tbsp sultanas

1. Fry the ginger, garlic and onion in the oil until softened. Add in the chicken and allow the chicken to brown, this takes about 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala and fry for an additional minute.

2. Pour over the stock and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 5 minutes into the 10 minutes of simmering the chicken in the stock, add in the spinach leaves and the green bits for from the spring onions.

3. In a small bowl, mix the fromage frais/quark and the ground cashews. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the fromage frais/quark- and cashew mixture. Do not return it to the heat or it will split. Garnish with the sultanas and sprinkle over some leftover cashews.

Serve with homemade naan-bread or rice.

You can add in more stock and fromage frais at the appropriate times if you feel there isn't enough gravy.

Malaysian Chicken Curry

I came across a recipe for Black Beef Cry Curry over at Fuss Free Cooking, and I immediately knew that this was a dish I really wanted to make one day. As I am a bit low on cash at the moment, I'm pretty much in-between jobs, I figured if I could make some minor adjustments to the original recipe I would be able to make it with the stuff I had in my pantry/fridge.

So, instead of the beef I used chicken, and I did not know exactly what kind of Malaysian curry powder she was referring to so I used the Malaysian meat curry powder I made a while ago. Also, I had never heard of Ketjap Manis, nor did I have money to buy it from the shop were I to come across it, so I decided to make my own from a recipe I found online. This did not turn out all that good, I think I just let the "sauce" reduce way too much, so instead of a syrup kind of liquid it turned out like thick, thick, thick syrup. I had to dilute it with hot water to even get the spoon into it. The moral of this story is; buy the Ketjap Manis at the shop!

Here's my version of Fuss Free Cooking's Black Beef Dry Curry.

Malaysian Chicken Curry
Serves 2
Adapted from Fuss Free Cooking

3 small chicken breasts, or 2 medium, diced
1 ½ tbsp Malaysian meat curry powder
water
2-3 tbsp Ketjap Manis
about 5 curry leaves
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 ½ garlic cloves, chopped roughly
½ inch ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small green chilli, de seeded and halved
1 tomato, quartered
salt and sugar, to taste

1. Start by soaking the curry powder in the water for 30 minutes.

2. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the curry leaves. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli. Fry until fragrant.

3. Add in the curry and water mix and stir to combine. Fry for 10-15 minutes until the oil starts to separate.

4. Add in tomatoes, chicken, ketjap manis, and some salt and sugar. Also add in enough water to just cover the chicken and cook until the liquid has just about halved and the chicken is cooked through.

5. Serve with spiced rice or with a side of fresh salad.

I added some sweet corn at step 4 because I found an open box of sweet corn in the fridge that needed to be used up.

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

I picked sweet corn at a farm not too far from where I live yesterday. I paid 25 NOK/kg, about $ 4/kg. It might sound horribly expensive to some of you, but stuff, especially food, is really expensive in Norway.

Yesterday we boiled some corn on the cob and served them with butter and salt as an evening snack. We had the same for lunch today. I am trying to eat them all before they go bad as last year I had a rather bad experience with freezing fresh sweet corn.

Tonight I made chicken and sweet corn soup. I didn't have any dairy products at home, so I had to come up with a soup without milk or cream... It turned out great, I just threw together some ingredients that I had in the fridge.

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup
Serves 3-4

vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, grated
1 bay leaf
1 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
1 ½-2 tbsp Heinz ketchup
1 chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1½-2 cubes chicken stock
1 litre water
kernels from 2 corn on the cob
1-2 tsp garam masala
salt & pepper
some flat leaf parsley

1. Heat about 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large sauce pan. Add in the onion, garlic and bay leaf and sauté for a couple of minutes. Stir in the chili sauce, ketchup and crushed stock cubes. Add in the pieces of chicken breast, water, corn kernels and half the garam masala.

2. Bring soup to the boil, turn down to medium heat and allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Add salt and pepper, and more garam masala, to taste. Chop some parsley and add it to the soup, right before you serve it.

Serve the soup in individual bowls, drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle some more parsley.

Chicken Roulade With A Fresh Bulgur Salad

Yesterday's dinner was a quick chicken breast roulade filled with homemade sun-dried tomato pesto served on a bed of a cucumber, red pepper, leek, raisin, carrot and parsley bulgur salad. The bulgur salad was dressed with a splash of lemon juice and olive oil to keep it moist. The rather disgusting looking brown/black bits scattered around and on top of the bulgur are fried mushrooms. They added nothing to the dish, and if I could take them out of the picture I would.

Sushi, take 2

Today's dinner was homemade sushi filled with cucumber, leeks, red pepper, baby corn and smoked mackerel or salmon. Served with wasabi and soy sauce.

Lunch at Wagamama

My main reason for going to Copenhagen was to go eat at my favourite restaurant Wagamama. Wagamama only has one restaurant in the whole of Scandinavia, at the Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen. I haven't decided if it's a good thing or a bad thing that there's only one Wagamama in Scandinavia. On the one hand it's good because you can't go there too often and risk getting tired of the delicious Japanese food, but on the other hand it's really not very good as you go there way too seldom, plus, even though I love Copenhagen, it would be good if I didn't have to go there to visit a Wagamama restaurant.

Since going to Wagamama for the first time sometime in 2004 I have only ever had one other dish than the one featured above (Ebi kare Lomen). Ebi Kare Lomen is my absolute favourite though. It's ramen noodles in a spicy coconut and lemongrass soup topped with prawns or grilled chicken, beansprouts and cucumber, garnished with coriander and lime

Susanne had this dish, which I think is noodles in a spicy chicken soup topped with a marinated grilled and sliced chicken breast, fresh chillies, sliced red onions, bean sprouts, coriander, spring onions and a wedge of lime.

Sushi

I went to Sweden last week and got to spend some time with my best friend Hanna in Gothenburg. We made homemade sushi. Neither of us had tried making sushi at home before, but we were very proud of how it turned out. We made some great tasting, and pretty good looking sushi, and served it with the normal condiments of miso soup, soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi.

The Nigiri is topped with avocado and salmon. The Maki is filled with cucumber, avocado and prawns.

Mushroom, mozarella and spinach ravioli

I have been wanting to make ravioli for ages but have never gotten around to it, until now that is. I set out for the store yesterday to buy myself some ingredients for the filling. I had in my mind decided on making a mushroom, spinach and mascarpone filling, but they didn't carry mascarpone at the supermarket. What kind of a country do I live in wherea decent supermarket doesn't carry mascarpone? The answer is Norway, also known as "FSC" or "friend-stealing-country" to some of us!

Well, I had to rethink and decided on putting some shredded mozarella in the filling instead. What a wonderful idea, and I am sure it would have been so tasty had I invested in some proper mozarella instead of relying on the pre-shredded stuff we bought at the supermarket the other week.

I was also a little worried the process of making the actual ravioli would be extremely time consuming, but all went well, it didn't take long at all. Maybe all that dumpling making finally paid off?!

Anyway, to make a long story short, the ravioli were good, but could have been so much tastier had I used the ingredients I first intended to use. Ah well, next time I'm making ravioli I'm going to have a go at making homemade mascarpone. Wish me good luck, I think I'll need it!

The filling

Ravioli. I made some different shapes, mostly because my
ravioli folding skills need some work.

Yum, the finished product!

Mushroom, mozarella and spinach ravioli
Serves 1-2

pasta dough for 1 person
5 smallish button mushrooms, thinly sliced
125 g baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
150-200 g mozarella (a little less than a ball)
salt and pepper

1. In a frying pan, melt some butter and add in the garlic and the spinach, allowing it to wilt. Remove and place on a plate to cool down.

2. Using the same pan, tip in the mushrooms and cook until most of the water has evaporated. Add in just a little butter and salt and pepper, stir. Remove and place on a plate to cool down.

3. Make the pasta dough while the vegetables cool down.

4. Using a pasta machine, roll the pasta dough to desired thickness.

5. Place the rolled dough on a clean and floured surface. Cut out squares.

6. Place the cooled vegetables in a mixing bowl, add the mozarella, stir to combine.

7. . Place 1 tsp of the filling in the centre of each pasta square.

8. Fold the square diagonally to create a triangle. Press down on the edges to ensure the filling doesn't leak out. Lift up the triangle and place it on your index finger with the base pointing towards the palm of your hand. Wrap the two corners that stick out around your finger to create a ring. Pull the ring off of your finger and place on a floured plate. Do this until you have no dough left.

9. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the ravioli and boil for 2-3 min or until the tortellini float up the surface.

10. Drain and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a few shavings of parmesan cheese on top.

Spicy pork noodles

Tonight I found myself with a piece of pork, some noodles and about a ton of button mushrooms. I decided to make a noodle stir fry. It turned out great, but be aware of the chilli bean sauce as it's super hot.

Spicy pork noodles
Serves 1

100 g ground pork
1 pack (60 g) uncooked egg noodles
4 button mushrooms, cut into 4
1 small red onion, sliced finely
1 spring onion

Sauce:
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
½ tsp chili bean sauce
½ tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
75 ml water

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok, when hot drizzle in some oil and fry the onions for about 30 sek. Stir in the pork and allow to brown (about 5 min). After about 3 min, add the mushrooms to the wok.

4. Stir in the sauce, and add in the noodles. Wok until the noodles are hot.

5. Serve with a drizzle of toasted sesame on top.

Fish & Prawn Gratin

I was lucky enough to grown up in a little town in Bohuslän and we always had access to the best and freshest fish, and I remember eating prawns that had been caught that very same morning. It was like eating a little piece of heaven!

This dish reminds me of where I grew up - the Swedish west coast; fish and prawns in a creamy dill sauce is about as close as you get to being a Bohuslänning (a person from the province of Bohuslän) without actually being from Bohuslän.

Fish & Prawn Gratin
Serves 4
Adapted from Tasteline.com

400 g fish, I used Pollock
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp lemon infused black pepper
1/4 leek, chopped
1 dl peeled prawns
1 dl blue mussel meat (optional)
2 ½ dl cooking cream
½ dl chopped dill

Set the oven to 225°C.

1. Start by seasoning the fish with the salt and pepper, and then place the fish in a lightly greased oven proof dish.

2. Mix the cooking cream with the leeks, the prawns, the mussels and the dill. Pour the mixture over the fish.

3. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Garnish with a wedge of lemon and some fresh dill sprigs.

Serve with rice or riced potatoes.

Hatsulim Mamulae

Being not Jewish, this dish introduced me to Kosher cooking. Before googling kosher cooking, I couldn't tell you what differed kosher from "normal" cooking, but reading up about it made me think that my dish was anything but kosher while being kosher. I did not follow the rule of using utensils that had not been in contact with non-kosher foods, the ground beef I used was most certainly not slaughtered in accordance to kosher rules and I know I have used the pots and pans to cook pork.

Now that I know more about kosher cooking, I feel really bad about not following the rules. I feel like a bad Jew, without being Jewish. Does that make sense? I guess it's my inner foodie coming out, and this foodie's respect for different food cultures. But unfortunately, what's done is done. And I wasn't about to go out and invest in a whole new set of pots, pans and utensils.

Even though I didn't have a proper recipe, I just had the scribbles I made while watching Planet Food: Israel and Palestine where they cooked the dish, I set out to give it a try. With no exact measurements and the episode on pause/play on the TV I managed to create a lovely dish. It wasn't as spicy as I had hoped it would be, but this can easily be fixed next time I make the dish by simply adding more spices!

By the way, you might be wondering what this dish is called in terms you might understand. I don't have the direct translation, did I say I'm not Jewish?, but it's something along the lines of "Eggplant stuffed with meat in spicy tomato sauce"

The recipe calls for simple ingredients and does not require you to be a master-chef. However, if you do not happen to live in a place with easy access to the Hawaij spice mix you will have to make it yourself. I made it myself, I wouldn't even know where to look for it here...

Hatsulim Mamulae
Serves 4

1 medium-large eggplant
400 g ground beef, kosher or non-kosher depending on your preference
1 small chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
salt
ground pepper
2 egg
bread crumbs
seasoned flour
vegetable oil

1 medium onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp sweet paprika
1-2 tsp Hawaij spice mix
1 red bell pepper
1 bay leaf
2 medium chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree

Set the oven to 220C.

1. Start off by making the meat stuffing. In a bowl, place ground beef, chopped onion, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, one egg and a good handful of breadcrumbs. Mix gently but well. Set aside.

2. Cut the eggplant into 3 cm thick disks. Then, take each disk and cut as if you were cutting the disk in half to create 2 disks. But instead of cutting all the way through, cut as if you were cutting a sandwich, so that the two pieces are still connected at the bottom.

3. Roll the meat filling into golf ball size balls and stuff each eggplant sandwich with a meatball. Press down on the eggplant sandwish, and mould the meat so that it fits snuggly inside the eggplant.

4. Once you have done step #3 with all the eggplant, roll the eggplant sandwiches in the seasoned flour (flour+salt+pepper), then in the egg (which you have lightly whisked in a bowl), and last but not least you roll the sandwiches in the bread crumbs.

5. Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the eggplants until golden brown and crispy on the outside. The meat should still be mostly raw. When golden and crispy, remove from heat and place in oven proof dish.

6. While the eggplants and browning up in the skillet, make the sauce.

7. In a saucepan, fry the onion, garlic, sweet paprika and Hawaij spice mix in a little bit of oil until the entire kitchen is filled with the most wonderful smell, about 3-5 minutes.

8. Add the rest of the ingredients and allow to reduce for 5 minutes. Add in the tomato puree and about 1 to 1 ½ dl of water and bring to the boil. At this stage taste the sauce and add more spices if needed.

9. Pour the sauce over the eggplants and place in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 45 minutes. If the top starts to burn, cover with aluminium foil.

10. Serve with rice.

Zucchini soup with bacon

Not too long ago my volleyball team went on a tournament for the weekend. It was great fun, but I don't think we did all too well. To tell you the truth I didn't care about the results, that's why I don't know them.

For the duration of the tournament all the teams stayed at Norsjø Hotel, in beautiful Norsjø, Norway. Norsjø Hotel might not be the best hotel in the world, but the food is delicious! For dinner on Saturday we were served a three-course meal, I love three-course meals and can't for the life of me understand how anyone could eat more than a three-course meal. I guess the portions are much smaller when you eat a, say, seven-course meal.

Anyway, let's get back on track. The menu for the three-course meal was

Starter
Zucchini soup with bacon

Main course
Braised beef tenderloin served with potatoes and vegetables

Dessert
Home-made coffee ice cream with chocolate brownie

I absolutely loved the Zucchini soup, the rest of the meal was all-right. I have had better food, but I'm not complaining.

I have been searching for a recipe for Zucchini soup ever since I had it that weekend and with a little help from my friend Susanne, who had told me before of a delicious Zucchini soup that she used to make, I set out to make a soup similar to the one I had had at the hotel.

This soup was really nice, really tasty and easy to make. And it was fairly similar to the one at the hotel. Try it yourself, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Zucchini soup (with bacon)

Serves 4
Adapted from sopprecpet.se

600-800 g green Zucchini, chopped into small cubes
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, grated
½ tsp dried rosemary (I used thyme)
1 tsp tomato puree
8 dl vegetable stock
ground white pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

fried bacon
garlic bread

1. Heat the olive oil in a large enough pan to hold the finished soup. Tip in the onion and fry until soft and translucent. Add in the Zucchini and allow to soften some. Add in the grated garlic, rosemary, tomato puree and vegetable stock.

2. Bring to the boil and allow to cook for about 15-20 minutes.

3. With a hand blender or in a mixer, mix the soup until smooth, or to desired consistency.

4. Bring back to the boil and boil for another 10 minutes. Add in more stock/water if you want to, at this stage.

5. In the meantime, fry some cut up rashes of bacon until crisp to sprinkle on top of the soup. Obviously, for a vegetarian dish, leave out the bacon. Prepare the garlic bread. I cut up some ready-to-bake baguettes and spread some garlic butter on top, placed the bread on an oven tray and baked it in the oven for 10 min on high heat.

Serve the soup in bowls, sprinkle some bacon on top, drizzle over some olive oil and eat with some garlic bread on the side.

Pytt i panna

Pytt i panna is a traditional Swedish dish. I love it. It's super easy to make and doesn't call for more than 3 ingredients. It's basically diced and then fried potatoes, meat and onions.

Confession time: I don't normally make my own pytt i panna, I buy it ready-made from the frozen section at the supermarket. Blasphemy!! I know, but I really like the ready-made version.

Anyway, yesterday I made home-made pytt i panna using a potato, a small onion and the left-over grilled meat from last night's barbeque. YUM! Tasted much better than the store-bought version, obviously!

Pytt i panna
Serves 4

4-5 medium potatoes, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 medium to large onion, chopped
3-4 pork chops or other meat, meat cut into 1 cm cubes

To serve:
fried eggs, sunny side up
pickled beet roots

1. Heat some vegetable oil, or butter, in a frying pan. Depending on if you use raw or boiled potatoes the cooking time will vary. Tip in the potatoes and fry the potatoes until almost done. About 15 minutes if you use raw potatoes.

2. Tip in the onion, fry for 2 minutes.

3. Add in the meat, and fry until done.

4. Serve with a fried egg on top and some pickled beet roots on the side.

Falafel

I have been meaning to post this recipe for falafel for a really long time now, but for some reason I've been stalling it.

I think remember the first time I had falafel, it was in London in 2003. I don't exactly remember them as an "explosion of Oriental flavours in my mouth", it was more like "hmm... these were pretty good". I think they were bought at Marks & Spencer, which might have been the reason why there weren't all that delicious. But obviously, they were delicious enough for me to want to try falafel again, so over the years I've had the odd falafel.

However, it wasn't until fairly recently, say about a year ago, that I realised I could make them at home. I had always envisioned the process time-consuming and tedious. This was until I came across an easy recipe for falafel-"burgers" at BBC GoodFood.

I know, a falafel-burger sounds pretty horrid, but the recipe is great for making small patties to stuff in toasted pita-breads and serves with side dished such as tabbouleh, crisp salad, thinly sliced red onions and a minty yoghurt sauce to drizzle on top. It sounds pretty delicious, right?!
The recipe calls for canned chickpeas, and after having tried both the canned sort and the dried sort that you have to soak in water for at least 12 hours, I can definitely say I prefer the canned peas for this particular recipe. I couldn't get the dried peas soft enough, and deep-frying the falafel didn't help to soften them one bit...

Falafel
Serves 4
Adapted from BBC GoodFood

400 g can chickpeas, drained
1-2 garlic cloves
1 handful parsley
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp harissa or chilli powder
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp oil

To serve
pita breads, chopped tomatoes, tabbouleh, red onions and yoghurt sauce

1. In a food processor, mix the chickpeas, garlic, parsley and spices plus the flour to a rather smooth mix. You can leave it chunkier if you prefer more texture.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry small-ish balls of the chickpea mixture until heated through, golden brown and crisp on the outside.

Chicken Biryani

Last year, while being unemployed, I got a little bit obsessed with the website showmethecurry.com. I could spend hours browsing through all the recipes and I even forced my friends to share in my excitement.

What I like about showmethecurry.com is that almost all the recipes come with an instruction video on how to prepared the dish. It's fabulous and so easy to follow.

Ok, this post isn't about why showmethecurry.com is such a wonderful website, I just felt I needed to give homage where homage was due.

I came across this recipe for Chicken Biryani the other day over at.... you know where. I was a little bit unsure about it, seeing how it contains a daunting 29 ingredients!!! But I remember my boyfriend having Lamb Biryani (he loved it) on our 4 year anniversary some 20 days ago, and decided I'd give it a go.

It turned out great, although the recipe said to keep it in a 120 C oven for an hour. I tried it, it was only lukewarm, I upped the oven to 200 C and it only took 10 min to get the dish nice and hot. Also, next time I'll add in some more spices to give it that extra kick.

PS. Sorry guys, I'm usually not one for copying recipes from someone else's site and posting them here, but I couldn't be stuffed to re-write the entire recipe....

Enjoy!



Chicken Biryani
Serves 4
Adapted from showmethecurry.com

4 small chicken breast
1 ½ cup Basmati Rice
6 cups water
1 cup Yogurt
1 medium potato
1 ½ tbsp oil
1- 1 ½ tbsp Clarified Butter (Ghee)
1-2 tbsp grated garlic
1-2 tbsp grated ginger
Green Chili – to taste
5 cm Cinnamon stick
2 Bay leaves
1 Black Cardamom
3 pieces Mace (optional)
2-4 green cardamoms pods
4 Cloves
Whole Peppercorns – to taste
1 tbsp Golden Raisins
1 tbsp Cashews (heaped)
Salt – to taste
1 tbsp Black Cumin
1 tbsp Cumin Powder
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp Saffron (Kesar)
2 handfuls chopped Mint Leaves
1/4 cup chopped Cilantro/Coriander
½+ ½ cup Fried Onions (divided)

1. Wash and soak the Rice for a minimum 1/2 hour.
2. In a pan, bring 8 cups of water to boil.
3. Once boiling, add Green Cardamoms (2), Bay Leaves (1), Salt and Oil (1tsp).
4. Add in the washed Rice to boiling water.
5. Once the Water starts boiling again, time and cook for 5 minutes (the Rice needs to be 3/4 way done).
6. Drain the water from the Rice and keep aside.
7. In a separate bowl, mix Saffron and Water (1tbsp), keep aside and allow it to soak.
8. Heat a pan on medium heat, add in the Oil and the Clarified Butter.
9. Once hot, add in the Cashews and Golden Raisins, fry for a couple of minutes till the cashews get a light golden colour.
10.Remove from the Pan. Make sure you drain all the Oil. Keep aside.
11.Add in the balance of whole spices – Cinnamon Stick, Mace, Bay Leaf, Black & Green Cardamom, Peppercorns & Cloves.
12.Fry for under a minute.
13.Add in Black Cumin (use regular Cumin if Black is not available).
14.Allow them to sizzle.
15.Add in Ginger & Garlic, fry for another minute. Keep stirring.
16.Add in the washed, cleaned pieces of Chicken. Mix well.
17.Once the Chicken looks sealed, add in the following while stirring constantly – Yogurt, Fried Onion (1/2 cup), Cilantro (save some for garnish), Mint, Green Chili, Potatoes and the dry spices – Coriander, Cumin, Turmeric, Red Chili & Salt.
18.Mix very well. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes (the chicken should be 3/4 of the way done).
19.Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (aprox 121 degrees C).
20.Coat an oven-proof dish with a little oil.
21.Start by layering the Chicken at the bottom of the dish along with a few pieces of Potatoes (saving the gravy for top layer).
22.Fluff up the Rice and add a layer of it on top of the Chicken with half of the Rice.
23.Layer the balance of the potatoes and all the gravy on the rice layer.
24.Next spread the balance of the Rice.
25.Layer the Cashews, Raisins, Fried Onions, Cilantro and Saffron.
26.Drizzle a little bit of Oil.
27.Cover with an air-tight lid or a foil and bake for 1 hour or till the potatoes are cooked.
28.Once out of the oven, take a ladle and mix it gently but well.
29.Allow it to sit for 5 minutes and serve with Cilantro and Mint Raita

Easter meatballs

Made these for Easter. They were out of meatballs at the supermarket...

"Spicy" meatballs
Makes about 30 small meatballs

500 g ground beef
½ dl bread crumbs
1 dl milk
1-2 garlic cloves, grated
½ dl parsley
1 tsp cumin powder
salt, pepper
½ onion, chopped
1 egg
butter/oil

1. Start by combining the bread crumbs with the garlic, parsley, cumin and salt & pepper in a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk and leave to swell while you fry the chopped onion until almost see-through.

2. Add the onion to the bread crumb mix and stir to combine.

3. Add in the ground beef and the egg. Using your hands, mix to combine. If the mixture feels too loose, add in some more bread crumbs.

4. Heat some oil to medium high in a frying pan. Using you hands or two spoons, form the beef mixture into bite size meatballs. Fry until done, place on a serving platter, or allow to cool and place in freezer.

(5. The meatballs on the picture were served with a simple tomato sauce made from crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs, a little bit of red chili, a splash of balsamic vinegar and some salt & pepper).

Curry-scented beef soup

I am not a big fan out what Swedes and Norwegians call "husmanskost". I can't seem to remember the English translation, but I guess it's somewhere along the lines of "traditional home cooked food". A little googling by my friend Titta came up with the term "homely fare".

However, let me rephrase, I am not a very big fan of Swedish and Norwegian "homely fare". The way I see it, I like Thai food, and Indian food, and Chinese food, and Mexican food and, yeah other kinds of food and I assume the foods I like from these countries are their "homely fare".

Anyways, what I am getting at is that I am not a big fan of Swedish and Norwegian "homely fare", but my bf is, unfortunately, a huge fan. He longs for boiled potatoes, and other things he is used to from his childhood. I on the other hand can't stand boiled potatoes, except for new potatoes cooked with large twigs of dill and served with sour cream and chopped chives on a warm summer day.

So, I don't cook boiled potatoes and other Scandinavian homely fares, I make Thai curries, Chinese stir-fries and Mexican enchiladas. But from time to time I cook traditional foods, and yesterday was one of those times. I didn't want to make it all traditional though, so found a recipe combining the traditional Swedish beef-soup with the flavours of Indian curry powder. Yum!


Curry-scented beef soup
Serves 4
Adapted from tasteline.com

400 g beef
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tart apple, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp butter
3 tsp curry powder
1 l water
3 tbsp reduced veal stock (in Swedish: kalvfond)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can (400 g) crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper

1. Start by browning the meat, onions, garlic and apple in the butter in a sauce pan. Sprinkle in the curry powder, stir to mix and allow to fry for a couple of minutes.

2. Add in the water, tomato paste, reduced veal stock and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Serve with a dollop of cream fraiche on top and a slice of garlic bread on the side.

Penne with salmon and creamed spinach

Yum, this was a great little dinner for one tonight. I just cooked some Penne pasta, wilted some spinach in a frying pan, tossed in some thinly sliced garlic, some sweet corn and poured in some heavy cream. Salt & pepper.

Delicious, simple and quick!