Delicious Food Menu: October 2008

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Korean Bean Curd (Miso) Soup

This soup is tasty, delicious, easy to make and full of

vegetables! This is a very simple Korean soup eaten with rice and other side dishes. Includes tofu, green squash, mushrooms and onions. True Korean recipe! Garnish with sliced green onions. This recipe requires 15 minutes for preparation and 20 minutes for cook time.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons denjang (Korean bean curd paste)
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1/2 tablespoon dashi granules
1/2 tablespoon gochu jang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1 zucchini, cubed
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 onion, chopped
1 (12 ounce) package soft tofu, sliced

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine water, denjang, garlic paste, dashi and gochu jang. Bring to a boil and let boil 2 minutes. Stir in zucchini, potato, mushrooms and onions and let boil 5 to 7 minutes more. Stir in tofu and cook until tofu has expanded and vegetables are tender.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Pineapple Pachadi

Pineapple is one of the world’s favorite tropical fruit,and when you taste this delicious fruit once, you’ll know why it is called so. Pineapples are available fresh and canned.

Pineapple is high in fiber and contains modest amounts of vitamin C, potassium and a unique digestive enzyme called bromelain.

Kerala Cuisine is blessed with many Pineapple dishes, and this Pineapple Pachadi is one of them. And in southern Kerala, this sweet dish is used as an accompaniment for Sadyas.

Here's the instructions on how to prepare this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cup: Ripe pineapple cut into 1/2" square pieces
2 dsp: Coconut oil
½ tsp: Turmeric powder
1 cup: Grated coconut
1-2: Dried red chilli
½ tsp: Mustard seeds
3 : Dried red chillies (cut into 6 pieces)
1 sprig: Curry leaves
1 tsp: Crushed mustard
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil pineapple, with turmeric and salt in ½ cup water.

2. Grind coconut with dried chilli to a fine paste.

3. Heat the oil and season with mustard seeds.

4. Saute the coconut paste and add the curry leaves and dried red chillies.

5. When it is done, add the boiled pineapple pieces.

6. The gravy should be thick and the cover the pineapple pieces.

7. Add the crushed mustard just before removing the pachhady from fire.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Teriyaki (tare in Japanese) is a cooking technique

used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade. Teriyaki is served in most modern Japanese cuisines.

Ingredients:

3/4 pounds chicken breasts or thighs
2 tbsp sake (rice wine)
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 tbsp sugar
grated ginger

Preparation:

1. Rinse chicken halves, and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken cut side down in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, grated ginger and garlic. Mix well, and pour mixture over chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4. Bake chicken uncovered in the preheated oven for 1 hour, basting frequently. Test for doneness, making sure there is no pink left in the meat. Let cool slightly, then cut into smaller pieces to serve.

Chicken Adobo

This delicious chicken adobo is a Philippine recipe that is easy to prepare and cook. The estimated time for preparation is 15 minutes and 30 minutes for cook time.

Ingredients:

1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves

Method:

1. Place chicken pieces in a large bowl. Pour vinegar and soy sauce over chicken, and season with ground black pepper to taste. Toss to coat.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown garlic. Be careful not to burn garlic, as this will make the dish taste bitter. After browning garlic, remove it from the oil.

3. Place marinated chicken pieces in hot oil. Pour remaining marinade over all, and add bay leaves. Reduce heat to low, and cook chicken pieces for about 10 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. The marinade will reduce, and make a nice gravy. Remove bay leaves, and serve immediately.

Note:

The nutrition data for this recipe includes information for the full amount of the marinade ingredients. Depending on marinating time, ingredients, cooking method, etc., the actual amount of the marinade consumed will vary.

Stuffed Beancurd Recipe

Ingredients:

100g (3/4 cup) blanched beansprouts
100g (1/3 cup) shredded cucumber
8 small firm beancurd cakes (100g each)
6 tablespoons cooking oil

Dressing

5 fresh red chilies
3 slices ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chinese rice vinegar
125ml (1/2 cup) water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 sprig chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves

Method :

1. To prepare the Dressing, combine all the ingredients apart from the coriander leaves in a bowl
2. Stir well then sprinkle coriander leaves on top.
3. Mix the beansprouts and cucumber and set aside.
4. Make a slit along one side of the beancurd, scooping some out to form a small pocket.
5. Taking care not to break the sides, slowly stuff with the vegetable mixture.
6. Pour the oil in a wok and heat it.
7. Place the stuffed beancurd in the oil and brown it quickly in the hot oil.
8. To prevent it from stick to the wok, only turn the beancurd when it is brown.
9. Drain on a wire rack.
10. Place the beancurd on individual serving plates and cover with the dressing.
11. Serve with or without rice.

Achappam

Achappam - sweet and crunchy snack

Achappam or Rose cookie is a sweet and crunchy snack of kerala. It is round and resembles a flower. It is made using ’achu’- a special round mould. The mould is typically made of iron but nowadays it is available in non-stick too. Traditionally , Achappams are made with rice , coconut milk, sugar and eggs. We can substitute the rice with a mixture of rice and maida(All purpose flour) and coconut milk with milk. The ratio of rice powder and maida can be varied ,the more the rice powder the more crunchier it will be.

All the ingredients are mixed to form a thick batter that has the consistency of dosa batter. The mould is dipped in the batter and then inserted into the oil. The achappam separates from the mould and it is fried till golden brown. This is a tricky process and it can be done only with practice. It will be much easier with a non-stick mould. The mould should be hot enough so that the batter coats the mould properly. If the mould is not hot the batter will not stick to he mould and they will not separate from the mould when dipped in oil.

To have this recipe that is good for 5 persons, just follow the instructions below.

Ingredients

4 cup: Rice
1/4 litre: Milk
3 Eggs
2 cup: Powdered sugar
1 teaspoon: Cardamom powder
Coconut oil as required

Method

1. Wash and soak the rice for two hours.
2. Grind the rice with milk to a thick batter.
3. Beat the eggs thoroughly and add to the batter along with sugar and the cardamom powder. Mix well.
4. Heat oil in a pan and dip the achchappam mould in it for a minute.
5. Dip the mould into the batter and then dip it in the hot oil.
6. Fry along with the mould.
7. Tap the mould for the appam to separate.
8. Repeat the same till the batter is over.

Jhangora Ki Kheer

Jhangora Ki Kheer is a sweet dish of Uttaranchal. It

Jhangora Ki Kheeris prepared with Jhangora (a local cereal), milk, sugar and dry fruits. It is usually served as dessert. The ingredients and method of cooking are given below. This Garhwali recipe is a easy to cook recipe. Try preparing the dish yourself at home.

Ingredients

500 gm: Jhangor
200 gm: Sugar
2 lt: Milk
50 gm: Raisins
50 gm: Cashew nuts
100 gm: Chironji
Kewara essence as required

Method

1. Take the milk and boil it in a pan.
2. Add to it the jhangor and cook it well. Stir it properly and check out that it do not stick to the pan.
3. Add sugar to it and again cook for some more time.
4. Now add kewara essence to the cooked jhangor and mix it properly.
5. Garnish the preparation with chopped dry fruits and serve this delicious kheer hot or cold.