Lamb cooked in Milk

Lamb cooked in Milk can be eaten with boiled rice or roti. It is fragrant and delicate in flavor.

Ingredients:
1)Saffron strands-8

2)Stewing Lamb cubed-1 1/2 lb

3)Shallots-4 oz

4)Oil-5 tsp

5)Lamb bones for stock-9 oz

6)Bay leaf-1

7)Cloves-2

8)Green Cardamom-5

9)Cinnamon sticks-2 inch

10)Milk-4 1/2 cup

11)Single cream-2 tsp

12)Fennel Powder-1 1/4

13)Cumin Powder-1/2 tsp

14)Ground White Pepper-1/4 tsp

15)Salt to taste

16)Sugar-1/2 tsp
Preparation:

1)Soak the saffron strands in 1/4 cup water.
2)Soak the lamb in hot water for half an hour or until lightened in colour.

3)Puree the peeled shallots in a food processor and fry in 3 tsp oil in a pan until golden.

4)Boil the meat and bones in 6 cups water along with salt,bayleaf,clove-1,cardamom-3, one cinnamon stick and the fried shallots until tender.

5)Lift out the meat and keep it aside,strain the stock and discard the bones.

6)While the meat is cooking bring the milk to boil in another vessel, with the remaining clove,cardamom and cinnamon stick, stir from time to time and keep cooking until the milk reduces and thickens.

7)When the milk is reduced to by a third,remove from the heat and allow it to cool,strain, add the cream and stir well.

8)Now add the meat and 3 cups of stock to the milk.

9)Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan,when it is hot,add the fennel powder,cumin and pepper.Fry for 8-10 seconds and pour the oil mixture into the meat,add sugar and milk,season with salt to taste..

10)Cook for a few minutes with lid on to prevent the meat from darkening.11)To serve,reheat uncovered and simmer for about 2-3 minutes.

12)Add saffron just before removing from the heat.
Lamb cooked in Milk is ready to be served with rice or roti (prefer with rice)

Baked Stuffed Onions

Ingredients:
Serves 8
8 large white onions
2 tablespoons butter
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ fennel bulb,chopped into small cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
½ pound ground meat
1 teaspoon Herbs
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, flat leaf, chopped
1 egg slightly beaten
½ cup chicken stock
Preparation:
Cut a slice ¼ inch thick off the top of each onion, ensuring you do not cut off the root. Peel the dried skin of each onion. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a roiling boil. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium, cooking until the onions have softened, about 15 minutes. Drain the onions and allow them to cool for 15 minutes. Using a spoon, scoop out the centers of each onion, leaving 4 outer layers in tact.
In a small sauté pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons butter and heat until the butter becomes foamy. Add the tomatoes, cubed fennel, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes. Raise the heat to high, and stirring constantly, allow the tomato mixture to thicken for 2 minutes.
Oil a baking dish with olive oil and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, tomato mixture, ground meat, Herbs, parsley and egg. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
Stuff each onion with the meat mixture, dividing it evenly. Place the stuffed onions in your baking dish and add the chicken stock to the bottom of the dish. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the stuffed onions.
Bake the stuffed onions, basting occasionally with pan juices, until tender. About 45 minutes - use a long skewer to check center for tenderness. Remove from oven and serve.

Sidreyat Al Dajaj ( Chicken Breast )

hope that it is as pleasing to you as it always is to my family and I.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (skinned)
2 tablespoons rice flour
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
5 cups milk
ground cinnamon for decoration
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons rose water
Preparation:
Boil the chicken breasts until well-cooked. Remove the bones from the chicken. Put the chicken in a food blender with 1 1/2 cups of milk and the cardamom. Blend thoroughly then strain through a fine mesh metal sieve. Sweeten the remaining milk. Add the rose water and bring to a boil over low heat. Add the blended chicken to the milk and stir. Add the rice flour, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Pour the mixture into a dish and leave aside to thicken.
Sprinkle with ground cinnamon, and place in the refrigerator to cool and have it when its cold.

Hummus bi Tahina (Chickpea and Sesame Dip)

Ingredients:
125 g (4 oz) chickpeas, soaked for a few hours
juice of 2 lemons
3 Tbs tahina (Sesame)
2 garlic cloves crushed
salt
GARNISH
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. paprika
a few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

Preparation:
Drain the chickpeas and simmer in fresh water for about an hour or until tender. Reserve the cooking water.Process the chickpeas in a blender with the lemon juice, tahina, garlic, salt and enough of the cooking water to obtain a soft creamy consistency.
Serve on a flat plate, garnished with a dribble of olive oil, a dusting of paprika and a little parsley.
Serve with warm bread.

Coconut Truffle

Ingredients:3 cups of shredded coconuts,

10 Oz of condensed sweetened milk

1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Your choice of raw or roasted nuts

Method

In a bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups of coconut with the sweetened condensed milk (adding vanilla essence is optional)Roll into a dough and let it set aside for 10 mins or so,Form small balls with the dough and insert a piece of nut into the balls completely.Roll the balls on the 1/2 cup of coconut for coating garnish Refrigerate for at least couple of hours before servingEnjoy!

Jhinga Biryani

Make any occasion even more special by serving this delicious one-dish meal. Jhinga Biryani goes really well with a green salad and green chutney

Ingredients:
500 gms Basmati rice
500 gms large prawns shelled and deveined
To marinate prawns: Juice of 1 lime/ lemon
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsps garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
Salt to taste
To fry: 4 large onions sliced thinly (divided into 3 equal portions)
3 large tomatoes chopped finely
For dry masala/ spice mix: 4 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp saunf/ aniseed/ fennel seeds
1 tbsp khus khus/ poppy seeds
2" piece of cinnamon
5 cloves
5 pods green cardamom
10-12 black peppercorns
2 dry red chillies
For wet masala: 2 green chillies
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
To garnish: 1 tbsp saffron strands
3 tbsps warm milk
3-4 tbsps fresh chopped coriander
4-5 tbsps cooking oil
Preparation:
Wash the rice. Soak it in warm water for 30 minutes.
Cook the rice till amost done. Drain remaining water (if any) and keep aside.
Marinate the prawns in the ingredients mentioned under "To marinate prawns".
Heat a griddle or flat pan on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients mentioned under "For dry masala/ spice mix" till they start to become slightly darker and give off a faint aroma.
Peel the cardamom pods and remove seeds. Throw skins away. Now grind all the roasted ingredients to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
Grind the ingredients mentioned under "For wet masala", to a smooth paste in a food processor.
Heat the cooking oil in a deep pan till hot and then fry 1 of the 3 portions of sliced onions till crispy and golden. When done, drain and remove from the oil and keep aside on paper towels to garnish biryani later.
In the same oil, add the remaining sliced onions and fry till soft. Now add the tomatoes and fry till soft.
Add all the dry and wet masala ingredients prepared earlier and fry till the oil begins to separate from the whole mix.
Now add the prawns and all the marinade to this spice mix. Stir and allow to cook till the prawns are done. Do not overcook as the prawns will get rubbery in texture. Season with salt if required. Remove from fire.
Soak the saffron strands in 2-3 tbsps of warm milk.
Take a large, deep baking dish/ ovenproof dish (it MUST have its own cover) and grease lightly with cooking oil. Layer the rice and prawn as follows: rice - prawn - rice. End with a layer of rice.
Pour the saffron infused milk all over the top of the last layer of rice.
Garnish with the crispy fried onions, chopped corainder leaves. Cover the dish and seal tightly.
Bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes.
Serve hot with chutney and green salad of your choice

Shahi Biryani

Shahi Biryani is fit for a king and was probably eaten by many too! This makes the perfect one-dish meal for when you have company. It combines ingredients typical to the Mughlai style of cooking.
Ingredients:
For the meat: 1kg lamb/ chicken cut into 2" pieces (if using chicken, use breast or thigh fillet)
4 large onions sliced thin
2 tsps garlic paste
2 tsps ginger paste
1/2 cup almonds
6 tbsps ghee
1" stick of cinnamon
5 cloves
3 pods cardamom
8 peppercorns
2 tsps coriander powder
1 1/2 tsps cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup yoghurt
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup chicken/ lamb stock
2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsps finely chopped mint leaves
Salt to taste
For the rice: 2 cups Basmati rice
Hot water
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Put the almonds in a bowl of hot water (enough to cover them) and set aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove skins from all the almonds.
Mix the garlic and ginger pastes, the peeled almonds and grind to a smooth paste in a food processor.
Wash the rice in a sieve and add enough water to fully cover the rice - at least 4" over the surface of the rice. Add salt to taste. Set the rice up to boil. Cook till almost done. To determine when it has reached that stage, remove a few grains from the pot and press between your thumb and forefinger. The rice should mostly mash but will have a firm whitish core. Turn off the heat. Strain through a colander and keep drained aside.
Heat 3 tbsps of oil in a pan and fry 2 of the onions till caramalized - golden brown. Drain and keep aside on paper towels for later use.
Heat 3 tbsps of oil in another pan and add the whole spices - cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns. Fry till the spices turn a little darker.
Add the 2 remaining onions and fry till they are translucent.
Add the ginger-garlic-almond paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add all the spice powders - coriander, cumin and garam masala and mix well.
Fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala and then add the lamb/ chicken. Keep frying till the meat is fully sealed (it will become opaque and lose its pink colour).
Now add the yoghurt, lime juice, stock, coriander and mint leaves and salt to taste.Mix well.
Cover the pot and allow to cook till the meat is tender.Grease a deep baking dish and evenly layer the cooked rice, meat (and its gravy) in it to form at least 2 sets of layers (rice-meat-rice-meat-rice). Garnish with the previously caramalised onions. Cover the dish tightly.Put in a pre-heated oven set at 350 F for 20 minutes.
Turn off the oven and let the dish sit in the oven till you are ready to eat. Only open when you are ready to eat. The way to serve Biryani is to gently dig in with a spoon so you get through the layers.