Spiced Bulgar with Tomato

Bulgar is not the usual go-to grain for us desis, so it's a refreshing change.  This whole grain, compared to white rice has more fiber and protein, and is commonly used in Middle-Eastern cuisine.  I must say, it's great comfort food.

We first tried this recipe on Epicurious.com, but it has since evolved into a whole new recipe:

Ingredients

- 1 cup medium grind bulgur 

- 2 cups chicken stock (for a more risotto like texture, you can add a bit more liquid)

- about 1 tablespoon tomato paste

- salt to taste

- 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

- preheat oven to 325 degrees

- heat oil and cook tomato paste until bronze

- cook 1/2 teaspoon of allspice until fragrant

- then slowly add the chicken stock while whisking as to avoid any lumps

- bring it up to a simmer and add bulgar, whisk it together

- cover and bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes

- mix in chopped parsley
- garnish with fried onions (optional)

Some tips:

- You can eat it on its own or as a side it would be great with roasted lamb/chicken/shrimp or even beef koobideh.

- Best cooked in a cast iron dutch oven, like this one.

Here are some pics of our finished product:

Savory Oatmeal with Fried Onions

For as long as I've known, oatmeal is eaten as a breakfast dish, and brown sugar is a must.  My mother-in-law introduced me to savory oatmeal, and it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner with a nice warm chapati.  Last week, we decided to do our take on the dish, and the little one loved it too!  This recipe serves about 2 people.

Ingredients:

- canola oil

- one yellow onion thinly sliced

- 1/2 cup oatmeal (quick cooking oats)

- a healthy pinch of salt

- generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

- fry onions until they turn deep, dark red, then let them drain on a paper towel

- reserve oil

- cook oatmeal according to directions (stovetop is better) and add some salt, but continue to whisk the oatmeal to maintain a nice consistency

- once oatmeal is cooked and onions are fried, stir some friend onions and 2 teaspoons of the reserved oil  into oatmeal and garnish with onions.

My mother-in-law also sliced up a cloves of garlic, fried them up separately and added those to the mix as well.

bon appetit!

Curried Couscous with Cranberries & Walnuts

This past weekend, my parents came up for a visit, so I decided to make this couscous dish as a side dish to accompany falafel sandwiches.  I've made it a few times, it is super yummy and filling, and can be eaten on its own too.  It's a great dish to take to a picnic or one-dish party. We found the recipe off of the Foodnetwork website.  


Few tips: 
- only use 1 tspn of curry powder
- make sure you use 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 5.8 oz of couscous is about a somewhat heaping cup so you'll need a cup of water to cook it


Here are some pics (one is a bit blurry, sorry!):

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake

This past May was my baby girl's first birthday, and we had a small celebration with the grandparents and immediate family members, and the theme was based on Eric Carle's book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."  I love baking (be it from scratch or the box haha), and wanted to make a caterpillar cake, so I began a search and was inspired by Coco Cake Cupcakes out in Vancouver.  Now I don't think mine is anywhere near as cool as their hungry caterpillar cake, but I tried! 


Here are some photos of my rendition:

So I was a bit pressed for time so I ended up using the box mix (in chocolate) and cream cheese frosting.  I got food coloring for the green frosting from Michael's and was lucky enough to find ready made fondant in red there as well.  I used licorice for the legs and nose.  Looking forward to next year and this time I hope to make the cake from SCRATCH!

Sheer Khurma

This past weekend, I made sheer khurma, which is a traditional South Asian dessert made during Eid.  As a child I remember coming home from prayer every Eid and having a bowl of this sweet yummy concoction, and then eating it every day for like a week!  It tastes great hot or cold.

Now that I have my own daughter, I want to continue this tradition and this is my second Eid trying my hand at this dish.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find all of the ingredients I needed in the few shops I looked in, so I made do with what I had.  

This is the recipe I used:
(combination of a recipe off of Desicookbook and Khanapakana)

Ingredients:

1 cup Vermicelli (Sewaiyan) 

1/2 cup of sugar

4 cups of milk

1/4 cup of slivered pistachios

1/4 cup of slivered almonds

about 1/2 tspn of kewra essence (optional)

about 2 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter) or unsalted butter

6 crushed cardamom pods

1-2 cloves

Instructions:

1. Heat ghee add clove and cardamom and clove, then add vermicelli and fry lightly
2. Take out the vermicelli with a slotted spoon and fry the nuts lightly in the same ghee, remove nuts and remove pot from heat for a few minutes
3. Pour milk in pan and add sugar and bring it to a boil, then put it on low heat to simmer (add in the vermicelli and nuts after about 10 minutes) and continue to simmer for about half an hour until sugar dissolves completely and mixture thickens
4. Add kewra essence and remove from heat

Here are a few pics of the finished product, I garnished it with some nocochi (A simple, small cookie made out of finely ground chickpea flour, flavored with saffron)

I am still trying to perfect it, so my notes below reflect how it could be improved.

• A little less sugar
• A little more sewaiyan
• A LOT less kewra
• Some dried dates and golden raisins
• We should remember that milk has some sugar in it, so should take that into consideration.

It's so nice to involve your children in all steps of the cooking process, and although the little one just started saying a few words, and always accompanies me to the grocery store, I'm really looking forward to the time when we can buy ingredients and cook together!