WHERE ARE ALL THE FOOD LOVERS???!!!!

[Alexios]

This topic has gone a bit quiet for a long time for something so important!!!
After all nobody can live without food so we may as well enjoy it. I suggest members provide here the recipe of a favourite dish so that we can all have a go at it. I start today with chicken kebab marinated in yogurt and herbs.

INGREDIENTS:(4 people)

1 kilo of chicken (boned)

2 cups of yogurt

1-2 tablespoon of crushed dried corriander

1 tablespoon of turmaric powder

2-3 graded garlic gloves

1/2 tablespoon graded ginger (if you can't get fresh, ginger powder will do)

1 teaspoon of crushed chillies (optional if you don't fancy hot stuff)

Any other herb you fancy

Salt according to taste

Cut the chicken in kebab size cubes and mix it with all the herbs.When well mixed, add the yogurt and mix again.Let the mixture set for atleast 2 hours.
Put the chicken on kebab skewers making sure the yogurt remains on the meat and cook on charcoal in the normal way.

IMPORTANT TIPS

Kebab is always cooked better if the skewers are turned by hand in the traditional way.
Do not overcook.The yogurt outside the meat will not turn golden brown as quickly as you imagine,so if you wait for that to happen the meat will go too dry. Just taste periodically until the meat is cooked but still juicy

[Marina2005]

Sounds nice but I would prefer a nice and easy chicken curry (hot)..............any recipes would be apprieciated.

[Marina2005]

edit

[Alexios]

[Marina2005]

[Alexios]

Come on Marina, give us a recipe....anything will do...

[Leyla]

Now we are talking! A food post! Alexios I am going to try that chicken kebab Marina, I just use a nice and hot madras paste (not the pre-cooked sauces you can buy) and stir in some yoghurt to tone it down if its too hot

[moonskin]

You will need:

4 Eggs
2 cups semolina
1.5 cup sugar (for cake)
1 cup sugar (for syrup)
1 cup corn oil
1 cup of almonds
Cinnamon
Some rose water



Firstly, you have to prepare the syrup. It is very easy to do it but the trick is that it has to be already cold when you are going to pour it over the hot cake which came out of the oven. So make sure that you prepare syrup before you start preparing the cake.

Anyway, add 1 cup of sugar and 3 cups of water into a pan and boil it for 5-6 minutes. If you like rose water, add some rose water into the mix. You can also adjust the amount of sugar if you like it very sweet. 1 cup of sugar is mild, perhaps you don't want any less.

Now we can start cooking the cake. First, use your appropriate kitchen robot to cut the almonds into little pieces.

Next, mix 4 eggs with your mixer and then add sugar and keep mixing. Now add oil and the semolina and after adding each of them make sure you mix it well before you add the next one (in this way, ingredients in your cake will be more homogeneously spread). Finally, add the almonds which you have cut into little pieces before, into the mixture and don't forget to add the cinnamon to the amount you enjoy it best.

Finally, wipe the insides of the baking pan with some oil so that you can separate cake and the pan easily after cooking. Now pour the raw mixture inside the baking pan and spread it evenly around the pan. Cook the cake with medium heat. In my electric oven, I cook at around 120 C, perhaps for 45 minutes, I can not remember exactly.

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the *cold* syrup over the *hot* cake. Make sure the syrup is absorbed evenly into the cake. I enjoy eating this cake cold, so I keep it in the refrigerator.

Bona Petite!

[Marina2005]

These are the sort of things I like cooking, quick and creamy Not for the dieters though.

Creamy chicken with Linguini pasta.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 package linguini pasta or fettuccine
1 onion, chopped
1 chicken cube, crumbled
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
8 thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or the ready grated Trima

DIRECTIONS
In a large pan, heat oil, butter and garlic over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan let cool and slice diagonally into long strips. Reserve oil in pan.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain.
Reheat oil in pan, add onion and saute, stirring often, after a few minutes add the mushrooms as well.
Add chicken cube and water; bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for approximately 10 minutes. Stir in cream, milk and Parmesan cheese.

Place the pasta on a large plate with the chicken slices in the middle and then pour the sauce on top.....................enjoy.

[Alexios]

Thank you moonskin and Marina...

[brother]

After posting many recipes i find myself without one.........i know i will go and bug Mrs brother for one.

[zan]

My favourite dish of all time. Had it in Menorca many times and really that is the only reason I go back to the island again and again. The locals eat there so it is the best. The recipe below is the nearest I could find to what we ate. I will post the whole recipe as it was given to me but I leave out all the meats and put in more shellfish. Lobster or langostines are a must, especially the thin spindly legs that you can suck the meat out of.

Paella jose vives. Serves 8-ish.


Small piece fillet steak
Small piece pork fillet
2 Rabbit legs
2 chicken legs
½ pound mussels in shell
1lb prawns in shell
4 squid, cleaned and sliced
Short grain rice (risotto rice a must for me)
2-3 tomatoes, skinned, chopped, seeded
Peas or green beans (chop 1 inch)
1-2 mild spanish onions, chopped
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Saffron
1 red pepper, sliced
Radishes to serve.


1. Clean mussels well in several changes of cold water, removing any beards. Discard any open ones that do not close when banged on surface. Bring to boil in a large pan of water; boil furiously for 1-2 minutes. Put mussels aside, discarding any that are not open. Retain the liquor.

2. Shell half the prawns, placing the shells into the mussel cooking liquor. Boil this for 20 mins uncovered.

3. Cover the bottom of a large, deep cooking pan (something like preserving pan size) with oil.
When hot toss in prawns in shells and fry for a few seconds, adding plenty of salt. Remove prawns and set aside. Fry red peppers in the same oil; remove and set aside.

4.cube the steak and pork. Turn up heat and and fry squid in the same oil for a few mins; remove and set aside. Fry skinned chicken and rabbit if used; remove and set aside.

5. Top the oil up if necessary so that it still covers the bottom of the pan and fry the onion and garlic on a very low heat for at least 20 mins, stirring occasionally, so that they are translucent. Add tomatoes and cook for a further couple of mins.

6. Return meat and chicken to pan and pour in the mussel liquor. Top up with water and simmer for about an hour. Add all of the prawns, mussels, squid, peas/beans, peppers for the last 5 minutes.

7. You could leave this to cool until you are ready to cook the paella (freeze if you wish).



To cook paella.


(Heat the stock to near boiling if necessary) Crush saffron strands in a mortar and pestle and soak an a ladle or so of the hot stock. Cover the bottom of the paella pan with oil. When hot add the rice ( as a guide, 1oz per person but depends how greedy you are). Cook, stirring, for a couple of mins to heat through. Then gradually add stock (and contents) to rice, turning heat to medium. Add saffron and cook (adding more stock if necessary), until rice is cooked and stock absorbed.


Serve with wedges of lemon and bowls of radish.



As I said I leave out all the meats and therefore have found it much easier to cook and much lighter to eat. Don’t let the mixture get too dry at the end. Leave a bit of stock as this is still absorbed as you are eating it and tastes yummy. A nice bottle of wine and some sticky fingers later you will be glad you put in the effort. I invested in a giant paella dish for this. They even sell the gas heads to suit the size of your pan so you can cook it al fresco. I prepare all the items first and then cook and eat within an hour.

[Marina2005]

OK, so today I am totally bored so I have been on the internet investigating curries!!
Here's how you make the masala mix!! The curries a different story!

[Marina2005]

This one sounds tasty....

[Leyla]

I am going to try that Marina, sounds like a favourite of mine, Thai Green Curry

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp green curry paste (according to taste)
1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
1-2 thick stalks lemongrass, fat ends bashed with a rolling pin (optional)
750g/1½lb skinless, boneless chicken, cut into chunks (use breast and/or leg meat)
6-8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces (if unavailable, use the grated zest of 1 lime)
400ml/14fl oz coconut milk
good shake of Thai fish sauce or light soy sauce
small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
½-1 lime, juice only

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the green curry paste and sugar and cook over a fairly high heat for about a minute, stirring with the lemongrass, if using. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the chicken pieces and lime leaves or zest until coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce or soy sauce and bring to a simmer, cooking for 25-30 minutes until thickened slightly. Stir in the coriander and lime juice. Check for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or soy sauce if needed.
2. The curry is now best left to sit for a few minutes so the sauce becomes creamier. You will also taste the true flavours of the curry paste ingredients when it's slightly cooler. Serve with lots of fragrant Thai jasmine rice.

And I also love vegetable tempura

Ingredients
For the tempura
500ml/18fl oz vegetable oil, for deep-frying
100g/3½oz self-raising flour
25ml/1fl oz sparkling mineral water
55g/2oz mangetout
55g/2oz baby carrots, peeled and sliced
55g/2oz baby sweetcorn
For the dipping sauce
100ml/3½fl oz white wine vinegar
100g/3½oz caster sugar
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

Method
1. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. The oil is ready when a breadcrumb dropped into it will sizzle gently.
2. Place the flour and the sparkling water into a large bowl and whisk until a smooth batter is formed.
3. Dip the mangetout, carrots and sweetcorn into the batter and carefully place into the oil and deep-fry for two minutes, or until crisp and golden. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels.
4. Meanwhile, for the sauce, place all the ingredients, except the ginger, into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to simmer for three minutes.
5. Place into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir through the ginger.
6. To serve, place the tempura vegetables into a bowl and serve the sauce alongside.

PS I am going to try the chicken kebab recipe Alexios posted first and work my way down the list!