Zaiqa

Baking during the winter season gives a lot of pleasure to me. It provides the warmth needed and enlivens the arid spirit inside us during these dull and cloudy days. I thank my god that I have a conventional oven that I love to use during these icy days.

Carved Roasted Chicken
served along with Roasted Veggies and Lemon slices

Roasting a whole chicken is not as laborious and redoubtable is it is considered to be. I love to roast whole chickens. Roasted chicken is perfect for a party dinner and comforting in the cold weather. Roasted red potatoes and carrots also bring seasonal color and nutrition to the dish.

Tip: To remove the skin of the chicken, use paper towels. Hold the chicken skin with a paper towel and pull it. This way your hand wont get slippery and the task is a piece of cake.

Sabut Zafrani Murgh – Saffron infused Whole chicken

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

For Brine:

2.5 litre fresh water
Salt – 3 tbsp
Sugar – 2 tbsp
Garlic pods – 2, crushed
Bay leaves -2

For Chicken

1 medium whole roasting chicken, skinned/Sabut Murgh (Preferably Fresh)
Black Pepper powder/Kali mirch, used liberally
Sea Salt/Namak, used liberally
Ghee/Butter – 3 tbsp (you can subsbitute it with Canola oil)
1/4 tsp Saffron/Zafraan, pounded
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic/Adrak-Lahsun paste
1/2 tsp Dried thyme
1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
1 large Egg/Anda, hard boiled and peeled
1 large Lemon/Nimbu, cut into two halves (one half used as stuffing and the other half juiced to season the chicken)

For Vegetables

5 Red Potatoes, quartered/Aloo
1 cup baby Carrots/Gajar (you can even use large carrots, peel  and cut them into pieces)
Black Pepper powder/Kali mirch, used liberally
Salt/Namak, used liberally
Ghee/Butter – 3 tbsp (you can subsbitute it with Canola oil)
Dried thyme
Dried rosemary

Method:

-Remove the giblets and neck from the chicken and discard or freeze for future use.
In a large pot pour 2.5 litres of cold water. Add the remaining ingredients for brine and let the water boil once. Remove from heat and let it cool down completely. Once cooled, place the chicken in the brine, breast side down. Cover and refrigerate overnight if possible or atleast for 2 hours.
-With the rack in the middle position, preheat an oven to 450°F.
-Remove the chicken from the brine. Wash with cool water and pat dry throughly both inside and out with paper towels.
-Pound the saffron with ginger-garlic paste, ghee/butter, lemon juice, salt, black pepper powder, rosemary and thyme in a mortar and pestle until well combined and keep aside.
-Rub the chicken inside and out with the prepared saffron+spices paste and place the boiled egg, a halve of the lemon in the cavity of the chicken.
-Truss the bird. This means binding the legs and wings close to the body of the bird so that the meat is protected during cooking and the finished shape of the roasted bird is pleasing.
-Combine carrots and potatoes in a large oval ceramic baking dish with a rack. Spread into one layer in bottom above the rack. Douse them with ghee/butter and liberally sprinkle with black pepper powder and salt. Carefully place the stuffed chicken, breast side up, on the bed of seasoned vegetables.
-Roast the chicken at 450°F for the first 20 minutes and then lower the oven to 350°F for another 45 minutes or until juices run clear when pricked with knife, and thermometer insterted at thickest part of thigh next to body registers 180°F. Keep basting the chicken with ghee/butter and with the juices collecting below the rack in the baking dish and turn the chicken for even cooking every 20 minutes.
-Once done, remove the chicken from the oven and place in a warm place, loosely covered with aluminium foil and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the trussing thread and carve to serve.

I have recently updated a new theme for my blog. Hope you all like it like I do.

Luv,
Mona

Pound cakes are my favorite for a quick breakfast. Slice them up, spread a jam of your choice, or enjoy them as it is, and you are good to go until lunch. I usually bake a pound cake once every month. I also savor them along with a cup of warm tea in the evenings. Heres the recipe that I follow –

Source: Everyday Food

Pound Cake
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter – 1 cup (2 sticks), room temperature, plus more for pan
All-purpose flour- 1 1/2 cups, (spooned and leveled), sifted, plus more for pan
Granulated sugar – 1 cup
Vanilla powder – 1 teaspoon
Eggs – 5 large, room temperature, lightly beaten
Coarse salt – 1/2 teaspoon

Sliced Pound Cake

Note: Let refrigerated butter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes; it should hold an indentation when pressed. If your eggs are cold, submerge them in warm water for 15 minutes.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan (I used a Bundt pan). In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 7 minutes. Scrape down bowl and beat 1 minute more. Add vanilla, then gradually add eggs, beating well and scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed.
2. Transfer batter to pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 65 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack before slicing. (To Store, wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Alterations
1. Brown Sugar, Maple and Nut Pound Cake:
Swap 1/2 cup light brown sugar for 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 tbsp pure maple syrup for vanilla.
Fold 1 cup nuts of choice (walnuts, pecans, pinenuts, almonds, etc) lightly toasted and chopped, into batter before transferring to pan.

2. Berry Cornmeal Pound Cake:
Swap 1/2 cup fine ground yellow cornmeal for 1/4 cup flour
Fold 2 cups mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, gently tossed with 1 tbsp flour, into batter before transferring to pan.

3. Double Chocolate Pound Cake:
Swap 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder for 1/4 cup flour
Fold 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or chips, into batter before transferring to pan.

4. Citrus Glazed Pound Cake:
Add 1 tsp lemon zest plus 2 tsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp orange juice to batter along with vanilla and eggs.
Make a glaze by whisking together 1 cup confectioners sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp orange juice until smooth. Pour citrus glaze over cooled cake.

Note: To freeze the cake- When the cake is cool, wrap in plastic. Freeze for upto 3 weeks. Thaw, wrapped, at room temperature.

Cheers,
Mona

Daliya Soup is a very usual item for Iftaar in Ramadhan in my house. I had first tasted it in my Khala/Aunt’s house and since then loved it always. It is highly nutritious and useful for a body which has been fasting throughout the day providing it with vital nutrients and comforting it.

Daliya/Broken Wheat and Whole Green Gram/Sabut Moong Dal

Daliya is Broken wheat. It is also used to prepare Haleem, an another Ramadhan special dish for Muslims.

Do not serve serve it piping hot when you break the fast at Iftaar. Serve it lukewarm. Your kids will also enjoy this healthy and nutritious soup.

Daliya -Broken Wheat and Lentils Soup

Ingredients:

Home made Ghee/Clarified Butter – 2 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste –  1 tbsp
Tomato – 2, medium sized, finely chopped
Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Dry roasted Coriander/Dhaniya powder – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric/Haldi – 1/8 tsp
Broken Wheat Kernels/Daliya – 1 cup, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
Whole Green gram/Sabut Moong Dal – 1/2 cup, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
Water – 1.5 litre
Lemon juice- 1/8 cup
Chopped Cilantro/Kothmir – 5 tbsp

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker at medium heat pour ghee and as soon as it warms up, add ginger garlic paste and stir fry it till it golden bworn in colour. Add 4 tbsp chopped cilantro and mix well. Immediately add chopped tomatoes and red chilli powder, salt, turmeric and coriander powder. Stir to mix and half cover the lid for 3 minutes.
2. Drain the soaked dal and wheat kernels.
3. Add the drained dal and wheat to the pressure cooker and give it a stir. Pour in water and pressure cook it for 10 minutes or until the dal and the wheat kernels are done.
4. You can add more water if needed at this point. Let the soup boil uncovered for 3-4 minutes. Garnish with remaining chopped cilantro, add lemon juice and serve lukewarm.

This goes to ‘Joy from feasting to Fasting’. Luv, Mona

The Rice shortage had severly affected my family’s dietary lifestyle. Rice is a staple food for me and my family. Nowadays, we rely on other sources as rice has become too costly here in Canada too and because of its unavailibility. I hope and pray that Rice will be available very soon again in the markets in surplus amounts.

A few days back I got my hands on the cookbook Regional Indian Cooking by Ajay Joshi and Alison Roberts. After a moments of spending my time browsing through the recipes of the book, I knew I will be trying out some dishes as the recipes and presentation pleased me a lot. The recipes were easy to follow and described and divided the different Regional Indian Cuisines very well.

Kashmiri Lamb Qorma

I tried the following recipe from the this cookbook and modified it here and there according to my tastes. I and my family enjoyed it, as it was very delicious and I mostly liked it because I found it very simple to prepare. I put the meat to cook for about an hour and then went on with my other house chores and activities and later came back to finish the dish which took me not more than 30 minutes and did not require any laborius techniques or ingredients for the preparation. 

Kashmiri Lamb khorma

Ingredients:

• Boneless Lamb Meat – 650 gms, cut into 2 cm approx cubes
• Tumeric/Haldi – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Water – 3 cups
• Unsalted Butter – 3 tbsp
• Green Cardamom pods/Sabut Elaichi – 4
• Cloves/Laung – 6
• Whole Cinnamon Stick/Dalchini Sabut- 2 inch piece
• Aniseed/Saunf – 3/4 tsp, powdered
• Red Chilli powder – 2 tsp
• Fresh grated Ginger – 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind concentrate – 2 tsp

Method:

• In a saucepan, combine lamb, turmeric, salt and water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, until meat is very tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain meat, reserving cooking liquid. Set meat aside.
• In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, aniseed, chilli powder, ginger and tamarind. Reduce heat to low and stir until oil seperates, 2-4 minutes.
• Raise heat to high, add meat and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes to coat meat with seasonings. Stir in 1 cup reserved stock, reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes to blend flavors. Serve immediately.

Kashmiri Lamb Qorma in a pan 

Suggested Accompanimeant: Basmati Chawal or Paratha or Naan or Coconut Rice.

Luv,
Mona

There’s colour everywhere finally after a long peroid of snow when you only get to see endless sheets of white everywhere. That is a beauty in itself too. I love the seasons in Canada. Each has its own splendour and gorgeousness. Its spring here, with frequent showers of rain and colorful blooms on almost every tree. The markets are also full of fresh produce and lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. I happened to find some Blueberries a few days back and thought of preparing some muffins. 

Blue Berry Muffins and a mup of Warm Coffee

Any kind of blueberry-frozen or unfrozen, is good for you. The fruit is filled with immune-boosting Vitamin C and antioxidants said to improve brain function. Research shows that blueberries can help to increase the number of cells in the area of the brain responsible for memory.

Blue Berry muffins are my favorite breakfast for a change. These muffins were soft and delicious. I had them along with a mup of warm coffee. And as the author of New Baking Book from which I have adapted this recipe says:

There’s nothing better than a fresh-baked blueberry muffin with your favorite cup of coffee or tea.

I totally agree!

Ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour – 2 cups
• Granulated Sugar – 1 cup
• Baking Powder – 2 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Eggs – 2, beaten
• Milk – 3/4 cup
• Melted Unsalated Butter or Cooking Oil – 1/2 cup
• Orange Zest – 1 tbsp
• Fresh or Frozen blueberries – 1 cup, thawad
• Coarse Sugar (optional)

Method:

• Grease twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups for medium size muffins or you can grease six 3 1/2 inch muffin cups for giant size muffins. Set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre of the dry mixture; set aside.
• In an another medium mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, butter or oil, orange zest. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lunpy). Fold in buleberries.
• Spoon batter into the prepared muffins cups, filling each almost full. If desired sprinkle tops with coarse sugar. Bake in 350 oven for about 35 minutes or until golden. Cool muffin cups; serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Along with a cup of warm Tea or Coffee for a filling breakfast.

I am sending this as an entry to Mansi who is hosting the Monthly Mingle:Appetizers & Hors’Doeuvres as she requested me to,. So here it is Mansi, all the way to you!

Also, I had been awarded the Yummy Blog Award by Meeso recently and I am delighted to recieve it.

“Yummy Blog Award is the award given to a blog with the most yummy recipes/photos”

And now according to the rules of this Award, I have to quote here my favorite dessert which I have prepared/eaten. My favorite desserts would be:

1. Qubani Ka Meetha with Vanilla Icre-Cream
2. Black Forest Cake
3. Caramel Custard Pudding
4. Trifle Pudding with dry fruits
5. Ande Ka Meetha
6. Cheesecakes

I now pass on this award to:

• Indira of Mahanandi
• Sunita of Sunita’s world
• Priya of 365 Days of Pure Vegetarian
• Kajal of Applemint 

Leisure Reding: An article on Hyderabadi cuisine by a Toronto newspaper 

Luv,
Mona