Yummmy Date Rings

Okay so this here is a Turkish dough which i learnt from my Turkish friend.It’s a very tasty and light and stretchable dough and you need no rolling pin for it!!!!I made all “Three in One” Date Rings, Turnovers and Kachoori buns making this dough. I never FRY kachoories, they are light to eat when baked!!! Things made from this dough “shouldn’t” be fried as it already contains lots of oil and butter. We don’t want that extra fat do we ;)

Yoghurt Dough:
1 cup oil
½ cup soft cold margarine
¾ cup plain yoghurt
2 tsp very leveled baking powderflour according to feeling….(use any one cup u have for all the measurements…)


*Mix the yoghurt, oil, margarine and baking powder in a bowl.
*Now add in the flour and keep mixing with your hands.
*Its hard to measure how much, but till u feel that the dough is soft and all the liquid ingredients have been absorbed.

It is a very very creamy dough, you can work with it immediately, it need no rest.Make any shape spreading with hands, needs no flour for dusting, no rolling pin u can make it very easily with your palms and hands!!!

Date Filling:

300gr dates
3tbsl sugar
150gr Almond
3tsbl margarine
castor sugar for deco.

*Fry the pitted dates in the margarine til lthey give a fried aroma, grind them coarsly, not like a paste!
*Fold in the coarse crushed Almonds and suagr and mix all softly.
*Make strips of the yoghurt dough with ur hands length wise,fill it with the date mixture making it like a thin "seekhi kabab",overlap and roll them and join in the edges into a ring shape.
*Place all on a lind baking tray and bake on 170° till they are light brown.
*Let them cool down and sprinkle with castor sugar while they are warm so they can absorb the sugaragain.
*Sprinkle with castor sugar once again before serving.
*Stays fresh long in a Tin box lined with a paper napkin.

HONEY TALER:

150 gm butter (soft room temp)
100 gm castor sugar
50 ml honey100 grad plain flour
100 gm corn starch
60 gm grinded Almonds
3 tsp vanilla sugar

*mix all ingredients together
*let it rest in the fridge for half an hour
*make small balls; lay out on a tray with baking paper
*keep a 2inch distance between each cookie as they spread when the butter melts!!
*press slightly with a fork
*bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes on 180°C
*let them cool and then sprinkle a generous amount of castor sugar
*they will absorb it, you can sprinkle again before serving


Happy baking!!!

Heidesand Biscuits (German kekse)

 

A German speciality if translated then known as "The Sand Cookies" : ) The name "Sand" may seem funny but in fact its exactly the same feeling when we are eating them... crunch crunch crunch :) Just try and you'll know what i mean ; )

 My fav biscuits which i bake very often specially during the whole of the winter time :) They are so yummy and chubby that you just can't have your finger off from them :)

These are THE hit biscuits made in each year. My Family loves them for their chewy yummy Texture and taste. Quick to make and fast to eat :)

300gr flour (plain)
120gr sugar
200gr butter
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
pinch salt
sugar to dust

-mix all the ingredients in a bowl and first knead them with a hand mixer
- Then when it is coarse knead with hands into a soft dough, it may be that you feel the flour is too much and the dough is all „crumbly” so just pour in drops of milk and make it even.
-knead into soft dough and make small balls like say walnut size and press them slightly
- place on the baking tray, better with a baking paper or then grease the tray just very lightly
-Pre heat oven on 170°C and bake them till they are light creamy in color , took around 15-20 mints only.
-take them out let cool a bit and then sprinkle plain fine sugar on it , u can also put the sugar in a bowl and then dip each biscuit in it so it the sugar sticks on it from all corners but light not too heavy.
Preserve in a tin box, they stay very crunchy till all finished

Simple Lemon Cake

A cake which is made so very often that i can now really make it with closed eyes :) I have tried so many ways to make it, and each time its simply Divine!!! The measurments of this cake are so easy to recall and remember as all are the same quantity! It's moist and it's yummilicious!!!

350grm flour
350 grm butter/margarine
350grm sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 lemon zest
(juice of the same lemon)
5 eggs


-beat butter and sugar till foamy
-add in eggs,mx well
-fold in flour and B.powder, mix all
-pour the juice of the lemon,add the zest,mxi on low speed
-grease ur baking tray and bake in a preheated oven 150° for 20-25 minutes


-let cool on a cake rack
-make the icing as follows:
1 cup castor sugar
1tblsp fresh lemon juice
1tblsp lemon zest
1 ½ tbsl hot water


-mix all into a smooth cream and apply when the cake is cold and then let it stand open so that it turns a bit firm !
Very tasty and simple!
Enjoy!!

Whole Spices Mutton

This is my most fav dish, it's spicy it's hot and it's yummmmy!!! This has a different taste from the usual meat dishes we make, A really unique tasty dish and really finger licking : )
I use Lamb meat so I made it with that but you can surely use beef too.
It’s a really Hot dish so not recommended for small kids!

1kg mutton
3 medium onions
5tblsp yogurt
8-12 red whole chilies
8-10 black peppercorn
1 cinnamon stick
3 black cardamom
5 coarse grated garlic bulbs
2 tblsp coarse grated fresh Ginger
1tblsp dry coriander seeds (half crushed half whole)
1 tsp salt or as to taste
1 ½ tsp paprika powder
¼ cup oil (or 3-5 tblsp)
2-3 fresh tomatoes
5-6 dry plum (alu bukhaara)


: First of all soak the plums in half cup of Luke warm water.
: Heat the oil and put in 2-4 red whole chilies, let turn light brown.
: Fry the sliced onions in the oil till light gold brown.
: Add in the half of each of grated garlic and ginger and just fry for seconds so that its aroma does not fade
: Add in the black peppercorn, cinnamon and cardamom and let fry a bit
: Fold in the soaked dry plums without water and then the meat and sauté till it leaves water.
: Sprinkle in the paprika powder along with coriander and salt n mix well
: Add ½ cup of water and let it cook till half way tender
: Check when the meat is half done add the yoghurt, stir for a while.
: Break 4 more whole red chili with your fingers on it and stir, now add the rest grated Ginger and Garlic.
: In the end add the cubed tomatoes and let cook again with an open lid so that the water keeps drying up.
: Now add in the rest red chilies and stir, you can smell the strong aroma of the chilies and the gravy will become thicker, it’s done


PS: we add NO turmeric powder or red chili powder in this dish neither do we garnish it with fresh coriander or else it will taste like a normal meat curry!!!!
I used the Rosen paprika powder to give it a nice shinning colour. It has no such specific hot taste, as the whole red chilies make it hot enough :-)
Enjoy!!!

Seekh Kabab

Ok so the recipe is actually as most of us make it , call is Chappli or Seekhi more or less the same,ok in Chappli you add the tomatoes too,but here we dont, and I just added two extra things in it, and I rolled it in a new manner I lately saw here on our German Tv and it turned out what you see here!

½ kilo Minced meat (500gr)

1 big onion crushed coarsely

1 tblsp fresh grated garlic

1 large egg

1 tblsp water

1 ½ tblsp oil

1 ½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp crushed red chilli flakes

1 tsp coarsely crushed coriander

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

½ tsp garam masala (all spices)

2 pinches soda (makes them fluffy)

1 tblsp potato starch

2-3 coarsely crushed green chilli

2 tblsp ketchup mixed with 1 tsp of water

So mix all the ingredients in the minced meat, except the ketchup, knead well, not in the machine it should be a bit coarse!! Leave it in the fridge for an hour.

Now take a freezer bag, open the sides, so it looks like a long sheet.

Make seekhi kababs with a bit more quantity of minced meat as usual so they will remain bulky after frying too. I make it with a help of my thick wooden spoon, by making them on the back of the spoon which I oil before making, so they slide easily with out sticking .

Now place them on this nylon sheet, over lap the second edge and roll it with your palm as if you are rolling a chapatti to and fro, you’ll see it will get a very smooth surface and become round and thick, smooth both edges by pressing the sides time to time. Roll it at least 5-6 times!!!

I made 12 kababs from ½ kilo so they were really thick.

Now you can shallow fry them on a low heat as they are thick it will take time, and as they were nearly done I brushed the ketchup on both side turning around , to give it a glaze and nice colour. Brush some butter on them before serving, it smells very good when the butter melts!!

Put no fresh coriander or mint in it as they turn black while frying!!!

Badam/Narial Barfi

A fine and tasty substitue of an original Khoya Barfi which we don’t get to eat here : ( So what do we do? we try and make something similar : ) Of course the Barfi we get in Pakistan or India has no match but this here is also not bad, infact really yummz and very nutty : )

I add lots of coconut to it at times when I am free of hay fever, here I din’t as my season is ON : ( It’s soft and chewy and …well delissssshhhh ……try it you’ll know : )

2cups Nido Powder

¼ cup +1 tblsp oil/margarine

1cup sugar

1egg (use ONLY half of it!!!!)

4-5 tblsp carnaton milk

2tsp cardamom powder

100gr coarse crushed Almonds

50gr dry Coconut (shredded)

-use a non stick broad pan for it!!

-Fry the nido powder on a low heat till light pink

-pour the oil/margarine and mix steady

-add in the HALF beaten egg slowly and keep mixing

-it will seem a bit dry ,so drip in the carnation milk; mix mix

-sprinkpe the cardamom powder,sugar,nuts and keep mixing

.as the sugar leaves water ,it will become sticky

-no worries , I add in another 2-3 tbls of nido ; keep mixing

-the oil will start showing from the sides

.turn over onto a flat tray, press with a spatula evenly

-decorate with nuts ,your choice

-let it coool atleast one hour

-cut out pieces as u wish square/diamant

-keep it in any air-tight box in the fride

-it stays quite good!!!!

Dam Kabab made in spring onions and tomatoes

A very hearty dish with so much flavour in it. The gravy is ahh so delicious with all the juices of the meat and tomato in it. It's also made with the pickle (Acchaar) to make it more spicy and tastes best with any Naan or plain rice! I make it with the spring onions and tin tomaotes as they have an extra thick taste :)
½ kiloMinced meat
½ of each (Lamb/beef)
(together 1 kilo)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red chili
1tblsp oil
5 tblsp plain yoghurt
1 tsp roasted zeera powder
1tsp fresh garlic crushed
1tblsp crushed brown onion
1tblsp fresh lemon juice
2-3 fine chopped green chilies
½ bunch Chopped Fresh coriander

-Mix all, knead well with hands and form seekhi shaped kabaabs.
-Shallow fry and keep aside

Gravy:
1 bunch spring onions (5-6 pi) Cut in rings
I tin diced tomatoes (used for pizzas too)
1 tbls fresh crushed garlic
1tsp salt ( better a bit less)
1tsp red chili flakes
1tsp crushed coriander powder
¼ tsp garam masala
½ tsp meethi powder (fenugreek)
½ cup oil
I use the same oil in which I fry the kabaabs, a double touch of taste

Heat the oil, grate in fresh or crushed garlic, sauté but don’t let it burn, add the spring onions and keep stirring till they give a nice aroma, don’t let them turn brown the fresh colour should stay, add all spices one by one keep mixing, add the diced tomatoes, keep mixing, they wont leave much water,, as they turn a bit thick sprinkle the meethi powder and cover, let simmer 5-10 minutes.
Fold in the fried Seekhi and turn off the stove and let them stay in the steam on that hot plate. There is no heavy gravy or thick sauce in it, of course u can give it a steam of a nice charcoal if u have the opportunity, sadly I don’t :"( , but the aroma of meethi in it gives a different taste, You can garnish with fresh coriander and mint I used some of both gives a piquant taste
Enjoy!!!