PAN FRIED ASIAN VEG/NOODLES OR CHOW MEIN :)

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I was smiling while writing the name, as I thought you’ll surely think...ah nothing new it’s that Chinese dish we all make.. Am I right :)

 

                                                     (Click on Pic for a larger Image)

I was smiling while writing the name, as I thought you’ll surely think...ah nothing new it’s that Chinese dish we all make.. Am I right :)

 

 

 

 As I was window shopping yesterday, I crossed this Chinese stall in the centre and there I had that urge of having it right away  : )

So well I bought the mushrooms and paprika way back home,I had frozen carrots and peas so I used those and the rest I had bought fresh, rest was there so today I enjoyed my desired dish with pleasure.

 

 

 

 

 
 

I make the same dish with Turkey meat, this meat cooks fast if you cut really fine stripes, Chicken cooks faster no doubt and I personally like Chicken in my Noodles and Pasta dishes : )

 

So here we go, you need:

 250 gr of Chinese egg noodles 

(boil according to instruction, not more than 3-4 minutes!)

 

Meat:

200 gr of chicken or Turkey fillet cut in stripes

 Vegetable:

2-3 pod garlic, chopped very finely

1 red bell (stripes)

1 green bell pepper (stripes)

75 gr brown mushrooms (sliced)

50 gr oyster mushroom (sliced)

4 spring onions cut in fine stripe

50 gr carrots (I used frozen sticks)

100 gr Soybean sprouts (fresh)

30 gr green peas ( I used frozen ones)

 

 

Oils:

3-4 tablespoons of oil

 1 tablespoon of oil (sesame-seed oil)

 Spices:

¼ tsp salt (Soya sauce is salty enough)

1 tsp corn flour

¼ tsp red paprika powder/red chili

3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce 

1 tablespoon of oil (sesame-seed oil)

1 tbs honey

2-3 tsp chili garlic sauce (optional)

 

Preparation Time: approx. 20 min

 

-boil the noodles in boiling water according to instruction, normal we don’t boil them longer than 3-4 minutes, as they get soft and loose the firm taste and form

-heat 3-4 tbs oil in a broad pan/Wok/pot

-add the chopped garlic and fry till pinkish and aromatic

-add the onion and fry just for a while till glazy

-now add the meat and fry constantly on high flame, so the meat turns nice golden, yet stays firm

Don’t fry too much as it will lose its juices and turn rubbery

-if you are using all fresh vegetables then it is recommended to fry all one by one, first of all the carrots till half cooked, then both Mushrooms, then bell pepper and the soybean sprouts in the end

-just fry all half as that tastes the best, soggy Vegetable tastes like a normal curry :)

-now sprinkle all spices and mix all gently and well

.in the mean time the noodles have rested so now add them into the fried Vegetable and toss and twist

-now mix the soya sauce, honey , salt, paprika , chili garlic sauce and the corn flour together and drop all over

-mix all with gentle hands and don’t dry up totally as the noodles will absorb the rest juices automatically

-drizzle the sesame-seed oil on the top in the end, it brings out the taste.

 

A quick and really delicious lunch or dinner is ready :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*HOME SWEET HOME*

 

 

Greenery for my Life

 

 

 

My best Friends and my Family Members "My Plants"

 

 

 

My fresh breath :)

 

 

The Fragrance of my Home

 

 

The Lively Sunny Side

 

 

 

 

HAPPY *2014* TO MY DEAR READERS :)

Wishing all my Family, Friends and my Readers who keep tuned and encourage me

   A VERY

     HAPPY NEW YEAR!

      01:01:2014

May luck, love happiness ,health and joy be yours each day, of this year! Amin

Love you all 

*Queen For One Day*...... 19.12.2013

How days and years fly away and once again THE day arrives called

 “Your Birthday „

when you realize, you are another year older, or may be wiser? Or lets says it this way, you are the lucky one whom Allah blessed another year to live, to experience the beauty of this world, to enjoy your loved ones, your families, friends and much much more. To try do things in a better way, far better than the last years.

It is an emotional day, which gives so many thoughts, of past and future….

Well I experienced this joy yesterday to its full : )

 

I woke up with the fragrance of these beautiful flowers, gifted to me, which were as beautiful as my daughters. Each and every flower was chosen and made into a bunch; I love this sight each time as I know what loving feelings are behind every flower.

 

My day started with a surprise table with lovely wrappers and glowing candles all over, my most favorite “Franzbrötchen” with Mango smoothie, my breakfast , then greeting my friends with their sweet caring gifts and chit chatting.

 

The evening was Entertainment time with Full Calories Pop-corn :)

 

And the day ended with a delicious piece of Cheesy delight at Mamalicious, divine and indescribable!

 

And a sweet gift from Mamalicious for the Birthday Girl :D

 

 

 

         THANK YOU MY LOVED ONES TO MAKE MY DAY SO MEMORABLE!!!

              LOVE YOU MY DEARS FOR EVER AND EVER!

“Namak Paray” An all rounder delight

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One of these days when you just want to cuddle up in your couch, wrap a soft blanket around yourself and place a bowl of these delish Namak Paray and off you go :)

 

Well who will not want to have these : ) A snack where the hand doesn’t know it has to stop. Far more better than any chips: D I make and store them in big air tight boxes and they stay so crunchy over days….

 

 
 

 

 

Lately i had a big XL empty tin box from the Nido I buy for my sweet dishes, and I had the idea to turn it into my Secret Snack Box , so I stuck the wall paper I had at hand, okay okay I admit it is not that lovely but hey it was a spontaneous idea and I thought before my lovely box lands in the waste I better dress it up : )

 

 

Namak Paray are made in different ways, this here is my Mom’s recipe which I have been eating since my childhood and have adopted it the same way.

 

She used to add yoghurt in it and used to knead it with luke warm milk, I never understood at that time why yoghurt?? She told me that these should be crispy and not hard, the crisp you feel as you hold it in your hand and it melts in the mouth.

 

So I always use yoghurt in my Namak Paaray to make it very crispy ( khasta) and knead the dough with milk instead of water. I keep pouring milk on the sides and knead, so please be careful it’s possible that you need a bit less or a bit more milk so that’s where we have to go accordingly to the dough structure ok, don’t be confused with the measurement as a good cook acts accordingly : )

 

 

It’s the best recipe ever and I make all my dough’s which I have to fry with a crispy touch with this method.

Like I always say, we have to develop a love for cooking, only then, we can get the best results : )

So get ready , here we go, you need:

 

 

 

250 gram plain flour (maida ca, 2 cups)

4-5 tbs plain yoghurt

¾ tsp salt (or to taste)

½ tsp white cumin seeds ( sabut sufaid zeera)

¼ tsp Carom seeds (ajwain )

¼ tsp baking powder

**Chaat masala to sprinkle

3tbs level soft ghee (clarified butter)

¾ -1 glass luke warm milk

 

-sieve the flour, mix in the yoghurt and ghee and mix with hands into fine crumble

-the mixture should seem even, just rub the yoghurt and ghee very well in it

-add in all the remaining rest things, and then pour the milk and knead into soft dough

- make 5 balls out of it and let them rest around ½ an hour

-resting time makes the dough softer and is easy to roll out

-roll out big chapattis and cut diamonds with a cutter or a simple knife

-I uses a curved pastry wheel cutter, gives a lovely look

-fry in hot oil, but don’t over fry them, take them out when they are still light brown

as they will automatically get darker once taken out of the oil.

-sprinkle chaat masala with a pinch, not too much it should only taste “masala darr!!!!

-you can of course leave it without the masala too, solely your choice : )

-preserve them in a tin box or a plastic box laid with a kitchen paper so that the oil is absorbed

-they stay crunchy and fresh a week for sure

 

Good frying!!!! : )

 

**What is Chaat masala?

It is a blend of spices which is used for fries, and roasts, and grilled food, dips and fruit salads. It has that specific taste that brings out the spicy touch.

A mix of Coriander seeds, black rock salt, dry mango powder, red whole chilies’

White cumin seeds, dry ginger powder, black pepper from the mill, paprika powder.

I first fry all my spices and then grind them, that’s the secret of the taste : )

I make this at home and honestly I have never measured what I add, I promise you the next time I make it I will note down the quantity of the spices.

After been cooking things so long you reach that stage where you just open your cupboard and sprinkle what you thing you need at that very moment for the dish you are making  : )

You can buy this at any Pakistani/Indian shop too, but I felt the taste is so main stream that it had no taste for me, so I just read all the ingredients on the packing and thought well why not make it at home, I excluded a lot of things like citric acid or vinegar, as the mango powder has the better effect.

Potato/Zucchini Casserole (Cheesy Over Bake)

Every dish over baked with lots of cheese is very dear to our heart : )

 

I keep making casseroles with chicken and mince so this time it was a Vegetable  Casserole.

I was gifted a sack full of lovely organic potatoes from my friend’s garden, so pure so fresh, I had Zucchinis at home so I planned to make this immediately.

 

 

Zucchini is very good for baking stuff, as in frying t absorbs a lot of oil/butter, it’s outstandingly tasty. It is low in calories and rich in Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron. We can also grate it directly in our salad bowl as well, it s crunchy and similar to cucumber.

 

 

 

This is how I made my Casserole

4-5 medium potatoes (boiled and 2-3mm sliced)

3-4 large Zucchinis (thin sliced)

250ml double cream (1 pack)

50ml milk

50 g grated cheese

A blend of thym, oregano, rosemary to taste

2 tsp butter

Black pepper from the mill

¾ tsp Salt or to taste

1 tsp honey

2 tsp flour

¼ cup cold water

1 tbs butter

250 g grated cheese

 

 

-mix the flour in the cold water and let aside

-heat butter in a saucepan

-pour the double cream in it and stir, then mix all the rest ingredients except the grated cheese, honey and flour

-as the milk comes to a boil, pour in the flour mixture and whisk fast to avoid lumps.

-Now sprinkle the 50g grated cheese and honey it, the sauce will form a thick shape so be careful and keep stirring, the cheese will melt and give a thick structure, so lower the heat.

-the consistency should not become too thick as the Vegetable has to cook in it

 

 

-now set the casserole, first grease it with butter then lay out with Potatoes and zucchinis the way you like, you can make layers  but the sliced form seems attractive :)

 

-as all the casserole is covered, then pour the sauce on the top so it reaches each corner

-spread the grated cheese all over from one side to the other sprinkle some mixed dry herbs on the top and then bake it in a preheated oven on 180°C around 40-50 minutes till the Vegetable is cooked and the cheese melts and turns light goldish!

Take it out and let it set at least 15 minutes so you can cut out evenly and easily :)

It’s cheesy, its yumm and its Delicious!

 

Bon Appétit!!