Petpujo and Adda: World Food

Oriental Sticky Sausage Sandwich ( Veg/Non-veg)

Saturday was sunny. Great start of a weekend. For the first time I realised that, we do get some sun light in our new home. This is the first time we are staying on a ground floor property. To be honest, I am not that happy about it. Out last home……. when we saw it for the first time, we fell in love with the place instantaneously. We lived there for 4 years with so much love. In many sense it was our first home together after marriage. This is not the case with this house. I took it almost out of necessity. On top of it, when we moved in it was dirty, broken and ill maintained. Horrible agency and landlord who does not want to spend money to spend on the up keeping of the home. Horrible weather, no sun makes the house look dull and dark. Two naughty and undisciplined kids upstairs (I am not one of those people who think all children are god like or angel) keep jumping around and playing football over our head. And the horrible soundproofing ( yes we hear can people upstairs snoring at night or even f**ting … do not laugh.. I am serious) does not help the situation at all. They make me go mad, especially when I am back from office or just about to go to bed at 11pm, suddenly they start jumping (don’t they go to school? Shouldn’t they be in bed by 8pm? ).

But magic happened. When I opened my eyes in the morning of Saturday- at the corner of my bedroom window, thought the heavy curtain, I could see glittering golden sunshine, almost peeping. And when I walked to the living place, there it was-sunshine. Entire house looked different. I moved all the net curtains (horrible, as it is they are) and the house looked so bright, open and warm. I could see trees and bright blue sky. Finally I felt at home again!

Such a glorious day- it had to be celebrated. We had a lovely breakfast together sitting on our dinning table from where we can see people walking by, went out for a walk and coffee, watched TV together in the evening, made coffee ( just like the way we used to do when we are students, beating the coffee with sugar to make cappuccino) and then had lovely dinner with two absolutely new and simple dish .

The list of foods that we had yesterday is very interesting and very simple to make. We started the day with Sticky Sausage (vegetarian) Sandwich, Lunch with Easy Peasy Chicken Pulao and for dinner, rice with spicy fried fish, Onion Thoran, Pumpkin cooked with coconut, Makha Makha Aar Mach, red lentil cooked with drumsticks and last but not the least Pineapple Chutney (Bengali Style)

For the recipe of Easy Peasy Chicken Pulao click here

For the Recipe of Spicy Fried fish, click here

For the recipe of Onion Thoran, click here

For the recipe of Pumpkin cooked with coconut, click here

For the recipe of Makha Makha Aar Mach, click here

For the recipe of Bengali Pineapple Chutney, click here

Oriental Sticky Sausages Sandwich for breakfast (For two) given below

Ingredients:

6-Vegetarian Sausage or chicken sausage or pork (which ever you eat or prefer)

3-tablespoon dark soy sauce (this also works, as salt. so do not add salt unless your soy sauce is reduced salt version)

2-tablespoon sweet chili sauce

1-teaspoon pan roasted sesame seed

6- Slices of bread (brown or white depending on taste)

1-teaspoon oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan

2. Halve the sausages (it should make 12 pieces. You can make smaller if you like )

3. Fry them in the oil until brown, should take about 4/5 mins in a non stick pan

4. Add the soy sauce and cook for while

5. Add the sweet chili sauce and the sesame seeds cook until sausage is nicely cooked, sticky and fluffy

6. Meanwhile toast the breads ( I used pan as I do not have a toaster)

7. Now lay four piece of sausage on a bread and cover with another bread

8. Now hold them with your hands and give big a bite!!!!!!!!

9. Then ymmmmmmmmmmmmm blissssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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at 23:27

Spicy Marinated Fish Fry

Ingredients:

400g-Fish (I used Herrings. You can use sardine, mackerel, or any other fry that you like to eat fried like Rahu, katla, maybe even prawn should taste good I should imagine)

2-tablespoon lemon juice

1-tablespoon ginger paste

1-tablespoon garlic paste

1-teaspoon chili powder

1-tablespoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

4-tablespoon oil

Method:

1. Clean the fish and slash them on both sides

2. Make a paste of the spices and add lemon juice and salt

3. Marinate the fish with the spice paste for 10mins

4. Heat oil in pan

5. Fry the fish individually, both side should be brown and crispy

6. Serve with white rice and wedges of lime as starter

at 23:31

Mutton (Goats Meat)/Lamb and Pomegranate Tagine served with Onion and Pomegranate Relish (Moroccan)

I have been meaning to make this dish ever since I saw the recipe on TV on one of Nigella Lawson’s Christmas food shows. Finally, I made it yesterday…. For the first time. I expected this dish to be different.. do not know how…. but different.

The dish is on the verge of being little sweet. It has dates so the sweetness is explained. However, I did not use as many dates as the original recipe asked for. Yet it is little sweet. The sourness of the pomegranate sorts of make up for it but somehow I am not very keen on sweet- savory dishes. Nevertheless, R really liked it. He thought it was rather unique.

But, I must say the onion and pomegranate relish was to die for. It was exactly what I imagined it to be. Yummy! I loved the look and color of the dish.

I did not follow the recipe to the T and made my own twists. Added bit of chili, used very little dates. I am happy that I keep doing this kind of experiments. If you are the experimentative kind, then you might want to try making this one. It was nice with couscous though.

Ingredients for Lamb Tagine

650gm Mutton or Lamb’s boneless shoulder meat

2-onions thinly sliced

1/2 -teaspoon turmeric

1/2teaspoon cumin powder

1/2-teaspoon cinnamon powder

1/2-teaspoon ginger paste

1/2chili flakes (optional)

1/2-teaspoon ground all spice (optional. I did not use it but my ma would)

Pinch of black pepper (freshly done is best)

4- dates ( use 2 date I would say….)

1-cup pomegranate juice (packed 100% juice or made from fruit)

Salt to taste

1-tablespoon of oil

Ingredients for Onion and Pomegranate Relish

1-red onions, thinly sliced

1/2-cup pomegranates

1-cup pomegranate juice

½-cup lemon juice

Salt to taste

Method for the relish

1. Soak the onions in lemon and pomegranate juice for 1 hour

2. After an hour drain the onions dry

3. Add pomegranate, and salt

4. Combine and serve with mutton/Lamb Pomegranate Tagine

5. Drink the lemon, salt and pomegranate juice, it is yummy

Method for Mutton (Goats Meat)/Lamb and Pomegranate Tagine

1. Heat oil in a pan

2. Add the onion and fry until soft

3. Add all the spices with onion and fry

4. Add the mutton/lamb and cook for 10mins

5. Add salt and the pomegranate juice, dates to the mutton/lamb

6. Cook on low heat for 1 hour or just pressure cook it

7. Before serving, garnish with onion and pomegranate relish and serve with white rice or couscous

For regular update from my blog, please visit my face book page pet pujo and adda and click ‘like’. Also, follow me at my blog . I am featured at Networkedblogs. You can also leave your comments here. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Hope to see you again!

at 02:00

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas, Squash (or pumpkin) & Apricot

Pumpkin and Apricot with chicken?!!!!.....Yes! yes.! You are reading and seeing right.

Do not judge and shy away from making this wonderful one pot dish due to it ingredients. Let me assure you- it is a wonderful dish with lovely mixture of sweetness of the pumpkin and Apricot along with tanginess from lemon, which goes delightfully with chicken. Serve this with bread, couscous, or even rice and this will be a star. Today and always.

Traditionally Tagine is a North African Berber dish. The dish is named after the earthen pot in which it is cooked. I cooked the Moroccan version of the Tagine, which is slow cooked in a earthen pot called Tagine. I did not slow cook for hours neither I used the Tagine. However, I cooked for around 30/50mins to reduce the gravy and until the pumpkin and chicken became tender. Nevertheless, you can slow cook the dish and then serve in a colorful Tagine

Ingredients:

6- piece chicken thigh (fatless and skin less)

2-onions, roughly chopped

2-garlic cloves, chopped

300g pumpkin or squash, cut into large chunks

1-teaspoon of ground cumin

1-teaspoon of ground coriander

½-teaspoon of ginger paste

1-large cinnamon stick

1-teaspoon of honey

1/2-teaspoon red chili fleck

Pinch of black pepper crushed

Large pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon of boiling water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

200g chickpeas

5/6-dried apricot

Small bunch of coriander

Salt to taste

2- Tablespoon oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large casserole

2. Season the chicken and brown them and keep aside

3. Add the garlic the same oil and fry until you can smell garlic

4. Add onions in the same oil and fry them until soft

5. Add the pumpkin/squash and cook for 5 mins

6. Add rest of the spices and cook for another 5 mins

7. Now add saffron, honey and lemon juice

8. Pour water and add chickpeas

9. Add the browned chicken

10. Add apricot and salt to taste

11. Cook for one hour or until squash/pumpkin and chicken is tender, the gravy thick

12. Stir through the coriander and serve with rice, bread or couscous

For regular update from my blog, please visit my face book page Pet Pujo and Adda and click ‘like’. Also, follow me at my blog. I am featured at Networked Blog. You can also leave your comments here. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Hope to see you again!