Rasheeda's Travel and Food Blog

Rasheeda's travel and food blog

Category: Food Blog

close up of delicious cherry crumble bars

Dessert Recipes / Food Blog

Plum Pie

Plum Pie

It is a culinary art which is delicious. Must try and you will be addicted to it.
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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

Crust:
  • 2½ sticks(20 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup water
Filling Ingredients:
  • 2 pounds plums
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 egg for egg wash 1 teaspoon water

Method
 

  1. To make the crust:
  2. Grate 4 tablespoons of butter and put it in the freezer to keep it cold. Cut the remaining butter into small dice. 
    In the food processor bowl, add wheat flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to incorporate.
    Add diced butter and process until a dough forms. 
    Remove to a work surface and breakup the dough into small pieces and return it to the food processor bowl.
    Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, grated, frozen butter, and pulse until all the ingredients form a looser dough.
    Transfer to a large bowl and add ½ cup of the water and start mixing to incorporate all the ingredients. Add the remaining water and mix with a rubber spatula to get a smooth dough.
    Divide the into halves. Wrap each half in a plastic wrap after making the disc with help of the wrap. Let the dough chill for at least, two hours.
  3. Meanwhile, wash and dry the plums. Cut each one along the equator and remove the pits. Cut into wedges for use in the pie.
    In a large bowl, toss with cornstarch, lemon zest, grated ginger, dried ginger, and salt. Add prepared plum wedges, and lemon juice to the bowl and toss to coat well. Set aside.
    Remove the prepared dough from the fridge and let it temper for easy rolling. 
    Once the dough is ready, roll and line a 9-inch pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator to chill. Meanwhile, roll the crust for the top and transfer it to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use. 
    Add the filling to the crust lined pie plate and brush the edges with the beaten egg.
    Top it with the top crust and brush with egg wash. 
    Bake in 350°F preheated oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until golden brown.
    Remove from the oven and let it cool on a rack until it comes to room temperature before cutting into it.

Food Blog / Vegetarian Recipes

Chicken Chittanad

Chicken Chittanad

We first ate chicken Chittanad in a restaurant while travelling in Karala in 1990. It was a fiery, delicious South Indian Curry from Tamil Nadu. It is made with an unusual blend of roasted, and ground spices. North and South India use distinctly different combination of spices, also their flavor profiles diverge sharply. But in this recipe a new style emerges with a combination of ingredients and spices from both regions
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ pound chicken thighs cut into chunks
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt
  • ½ medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoon oil for searing chicken
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoon grated coconut
  • 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro divided use
  • 4 Thai green chilies, chopped
  • 2 teaspoon roasted red chili powder Kashmiri red chili powder is recommended
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon tamarind paste or 2 kokum pieces
  • ¼ Cup olive oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Method
 

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan and sear all the chicken pieces lightly on both sides and transfer to a paper towel-lined platter
  2. Roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and coconut lightly., and grind in a coffee grinder and remove to a bowl.
  3. In a blender, add yogurt, onion, ginger/garlic paste, green chilies, ½ tablespoon cilantro, ground cumin, coriander, coconut mixture, chili powder, turmeric, tamarind or kokum pieces, tomato paste, salt, and water. Blend to a fine paste.
  4. Heat ¼ cup oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the prepared spice sauce from the blender and cook covered on medium heat until spices get well fried. A deeper saucepan is highly recommended because of spluttering which might occur.  Cook on slow heat until well fried.
  5. Add enough water, or the amount for desired thickness of the gravy, about 1 ½ cup. Clean the sides well while putting the water. Bring back to a boil.
  6. Add the seared chicken to the sauce, coat well by gently pouring sauce over the chicken. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes.
  7. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle remaining ½ tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish to serve.
  8. Serve with plain white rice.
flat lay of peaches cake and teapot

Dessert Recipes / Food Blog / Jerusalem Visit to Haram at-Sharif

Pecan and Mango Tart

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large good quality mangoes peeled, and sliced..
For the crust:
  • 1 cup lightly toasted pecans
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted cold butter
For the pastry cream:
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
For the Glaze:
  • 1/4 cup apricot jam
  • 1 tablespoon water

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. place the pecans in a food processor bowl and pulse until well ground. Add flour, sugar and salt and continue to pulse to incorporate well. At this point, add an egg and butter, pulse again until the mixture is a coarse and crumbly mix.
    Turn the mixture out into a 9” removable bottom tart pan and use a measuring cup to press the crumbly crust into the bottom and up the side as evenly as possible. It is better to have enough thickness to give it a body to hold together and form a ¼ inch border around when removed.
     
    For the pastry cream:
    Whisk milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring it to simmer over medium heat stirring to make sure it does not stick. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch into a smooth paste. When the milk is bubbly and simmering, start pouring in a thin stream into the egg mixture while stirring vigorously to prevent clumping until all the milk is used up. When it is tempered enough, transfer it back to the saucepan. Return to medium heat to bring it to a simmer while carefully stirring it to make sure it does not stick to the bottom. Continue for just over 2 minutes to a thick creamy consistence. Transfer to bowl, cover surface with a plastic wrap to cool before refrigerating for use later use.
     
    For the glaze:
    Combine jam and water in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir to break up the lumps until smooth. Let it cook for couple of minutes and then set it aside.
     
    To assemble the Tart:
    Pour the pastry cream into the cooled tart and smooth it out. Arrange the prepared mango slices in a pattern of you desire working from the outside circumference in. Heat the glaze and stir before brushing on the tart. Once thoroughly glazed, put in the refrigerator to chill before serving.

Dessert Recipes / Food Blog

Jam Tarts

Kids favorite and a easy recipe to make.
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Course: Snack
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 pouns all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 pound cold, salted butter
  • 1 tablespoon icing sugar
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
  • enough strawberry Jam

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
    Add flour, sugar, and diced, cold butter to a food processor bowl and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 
    Transfer the mixture to work surface and bring the mixture together by pulling in all the flour and adding ice water in small amounts until it forms a dough. Knead it until it is smooth and soft. Press and shape it to a flattened disc and wrap it tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight before use.
    Roll out on a lightly floured surface and use cookie cutter of the cupcakes tins you are using to cut circles.
    First line cupcakes tins with cupcake paper liners. Put each pastry circle in the lined tin.
    Put one teaspoon strawberry or desired jam in each tin. Too much jam will ooze out.
    Bake tarts in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
    Remove from oven and let them cool slightly before serving.

Dessert Recipes / Food Blog

Nutella Tart

Nutella Tart with Toasted Hazelnut Crust

1 cup chopped unsalted hazelnuts

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

3 tablespoons ice water

Nutella Filling:

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups heavy cream

¾ cup Nutella

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300°

Lightly toast hazelnut in the oven for 10 minutes.

Once the nuts are done, remove from the oven and turn the oven up to 350°F

For the Crust:

Use a food processor to pulse ¾ cup of the toasted hazelnuts, (reserving 1/4 cup for the topping) the flour, sugar, and salt together until it resembles a coarse meal. Add cold, cubed butter and process until the butter is pea sized. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the mixture starts to come together. Transfer it to a work surface and bring all the lose flour together with wet fingers making sure not to use too much water. 

Transfer the mixture to a removable bottom 9-inch tart pan and press It down evenly in the bottom and bringing all the way up the sides using a lightly floured measuring cup.

The next step would be to blind bake it. To blind bake, line the crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights- I use chickpeas as pie weight and works perfectly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven to a rack and let it to cool. 

Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and ½ cup of heavy cream in small bowl. This premixing helps to prevent lumps in the filling. Combine cornstarch mixture, remaining heavy cream, Nutella, and salt into a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk thoroughly to combine all the ingredients into a smooth mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil while constantly whisking and allow to cook for 3 more minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla, before pouring into the crust. Use a offset spatula to swirl a pattern in the filling.

Chill in the refrigerator overnight. Top it with reserved hazelnut for serving.

Food Blog / Recipes

Hyderabadi Fish Curry

Mother’s Fish Curry

Enough fish bought from the hawker at the door for a family of 10(this included my parents, four girls, we didn’t have a brother at that time, and all the help we had to cook, clean and shop for us.

Ingredients:

2 pounds firm, white fish cleaned and cut into 2-inch chunks

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted 

3 tablespoons sesame seeds, roasted on low heat

1 tablespoon desiccated coconut, roasted lightly 

1 tablespoon peanut butter

3 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoons ginger/garlic paste 

2 level teaspoon tamarind paste 

1 small onion chopped, and roasted in a saucepan with a drop of oil 

1 teaspoon salt (season to taste when ready)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

½ cup oil

Desired amount of water

A few curry leaves

For garnish:

Green chilies

1 tablespoon fresh, chopped cilantro

Place the prepared fish in a bowl, and add salt, tamarind powder, and flour. Toss thoroughly to coat the fish, cover and set it aside, at least, 30 minutes.

In a coffee grinder, grind roasted cumin seeds, sesame seeds, and coconut.

Add ½ -cup water to a blender first, and then add ground cumin, sesame seeds, coconut, coriander powder, peanut butter, chili powder, turmeric, ginger/garlic, tamarind paste, roasted onions, salt and cilantro.

Blend well to make a smooth paste.

In a large saucepan, heat oil until it is smoking.

Return to high flame and cook covered to remove the moisture and then fry until oil starts to separate on the sides.

Add another ½ to 1-cup water, cleaning the sides of the saucepan. Stir to mix well.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for, at least, 30 minutes until oil floats on the surface. Add water for the desired thinness of the gravy and bring it back to a boil.

Remove the saucepan from heat and add prepared fish along with the spices and curry leave.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. cut the heat and spread the garnish over the top including sugar. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes before serving