Afif masuk wad

It has been ages since I last updated my blog. Suddenly felt the urge of popping into my blog today and how I realised that I should continue writing, well at least it is nice to go down the memory lane and seeing photos of my kids growing..
Yesterday, 21st Feb 2012, as I was about to start studying and writing my thesis, my mobile rang. It was an emergency call from Rose, my good friend in Selly Oak. Her voice sounded very panicky, telling me that Afif, her son was vomiting out blood, quite massive. I tried to get some history over the phone and tried to cool her down. Sounded that the bleeding might originate from a heavy nose bleed. I quickly changed into my jeans, ran down stairs and knocked on WH's door and requested that she came with me to Rose's house. WH is a new friend who just came to pursue PhD in Ophthalmology in Birmingham. Glad that she was here. Really enjoyed her company, a dedicated and eloquent young ophthalmologist whom I believe will go far in her career and her life, insyAllah. At 11.30 am, we arrived at Birmingham Children's Hospital with Rose and her two kids. Afif was seen by the doctor after 2 hours of waiting. I managed to drive home to get Rose and WH their lunch. At 6 pm, Afif was admitted to the observation ward to be reviewed by ENT doctors on the next day. Afif was discharged on the next day after cauterization of his nasal cavity. Alhamdulillah Odie, WH and I were there to visit and we brought Rose and kids home safely. Ramli, Rose's hubby arrived from Germany at 6.30 pm today. Night time, 6.30 pm, had a call from the hospital, telling me to collect the medication for Afif as soon as possible and yet, it was time for me to fetch my kids from tuition. Soon after, Epit called saying that she was at the hospital, just the right person to take the medication. subhanallah, maha suci Allah yang telah mempermudahkan segalanya. Whoever ease the difficulty of others, Allah will ease their difficulties..I truly believe in that and it is happening right in front of my eyes.
Today, I also learn the power of true friends, how ukhwah fillah brings us close together. Allah mentarbiyah kita setiap hari..cuma adakah kita termasuk dalam golongan org2 yg berfikir...wallahua'lam.

Chicken cheese and onion rolls

For the dough:

275 gram hi-protein flour or plain flour
80 ml warm water
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp castor sugar1
tsp milk powder or 1/2 cup fresh milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp bread improver
1 tsp bread softerner

1 egg

1 tbs butter/ margerine

Chicken fillings:

1/2 kg chopped or minced chicken

2 large onions

salt

pepper (I used both white and black pepper)

chopped parsley

Method:

1. Mix all the above dough ingredients in a mixer to form a dough. Cover with a cloth. Rest for 1-2 hrs till the size doubles.

2. Prepare the chicken filling:

3. Stir fry chopped onions, garlic, ginger in a pan, add chopped or minced chicken, salt , pepper, parsley and a bit of cheese. Let it cool down.

4. Flatten the dough, cut into 8 triangles as shown in the photo. Place the fillings and sprinkle some ceddar cheese, then roll upward. Seal both ends of the roll by pressing the edges.

5. Brush the bread rolls with beaten eggs.

6. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 20- 30 min till they become golden yellow/ brown.

Doughnut ala Carboot

Bahan

1 kg plain flour

• Ibu Roti Brand Mauripan 1 paket (11 gram)
• Gula Pasir 7 sudu besar
• Garam 1 sudu kecil
• Susu Tepung or fresh milk 1 cawan
• Marjerin 1 cawan
• Telur 2 biji
• Serbuk Penaik / Baking Powder 1 sudu kecil
• Air secukupnya

Cara Memasak

1. Isikan ¾ gelas air suam dicampur dengan 1 sudu kecil susu tepung atau gula pasir dan 1 paket yis Mauripan dan dikacau hingga rata. Biar 10 min atau hingga buihnya mengembang naik ke bibir gelas.
2. Masukkan tepung gandum, gula pasir, garam halus, susu tepung, marjerin, telur, serbuk penaik dan air ibu roti tadi ke dalam besen kecil.
3. Uli adunan tersebut dengan dituangkan air sedikit demi sedikit sambil menguli adunan hingga menjadi doh selama kira-kira 10 min till tak lekat pada tangan.
   
4. Tutup besen dengan kain dan letakkan pada tempat yang hangat supaya ia dapat mengembang dengan cepat dan sempurna. Biar selama kira-kira 1 jam or till the size doubles.
5. Ambil doh yang telah kembang tersebut dan uli sekali lagi kira-kira 5 minit utk keluarkan udara.
6. Leperkan doh kira-kira berketebalan 5 mm dan cetak dengan pencetak donut.
7. Biarkan doh yang telah dicetak itu kira-kira 30~60 minit.
8. Doh yang telah sedia untuk digoreng akan kelihatan telah mengembang dari bentuk asalnya.
9. Goreng doh dengan minyak masak yang telah cukup panas. Goreng kira-kira 3~5 minit hingga warna bertukar jadi kuning kecoklatan. Jaga api jgn terlalu besar sebab donut ni cepat kuning.
10. Biarkan sejuk sedikit, baru golek dlm gula halus.
    

Fish pie

Got this recipe from taste.com.au too...

Cooking Time

25 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1.25kg desiree potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled, diced
• 4 stalks celery, trimmed, diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat milk
• 375ml can evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup grated light tasty cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon English mustard
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 500g ling fillets, bones removed, cut into 3cm cubes
• 200g smoked cod fillets, trimmed, cut into 3cm cubes
• 8 cooked small king prawns, peeled, deveined, halved
• 4 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, quartered
• 75g baby spinach

Method

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return to saucepan. Add nutmeg and 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Mash until smooth. Cover to keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add carrot and celery. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes or until just tender.

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°C. Place cornflour in a bowl. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly until combined. Add milk mixture and evaporated milk to saucepan. Increase heat to high. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mixture comes to the boil. Add tasty and parmesan cheeses, mustard, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and parsley. Stir to combine.

4. Lightly grease a 6cm deep, 10-cup capacity baking dish. Arrange ling, in a single layer in base of dish. Top with cod, prawns, eggs and spinach. Pour over sauce and shake dish gently to allow sauce to run to base of dish. Top with mashed potato. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Serve.

Chicken and pine nut meatloaf

Recipe from taste.com.au

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, chopped
• 750g chicken mince
• 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup basil leaves, finely shredded
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 7cm deep, 10cm x 20cm (base) loaf pan.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and nuts. Cook, stirring, for 8 minutes or until softened. Allow to cool.

3. Combine mince, breadcrumbs, herbs, egg, onion mixture, and salt and pepper. Mix well. Spoon mixture into pan. Press down. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

4. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Serve.

Notes

Picnic tip: Wrap cooled loaf in plastic wrap and foil. Refrigerate.

Persian Style Baked Herb Omelette

Found this recipe from theblendergirl


Preparation time: 5 - 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6 - 8)

• 2 Tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large red onions chopped and caramelized
• 3 cups fresh organic baby spinach washed and chopped
• 8 large organic eggs
• 1/4 cup soy milk, hemp milk or almond milk
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 8 spring onions/scallions finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of cilantro/coriander finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of continental parsley finely chopped
• 1 handful fresh chives finely chopped
• 1 fresh dill sprig chopped
• 4 fresh mint sprigs chopped
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil and sautee the garlic, and caramelize the onions. Add in the spring onions until just softened.

2. Add in the fresh spinach and cook until just wilted.

3. Transfer vegetable mixture to a quiche or pie dish, and stir in the fresh herbs and nuts.

4. Beat eggs and milk in the blender on low for about 3 seconds, add a couple of pinches of Celtic sea salt and cracked pepper, and then pour over the vegetable and herb mixture.

5. Bake in the oven at 180C/325F for about half an hour, or until set and lightly browned on top.

Baba Ghanoush (aubergine dip)

2 aubergine
3 garlic
3 onions
1 tbs tahini paste
parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
salt, pepper

Methods:
1. Cut aubergines into half and roast in the oven for 10 min together with garlic and onions.
2. Remove the skin of the aubergines and blend together with other ingredients.

Chicken swiss roll

Ingredients:
6 slices of chicken breast
2 potatoes
1 aubergine
red and green peppers/ capsicum
cheese

Marinade:
1 tbs coriander powder
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbs yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
4 garlic- crushed
1 inch ginger- crushed
salt

Methods:


1. Slice chicken breast thinly say 1/2 cm thick and 4-5 cm wide. Knock with kitchen hammer and marinade with salt, yogurt, lemon, garlic, ginger, coriander powder, black pepper and keep them in fridge for one day.
2. Cut potatoes into long sticks like french fries. Fry them and put aside. Cut aubergine into long sticks as well (size of french fries).
3. Place the marinated chicken slices on a chopping board and lay 1-2 sticks of fried potatoes, cheese, red and green peppers/ capsicum, aubergine stick and roll the chicken slice. Seal the dges with beaten eggs.
4. Dip the roll into beaten egg and then dip into breadcrumbs and deep fry them till chicken is cooked.
5. Cut into 3-4 slices and serve. This roll will look beautiful with multiple colours of green and red peppers, fries and aubergine and cheese.

Chicken Cheese Tagine

Tried this many months ago but have forgotten to take the photos. Anyway I have to put in in here so that I won't forget this delicious recipe in future. Again thanks to Afaf for this awesome Libyan recipe.

Baked this again today 6th May 2011. Gave one dish to my dearest Msian neighbour. Finally got the photos today.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken- I cut it into 4
4 large potatoes-diced into 1/2 inch size
spring onion (daun bawang) or Holland onions- chopped
parsley- chopped
1 cup ceddar cheese
1 cup lavashkari cheese or whatever soft cheese you wish
1 tbs coriander powder
1 tbs karwiya (rupa dia cam jintan manis serbuk)
1 tbs dried/ fresh ginger
1 tbs tomato paste/ puree
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 garlic- finely chopped or crushed
salt
4-5 eggs
2 tbs bread crumbs

Methods:
1. Cut the whole chicken into 4 and boil in water and salt.
2. Once chicken is cooked, separate the flesh from the bone and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.
3. Fry diced potatoes and place them on the kitchen towel to absorb the adhering oil.
4. Mix the diced chicken, fried diced potatoes with all the spices, spring onion, parsley, tomato paste, salt and cheese together. Save some ceddar cheese for topping. Taste this mixture to make sure you have added enough salt. I also added some white pepper.
5. Place the mixture into a baking dish.
6. Beat 4 eggs lightly with 2 tbs of breadcrumbs and pour onto the chicken potato mix.
7. Sprinkle with ceddar cheese and bake for 40 min or so. Dip in the cake tester stick, once the eggs are not sticking anymore, means the dish is cooked.

My kids ate this tagine with chilli sauce, typical Asian taste buds.

Syarba (Meat in tomato soup)

This is also a libyan recipe I got from Afaf. Mesti korang dah muak asyik dengar nama Afaf je kan? hehe..Anyway, she served this soup when we went to her place for sahur during the previous Ramadhan. Sedaap soup ni.. I like....Maka apa lagi...minta resepi lah..

Ingredients:
1 Holland onion- chopped
1 cup of chick peas (kacang kuda)
1/2 kg meat -tinly sliced into 1/2 inch size
1 tbs ghee
1 tbs tomato paste/ puree
1 tsp turmeric
tear drop tiny pasta (available in Arab shops in Coventry Road)
dried mint leaves
parsley
1 tbs chilli powder

Methods:
1. Fry onion in ghee, add meat, chick peas and 2 cups of water. Slow cook till meat and chick peas are tender.
2.Add more water, parsley, tomato paste, chilli powder, turmeric powder and pasta and lastly dried mint leaves and salt.
3. Serve as a starter during iftar.

Libyan Lamb Kabsa

I have tried this recipe a few times and really love it, somehow it never turn out to have the same taste as my good Libyan friend, Afaf's.Don't know what went wrong. Perhaps, I must go to Afaf's kitchen one day and watch how she cooks her version. Anyway, I would like to share with all of you her Libyan kabsa. I plan to cook kabsa for my dear undergraduate sisters who are coming over to my place this Wednesday.

Ingredients:
1 kg lamb
3 Holland onions-finely chopped
1 tbs ginger powder
1 tsp green cardamom powder
4 garlic
2 tbs coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbs karwiya powder(optional)-this is one of Libyan spices Afaf gave me.
3 chopped tomatoes
1 dried black lemon (this gives kabsa the fragrant lemony smell)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbs chilli powder
4 tbs tomato paste
1 carrot- grated
2 tbs ghee

Methods:
1. Place lamb/ meat and water in the pressure cooker for 15-20 min or till meat is tender but make sure it is not overcooked. For better taste and smell, add cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and cardamom.
2. In a pot, fry onion, garlic, ginger in 2 tbs of ghee. Add chilli powder, turmeric, cinnamon powder, coriander powder, karwiya, cardamom powder, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and salt.
3. Add the cooked meat/ lamb and grated carrot. I will refer this dish as lamb mix afterwards.
4. Meanwhile place 5 cups of rice in the rice cooker and add 5 cups of lamb stock from the pressure cooker into the rice. When rice is half cooked, add half of the lamb mix into the rice cooker and mix and let it cook thoroughly. Remember to toss in the black dried lemon.
5. For the other portion of the lamb mix, place in a casserole in the oven for 20 min before serving with kabsa.

So far, I have served my modified version of kabsa a few times already to my Malaysian friends and they loved it. Happy trying.

Photos coming up soon.

Iftar 10 Ramadhan 1431 H

Kuih kosui

Sambal terung

Kerutub ayam

Baklava, gift from Souad, my Egyptian good friend.

Pasta bake


Being far away from home where the practice of Islam is so vivid, I have no choice but to provide Islamic education or tarbiyah my kids on my own. Tried to do daily tazkirah with them after Maghrib, 30 minutes a day would be enough as long as it is consistence. What I am trying to practise now is at least in a day, try to read for 30 min, tazkirah 1/2 hr, memorise at least 3 verses of Al_Quran and of course 1 hour of my thesis writing or academic reading. May Allah shower me with strength to istaqamah with this gesture.

Serimuka with gerodok telur topping

Specially dedicated to my good friend Dr Suhaiza in Manchester...dgn ucapan selamat bertugas..hehe..

Ingredients:
For the base:
3 cawan pulut
3 cawan santan
1/2 tsp salt

Gerodok telur topping:
5 eggs
1 cup palm sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 cloves
1 tsp vanilla essence

For normal pandan topping
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup custard powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 cups coconut milk.
green colouring or pandan flavour or blend 5 pandan leaves with 1/2 cup water

Methods:
1. Mix glutinous rice with coconut milk and salt, place in the microwave for 10 minutes, take it out and stir and continue for another 5 minutes.
2. You can also steam the glutinous rice for about 30 minutes if you do not like microwaving.
3. Press the cooked glutinous rice with a wet spoon.
4. Prepare the topping, mix all te ingredients together and pour onto the rice and steam for 30 minutes.
5. For pandan topping, once ingredients are mixed, stir them on the stove to thicken so that steaming is shorter. Pour the mixture onto the rice once it has thickened.

Fried eggs in soy sauce

My lamb kerutub

This is my favourite Kelantanese dish. Thanks to Azzman Nureen of Wolverhampton for the demo in Birmingham. Before this demo, I never get my kerutub to taste right. Kinda expert now..P

Ingredients:

1 kg beef with bones
3 blended Holland onions, 5 garlic, 1 inch ginger, 1 inch galangal-blend coarsely
2 tbs kerutub spice/ powder (from Kelantan).
2 tbs blended red chilis
1 tsp shrimp paste
salt
11/2 cups coconut milk
1 tsp kerisik (optional)
cardamons, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise
whole green chillies- make a cut in the middle
screw pine leaves (optional)

Methods:
1. Fry onion ginger mix in 3 tbs of oil till fragrant. Add blended red chilli paste.
2. Add kerutub spice and 1/2 cup of water. Add beef and simmer for 1/2 hour, keep on adding a litlle bit of water to prevent it drying.
3. Once the meat is tender, add coconut milk, kerisik and salt and a sprinkle of sugar.
4. For those who love potatoes, you can also add them but the original Kelantanese kerutub doesn't have potatoes in it. I usually add whole green chillies and pandan leaves for their fragrant smell.
5. Once the gravy is thick, serve with white rice or briyani rice. Please note that kerutubs are meant to be thick, not thin like curries.

1 Ramadhan 1431 H

Alhamdulillah Allah has showered us with rahmah to meet another Ramadhan this year. I remembered during previous Ramadhans, my kids were crying and begging from me to break their fast just a few minutes before iftar as sunset was quite late in summer encroaching to almost 9pm. This year supermum has to come up with a strategy to stengthen their inner spirit to withstand the hunger pangs of Ramadhan in summer. So I downloaded a few articles on fasting from the internet and gave a 40 minute tazkirah a week before Ramadhan began. Alhamdulillah, they are very receptive and are a lot more mature this year. So we breezed through 5 days of Ramadhan without much agony. Even on the day when we missed our sahur was not a problem at all. Alhamdullilah, thank you Allah for giving us strength to be a good follower of your deen.

As this is our first day of fasting, thought of cooking something a little special. Made lamb briyani for iftar and sahur. Got this superb recipe from http://resepiraidah.blogspot.com/search/label/Nasi. Love your blog Raidah.

Being a Malay, we can't survive without chillies, so made some Pakistani chicken as well to complete the dish.

Lamb Briyani
1 kg lamb with bones
5 cups basmathi rice~ wash, soak for 30 min and drain
1 cup yogurt

3 Holland onion ~ sliced

2 tomatoes ~ diced

3 bird chillies

1 tsp garlic- crushed

1 tsp ginger- crushed

1/2 tsp garam masala

2 tbs biryani powder
1 tsp turmeric powder

4 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

4 cardamoms

2 bay leaves

1- 2 cawan fried onion

1/2 cawan fried raisins
1/2 cup fried cashew nuts

a pinch of saffron ~ soak in 1/2 cup hot water.

1 cup chopped coriander leaves

2 tbs Ghee

salt, sugar

Method:

Lamb:

1. Fry cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cloves, bay leaves and add blended onion, ginger, garlic.

2. Add biryani spice, garam masala, turmeric powder, tomatoes the oil separates and add lamb and yoghurt. I also a tbs of kurma powder.
3. Simmer till lamb is cooked and add salt and a bit of sugar and coriander leaves. Put aside.

Rice:

~ Boil 5 cups of water, add 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp cumin powder dan 1 tbs oil. Add rice and boil till half cooked.

Biryani Rice:

1. Scoop 1/3 portion of rice into the rice cooker, sprinkle some fried onion, fried raisins and saffron water.

2. Scoop the lamb briyani mix on top of the rice and repeat process 1 and 2 till lamb is finished.

3. Cover with the last portion of rice and pour saffron water and coriander leaves.
4. Cover the pot and press start. Cook for 20 minutes.
5. Once the rice is cooked, sprinkle some cashew nuts and mix the rice and lamb together. Ready to be served.

I cooked some vegetable dalca to eat with this delicious briyani rice. Beware of the cholesterol content hihi..Since we have been fasting the whole day, so it is a good excuse to indulge on this rich recipe.

Simple Laksa Johor

On requests of so many friends and relatives, here is my simple version of laksa johor, I would call it versi perantau, no hassle of having to boil fish and removing all the bones. For me it tastes just as superb.

Ingredients:

3 cans of tuna chunks in brine
4 stalks of lemon grass
1 inch galangal/ lengkuas
1 Holland onion
1 inch ginger
4 tbs fish curry powder
1/2 cup anchovies (ikan bilis)
1/2 cup dried shrimp (udang kering)
3 cans of tuna/ sardine in brine
2 slices asam keping
2 tbs kerisik
1 can of coconut milk (I use Chaokoh)
500 g sphagetti-boil till aldente

Methods:
1. Blend the onion, ginger, galangal, lemon grass with water and fry in 3 tbs of olive oil.
2. Add fish curry powder.
3. Blend tunas, anchovies and dried shrimp and add to the pot once the onion mix is yellow and fragrant.
4. Add 3 cups of water and bring to the boil. Add thick coconut milk.
5. Add asam keping and kerisik.
6. Season with salt and a bit of sugar. Let it simmer for 10-15 min.
7. Serve with spaghetti, sliced lettuce, cucumber, long beans, bean sprouts, sambal belacan and limau kasturi juice.

Curry Puff (Karipap)

Today is the Czech girls last day in our lab, so we decided to throw another lunch party. Prepared some beef curry puffs for everybody. I think Zumla finished 5 or 6 pieces. She obviously liked it sooo much and Katka finished the last piece. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

1 kg plain flour

200 g margerine/ butter

2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

The filling

1/2 kg mince meat

3 tbs curry or korma powder

1/2 Holland onion- chopped

1 Holland onion- diced

3 garlic- crushed

1/2 inch ginger-crushed

salt, white pepper, a dash of sugar

5 potatoes- diced to 1/2 cm small

Methods:

1. Fry the chopped onion, garlic, ginger.

2. Add the curry powder, then add 1/2 cup of water.

3. Add the mince meat, fry for 5 minutes then add the diced potatoes and 1 cup of water.

4. Add diced onion. Cover the pot with a lid and let the potatoes soften.

5. Season with salt and pepper. I also sprinkled some sugar. Set aside to cool down.

6. Mix the flour, butter, salt and water together to form a dough.

7. Flatten the dough to about 3-4 mm thick with a rolling pin.

8. Using a pastry round cutter, make several circles and place the meat and potato filling on each pastry and fold it into two.

9. Press the edges of the pastry firmly to make sure there is no filling leakage.

10. Make a plait at the edges using the tip of your thumb and index finger.

11. Deep fry till the pastry turns brown in colour. Serve hot with tea/ coffee.

Kuih Cara Berlauk (Cara cake with meat filling)

It was Naheema's 28th birthday on the 8th of June, so we, the Paul Murray Group decided to throw a small party for her. Naheema herself bought some halal BBQ chicken from Costco and she also prepared some salads. Others brought cakes, starters, strawberries, cookies and dips. I wanted to introduce to my lab mates another Malaysian delicacy and after minimal thinking , I thought kuih cara would be the best for a small party like this. Started preparing the meat filling the night before and made the batter in the morning. I would say everyone enjoyed the party and the food of course.

Kuih Cara (Savoury cake with Meat Filling)

Ingredients:
For the fillings:
1/2 kg mince meat
1 Holland onion
3 garlic
1/2 inch ginger
1 carrot- diced
1 celery stick- diced
1 green/ red pepper
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbs curry powder
fried shallots- optional
parsley/ celery leaves- optional

For the batter
2 cups flour
1 cup coconut milk
2 cups water (adjust to get a thin batter)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 or 2 eggs

Methods:
1.Place all the ingredients for the batter in the blender and whizzz. Pour the thin batter into a jug.
2. For the meat fillings: Fry onion, garlic, ginger till yellow and add curry powder and 1/2 cup of water.
3. After a few minutes, add the mince meat and fry till meat is cooked then add carrots, celery, green pepper.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Put aside.
5. Place the cara mould on the stove, brush the mould with some oil so the batter will not stick.
6. Once the mould is heated up, pour the batter into it and quickly spoon the meat filling into it.
7. Sprinkle some fried onion and chopped parsley leaves on the fillings.
8. Cover the mould with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.
9. Remove the cakes from the mould and serve. Repeat steps 5 to 8 till the batter is finished.

* I think you can also bake this dish in the oven, but I somehow have never tried it myself.

Libyan Brak (Traditional Libyan rice rolls wrapped in spring cabbage)

Credit to Afaf for the photo.

This is another Libyan recipe I obtained from my good Libyan friend Afaf. I think it is a healthy way of serving rice in a slightly different manner. Instead of having to cook different other dishes to be served with rice, brak has everything in a roll. Tried this today and it taste really nice.In some countries, vine leaves are used for wrapping.


Ingredients:

Spring cabbage for wrapping
1 cup of meat- cut into 1 cm size
2 cups of rice
4 tbs tomato paste
4 stalks of coriander leaves- chopped
parsley - chopped
dill/ mint(optional) - chopped
4 onions- chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbs coriander powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
salt
2 tbs oil/ ghee

Method:

1. Wash rice and mix with all the ingredients mentioned above. Put aside for 15 min for the rice to absorb the flavour.
2. Wash the spring greens/ cabbage and soak in hot boiling water for 2 min to soften the leaves.
3. Remove the central stalk and cut the leaves into 2 or 4 or whatever size desired.
4. Put the rice mix onto the leaf and wrap it and close the two ends by pressing the leaves in.
5. Steam the braks for 30 min- 40 min for the rice to be cooked. Serve hot.

Cancer Research UK Relay, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham

Healthy Mediterranean Diet Recipes

By Felicia R Mcclinton. Thank you Felicia for your contribution to my blog. Together we promote healthy diet.

You Don’t Have to Be a Greek to Cook these Healthy Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Anchovies Stuffed




Ingredients

600 grams of Anchovies
2dl of Milk
2 pieces dry sandwiches
100 grams of grated parmesan
50 grams breadcrumbs Salt and Pepper

Anchovy Stuffed recipe makes 6 servings and can be prepared in 80 minutes. It has low calorie content and low fat but full of flavor.

Preparation

Remove the head and backbone of the anchovies and wash them thoroughly. Cut the dry bread into cubes, place them in a bowl and soak in milk. Add the beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Get a separate baking bowl and grease it with oil. Pour a small amount of the mixture into the bowl then place a layer of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs on top. Repeat the layering until the entire mixture has been used. Bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. Before serving, add slices of lemon and sprinkle with oregano.

Nutritional Value:

Food	Gr	Kcal	Fat	Carb	Pro	Fib	Water
Anchovy	600	786	29.04	0	122.1	0	440.22
Milk - cow's whole	200	120	6.5	9.04	6.44	0	176.64
White bread 00	150	435	0	102	12	4.5	43.5
Grated Parmesan cheese	100	431	28.61	4.06	38.46	0	20.84
Bread crumbs	50	197.5	2.65	35.99	6.68	2.25	3.26
Salt	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pepper	1	2.55	0.03	0.65	0.11	0.26	0.11
Total	1102	1972.05	66.83	151.74	185.79	7.01	684.57
A head (6)	183.67	328.68	11.14	25.29	30.97	1.17	114.1
Per 100 grams	100	178.95	6.06	13.77	16.86	0.64	62.12

Sicilian Swordfish

Ingredients

600 grams of Swordfish
200 grams of tomatoes

1 piece onion

50 grams of black olives

1 clove garlic

This recipe can make 4 servings and you can prepare it in 25 minutes. Swordfish Sicilian is a typical dish in the southern Italian region. This recipe creates a low fat and low calorie meal.

Preparation

To clean and peel the tomatoes, briefly place them in boiling water. Chop the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan then add the chopped onion and garlic until golden brown. Place the sliced Swordfish in the frying pan and cover it. Put the peeled tomatoes after a few minutes. Cook for at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle chopped parsley and black olives on top before removing the Swordfish from the pan. Serve while still hot.

Nutritional Value:

Food	Gr	Kcal	Fat	Carb	Pro	Fib	Water
Swordfish	600	726	24.06	0	118.8	0	453.72
Ripe tomatoes	200	36	0.4	7.84	1.76	2.4	189
Onions	80	32	0.08	7.47	0.88	1.36	71.29
Black olives	50	117.5	8.25	4.6	5.9	0	29.1
Garlic	10	14.9	0.05	3.31	0.64	0.21	5.86
Total	940	926.4	32.84	23.22	127.98	3.97	748.97
A head (4)	235	231.6	8.21	5.81	32	0.99	187.24
Per 100 grams	100	98.55	3.49	2.47	13.61	0.42	79.68

About the Cooker - Felicia R. Mcclinton writes for the blog healthy mediterranean recipes , her personal hobby blog she uses to help people learn how to make Mediterranean recipes to eat healthy to prevent diseases.