Tag: cinnamon stick
Pomegranate and Walnut Chicken
This was a delicious dish. My husband and I used to order a chicken dish made with pomegranates at an Afghani restaurant years ago. The placed closed down a while ago and I have not eaten that delicious dish for a long time.
I have had pomegranate glaze in my pantry for a long time. I had bought it a couple of years ago from Trader Joes (they had it briefly and don’t anymore). I did some extensive research on the internet and came up with my own version. The two main flavors are the walnuts and the pomegranate glaze. I marinated the chicken in ginger and garlic. In the meantime I made a gravy with onion, and lots of aromatic spices including cinnamon.
The dish has a very distinct taste- really delicious. Serve the chicken with some aromatic basmati rice or freshly made rotis.
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Chinese Style Beef Stew with Chinese Broccoli
This dish is delicious. I had some lovely stew beef pieces in my freezer which I bought from Eataly in NYC. If you haven’t been to this huge space filled with delicious food- you must go. I admit, it is overpriced but there is a certain thrill about being in a place surrounded with amazing cooked food and ingredients to cook delicious foods. I love spending a few hours in there and buy fresh pasta, meat and cheese from there. A while ago I bought Prosecco jelly to be served with cheese. I was very curious to try it and it was delicious…
Anyway, I wanted to make a stew and decided on an Asian style dish. I started thinking of the spices and came up with Chinese five spice powder, a cinnamon stick and tamari for the savory component. I also chose shitake mushrooms, green onions and ginger- and also mirin. It is used in Japanese cuisine and is a sweet rice wine- it has a very distinct flavor- perfect for what I was looking for. Well, the stew was amazing. I decided to serve it with some soba noodles and sauteed Chinese broccoli.
Try this different kind of stew- you may never make your old one…
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Kashimiri Koftas (Indian Style Meatballs in a Yogurt Gravy)
My mom has been making these meatballs ever since I can remember. A friend from Kashmir taught her these a long time ago. Since then the dish has been tweaked to perfection. Technically speaking- it is not a typical Kashmiri dish. My mom has changed it over the years by adding more onions to the gravy, etc- she has made it her own.
I had never made these before. I would usually wait for my Mom to visit and make this delicious dish. I finally decided to write down the recipe and try it on my own. It is a bit laborious- but definitely worth all the work.
It is a bit different than the rest of Indian dishes I have posted- the dish does not have any tomatoes or garlic. The main flavorings in the meat are ground fennel and ginger powder. The gravy includes whole cinnamon and cloves. The most interesting flavor comes from asafetida. It has a very distinct flavor. If you can’t find it, no worries- just eliminate it. The dish will be good even without this spice.
Serve it with naans or rotis. I would highly recommend this dish- try it and it will part of your repertoire…
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Homemade Baked Apple Sauce
This is first time I have ever made apple sauce. I never understood why someone would make iy- what is the point? You either eat them raw or use them in a dessert or maybe even cook them on the side with pork or duck.
Then I started writing this blog and apple season came along. Well, I had to come up with a few apple recipes- and I did.. I made the apple cranberry bread, which by the way is delicious. I was thinking what else to make when an apple ice cream came to mind. I was of course going to make my healthy gelato- but what else should I was I going to add to it??
That is when apple sauce came to mind. I looked for different recipes and that is when I came across Ina Garten’s apple sauce recipe- I just love her recipes- don’t you want to invited to her house for a fabulous meal?
I adapted her recipe and came up with this. After the big saucepan came out of the oven and I tasted the results- I understood why people make their own apple sauce. It was absolutely delicious! Fresh, yummy and just the right sweetness and tartness. The wheels were turning in my head- all the things I can do with this- dessert topping, with a pork loin, on top of pancakes- sky is the limit… I can’t wait…
Try this recipe- it’s really good. I will be testing the apple sauce gelato tomorrow and posting the recipe soon- stay tuned.
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