Enchiladas

Enchiladas are basically rolled up tortilla with meat, fish or vegetable filling, placed on a baking dish, red, green or while sauce poured over, some shreadded cheese spread over and baked in oven, that's all. Goes with a dollop of sour cream. Here is the recipe for Meat Enchiladas, but you can replace meat with chicken, fish or vegetables (Aubergine, Courgette, Avocado will go very well). 

Ingredients:
250g Minced meat
2 jars Pesto (green or red)
3 Knorr vegetables stock pots
Crème Fraiche 300 ml
6 tortilla
200g Shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp oil
Sour cream (optional, to serve)
Green onions or coriander leaves to garnish

Steps: 

Make Stock

Mix 3 tubs of Vegetable stock in 3 cups of hot water.

Make Filling:
Fry the Mince meat with 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp salt for 5 minutes
Add 1 jar Pesto and 1 cup stock
Mix well and turn off the heat.

Make Sauce:
Mix 1 jar pesto, 300 ml crème Fraiche, 2 cup stock

Prepare the dish
Put 1/2 cup of sauce to cover the bottom of a large oven proof dish.
Spread the Mince meat on the tortillas, roll them loosely and place in the dish one by one.
Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas
Spread 1-2 cup shredded cheese over.

Bake
In preheated oven at 180c for 30 minutes, bring it out and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Serve
Sprinkle some chopped green onion or coriander leaves to garnish.
Serve with some Creme Fraiche or sour cream on the side.

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If Pesto is not available in your part of the world, you can substitute, here are some ideas, you can adapt:

For Red Sauce: 1 litre (4 cups)
2 cup tomato sauce + 1cup Stock + Onion + Garlic + Salt & Pepper > Blend

For Green Sauce: 1 litre (4 cups)
Green Onion+ Green tomato + Avocado. Garlic + Green pepper + 1 cup stock +  2 cup Water > Blend

You can use Chapati instead of Tortilla.

Use plain yogurt in place of Creme Fraiche or sour cream.

Use any kind of stock available where you live. 

Moussaka

Moussaka is a dish with layers of Aubergines (Begun or Eggplant) , Potato and Ground meat (keema) with Tomato sauce, topped with a white sauce and cheese. It is a Greek dish also popular in other Mediterranean countries, with many local and regional variations. Here is my take on this great dish, a healthier version.  

Ingredients for Layers

2 large potatoes
1 large aubergine
250 g minced meat

1 cup Tomato Sauce or Puree

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 Onion, chopped

4 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Olive oil
(feel free to add your regional spices like Cumin, Corriander, Garam Masala etc.)

• Thinly slice the potatoes and aubergines, coat them with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Cook the Mince meat with rest of the ingredients.
• Make white sauce.

Ingredients for White Sauce

2 cups milk
2 tbsp Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Nutmeg.
1 cup cheese (mix of Mozzarella and Cheddar)

Making the sauce:

• Add the Milk, Flour, Salt, Black pepper, and Nutmeg (everything except cheese) in a pot and bring to simmer on medium heat, stirring constantly until the milk thickens with a creamy consistency.

Layering

• Place one layer of sliced Potatoes at the bottom of a ovenproof dish
• Spread 1/3rd of the meat over the potato
• Place a the Aubergine slices over the meat.
• Spread 1/3rd of meat over the aubergines
• Place the remaining potatoes over the meat
• Spread the remaining meat over the potatoes
• Pour the white sauce all over the meat.
• Spread the Cheese all over the white sauce.

Cooking:

• Cover the dish with a foil and put in the preheated oven to 200 c and cook for 30 minutes.
• Take the cover off and cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled over.

Crumbles

A Crumble is a classic dessert, it is basically a dish with fruits covered with a crumbly topping. You get the tangy-sweetness form the fruit and the crunchiness from the crumble, together it creates a heavenly burst of taste, flavour and texture. Apple Crumble is the most popular, but you can make it with other fruits as well as tropical fruits like Pineapple and Mango. You can also use a mix of fruits as well. It is usually served with custard, cream or Ice-cream.   

Ingredients:

6 Apples for Apple Crumble or

2 large Mangoes for Mango crumble or

1 Pineapple for Pineapple crumble

½ cup Sugar (4 0z)

1 cup Flour (6 oz)

6 tbsp melted Butter (3 oz)
2 tsp Cinnamon

Method

• Peel and slice the fruits into small chunks
• Mix them with 1 tbsp Sugar and 1 tsp Cinnamon powder. 
• Place on a baking dish (fruits should cover the bottom)
• Make the Crumble:  Add the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix them together with hand.   
• Spread the mix over the fruit and pack them down. Tighter you pack crumblier it will be. (you can add some nuts if you like)
• Put the dish in a pre-heated oven at 200c for 15 minutes, then bring it out. 

Serve hot or cold with Cream, Custard or Ice-cream. You can use store-bought custard powder to make custard following the instructions on the container or make your own home-made custard which is always better. Here is how:

Custard: (Crème Anglaise) 

Ingredients:

6 Egg yolks

600 ml Milk, single cream or double cream. (about 2½ cup) 

¼ cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 tsp corn flour (diluted in 2 tbsp cold water)

Method:

• Take 6 egg yolks in a bowl
• Add the sugar and mix with the yolks
• Bring the milk and vanilla (or cream or a mix of milk and cream depending on how rich and creamy you want) to simmering point
• Add ¼ cup of hot milk gradually in the egg yolks and sugar mix while stirring
• Then add the liquid in the milk
• Add the diluted corn flour to the milk mixture
• Turn of the heat off as soon as it starts simmering again.  

Easy Biryani

This is a simplified version of one of the most complex and exotic dishes of Mughal India, perfected in old Dhaka called Kacchi Biryani. This is unique in Dhaka where raw (kacchi) meat and rice are cooked together. For students it can be a life-saver! 

Rice-Cooker makes it stress free, but if you don’t have one you can use a thick bottomed pot on cooker at a very low temperature. 

Ingredients:

There are many flavours available,
I like this one, it's mild. Some are hot.
If you like it hot try Sindhi.  

1 kg meat
1 tbsp Ginger paste
1 tbsp Garlic paste
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Sugar
1-2 tsp Salt (to taste) 
2 tbsp Oil. (or Oil and Ghee 50:50)
2 tbsp Yoghurt
1 packet Shan Biryani Masala (your choice)

………………………………............................

½ kg Potato peeled (baby potato or bite size pieces)

(you can use canned potato available in supermarkets to make life easier)

½ kg Basmati rice

Mix everything above the dotted line in a 1.5 litre Rice Cooker

(if you have time leave it for 2-3 hour to marinade)

Place 1/2 kg pealed potato on the meat.

Spread 1/2 kg washed rice over the potato.

Add cold water up to 1 inch above the rice

Lid on and turn the rice cooker on (press the switch down) and leave it for 2 hours.

After two hours mix the rice and meat together. Put the lid back on.

Biryani will be ready to eat in 30 minutes. 


Note: Once you make the above basic Biryani, you can make it more exotic by adding:
Saffron, Rosewater, green chillis, cashew nuts, fried onions, sultanas, mint leaves, coriander leaves etc; any flavours and textures you like. 

Malabi

Malabi is a milk pudding that has legendary origins dating to Sassanid Persia (224-651) - Wikipedia

Here is my version, Its simpler and healthier.  Serves 12, under 300 calories per serving. 

Ingredients: 

• Milk 5 cups 
• Cream 1 cup
• Corn flour 2/3 cup 
• Rosewater 1 tbsp
• Sugar 1/2 cup 
• Red food colour

Process: 

• Mix 1 cup milk and 1/3 cup Corn flour and set aside
• Mix 3 cups of Milk, 1/2 cup sugar and rosewater and gently bring to simmer, stirring constantly
• Add corn flour and milk mixture into the above simmering milk mixture, and stir until thickened. 
• Take off the heat and pour it into 12 small dessert cups.
• Let them cool then chill for 4 hours

Syrup topping: 

• Mix remaining 1 cup of milk, 1/2 tsp corn flour and few drops of red food colour. 
• Bring to simmer
• pour over the chilled dessert cups 

PS: you can use any syrup like Rooh-Afza straight or add some gelatin (follow instruction on the packet) to make it more stable and interesting.    

Garnish:

• Garnish with some crushed Cashew or Pistachio or Pomegranate seeds.   

Gourmet Bhapa Pitha (for Bangalis living abroad)

Bhapa pitha is a type of rice cake mainly from the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, what is today Bangladesh, East India and Northeast India. Bhapa pitha is considered to be traditional winter dish in Bangladesh. These are steamed rice cakes made out of freshly ground rice flour. Wikipedia

My version takes it up a level, making in batches and serving in style - as a dessert.

Ingredients: (One cup ground rice makes 4-5 depending on size)

Ground rice: Those of us who live abroad and tried with store-bought ground rice and failed, use Ground Rice for Puttu Podi, you wont fail. You can buy them in any Indian grocery shop. Basically it is made of steamed rice like Shiddho Chal in Bangladesh. South indians make the same pitha in tube shape called Puttu Podi. (see the pic on the packet)

Measure the ground rice by cup

Add some salt to taste

Add equal amount of warm water > mix and leave for 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes break it up into sandy consistancy, It should clump when pressed but breakdown easily. Some makes of Puttu rice may need slightly more or less water. If it is too wet, just add some more ground rice and mix to get the desired consistancy. If it does noy clump, it's too dry, add some water. 

Other ingredients: 

• Salt
• Crushed Patali Gur
• Shredded coconut (not desicated)
• Morcha or Jhola Gur (to serve)
• Cream (to serve)

Equipments:

• Mould 1 (pictured)
• Cheese cloth. 6-9 pieces (to cover the mould)

  

  These stainless steel dessert bowls are ideal. 
• Steamer (pictured)

Process: (see any YouTube video on Bhapa Pitha to get an idea)

Steaming:

• Fill the mould halfway with ground rice
• Put some coconut and some crushed Patali Gur in the middle

  

  in the steamer pan

• Fill the mould up to the edge with more rice 
• Gently pack 
• Cover with a small piece of cheese cloth, hold it tight
• Turn the mould upside down and place it inside the steamer and gently remove the mould. 
• Place 3-4 more depending on space. I use a stackable (multi-layer) steamer to make 9-12 in one go as you can see in the picture. You can also use stackable bamboo steamers available in Chinese shops to make dumplings. (or just use any equipment to steam them)
• Place them on the pot of steaming hot water, cover and leave it to steam for 6-8 minutes.  
• Remove the pan from the pot 



Multi-layer steamer

• Lift them up gently and serve. 

To Serve

• Pour cream over
• Drizzle liquid Gur syrup 
• Sprinkle wet shredded coconut

Chitoi Pitha

Chitoi Pitha a traditional Bengali treat originated in rural Bengal. It's made in winter months with freshly harvested rice. It can be eaten with a drizzle of ghee or honey also with duck or any meat bhuna, shutki-vortha or any other vagi-vortha. You can say it's like Crumpets but it's not quite the same, Crumpets are made of flour, yeast, milk, butter and sugar, Chitoi has none of those.

Equipment: You must have a Gas Cooker and a round-bottomed Karhai. I didn't have a gas cooker so I bought a portable gas cooker used for camping or picnic, they are inexpensive.

Ingredients: (to make 20-25)

Rice (I use Basmati)  2 cups
Baking powder: 1 tbsp
Oil: 1 tbsp
Salt: 2tsp
Water 2.5 cups

Process:

• Soak the rice in 2.5 cups of hot water and leave for 6 hours, overnight is better.
• In an electric blender add the soaked rice including the water and rest of the ingredients and blend thoroughly until you get a creamy consistency. 
• Heat up the karhai to medium heat (400c)
• Smear the bottom carefully with an oil soaked kitchen towel, you will have to do it every time, smearing and cleaning at the same time otherwise you will get burnt crumbs on the bottom of the next one, not good! Also remember to stir the mix each time. 
• Pour a ladle full (little less than 1/4 cup) of the mix in the middle of the karhai. 
• Cover with a lid and wait for 45 sec to 1 minute (its only a guide, once you make a few you will know the correct timing right for you. It should be slightly brown on the bottom and slightly crispy around the edge and fluffy)
• Lift it up with a rubber spatula or a suitable flat spoon
• Wipe the bottom of the karhai and go for the next one. 

Note: you can search chitoi pitha in YouTube and watch the making process, it's all same but the problem with those videos are that most of them leave out vital information. In the case of Chitoi Pitha they don't tell you about the overnight soaking of the rice, which is vital, without that you will definitely fail.