Spiced Rice Pudding “Moghli” and A Guest Post…

Tags

almond, anise, caraway seeds, Celebratory food, cinnamon, coconut, Give Recipe, giving birth food, Guest post, Healthy new mom recipes, middle eastern, moghli, Nuts, Pine nut, Pistachio, pudding, Raisin, rice pudding, spices, sweets

Traditional pudding is made with finely milled rice flour, seasoned with cinnamon and caraway and garnished with pistachios, pine nuts, raisins and almonds. Usually Served after women giving birth.

Today I am a guest posting over at Give Recipe, it’s my first guest post, though. Zerrin gave birth to her first child, so cute little and lovely boy, she asked me to be her guest. She prepared some posts to share on her blog while she is out, in order to give time for herself with the new baby and to enjoy being a mom.

Zerrin over her blog Give Recipe, likes to share her turkish heritage, food cuisine and culture, in a way to let us travel through her lovely recipes and charming food pictures with a variety of kebab dishes, fyllo pies, sweets and turkish delights, and nutty, syrupy pastries, to know more about this sophisticated and rich cuisine.

When Zerrin contacted me about the guest post, I gladly told her About some recipes that had been photographed lately and are in editing phase. The surprising, I couldn’t decide which one to post for her. Then I remembered a recipe that my aunt (also she’s my mother in law) used to make for me after giving birth, the spiced rice pudding will be perfect.

The secret to preparing this traditional celebratory pudding is in the stirring: ……

You know what, I think it’s better you go a head to Zerrin’s blog and you can continue reading the post and more of this recipe secrets here. I hope you take the time to check out the rest of Zerrin’s gorgeous blog, you’ll be glad you did.

Happy digging….:)

And many thanks to Zerrin for this opportunity, I was so happy writing to your’s.

Roasted Chicken with Vegetable & Jeweled Rice

Tags

Chicken, jeweled rice, middle eastern recipes, oven recipes, oven roasted chicken, Raisin, rice, roasted chicken, spice rub

For festive dinners I like to roast a whole chicken, with little trouble they become an impressive entree.

There are many recipes for the roasted chicken that is so good as this recipe. What makes this recipe unique is the middle eastern way on roasting the bird. Using a blend of spice seasoning mix that is massaged on the outside of the chicken, makes even the most finicky eaters being enthusiastic about the chicken’s intense, appetizing aroma, succulent meat, and beautifully browned skin.

A whole meal in one dish, with the addition of the vegetables that surrounds the chicken and has the whole flavors. Plus, to make it an easy to make recipe, by using the oven bag, just you need to wipe the inside of the bag with oil then flour to make sure the chicken skin will not stick with the bag.

The rice pilaf is one of the classics that you find in all middle east countries, it goes particularly well as an accompaniment with roasted chicken and it also often forms a stuffing for the bird.

Roast Chicken

2 whole game hen (1 1/2- 2 pounds), rinsed and patted dry
Salt and ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of each of cardamom, dried coriander, turmeric, whole spice, cumin, and paprika
fresh thyme leaves
2 medium onions, cut quarters or smaller
3 medium carrots, cut into 3-inch lengths
3 medium red potatoes, cut quarters
1 table spoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Clean the chicken then pat dry with kitchen wipes.

Mix the salt and pepper with the other spices. Season chicken inside and out with spice mix, pour some olive oil and massage the chicken. make sure to reach under the skin so the chicken will absorb and have all the flavor and aroma of the spices.

Place the chicken in the oven bag in a roasting pan.

In a large bowl, toss onions, carrots, and potatoes with oil; season with salt and pepper.

Scatter vegetables around chicken, arranging it at the edge and underneath. close the bag and tuck the knot underneath, make a small slut in the bag.

Put the pan in the oven with 450 degree for 20 minutes then lower the temperature to 400 for another 40 minutes until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear when pierced between breast and leg (an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone, should read 165 degrees).

Jeweled Rice

2 cups basmati rice, rinsed
Cinnamon stick, bay leaves
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/3 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Salt & pepper
about 2 3/4 cup hot water
4 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, peeled, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon sumac, for the onion
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried of each black cherries, cranberries
Olive oil

In a bowl, soak the raisins, cranberries, and black cherried in hot boiling water. set aside while you make the rice.

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoon canola oil, add the bay leafs, cinnamon, and the washed and drained rice.

Add the ground cardamom, the coriander, the turmeric, salt and pepper. Toast for 1 min under low heat with stirring occasionally.

Add the boiling water and magi chicken broth cubes. Bring it to boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the rice grains expand in length. Don’t open the lid before the rice is done cooking.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, sauté onions until golden brown, add turmeric and sumac, stir and put on a seive or kitchen papper to get rid of the eccess oil.

In the same skillet, add raisins, cranberries and black cherries, toast a little until the raisins puffed, transfer immediatly to kitchen papper to soak the eccess oil.

Finally, with the same skillet, add the pine nuts and toast until gold in color, add some oil if it needed.

Add 3/4 of the amount of onions, raisins, cherries, and nuts to the rice. Save the rest to add it to the top while serving. Stir gently with large spatula, make sure not to break the rice grains.

To serve, mound rice on a serving platter. Garnish with the browned onion, toasted raisins, cherries, cranberries, and pine nuts. Serve warm. Jeweled rice may be served with salad and yogurt.

Rich & Milky Breakfast Bread

Tags

Baking, Bread and Pastries, breakfast, Raisin

 

I like baking!

The whole house will spread with beautiful aroma that you can’t resist.
Bread is essential in my family daily intake.

 This yeasted bread came out soft and rich, just good enough to be a healthy
breakfast. I bake it the night before so it would be ready in the morning.
Sweet and soft, soft so you can make sandwiches with different filling and
topping, I tried the scrambled egg, or you can cut it in half and toast it a little
then top it with different topping: PB&J, Cream Cheese, butter and jam.

 

 The dough is very rich, I load it with dried fruit like raisins and cherry then mix
it with yogurt and milk. The yogurt will give the dough softness, besides i like to add vinegar to my baking it will increase the shelf life for bread.

  

 Rich & Milky Breakfast Bread

 3 1\2 – 4   cup   all-purpose flour
2  teaspoon  dry yeast
1   tablespoon  sugar
1\2  teaspoon  salt
2  tablespoon  brown sugar
1  tablespoon  honey
1\2  cup  plain yogurt
1  whole egg
1\2 cup  of each dried raisin & cherry
1  teaspoon white vinegar
1 cup  whole milk
1 stick of butter

For topping :

1  tablespoon  milk
1  teaspoon honey
1  egg

 Mix 3 1\2 cups of flour with the other ingredients except the milk and the butter, this will form a crumple like.

 Heat the butter with milk and let it warm, add it to flour mix until a dough forms, add tablespoons of flour, knead for about 10 minutes at low-speed (I use kitchen aid).

Continue to knead at your surface  top for a couple of minutes more to form soft and smooth elastic dough. Cover it and set a side to double in size about 1-1 1\2 hours .

 Sprinkle some flour on your surface work and with rolling bin forms the dough into a rectangle shape of 1  inch thick, cut it diagonally in half, cut each half  into stripes of about 2 1\2 inchs wide.
Fold it into thirds set in the baking sheet and let it rise again about 10 minutes.

For topping mix the milk and egg with honey and brush the bread.

 

 Put in the oven at 400 f  for about 25-30 minutes.