Chicken Jalfrezi and Culinary Attempts...

In our home we love to cook...  We love to gather around the dinner table and partake in the eating of a delicious homecooked meal, whilst enoying wholesome conversation and fellowship...

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As we are young women who hope to one day have families of our own, we believe it is extremely important for us to learn to cook, and each of us have started at an early age... 

 I can remember assiting my mother as a little girl and then moving on to trying simple recipes by myself.

I can recall the first loaf of bread I ever made at the tender age of ten, and the meals I prepared as a twelve year old when my mom was expecting Gabrielle and too ill to cook...

Now my sisters are the ones in training and as I have a passion for cooking, I count it as a privilege to be able to let them help me and teach them things I have learnt along the way...

They also cook and bake quite a bit with my mom, and she allows them much more freedom than I do...I am sure this is a special gift as I find myself worrying about trivial things and not giving them enough room to try, fail and learn...as I did.

Each week Nancy and I take turns to cook.  Right now the younger girls keep my mother pretty occupied with their schooling, and as we love to grow in our abilities in the kitchen, we have the responsibility of seeing to each evening meal, with the exception of one day a week when Beth cooks with Mom.

 

This works very well for our family, and while it may not work for yours, I would heartily encourage any young woman to work on her cooking skills as it is not only a richly rewarding experience, but it prepares her for the highest calling of any woman - being a homemaker...

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Last week was my cooking week, and it is always a good challenge to work within a budget and also cater for the various preferances of each family member. 

Fortunately none of the girls are very particular about what they eat, but I do have to ensure that a meal isn't too spicy for their tastes.  

And my friends, can you imagine what I did one evening...?  I added too much cayenne pepper to a meat ragout, and spent many anxious moments trying various 'remedies' to cool it down a bit!

Now, I love hot food and so does my dad, but my poor sisters and mother have very sensitive mouths and I knew the second I tasted it that I had made a serious error...  

Thank goodness there was a spare meal in the freezer which was just large enough for the younger girls.

Despite my fervent efforts to cool it down, it was still hot, but thankfully quite bearable and also wonderfully tasty!  

I shall attempt the recipe again sometime, but I have crossed out the 'teaspon of cayenne pepper' and replaced it with, 'cayenne pepper - to taste'...:)

Thus ends my sad story of the meat ragout, but I am sad to admit that I repeated my mistake two evenings later and made this meal a bit too spicy for certain people in the family...  

It was not hot, only spicy...  I did reduce the amount of spices considerably, just not enough.

But, as the flavour of this dish was truly delicious, I thought I would share the recipe with you...

Just please do remember to adjust the amount of spices according to your own preferences...:)

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This spicy chicken dish has a lovely tomato sauce which is complimented by the addition of the peppers...  The fresh ginger gives it a wonderful tang, while the fresh coriander finishes off the delicious flavour perfectly...

 

Chicken Jelfrezi

Serves:  4-6

Preparation time:  10 minutes

Cooking time:  10  minutes

30ml olive oil

10ml each ground cumin, garam masala, tumeric and mustard seeds (adjust if necessary)

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped (I used 1 cup homegrown bell peppers which I had preserved)

5ml each finely chopped garlic and root ginger

4 chicken breast fillets, cubed

1 tin chopped tomatoes (I don't use tinned tomatoes, so I just cut up 6 whole tomatoes and added a 50g tin of tomato paste)

Rice and fresh coriander, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add spices and fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add the onion and red pepper (if using bell peppers, add later on) and saute for four to five minutes or until the onion is soft.

Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another two minutes.

Add the chicken and tomato and stir well.  If using bell peppers, add them now.

Lower the heat, cover and simmer for seven to 10 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked.

Season to taste and serve with rice and fresh coriander.

Bon Appettit!

 

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Have you ever made a dish too spicy before?

Do you enjoy spending time in the kitchen?

~ Blessings ~

''She is like merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."  Proverbs 31:14

 ~

  This Post May be Shared with...

~ The Art of Homemaking Mondays, Roses of Inspiration, Wise Woman Link-Up, Raising Homemakers Link-Up and Modest Monday ~

Flavours of the World ~ Italy Part 2

 

Hello dear friends!  I do hope you are having a simply lovely day...

I am so excited to share part two of Flavoursof the World ~ Italy with you!  I know you have been waiting very patiently for the recipes...

And thank you all for your kind comments left on part 1 – it seems it is the dream of many of my readers to visit Italy and delight in all its wonderful flavours and beauty...

I hope these recipes will leave you inspired to don your apron and begin creating a delicious Italian masterpiece for your family!

Buon Appetito!

...

{Recipe One}

 PIEDMONT GARLIC DIP

{Recipe courtesy:  Floyd on Italy}

100g (4oz) butter

8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

100g (4oz) cloves of garlic, very finely sliced

100g (4oz) anchovy fillets, preferably salted ones, but drained canned ones will do

Freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter and olive oil together in a saucepan and add the garlic.  Chop up the anchovies, and add them to the pan.  Cook over a low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring whenever you remember, so that you end up with a wonderfully fishy, garlicky sauce.  Season to taste.  Keep the sauce warm over a spirit lamp, while you dip and dunk into it with fresh raw vegetables like celery, carrots and spring onions, and hunks of crusty Italian bread... 

And with breadsticks, this is really good!

...

{Recipe Two}

RUSTIC BRUSHETTA

{Recipe Courtesy:  Easy Italian in Minutes}

1 ciabatta loaf, sliced into 1cm (½ inch) slices

3 tbsp olive oil

2 large red peppers

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

8 plum tomatoes, chopped

50g (2oz) black olives

1 tbsp dried basil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  Place the ciabatta slices on baking trays, sprinkle with 2 tbsp of the oil, and bake for 5 minutes until golden.  Sprinkle the remaining oil over the peppers, place in a roasting tin and bake for 15 minutes.  While the peppers are still hot, place them in a plastic bag or a large bowl covered with clingfilm and leave to steam until cooled, then peel off the skin, deseed and roughly chop the flesh.  Place the peppers in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Heap the salsa on top of the toasted bread and serve immediately.  For garlic lovers, rub the ciabatta slices with a cut clove of garlic before adding the topping. 

Absolutely delicious as a lunch or starter!

...

 {Recipe Three}

 ITALIAN MEATBALLS WITH TAGLIATELLE

{Recipe courtesy:  Woolworths TASTE magazine, June 2014}

For the tomato sauce:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

200g leeks, washed and roughly chopped

2 onions, roughly chopped

Salt, to taste

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 sprigs rosemary

4 sprigs thyme

1 cup white wine

1 cup beef stock

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1x 800g Italian whole peeled tomatoes, blended

3 tbsp tomato paste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the meatballs:

3 slices white bread, crusts removed

1 cup milk

500g lean beef mince

500g pork mince

1 red onion, grated

4 tbsp Italian parsley, roughly chopped

50g Parmesan, finely grated

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To serve:

1x 500g tagliatelli pasta cooked al dente, for serving

Parmesan, for serving

Basil, to garnish

To make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil and butter in a pan over a medium heat.  Add the leeks and onions and cook until soft, seasoning with salt.  Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook for 3 minutes, then pour in the wine.  Reduce the wine by half, then add the beef stock, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and tomato paste.  Season with pepper.  Cook, covered, over a low heat for 45 minutes. 

To make the meatballs, preheat the oven t 180 degrees Celsius.  Soak the bread in the milk.  Squeeze out any excess milk and place in a large bowl.  Add the mince, onion, parsley and Parmesan and season to taste.  Mix together using your hands.  Roll into 20 small balls or 15 slightly larger ones.  Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat.  Brown the meatballs in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan.  Arrange the meatballs on a baking tray and finish in the oven for about 10 minutes. 

Place the pasta in a serving dish.  Mix the meatballs and tomato sauce, then spoon over the pasta.  Serve with Parmesan and garnish with basil. 

A wonderfully comforting meal, ideal served with homemade pasta!

Recipes for Tiramisu and Italian Pastry Twists to follow in part 3 in a few days time!

Zesty Butternut & Orange Scones

  

I am confident your family will enjoy this recipe as much as my family do! 

These butternut and orange scones are deliciously soft and zesty and just look so bright and cheerful...

Served with a side salad of fresh rocket and lettuce leaves, avocado pear and Rosa tomatoes, they would make the ideal light lunch! 

Or they can be eaten plain with a lovely, thick layer of butter...  Or sweet with a drizzle of honey or a dollop of homemade apricot jam!  The choice is yours!

However you decide to enjoy them, though, I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed...

Butternut and Orange Scones

420g (755ml) Cake flour

20ml Baking powder

2ml Salt

30ml Sugar

100ml milk or buttermilk

60ml freshly squeezed Orange juice

45ml Sunflower oil

1 large Egg

5ml grated Orange rind

250ml cooked Butternut, mashed

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and add the sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk/buttermilk, orange juice, oil, egg and orange rind.

Stir in the butternut.  Mix lightly into the dry ingredients. 

Press out onto a lightly floured surface. 

Use a palette knife or a blunt knife to cut into small triangles or squares.

Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.

Serve and enjoy!

What have you been busy baking lately?

~ Blessings ~