Beef Chili Fry

Beef Chili Fry

Ingredients

½ kg beef cut into small cubes

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

2 large red onions sliced thinly

2-3 tomatoes chopped

some coriander leaves chopped finely

1 green chili chopped finely

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp grated garlic

1 tsp crushed black pepper

1 tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chili powder

1 tsp garam masala powder (I use Mother’s recipe brand)

salt to taste

4 tbsp oil

Directions

Cook beef in pressure cooker with a little salt and water till done. If there is any stock left, cook the beef further in it till it has evaporated. In a large frying pan heat oil and saute onions till translucent. Add the potatoes and fry. Add ginger, garlic and green chili and saute for a few minutes. Add the spices: garam masala, turmeric, chili powder and pepper powder. Add tomatoes and cook till soft. Add the cooked beef and saute for a few minutes. Check seasoning and add salt if needed. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander. Serve with any Indian or Arabic flat bread.

Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients

To Soak overnight

3 cups raisins, currants, sultanas and cashew nuts

1.5 cups rum

To make the caramel

½ cup Sugar

1 tbsp Water

¼ cup water Warm

For the cake

2 cups all-purpose flour (I prefer Gold Medal brand)

1¼ tsps baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup castor sugar + 2 tbsps

250 gms unsalted butter at room temperature (I prefer Lurpak)

4 large eggs at room temperature

2 tsps vanilla essence

1 tbsp apricot jam

Spices: 2 cloves, 2 cardamoms, cinnamon a small piece, pinch of ginger powder & some grated nutmeg.

Directions

Soak the fruits in rum for a week or overnight. Grind all the spices with a pinch of sugar in a dry grinder and keep aside.

For Caramel: Melt 1/2 cup sugar with water on low heat. Stir continuously to avoid burning, but gently. When the sugar browns, add 1/4 water of warm water. Bring it back to boil. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove from fire and let it cool.

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees 10 minutes before baking. Drain the soaked fruits & nuts and keep aside. Toss the drained fruits in 1-2 tablespoons of flour. This will avoid the fruits & nuts from sinking to the bottom. Sift flour and baking powder and baking soda, three times. Separate egg whites and beat till it form peaks. Now beat the egg yolk with butter till it becomes smooth. Add sugar to this gradually and fold this mixture gently. Add vanilla essence, caramel and powdered spices to this, beat again till the caramel is evenly distributed among the mixture. Add the sifted flour slowly while beating continuously. Then add jam and beat again. Fold with the beaten egg whites slowly till no white streaks are seen. Add the fruits and mix gently. Grease the baking dish, lined with parchment paper. Use a round baking dish for best results. Pour the batter and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Insert skewer to check if fully cooked. Cool and turn the cake out of the tin. Dust with icing sugar.

If you are not using it immediately, turn the cake upside down and every week baste the cake with a teaspoon of rum. Store in airtight container.

Vegetable Manchurian

Vegetable Manchurian

Ingredients

For Veg Manchurian Balls

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup finely chopped cabbage

1 cup finely chopped cauliflower

½ cup all purpose flour

3 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp light soy sauce

½ tsp black pepper powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Oil for frying

For the sauce

1 tsp grated or finely chopped ginger

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1 green chili sliced diagonally

2 spring onions finely chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp crushed black pepper

2 tbsp corn flour

¼ tsp ajino moto

For Garnishing

chopped greens of the spring onions

Directions

Using a mixie, chop the cauliflower and cabbage. Transfer to a large bowl. Add grated carrot, soy sauce, black pepper powder, all purpose flour and corn flour and mix to combine. Add more flour if needed. Form medium size balls and keep aside. In a wok heat oil and deep fry the balls till golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and keep aside. Remove the excess oil from the wok, retaining about 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add some sesame oil and saute the ginger and garlic for a few seconds. Add green chili and spring onions and saute. In the meantime, prepare a slurry of dark soy sauce, corn flour and water. Pour this into the wok and stir. When the gravy starts to thicken add the fried balls and gently mix to coat the balls with gravy. Add vinegar, black pepper powder and ajino moto. Check seasoning and turn off the heat. If needed, add some more dark soy sauce. Garnish with spring onions and serve with fried rice.