Baklava

Baklava, a Mediterranean sweet, has become a favourite in my family after my Grandmother introduced it to our family just a few years ago.

Chicken Mandi

An authentic Chicken Mandi recipe from Saudi Arabia

Sahlab

A delicious hot milk drink or dessert, perfect for cold and chilly days.

Shakshouka (شكشوكة)

Saudi-style scrambled eggs, a popular breakfast dish introduced to me by a friend.

Ful Mudammas (فول مدمّس)

A very popular dish throughout the Middle East, that can be made in a variety of different ways depending on which region you are in.

Showing posts with label British. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British. Show all posts

Chicken Filled Savoury Croissants





This recipe caught my eye some months ago, on a facebook page called Fauzia's Fun Kitchen. I have adapted her recipe to my preference and for a first time  recipe it turned out pretty good! I did learn that I absolutely suck a rolling croissants though, but practice can make for near perfection :)

The overall ingredients list is as follows
For the Dough (makes about 8 croissants)

2cups of plain flour
1tsp of salt
1tsp of sugar
1tbsp of dried active yeast*
quarter tsp of baking powder
3tbsp of softened butter
2tbsp of oil

SOMETHIGN OF WATER
*with this recipe I just followed the instructions on the back of my yeast package. I advise you adapt the recipe according to the instructions of your yeast for the best results.

For the Filling (fills about 8 croissants)

1 large boneless chicken breast, chopping in to very small pieces
1 whole bell pepper (or two halves, on red and one green), grated
half a small onion, grated
1 green chilli, chopped
1tbsp of sweetcorn
half tsp of garlic paste
half tsp of ground cumin
half tsp of garam masala
half a tsp of paprika
some chopped coriander, to taste
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
oil, for frying

Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder in to a large mixing bowl

Add 2tbsp of the butter and rub in until you get a fine crumb like consistency

Dissolve the sugar in a jug with 2 parts cold water, 1 part boiling water.
Add the yeast then whisk well
Leave in a warm place for about 15min until the top is covered in a froth. Whisk again.

Gradually add the yeast mixture to the flour mix, mixing with a spoon to begin with until is starts to combine

Once it starts to combine , use you hands to work the dough, keep adding more of the yeast mix until you get a slightly sticky dough.
If you find you use all your yeast mix and the dough is still not sticky enough, then keep adding some warmed milk until it it.

Rub some oil all over the dough, cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place to rise for about 40min - 1hour.

Make your filling while you wait!

Ingredients

For the Filling (fills about 8 croissants)

1 large boneless chicken breast, chopping in to very small pieces
1 whole bell pepper (or two halves, on red and one green), grated
half a small onion, grated
1 green chilli, chopped
1tbsp of sweetcorn
half tsp of garlic paste
half tsp of ground cumin
half tsp of garam masala
half a tsp of paprika
some chopped coriander, to taste
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
oil, for frying
 
Fry your grated  bell peppers and onion in oil for around 5min

Add you chicken and brown
Add the sweetcorn, chilli, garlic paste and spices (garam masala, cumin, paprika salt and pepper). Cook until chicken is completely cooked
Add in you chopped coriander,  stir for another 1-2min until it becomes fragrant. Turn off the heat and squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and mix well.

Now you are read to make you croissants! I was rushed for time at this point, so I didn't manage to take pictures of each step. However, Fauzia has a wonderful step by step on her facebook page which you should just follow exactly! :) Just hit the next button for each step.                

Pop in the oven at about 175C for 12-15min and you are done!
You can also sprinkle these with different types of seeds, I went for sesame, for you pop them in the oven ;)
Enjoy!





Heart-centred Cupcakes.


I bought a cupcake from a store a few weeks ago. On biting into it I had the great surprise of finding a pink heart inside it! This is just my attempt the replicate it. Next time I think I need to either use a small heart cookie-cutter or more cake batter as I had difficulty covering the hearts. Nothing a heck load of piped icing couldn't solve, but I am kind of a perfectionist when it comes to food. :)

Ingredients.

3/4 cup of butter
1.5 cup of sugar
3 eggs
2.5 cups of self rising flour
1 and a third cup of milk
Red food colouring.


Mix butter and sugar together until combined
Add your eggs one at a time, whisking well between each addition
Once all three eggs are added you should be left with something like this

Add the milk and flour a little at a time, whisking between each addition until you have add them both.
Put about one third of the mixture into a smaller bowel. Cover the remaining mixture and put aside.
Add some red food colouring until you get your desired colour, I went for a bright pinkish shade,
Cook in the oven at 180C for about 20min until I starts to go brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely
Once cooled cup out some heart shapes with a heart shaped cookie cutter
This is the best way to get the most hearts out of you sponge!
Add a spoonful of white cake batter into you cake cases.
Ad a heart, point down, and cover with some more white batter.
NOTE: Make sure you hearts all face the same way, if the batter covers them completely you'll need to figure out what way the heart shape sits in order to see it when you cut or bit into them!!
Cook at 180C for about 20min until the are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely
(As I mentioned before, I didn't have enough cake batter to cover them completely so I am still able to see which way the heart shape sits. However I am now going to need to ice them to hide that mess on top :p)


Serve or cover with icing which I will be doing later. Enjoy!



Chocolate Truffles


Love chocolate truffles but hate how expensive they are? You'll never need to buy them again with this recipe and they make greats gifts too! :)

Ingredients

For the truffles
300g of dark chocolate
300ml of double cream

For the topping/coating
Cocoa Powder
Icing Sugar
Crushed nuts
Edible Glitter
Melted Chocolate
Sugar Strands
anything that works and tickles your fancy :)

Heat the double cream in a sauce pan until almost boiling (DO NOT BOIL).
Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate
Keep stirring until chocolate has melted and you have a nice chocolate ganache
Pour into a glass bowl and pop into the fridge for about 3 hours to allow it to set.
3 hours later and you have something that could almost pass as chocolate spread!
Take a small portion and roll between your hands to make a ball.
Make them as big or small as you like.
Once you have rolled the whole mixture into balls, roll the balls in you desired topping/ coating.

I attempted to cover them in melted chocolate, with the idea that when it cooled they would have a crisp hard chocolate shell and a soft truffle centre. Nice idea, right? Didn't work out the best so I wont show you how I made them, but here is a peek at one of the very few that did turn out ok :)


Enjoy!

Caramel Shortbread

Just a Scottish treat here that is loved by my whole family and pretty much everyone I meet!

Most people think Caramel (or Millionaires) Shortbread is difficult to make but in reality it is very simple. However it does take a few hours to make, due to the cooling periods, and that is probably why so many view it as complex.

The cooling periods are essential if you want this to turn out right - do not, I repeat, do not be tempted to skip them or continue with the next step if your shortbread or caramel is still warm!



The Ingredients

For the Shortbread
250g of plain flour
175g of butter or margarine
75g of caster sugar

For the Caramel
150g of butter or margarine
150g of white or brown sugar
1 tin (400g) of condensed milk

For the topping
200g of your preferred chocolate

Mix caster sugar with the flour

Add the butter (175g) and rub in using your fingers

After a while a dough-like paste will form like this
Spread it out into you tin with your finger or the back of a spoon and prick the top with a fork
Cook at 180C for 20min or until golden brown on top
After 20min, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.


Making the Caramel
Gently melt the butter (150g) over a low heat
Add the brown (or white) sugar

Mix well until you have a nice golden liquid
Add in the tin of condensed milk and mix well, bring to a very gentle boil (continually stirring) 
Simmer gently for 10 minutes, continually stirring, until the caramel thickens
Once thickened, pour onto your cooled shortbread
Spread out evenly and leave to cool completely

Topping with Chocolate
Melt chocolate in a bowl over and pan of gently simmering water
Pour on top of the cooled caramel and pop onto the fridge for a about and hour to chill


Nice and solid!
And I've yet to figure out how people actually cut this stuff neatly, but mess aside, look at that caramel!
Tuck in with a nice cuppa and enjoy! :)

PS - this was actually my first time making this. That's how easy it is ;)