Mutton Broth Soup

I have memories of my mom making this whenever the "winter" started to settle in (Bahrain's winter is basically 65 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy/hazy/foggy), or if I had a cold or sore throat. It was the perfect combination of whole spices and the earthy flavor of mutton (ideally goat meat, but you can use lamb if you can't find any goat meat), cooked down so that all the meat is literally falling off the bones. The clear broth becomes rich in minerals and collagen from the bones, making it a great way to stave off the cold (weather or ailment).

Ingredients
1 lb mutton (goat or lamb, you can buy the pieces ready for stewing, just make sure they have BONES in them)
2 sticks cinnamon
1 tsp whole cloves
2 tsp whole black pepper
2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2-3 cups water (or enough to submerge the meat)
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tbsp rough chop ginger
1 clove garlic
Salt to taste
Ghee to serve

Cook
My mom makes this in a pressure cooker, which is much faster than just in a pot which may take hours. You could also try the Instantpot, I'm sure that will yield good results too and will be faster than just boiling on the stove.

Put all the spices, ginger, garlic and turmeric in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add the meat pieces and make sure they are covered with water. Add salt.
Allow this to boil for about 20 mins without the lid of the pressure cooker.
Cover with lid and pressurize. Allow 4 whistles.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The whistles are essential in releasing pressure, so that the cooker doesn't explode. If your cooker is not releasing steam slowly, or whistling, then it is either faulty or you have not set it up correctly. Please check your manufacturer's instructions before using the pressure cooker, especially if you have never used one before.

Turn the heat off and let the pot cool before trying to open it.
Garnish with ghee and enjoy!

Ukrainian Borscht Fantasy

I don't have a Ukrainian grandma. And I don't really have many Eastern European friends, or at least none that will cook for me. But for some reason, I have come to the conclusion that I like borscht, and it is something I have to make every fall when the weather starts to cool down. And also when my CSA starts sending me the perfect combination of vegetables for this wonderful, umami-filled deliciousness. Many borscht recipes call for meat, but if you want to skip it, I don't think it's the end of the world, it is still a delicious recipe. This recipe is based on the combination of a few I have tried. I think it's pretty good. The real test will be when an Ukrainian tells me "This is the best borscht I have ever had!". HAH! That will be the day!

Ingredients
16 oz pork sausage, removed from casing and crumbled
3 medium beets, peeled and shredded
3 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 leek, white and green part, sliced
1 cup tomato sauce (you can use canned, or I like to use Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce recipe)
3/4 cup water or broth
1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp oil
Dollop of sour cream per serving

Cook
Heat oil in large pot on medium heat.
Cook the sausage down until no longer pink and has release some juices.
Add bay leaf and leeks and cook until leeks are soft. Add tomato sauce, broth/water, and marjoram and stir until well combined.
Add the garlic, the remaining shredded vegetables (cabbage, carrots and beets), salt, sugar, and black pepper and simmer for 20 minutes on low heat or until vegetables are cooked through.
Stir in balsamic vinegar.
Turn off heat, ladle into bowls and dollop about a tbsp of sour cream in every bowl.
Enjoy!

LAMB KORMA

This recipe turned out great! It's a little complicated because I looked up a bunch of different lamb korma recipes and combined ingredients that I thought would go well together. I have only made this once, so I'm sure after a couple of tries I will start tweaking it. If you try it, let me know what you changed/liked/disliked.

Gruyere, Ham & Caramelized Onion Flatbread Pizza

This is a recipe I have used at several parties and it is always the first thing to go. It's a simple pizza (which you can turn into a complicated pizza if you are feeling ambitious) with a lot of flavor. I think the combination of caramelized onions and gruyere cheese originated in the south of France, and the addition of ham or bacon might be an American invention. Wherever it came from, it is all just YUM to me!

Bolognese Sauce

I learned this recipe from a real live Italian, who wasn't from Bologna but she is from Naples and is an amazing cook! Thanks Maria!

We didn't use the usual ground beef, which is what traditional Bolognese sauce is made of. But due to dietary concerns we decided to use ground bison/buffalo meat, which can actually be found at any grocery store these days! Who knew?!

We ate this sauce with the most amazing homemade fettucine, which we bought in Little Italy. And obviously, traditionally, bolognese is eaten with spaghetti, but I think it would also taste good with rigatoni. Hope you love it as much as I did!

Chicken Salad Veronique

This recipe is clearly not Indian.... clearly! But it is such a nice, healthy, summery chicken salad, for which I always end up doing so much research to combine recipes and test different herb combinations that finally I decided it was time to just write it down. For the most part though it is adapted from Ina Garten. Here's a link to her video: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/chicken-salad-veronique/82311.html
It's awesome on a hearty multigrain bread or just on a bed of your favorite lettuce. Personally, I think the sweetness of the grapes and the savory chicken and herb combination goes very well with the peppery flavor of arugula... YUMNESS!

Chicken Tagine

This is the Moroccan version of chicken curry, and usually it's supposed to marinate for hours and stew for hours and hours. Of course, I did not have the patience for this, so I did a quick version which I kind of made up myself! Well not really, I read a bunch of tagine recipes and combined ingredients which I thought were interesting. Again, this is a recipe I have only made once, so the more I make it, the more I will experiment and probably change it. So beware!

Classic Lasagna

Clearly this is not Indian, but it's a great recipe for lasagna I found. It takes a while, but it's lasagna, of course it takes a while! But it's so worth it! Vegetarian and meat options in recipe below.

Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup E.V.O.O.
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced, divided
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Pinch of dried oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed black pepper

Cook:
Heat oil on medium high heat.
Add onions and half of the garlic and saute until soft and transparent.
Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves salt and pepper and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour.
Once sauce starts to thicken, add rest of garlic, basil, oregano and crushed red pepper.
Once done, add butter to reduce acidity.

Sri Lankan Pork Curry

This recipe is brought to you through one of my closest friends, Sharon. She is a great cook, and she has made this for me several times whenever I go to visit her. I lowe it!

Thai Chicken Curry (a.k.a. Melissa's magic)

This is one of the dishes that my friends and I lived off when we got tired of Italian food when living in Rome. I know, who ever gets sick of Italian food? After 5 months, you could get sick of anything. Anyways, this was Melissa's specialty! It's not very traditionally Thai, but it's delicious.

Chicken Satay w/ peanut sauce

Chicken Satay
Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts/thighs, cut into inch cubes
3 cloves garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
2 tsp coriander pwd
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp oil
Bamboo skewers

Preparation:
Blend together garlic, ginger, coriander pwd, brown sugar, black pepper, salt, soy sauce, lime juice and oil.
Marinate chicken in above mixture for a couple of hours.
Thread chicken onto skewers.

Chicken Kebabs

Summertime means burgers and hotdogs for most people, but once you try these kebabs, you will never go back.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs/breasts cleaned and cut into bite size pieces
2 cloves garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
1/2 tsp chili pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1 tsp fennel pwd
1/2 tsp garam masala pwd
1 tsp biryani masala pwd
1 tsp tandoori chicken masala pwd
2 tsp salt
1 green pepper, cut into inch squares
1 red pepper, cut into inch squares
1 onion, cut into inch squares
Bamboo skewers

Chicken Kheema (a.k.a. ground chicken curry)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1/2 pint cherry/grape tomatoes, quartered
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1/2 tsp chili pwd
1/2 tsp fennel pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1/2 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp coconut milk pwd (3/4 cup coconut milk)
3 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cardamom pods
Salt to taste (2 tsp is usually enough)
Chopped cilantro to garnish.