Shrimp and Crab Appetizer - My Come Dine With Me Friends Special

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MAKES ABOUT 24 - 30 APPETIZERS

1 lb White Shrimp cleaned and deveined
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp each of chili and turmeric powder
1 tbsp each ginger and garlic paste

1 English cucumber cut in slices(approx 400 gms)
1 cup Hellmanns Mayonnaise
120 gms drained crabmeat – reserve about 30 gms for garnish.
Pinch of red chili flakes
Coriander leaves for garnish

You can use tiger shrimp if you prefer and any other kind of cucumbers. Just remember that the cooked shrimp should be roughly the same size as the cucumber base. English cucumbers are perfect because you can eat this in one bite(tried and tested)

Marinate the Shrimp with the lemon, powdered spices and ginger and garlic paste and grill it or pan fry for 1 – 2 minutes on each side.

Mix the mayo, chili flakes and 3/4 of the crabmeat and spoon or pipe onto the cucumber slices, add some of the reserved crab on top, top with a shrimp and garnish with a coriander leaf.

Bangalore Phal

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This is my husbands favorite dish and very popular in Bangalore, India. Lamb, mutton or goat is slow cooked in a delicate coriander gravy. This is not to be confused with the British Phaal which is known to be the worlds hottest curry and is made in a red gravy.

2 lbs lamb or mutton(mutton is older sheep)
Large bunch of coriander - about 3 cups roughly chopped
2 red onions sliced
2 tbsps each ginger and garlic paste
4 green chillies
Juice of a lemon
2 tsps each garam masala, turmeric and cumin powder
1 tsp black peppercorns
Salt
Water as needed
Oil

Fry some onions till brown and caramelized in some hot oil and keep aside. In a food processor, add the ginger and garlic paste, the coriander, the peppercorns and grind it to a smooth paste, add water if required.

Keep half the mixture aside and use the other half to grind the caramelized onions. Heat the pan again and add all the the powdered spices, the green chilies and the coriander and onion paste. Fry this for a few minutes. Add salt and the meat, cover and cook.

Check on this at regular intervals and add water and salt as required. Depending on the kind of meat you are using, it can take from 1 – 2 hours till the meat is tender. You can use the pressure cooker as an alternative. I find the color of the gravy changes when you do so and is more watery, so I prefer to just slow cook it but if I’m in a rush, the pressure cooker is the best way to go.

Shrimp and Crab Appetizer - My Come Dine With Me Friends Special - Video

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Curry Shrimp Cocktail

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A spiced twist to an old classic. This Shrimp cocktail is elevated using spiced tiger and white shrimp and is smothered in a homemade tomato cocktail sauce with potatoes, coriander, spinach and served with a lemon wedge. You've never had a shrimp cocktail like this one.

About 700 gms to 1 lb each Tiger and White Shrimp

2 tbsps ginger & garlic     

1 tsp each cumin, chilli and turmeric powder

Juice of a lemon                                                                                    

salt

2 large tomatoes  about 500 - 700 gms

1 tbsp chopped green chillies

1 tbsp ketchup     

1/2 tsp each pepper, mustard seeds,

cumin powder and salt

    

2 cups baby spinach

2 cups coriander                                                                           

2 tbsps mayonnaise     

Lemon wedges                                                                                    

4 medium potatoes

Marinate the Tiger and White Shrimp overnight and cook them for a few minutes on each side on a hot grill. You can also shallow fry this.

Fry the cubed potatoes and keep aside.

Boil the tomatoes till the skins split and come right off. When the tomatoes are cooled, remove any remainder of the skins and puree in a blender. To a hot pan, add some oil, chopped green chillies, pepper, mustard seeds, cumin powder and salt. Mix well and allow to cook for a few mins. Add the ketchup and leave overnight to chill.

In a bowl, mix the potatoes, white shrimp with the tomato cocktail sauce mixture. Add the corriander and incorporate well.

In a margarita or martini glass(or any glass you prefer), add some chopped baby spinach to the bottom, spoon over some of the shrimp cocktail. Finish with a dollop of mayonnaise and a skewer with a tiger shrimp and lemon wedge. Cheers!

                                                                                

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Butter Chicken

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This needs no introduction – it is literally the first thing that comes to mind when you talk about a popular Indian recipe. This is rumored to have originated in the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi when the chefs tried to make a gravy out of leftover Tandoori Chicken – some tomatoes and cream later, Butter Chicken was born. My recipe is super easy and I have shared it with many of my friends over the years who make it religiously.

Ingredients

2 lbs cubed boneless Chicken
Tandoori marinade

1/2 stick butter(1/4 cup)
Oil for frying
1 onion sliced
2 green chillies slit
 2 tbsps chopped Coriander
Spices - 1 tbsps Pav Bhaji Masala, 1 tsp each red chilli, 
turmeric and cumin powder
2 Roma tomatoes blanched and pureed
1 cup tomato puree/paste
1 - 2  cups cream
Salt to taste

Process

Marinate the Chicken overnight


BBQ the chicken till seared but not fully cooked

In a sauté pan or deep vessel, fry the onion and chillies till golden brown, add the coriander, remove and keep aside. 

Add the butter and all of the chicken, followed by the spices. 

Add the pureed fresh tomatoes followed by the tomato puree

Cover and cook for 10 - 15 mins till the chicken is cooked

Add the coriander, fried onions and chillies  and salt to taste
 
Add the cream.  Serve hot with rotis or rice!

Magic Party

 

Who doesn't love a Magic Party? My 12 year old son, that's who! Once I convinced him to throw yet another theme party with the promise of not going overboard(as if), we were off to the races. I tried to keep the theme and decor a little more dark and sparkly and more appropriate for my 12 year old and his friends.

Invitation

I'm lucky that I have Photoshop experience. I added the birthday boy to an image of a top hat and emailed it out to his friends.

Decor

The party was help in the basement with very low lights. I used all the Christmas and rope lighting we had. The boys also had some lava lamps and fiber optic lights - I used them all. Using Poster board, silver pens and 3d glitter glue i made two posters, one to welcome guests to the party and one at the snack table that read "Magic trick, put food in mouth and watch it disappear' I also decorated with gold and silver decorations. I also hung a giant frame and had each kid take their picture in it.

Games

I organized three games before the Magician came on to keep the kids busy.

1. Treasure hunt - I printed the card of my son with the bunny and mixed it together with 4 other packs of cards. Cards were strewn everywhere. First kid to find the special card wins, kid that has the most cards(great way to get them to clean up) also wins a prize.

2. 3 corners - Alakazam, Abracadabra and Hocus Pocus. Kids dance when the music is played. When the music stops, they pick a corner. If their corner is called out they are out.

3. Hocus Pocus - I prepared a powerpoint presentation with pictures of the birthday boy and some other kids. Each pic had two versions, one blurry and one in focus. Kids have to guess if it's Hocus or Bogus!

Food

Keep it simple. Kids don't like fancy food so I served hot dogs, chicken fries, meatballs, chips, juice, mini pancakes with bananas and cream and the surprise was a chocolate fountain.

Cake

I made a Top Hat with a rabbit coming out of it.

Loot bags

I bought a whole bunch of chocolate bunnies at Easter, removed the boxes and put then in cellophane bags with stars on it. I made top hats out of construction paper and inserted a bunny in each.

Hire a fantastic magician! If you’re in the Toronto area, I highly recommend J’s Magic. His card tricks are amazing and he floated the birthday boy in thin air!

J's Magic
Magician & Entertainment Specialist
(705) 742-9123
Info@JsMagic.ca <mailto:Jason@jsmagic.ca>
www.JsMagic.ca
https://www.facebook.com/JsMagicEntertainment <https://www.facebook.com/JsMagicEntertainment>
https://twitter.com/#!/Js_Magic <https://twitter.com/#!/Js_Magic>

Nihari Beef and Barley Soup

Following close on the heels if the new Nihari recipe, is a quick, delicious and hearty soup. This is made by borrowing some of the ingredients of the Nihari leftovers.

Left over Nihari ingredients.
1/2 cup prepared Nihari(more beef than gravy)
Some of the Nihari bones(optional)
2 tbsps fried onions chopped fine
1/2 tsp sliced chillies chopped fine
2 tsp ginger and garlic julienne chopped fine.

Additional ingredients
2 Beef stock cubes
3 cups of water
1 cup pot Barley soaked overnight and half cooked (I usually half cook and freeze in ziploc bags for quick soups)
1 tsp Dark soya
Salt
Pepper
1 potato cut in small cubes.

Boil the water and dissolve the stock. Add the Barley and let cook for a few mins. Add the Nihari meat and bones if using. Add the chopped fried onions, the chillies and the ginger and garlic. Add the soya, salt and pepper and the potato. Add more water if required and cook for another 5 mins.

Easy to prepare traditional Nihari - Meat shank slow cooked in a spicy gravy

I get bored of the same recipes and since I volunteered to bring Nihari to a pot luck I wanted to try making the Nihari a bit differently. The ingredients are the same but the process using a slow cooker makes this recipe very easy to prepare. Traditionally this would be cooked overnight over a low flame and the women in the households would take turns to watch the pot. In my version using a slow cooker you can achieve the same results and get your beauty sleep too!

5 - 6 pounds Nihari meat( Nihari meat is specially cut Beef shank, large pieces with bone)
2 medium red onions chopped
2 tbsps ghee
3 black cardamoms ( if you can't find this double the star anise)
3 star anise
5 cloves
2 tsps chilly powder
2 tsps turmeric
2 tsps fennel powder
2 tsps garam masala
2 tsps cumin powder
2 tbsps ginger and garlic paste
1/2 cup tomato purée
1 cup water
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Oil

Garnishes - as required

Process



Wash the meat and marinate it with the juice of a lemon and ginger and garlic paste.

In a large saute pan heat the 2 tbsps of ghee and saute the whole spices - cardamons, star anise and the cloves

Fry the onions till golden brown

Remove the onions and whole spices and keep aside

Add the Nihari meat and sear till golden brown on both sides. Please note, don't overcrowd your pan, sear the Nihari in batches

Once all the Nihari is seared, add all the powdered spices, the tomato paste and the water

 Add the onions and mix, cover and cook for an hour

Either continue to cook on a slow flame for 6 - 8 hrs adding water as required or add to a slow cooker and cook on low, overnight

When ready to serve add a few tbsps of yogurt and mix

Nihari is typically served with garnishes julienne of garlic and ginger, green chillies, friend onions, lemon &/or lime wedges and coriander.



Note: I tried making my own fried onions - they were really quite fun and way more attractive than the packaged stuff. I sliced 1 large onions, sprinkled it with salt, pepper , chill powder and cornstarch and fried till dark brown in very hot oil. I added more coarse salt at the end of the cooking time.

And don't worry about leftovers .... this goes fast ... but save some for a spin off on a Nihari Beef and Barley soup!

Raspberry Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

I love making little itty bitty mini cheesecakes. This recipe is for a Raspberry and dark chocolate but it’s so versatile you can use it with any combination of flavors.

2 cups Oreo crumbs
1/2 stick of melted butter
2 bars of Philly cheese warmed up
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
2 tbsps flour
Dash of vanilla

Mix the crumbs and the butter together and line the base of greased mini cheesecake(or a large cake) pans. I like to use a mojito muddler to pack the crumbs down firmly but not too tight. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 centigrade for 10 mins. Remove and cool. Mix the cheese and the sugar together, then add the eggs one by one, scraping after every addition. Add the sour cream, vanilla and flour. Pour into cheese cake pan over the crumb base and bake for 20 mins till it’s slightly jiggly but cooked. If you’re using a big cake pan use a bain marie to avoid big cracks.

Mustard Dhokla

This is an amazing quick dhokla recipe to make for a snack. Just heat it for a few seconds in the microwave before serving.
 
2 cups coarse semolina
1 tbsp mustard oil
1 green chillie chopped
1 tsp haldi
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup water
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Eno
Green chilly chutney

Tadka
2 tbsps mustard oil
2 tbsps canola oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 green chillies sliced
10 curry leaves
2 garlic pods julienne strips

Mix the mustard oil with the semolina using your hands and make sure there are no lumps. Add the green chilly, turmeric and salt and mix. Add the yoghurt and water, cover and leave for about 10 mins.

In the meantime, prepare your tadka - that means just frying all the ingredients in the mustard and canola oil and keep aside.

To steam the dhokla, you will need a large pot of water, an inverted bowl so the dish does not touch the water and a dish to steam the dhokla in. Stainless steel seems to be the traditional choice, however, I've used glass and its worked just fine.

When the water is ready, add the Eno to the dhokla mixture, give it a good stir and spread it in an oiled dish. I like to squirt chutney or chilli sauce all over the top. Steam for about 10 - 15 mins and when it's ready, pour the tadka over the top, cut and serve.