Calatrava Bread Pudding Recipe - Pan de Calatrava

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 8 anisette-flavored toasts or biscotti
• 2 cups (1/2 liter) milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 whole egg
• 4 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup (125 gr) granulated sugar

Preparation:

To prepare the caramelized sugar sauce, put a heavy bottom skillet or saucepan over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup sugar. With the back of a wooden spoon, keep sugar moving constantly in pan until sugar is completely melted, and has a rich medium brown color (caramelized). Quickly pour caramelized sugar into a large baking dish or mold. Place the anisette toasts or biscotti on the bottom of the baking dish. Set aside.

Pour milk into a large saucepan with cinnamon stick. Heat on high just until milk boils. Remove pan from heat and cover. In a separate pan, heat 4 cups of water for the water bath.

Heat oven to 360F (180C).

Place 1 whole egg and the 4 yolks into a bowl with the sugar and beat with hand mixer. Remove the cinnamon stick and gradually pour the milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly.

Slowly pour the milk-egg mixture into the baking dish or mold. Place the dish into a 9” x 13” baking dish and carefully pour the hot water from pan into the larger dish for the water bath. Be sure that the water reaches about 3/4 of the way up the side of the dish with milk-egg mixture. Carefully pour more warm water into dish if needed.

Bake uncovered in the water bath at 360 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted half way between center and the edge of dish.

Carefully remove dish from the water bath. Set on a cooling rack until lukewarm, then chill thoroughly in refrigerator. This usually takes at least 1 hour.

When ready to serve, un-mold by running a knife around the edge of the baking dish. Place a plate or platter on the top of the baking dish. With one hand under the dish and the other on top of the plate, turn over. Tap the dish and the custard should drop onto the plate. If it does not, carefully “prod” the flan out of the dish with a small paring knife.

Garnish with ground hazelnuts or a sprig of mint if desired.

Heart-shaped Strawberries

Chicken Manchurian Recipe

Ingredients: 1/4 kg boneless chicken, cut into fine pieces
6-7 tbsps spring onion whites
3-4 tbsps spring onion greens
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tsps soya sauce
1 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tsps vinegar
1 tbsp corn flour + 5 tbsps chicken stock or water
1/2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsps tomato sauce
1/2 tsp red chilli pwd (preferably Kashmiri)
salt to taste
1 1/2 tbsps sesame oil
oil for deep frying
For marinade: (marinate chicken with below ingredients for at least 15 mts or 1 hr)
1/4 tsp pepper pwd
1 egg white
salt to taste
1 1/2 tsps ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp maida/all purpose flour
2-3 tbsps corn flour
1-2 tbsps of water, if required

1 Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, make small balls of the marinated chicken and carefully drop into the hot oil. Cook on low medium flame and towards the end of the cooking process increase flame to high and deep fry to a golden brown shade. Drain with a slotted spoon and place on absorbent paper. Keep aside.
2 Heat a heavy bottomed vessel, add oil, add the chopped garlic and saute on high flame for about 30 secs. Add the chopped ginger and green chillis and saute for a few more secs. Add the spring onion whites and saute for 3 mts on high flame.
3 Reduce to medium heat and add the brown sugar, soya sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and vinegar. Combine well and cook for 2 mts. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock or water and cook for a mt. Add the deep fried chicken balls and cook for 4 mts. Adjust salt, if necessary.
4 Add the cornflour water and cook, tossing the contents, for 4-5 mts. You will find that it becomes thick due to cornflour.
5 Add the chopped spring onion greens and combine. Garnish with more spring onion greens. Serve hot as a starter/appetizer

PALAK GOSHT

Ingredients

1 Kg. mutton
1 Kg. Palak
1½ tsp. salt (adjust to taste)
¼ tsp. turmeric (Haldi) powder
1 tsp. chili (Lal Mirch) powder
4-6 tbs. oil
1 tsp. ginger (Adrak) paste
½ tsp. garlic (Lehsan) paste
2 tomatoes-chopped
6-8 whole black pepper (Kali Mirch)
3-4 cloves (Laung)
2 black cardamom (Bari Ilaichi)
¼ tsp. cumin seeds (Zeera)
3-4 green chilies
1 small piece of ginger (Adrak)–sliced
2 tbs. corn or wheat flour
1 tbs. dry fenugreek (Kasuri Methi) leaves.

Instructions

Steam/blanch the Palak and grind.
Fry the onion in the oil till brown. Mix all the ingredients together, add to the pot and stir till the tomatoes have become soft and the water has dried.
Add the meat and cook again to let the water dry. Add 3-4 glasses of water cover and leave to tenderize.
When meat is almost done add ground palak, methi and flour. Cook till water dries.
Garnish with fresh chopped green chilies.
Serve with chapati or naan
Serving: 6-8 persons

Tamatar Gosht

Ingredients:
1/2 cups – 1 cup Vegetable oil, corn or sunflower
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 large cinnamon stick
1- 2 large onions, chopped
1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
10-12 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
0.8 kg/ 1.76 lb diced lamb for casserole
salt to taste
3 green chillis
1 red chili
1-2 tbsp tomato puree
Tempering:
1 tbsp panch puran (a Bengali whole spice blend of fenugreek, Nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed in equal parts, can make up yourself or buy from any Asian grocer)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
5-10 curry leaves, dried but preferably fresh
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves
Takes about 1 – 1 1/2 hours to prepare and cook and serves about 3- 4 people served with rice or even with naan.

Method:
1. Heat a large saucepan with the oil and once hot fry the cumin, coriander and cinnamon. When the spices start spluttering add the onions and cook until translucent then add ginger/garlic paste. Fry until the raw garlic smell leaves, careful not to burn the contents. Add the chillis now too.
2. Add the tomatoes and cook and keep stirring until the water runs half dry and then add the lamb – cover and cook for 30 minutes covered, on low heat. Stir occasionally.
3. When the water runs quite dry, turn up the heat and fry and add the tomato puree at this point. (10 minutes or so). Keep frying until you are left with the thick, red, fragrant paste surrounding the lamb and the lamb is cooked through.
4. In a small frying pan heat some oil, add the panch puran and curry leaves until they splutter and add to the lamb. Serve with a garnish of coriander leaves and rice or naan and some Greek yoghurt.
Tips:
Keeps in the fridge for upto 2 days, better the next day.
Frozen on the same day, becomes even better once defrosted and slowly re-heated on low fire.

Butter Chicken - Murg Makhani

Ingredients:

• 1 kg boneless chicken skin removed
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to suit your taste)
• 6 cloves
• 8-10 peppercorns
• 1" stick of cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 8-10 almonds
• Seeds from 3-4 pods of cardamom
• 1 cup fresh yoghurt (must not be sour)
• 3 tbsps vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil
• 2 onions chopped
• 2 tsps garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 400g/ 14 oz of chopped tomatoes, ground into a smooth paste in a food processor
• 1/2 litre chicken stock
• 2 tbsps kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 3 tbsps unmelted, soft butter
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation:

• Mix the chicken, lime juice, salt and red chilli powder in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and allow to marinate for 1 hour.
• Heat a flat pan or griddle on medium heat and gently roast (stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds. Now grind into a coarse powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
• Mix the yoghurt, above whole spice powder (from previous step), coriander, cumin and turmeric powders together and add them to the chicken. Allow to marinate for another hour.
• Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onions. Fry till a pale golden brown in color and then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for a minute.
• Add only the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry till sealed (chicken will turn opaque and the flesh will go from pink to whitish in color).
• Now add the tomato paste, chicken stock, kasuri methi and remaining part of the yogurt-spice mix to the chicken.
• Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced to half its original volume.
• Melt the butter in another small pan and then pour it over the chicken.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Naan and Kaali Daal.
• For an authentic and traditional cooked-over-the-coals flavour: When the Butter Chicken is cooked, make a small bowl shape with aluminum foil and place it on top of the curry ('floating' on it). Heat a briquette of charcoal on an open flame till red hot and gently put the charcoal in to the aluminum foil bowl. Cover the dish immediately. Remove the cover just before serving, discard the foil bowl and charcoal and serve. The curry will be infused with a smokey flavor!

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