Tuesday, October 28, 2008

No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies


Makes 4 servings, 2 cookies each

INGREDIENTS
8 whole-wheat, natural graham cracker squares, finely ground
1/4 cup organic raisins
1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 Tbsps plus 2 tsps honey
4 tsps unsweetened coconut flakes
Your kids will love helping you make these peanut-butter-graham treats; you’ll love that there’s no refined sugar.

Combine ground whole-wheat graham crackers, raisins, peanut butter and honey in a small bowl. Pat into 8 cookies and press lightly in coconut.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 313 calories; 13 g fat (2 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 46 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 4 g fiber; 284 mg sodium; 82 mg potassium.

3 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings

Recipe adapted from EatingWell.com

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Mutton Curry

Many of us love curry. You can have chicken curry, beef curry, seafood curry, even vegetarian curry. Here is a recipe for mutton curry from Faridah Begum of The Star.

Mutton Curry
Ingredients:

300g mutton - shin, ribs or even meaty bones
5cm ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 onion - sliced lengthwise
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 stick of cinnamon
3 cardamoms
2 star anise
3 cloves
3 tablespoons meat curry powder
1 tablespoon kurma powder
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 cup water
2 potatoes €“ cut into desired sizes
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
3 red chillies €“ halved
Salt to taste
A few sprigs coriander leaves cut into 2cm lengths
A slice of lime

Method:

Cut the meat into bite pieces. Pound the ginger and garlic together until fine.

In a pot, heat up the cooking oil, then put in the onions, curry leaves and the pounded ginger and garlic along with the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamoms.

When aromatic, add the curry powder, kurma powder and white pepper powder.

Add a little water and fry the concoction until oil surfaces.

Add the meat and mix it with the paste thoroughly.

When oil surfaces again, add the coconut milk and water and let the curry come to a boil. Lower the flame and let the curry simmer until the meat is tender.

Stir the curry to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. When the meat is tender, add the potatoes, cover the pot and let it simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Let the curry thicken a little before adding the tomatoes, chillies and coriander leaves. Turn off the fire and sprinkle the lime juice over the curry and mix well.

Let the curry stand for at least an hour for the flavour to develop before serving.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Choosing the Right Knife for the Job


















Most of us, no matter how many kitchen knives we own, tend to use the same knife for various cutting jobs.

Here is an interesting article on knife tips - of what knife to use for what job. Learn the rationale that go into these tips:

1. A longer blade cuts more food in less time.

2. A shorter blade is ideal for in-the-hand prep work.

3. A wider blade is essential for on-the-board chopping.

4. A thinner blade excels at making thin slices.

5. A thicker blade stands up to heavy-duty chores.

6. A serrated edge is meant for any food with a firm exterior and a softer, fragile interior.

7. Don’t overlook your kitchen shears.

Read Delish.com for details.