Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

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This is a easy stir fry dish that uses Orange Marmalade to give a sweet citrus flavor to your stir fry.


Slice 4-5 cups of your favorite stir fry vegetables.  I used carrots, green onions and celery.








Marinate 2lbs of boneless chicken breast (cut in one inch cubes) with 3 Tbs of soy sauce and 1 Tbs of cornstarch for 1-2  hours.

Note:  Marinate in fridge and take out of fridge 15-30 minutes prior cooking your stir fry. 


Make your orange sauce by mixing together:
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/3 chicken stock
1/4 soy sauce 
2 Tbs of oyster sauce


Set aside until later.

Grate or finely mince 4-5 garlic cloves and 3 Tbs of fresh ginger.








Heat 3 Tbs of canola oil in a wok and get it very hot.  Add marinated chicken breast and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.






Add your minced ginger/garlic and red chili flakes to taste.  Stir Fry for 2-3 minutes.






Add your slice veggies and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.







Add the sauce you made earlier and toss with veggies and meat.  Stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are to your desired tenderness.






Serves 4-6 people.  Serve with rice and any other Asian condiments you like (ie.. red chili sambal, chow mein noodles, fish sauce, soy sauce).  Enjoy.

Copyright: All content, photos and text are property of Curry and Comfort and cannot be used without permission

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Easy No-Bake Coconut Cream Pie

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This is a quick no-bake version of Coconut Cream Pie.  Toasted coconut, creamy filling and a crunchy crust... it definitely is a keeper.


I decided to make my own cookie crust with Vanilla Wafers.  I put 3/4 of an 11oz box in a food processor and added 1/3 cup melted butter.  Once it was a "wet sand" texture, I pressed it into a pie plate. Then I baked it in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes until golden brown.

Note:  You can make this pie even easier by skipping this step and just buying a prepared graham cracker pie crust available at most grocery stores in the baking aisle.


The Filling:
1 package of vanilla pudding
1 and 1/2 cups of cold milk
1 8oz package of cream cheese at room temperature
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of toasted coconut flakes.  **these coconut flakes are sweetened and available in the baking aisle.  Bake the coconut flakes at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Careful not to burn.

Mix all ingredients with a hand blender or in a food processor. I used my food processor since I used it to make the cookie crust earlier. 


Once the pie crust is cool, fill with the pie filling.


Cover pie filling with one regular size tub of cool whip topping.  Garnish the top with another 1/2 cup of toasted coconut.    Allow to chill in fridge for 6-8 hours or over night before serving.


Serves 8-10 people.  Enjoy.

Copyright: All content, photos and text are property of Curry and Comfort and cannot be used without permission

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Pork Vindaloo

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This dish is from the Goa on the Western Coast of  India where they eat a lot of meat dishes.  This is a tangy dish that compliments any rice and curry meal.

Ingredients:
Dry roast the following ingredients on a low flame until fragrant:
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp brown mustard seed
2 pieces of cinnamon bark
6 cloves
10 black peppercorns
4 green cardamom pods


Gather the following to make the Masala:
6 garlic cloves
2 inch piece of fresh ginger coarsely chopped
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
1/3 cup vinegar (apple cider or white)
1 Tbs red chili powder (or to taste)
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp paprika
1 Tbs tomato paste
Grind all the dry spices that were roasted and the masala spices in a blender.  The vinegar should be plenty of liquid to get the  ingredients well pulverized.


Heat 3Tbs of oil in a pan on medium-high heat.  Once heated add the Masala mix and allow to fry until aromatic. You will see the oil begin to separate from the masala.  This process will take about 2 minutes.

Adjust your heat on the stove if the masala is looking like it's burning. You don't want to burn the flavors.



Cut two pounds of pork into 1 inch cubes. 







Add your pork to the fried masala in the pan and toss well.  Add salt (to taste).    Cook for 5-6 minutes until the meat browns







Add 1 cup of hot water into the blender that you used grind your masala and get all that flavor from it then pour it into the pan and stir well.






Bring the dish to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes until the pork is tender.  Taste for salt before serving.    Serves 6-8 people.  Serve with rice, lentils veggie curries and chutneys if you desire.  Enjoy.








Copyright: All content, photos and text are property of Curry and Comfort and cannot be used without permission

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Shrimp Curry -Sri Lankan Style

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 This aromatic and spicy dish makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  My mother gave me this recipe and my entire family loved it.  The dish is cooked without any oil so it is very figure friendly.


To start you will need the following ingredients:
1 medium onion sliced or chopped
1-2 chili peppers sliced.  I use fresno chili peppers here, but you can use jalapeno or serrano as well.
5-6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 inches of ginger finely chopped or grated
1 stalk of lemon grass (pounded a few times)-- the lemon grass is optional
handful of curry leaves
2 Tbs of lemon juice
1 Tbs of red chili powder -or to taste
1/2 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of fenugreek seeds
1 2 inch stick of cinnamon
salt to taste
1/2 cup of water

 I used 1lb of shrimp for this recipe.  You can use frozen or fresh shrimp (do not use already cooked shrimp).  I used frozen shrimp that I defrosted under cold water.  My shrimp was cleaned with only the tails on.  I do think that the shrimp shells give a wonderful flavor to the gravy so if you don't mind cleaning your shrimp as you eat, the shells are good to have while you cook the dish.




Add all the ingredients to the pan and bring to a simmer on medium-high heat.   You will see more liquid form in the pan from the shrimp.    


Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on.  Stir occasionally.

Add half a can of coconut milk (about 7 oz).  Stir well.   Taste for salt here. 

Serves 4 people.  Eat with rice other curries.  Enjoy.





 Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Cinnamon-Apple Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

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My husband loves bread pudding.  So I came up with this ultra decadent recipe that will definitely make you feel like you have indulged in something sinful.   Use your desired bread for the bread pudding such as stale white bread, croissants, cinnamon raisin bread or even day old cinnamon rolls for this recipe.   If you decide to use my type of bread read the new few steps, otherwise skip down three more steps until you see the title "Making the bread pudding".



I first started by making cinnamon/brown sugar biscuit bites.
I used two cans of Pillsbury Grands biscuits
1/2 cup of melted butter/margarine and brown sugar mixed in a bowl
1/2 cup of white sugar and 1tsp of powdered cinnamon mixed in a bowl.



Cut each round biscuit into equal four pieces. Then in a ziploc bag or large bowl, toss the cut biscuits with the sugar/cinnamon mixture.







Pour the brown sugar/melted butter mixture on top of all the coated biscuits.  Spread the biscuit bites on a greased cookie sheet and bake until the biscuits are cooked through. About 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.   I did this a few days ahead before making the bread pudding.

*Stale bread(s) work best for bread pudding.



Making the Bread pudding: 

Butter a baking dish (9x13).  Rip apart your desired bread for the pudding and place on a even layer in the baking dish.





In a mixing bowl make your custard by beating together:
1 can condense milk
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon powder




Pour the custard over the bread in the baking dish.  Press your bread down and make sure most of it is is under the custard.  Allow the bread to soak some of the custard by letting it sit.  I allowed it to soak for about 15 minutes before baking. 




I decide to garnish my pudding with fresh diced apple.  I diced one large Fuji apple that I cored and peeled.  You can use raisins, any dried fruit, canned fruit (drained) or fresh fruit, nuts (etc) as well.  You can make the dish your own by adding what you like.  I have a son that does not like nuts and raisins. So apples were my best bet.   




Scatter diced apples (or desired toppings mentioned above) on top of bread pudding and allow some to get down into the custard.




Sprinkle bread pudding with a light dusting of cinnamon powder and dot bits of butter.






 Bake at 350 degrees for  of 45 to 1 hour  or until custard is set. 








The Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar (brown or white)
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or half and half
3-4 tbs butter 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

      Cook sugar and water in  pan until sugar turns brown (careful not to burn).  Add vanilla extract, butter and heavy cream or half and half.  Stir well and serve with pudding. 


       Serve bread pudding warm with warm caramel sauce.  Enjoy.  Serves 6-8 people

      Monday, March 21, 2011

      Mushroom Biryani (Vegetarian Rice)

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      This is a hearty Mushroom Biryani that will satisfy even a meat lover.  It works great as a main dish or can be served as a side dish with any favorite curries.   I adapted this recipe from a cookbook called American Masala by Suvir Saran.  He did not have onions or green peas in his dish, but I thought his idea of using buttermilk instead of yogurt in the dish was wonderful.  Kudos Mr. Saran.


      Start by parboiling the rice.  (I used brown basmati, but white basmati rice is great too)
      You will want to wash and drain 2 cups of rice and add:
      6 whole black peppercorns
      4 cloves
      4 green cardamoms
      2 bay leaves
      1 cinnamon stick


      Add 10 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling allow to cook for 6-10 minutes.  I suggest cooking the white rice for about 6 minutes and the brown rice for about 10 minutes.  Once the rice is somewhat cooked, but not fully, drain and set aside.

      Slice 1lb of white button mushrooms.
      Tip: I used an egg slicer to get nice even slices. 

      You will also need to slice two medium onions (not pictured)




      Gather the dry seasoning:
      4-5 dry chilies (broken)
      6-10 whole black peppercorns)
      6 green cardamoms pods
      3 black cloves
      1 tsp cumin seed
      1 tsp turmeric
      1 tsp of coriander powder
      1 Tbs salt (or to taste)
      1 Tbs of curry powder

      handful of fresh curry leaves


      In a large pan add 3-4 Tbs of canola oil on medium-high heat.  Once heated add your dry seasoning  starting with the whole cardamom pods, cumin seeds, chili pieces and curry leaves.  Fry until fragrant.





      Add the onions, mushrooms and the powdered seasoning (turmeric, coriander powder, curry powder and salt).  Cook until mushrooms release their liquid.





      Add 1 cup of buttermilk and allow to simmer.  If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own by adding one Tbs of white vinegar to cow's milk.  You can always substitute yogurt as well.







      Add 1 1/2 cups cooked green peas.  I used frozen peas. 







      Allow Mushroom/Pea mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. Check for seasoning here.  You may need to add more salt to the dish.







      Butter an oven safe baking dish (9x13) size works well. I used a 12x12 baking dish.  Add a layer of your parboiled rice.  I did pick out the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves and bay leaves from the rice before layering it the baking dish. 


      Now layer some of your mushroom mixture.  Proceed to layer rice then mushroom mixture again.  Pour any gravy from the mushroom mixture around the baking dish. 
       You want to end with a layer of rice on top.  Take a 1/2 cup of water and gently pour it along the edges of the baking dish so it gives the rice some extra liquid to steam in the oven.
      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Place a tight fitting lid or tin foil over the baking dish to trap all the steam.   Cook in the oven for 35 minutes.    Once cooked, allow the dish to sit covered for additional 10 minutes before serving.




      Serves 6-8 people.  Enjoy.