Lentil with Moroccan Spice Mix

Lentil with Moroccan Spice Mix 

Ingredients: 

2-3 Tbsp oil...olive or canola 

2-1/2 cups water 

1 cup whole brown lentils (I use Canadian small lentil) 
1tsp whole cumin 

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp turmeric 

1 tsp ground ginger 

1 tsp paprika 

½ tsp cayenne 

½tsp Ras al hanout (optional) 

salt and pepper to taste 

zest plus juice of half lemon 

Method:

1. Heat a pot over medium heat;add olive oil and chopped onion, cook for about 2 minutes. 

2. Add lentil and stir; allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes until onion is lightly golden. 

3. Add all other ingredients except lemon zest and juice. Cooked for another minute to bring together all flavors while spice mix coated lentil.  

4. Add water to lentil and bring to a rolling boil,lower heat,cover pot, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.   

5. Stir the lemon zest  and allow lentils to fully cooked.Gentle stir lentil to prevent breaking and to hold their shape until sauce is absorbed. P.S.If the lentils look too dry, just add a bit more water. When lentil is finish, remove from stove and let rest10-15 minutes to absorb any excess sauce). 

6. Before serving, taste to adjust seasoning . Stir in lemon juice and garnish with cilantro or parsley also drizzled with some good olive oil. 

7. Enjoy! 
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Meatless Stuffed Peppers topped with Gouda and Pamesan Cheese

Meatless Stuffed Peppers

Great dish for vegetarian and a lovely way to incoporate basmatie rice into stuffings.

1. 5 large italian peppers
2. Washed pepper, cut into halves and blanced for 5 minuted to remove bitterness then drain off excess water and set aside. 

Preparing basmatie rice and vegetable stuffing:

• 1 cup basmatie rice, 1 cup water,
• 1 carrot diced, 1 tablespoon olive oil
• In a pot over medium heat, add oil and rice and toasted lightly. 
• Add water and carrot; stir and bring to a boil then
•  lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup green peas
5 chopped mushrooms ( your choice or optional)
2 sprigs chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
5 cloves chopped garlic
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste ...
 simmer over low heat for another
5-7 minutes until all liquid is absorbed

Vegetables Rice Stuffing

Making Sauce and Stuffing Peppers:

1. Tomato puree with a dash  garlic powder, some chilli powder, and herbs or your choice. Sauce is about 1 cup
2. In a oven prove dish, add enough sauce to coat bottom of baking dish

add a bit more sauce
before add cheeses of your choice

Already looking Yummy!

Add a little sauce to
 the peppers before filled
 with vegetable rice stuffing 

 Baking Time:

1. Sprinkle stuffed peppers with cheeses of your choice. Here I've used gouda and parmesan cheese.
2. Bake in a pre-heated oven @350 degrees for 30 minutes or until pepper is tender

 ENJOY!

Orange Basmatie Rice

Orange Basmatie Rice

I love rice whether it's plain or infused with unique flavors. Here I've prepared fresh orange infused basmatie rice and it's very simple to do.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil (I used either canola or olive)

1 cup basmatie rice

1/4 small onion peeled, washed and chopped

2 tablespoons raisins or currants

1 orange zested and juiced

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup shredded carrots

pinch of cinnamon, sea salt, and black pepper to taste

For garnished:

raisins

semi orange slices

powder sugar

roasted chopped almond

cinnamon

OR simply garnished as you please

Method:

• In a pot over medium heat, add oil and rice. Gentle stir until lightly toasted. Now added chopped onion and cooked for another 1-2 minutes until onion is soft.
• Add water, orange juice, carrot, raisins,cinnamon, salt, pepper, and orange zest... bring to a boil...when boiled, stir again and cover pot then lower heat to simmer rice for about 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
• Removed from heat and let rest for another 3-5 minutes before fluffed with a fork. Becareful not to break the beautiful long rice grains.
• plate into a serving platter and garnish as you please.

Enjoy!

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For instant sweet dessert jalaibee / zalabeya

I've made jalaibee quite a few time and found the flavor to be too bland and sugary. So with a little experimenting with different flavors, I came up with the recipe below that is pleasing to my family's taste. I do hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy the pleasant taste and aroma along with a really nice crunch to every bite . 

Jalaibee / zalabeya Ingredients:
1 cup durum flour
1 cup water
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon yeast 
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/8 teaspoon fennel powder
1 teaspoon vinegar
few drop of yellow food color

• Mix all ingredients together to form a pancake like batter. Covered and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1-2 hours or until double in size.

For the syrup:                      

1 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of saffron (optional)
pinch of cardamom
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey

• For the syrup, dissolve the sugar in water in a saucepan, adding the lemon juice and almond extract, saffron, cardamom, and honey. Bring syrup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes before setting syrup aside.

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a pan. Put jalaibee mixture into  a squeeze ketchup / mustard bottle and squeeze into oil in a circular motion to form circular pattern as shown in the picture.Every circular pattern is unique. Fry until light brown. 
• Remove from oil and place immediately into the syrup (syrup should be warm when dipping jalaibee)for about 1-2 minutes. Now remove from syrup and drain off excess syrup.
• Enjoy!

shredded phyllo nest dessert

shredded phyllo nest dessert

1. First, preheat oven at 350 F.
2. Store bought a package of knafeh or kataïfi and cut the knafeh noodles into small pieces into a bowl. Now Add some melted butter and toss well to coated the knafeh noodle strands well.
3. In a muffin pan, add some amount of buttered shredded phyllo noodles (knafeh) and pressed it down to take the shape of the muffin cup with an indentation in the middle of it.
4. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Keep an eye on it because everyone's oven temperature varies.Allow it to cool before removing from muffin pan. It should look like the picture below.

You can store in an air tight container for later use. Also right before using, drizzled with honey and serve with desire topping.  Here I've used fresh sweet whipping cream with strawberries.

Follow step 1-3 and for another delicious dessert:- 

add some pistachio nuts

 mixed with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 

pinched of powdered cardamom (optional) and 

dash of cinnamon ... into the phyllo basket before baking

now continue to follow step 4 and you'll end up with these delicious looking baskets/ nests.

drizzled with honey and serve.

Enjoy!