Red Sauce Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

  • Penny Pasta – 1 cup or 250 gm
  • Water for boiling pasta
  • Salt to taste
  • Chopped garlic – 1 Tablespoon
  • Boiled tomatoes puree – 4
  • Green chillies – 2
  • Black pepper – half teaspoon
  • Green chilli sauce – 1 tablespoon (optional)
  • Tomato sauce (ketchup) – 2 tablespoon
  • Italian seasoning – 1 tablespoon
  • Red chilli flakes – 1 teaspoon
  • oil – 2 tablespoon

Instructions

1. Boil 3 cups of water.Add half teaspoon salt and few oil drops.
2. Add pasta and cook as per packet instruction (approx 12 mins).
3. Once cook remove excess water and add some normal water.
5. In another Pan add oil.
6. Add garlic and boiled tomato puree, cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add green chillies, salt to taste, black papper, green chilli sauce, mix and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add tomato sauce, italian seasoning, red chilli flakes and boiled pasta.
9. Mix and cook for 2 minutes and serve hot.

 

Greek Custard Dessert Recipe

Ingredients

For Phyllo:

2 x 250 gr. Phyllo Pastry
85 gr. Butter or Margarine

For Custard Filling:

40 gr. Butter or Margarine
1 lt. fresh Milk
5 Eggs
150 gr. fine Semolina
400 gr. Sugar
15 gr. Vanilla essence

For Syrup:

700 gr. Sugar
350 ml. Water
1 tsp. lemon juice + 1 pc. lemon rind
To sprinkle on top:
2 tsp. cinnamon powder (optional but recommended)

Instruction

Custard:

  1. Start by pouring the milk in a saucepan over low heat.
  2. Slowly boil the milk. Stir regularly to prevent milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Slowly add vanilla essence & 400 gr. Sugar. Then throw in 40 gr. butter and let it slowly melt & blend w/milk mixture.
  4. After about 10′ the milk starts to boil. Continue stirring!
  5. Then add the semolina and whisk constantly for 3′-4′ until the mix becomes thick & creamy! You’ll know custard filling is ready when it bubbles & the whisk leaves streaks on the surface.
  6. Then turn off the heat & let custard cool down.

Phyllo sheets:

  1. Melt 85 gr. butter in microwave for 2′ @600W.
  2. Open the phyllo sheets on a flat surface.
  3. Use 1 pack for bottom & 1 for top (each 250 gr. pack contains 12 small sheets).
  4. W/a brush spread some of the melted butter on a baking tray 23×35 cm. Arrange the first 2 phyllo sheets on the bottom.
  5. Sprinkle some melted butter.
  6. Then place 2 more sheets and sprinkle some more butter on top.
  7. Continue with the rest of the 1st pack of phyllo sheets.

TIP: Phyllo pastry tends to dry easily. Cover the phyllo sheets you are not using with a damp tea towel!

When custard has cooled down and just before you pour it in the baking tray, whisk 5 eggs and fold them in the custard. Blend them well!!

TIP: If custard is not used immediately, you need to stir occasionally to keep it from forming a skin on top.

Now, tip all of the custard in the tray, smoothing its surface with a spoon. Then repeat the procedure by brushing butter in every double layer for the top sheets. In total I made 6 (double sheet) layers at the bottom & 6 (double sheet) layers at the top!

TIP: To avoid breaking the phyllo sheets, you can just sprinkle the butter on top.
When only 2 phyllo sheets are left, cover Galaktoboureko w/them & drizzle rest of butter on top. Then w/a knife or the brush tuck the loose edges inwards to seal the sweet. Brush a bit of butter around the ends. Scar the top of Galaktoboureko w/a sharp knife making smaller rectangles. With some kitchen paper, clean the sides of the tray for leftover butter. Now the Custard Dessert is finally ready to be baked ?.
TIP: Before baking, wet your hand & sprinkle some water on top of the phyllo sheets. This will prevent the pie from rising too high!
TIP: At this point if you want to prepare it ahead, Galaktoboureko can be covered and be preserved in the freezer for up to 1 month. Defrost for at least 6 hours before baking it.
In a preheated oven Fan @180℃, bake Galaktoboureko for 1h-1h15′ or till it becomes golden brown all around and crunchy!
While waiting for Galaktoboureko to be baked, make the syrup.

Syrup:

  1. In a saucepan over low heat, combine 700 gr. sugar and 350 ml. water.
  2. Add lemon juice and rind. Bring to a boil and constantly stir gently until syrup becomes clear.
  3. Let the syrup boil for 5′ more, gently stirring it every minute.
  4. Then turn off the heat & let the syrup cool down.
  5. TIP: Syrup must be room temp. when you pour it over the HOT Galaktoboureko!!
    When Galaktoboureko is ready, remove from the oven. Set it on a rack and immediately pour the cold syrup over it. You can hear the phyllo sheets sizzle ?
    Let it stand uncovered for some time to cool down before you serve it. Optionally you can sprinkle cinnamon powder on top.

 

Soufflé Cheesecake (Japanese Cotton Cheesecake) Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 120g (4.3oz.) white chocolate
  • 120g (4.3oz.) cream cheese *softened

Instruction

1. Preheat the oven to 170C (338F). Separate the eggs and place the whites in a large bowl. Let your egg whites sit in the refrigerator to keep them cold until you are ready to use them (which makes the meringue more stable).
2. Place the chocolate (broken into pieces) in a large bowl. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water (60C/140F). Then add the cream cheese and melt them together. Remove the bowl from the double boiler, add the egg yolks, and mix well.
3. In a large bowl, whip egg whites with an electric mixer until firm peaks form. *If it’s thick enough, you can turn the bowl upside down without it sliding out.
4. Add 1/3 Meringue into the cream cheese batter and blend well with a spatula. Then add the rest of the Meringue 1/2 at a time and mix well.
5. Rub some oil/butter on parchment paper (in this way, the cake can slide down when it shrinks, so you can prevent the cake from cracking). Line the round cake pan with the parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and drop the pan lightly on the counter to raise the air bubbles out of the batter.
6. Place the cake pan on a baking sheet. Pour some hot water into the baking sheet. Bake at 170C (338F) for 15 minutes, 160C (320F) for 15 minutes, then stop the heat and bake with the remaining heat for 15 minutes.
7. When it is done, place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Grilled Chicken Tostadas

Ingredients

  • 500g chicken breast fillets
  • 2 red chillies, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons Woolworths Select Spanish mellow olive oil
  • 2 red onions, cut into 1cm-thick rounds
  • ½ small iceberg lettuce
  • 2 small truss tomatoes
  • 1 avocado
  • 400g packet of 10  tortillas
  • 300ml tub sour cream, to serve

Instruction

1. Remove tenderloins from chicken and place on a tray. Cut chicken lengthways into 2cm-thick strips and add to tray.
2. Combine chillies and garlic in a mortar and pound with a pestle to a paste, stir in lime juice and 1 tablespoon of the oil, pour over chicken. Season and toss to coat.
3. Place onion and remaining oil in a bowl. Season. Cook onion on preheated barbecue grill, tossing with tongs until slightly charred. Meanwhile, shred the iceberg lettuce into a bowl. Halve and thinly slice the tomatoes into another bowl. Halve, seed and dice the avocado into another bowl.
4. Cook chicken on a preheated barbecue grill for 3-4 minutes, turning or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
5. Meanwhile, lightly toast tortilla on preheated barbecue flat plate until warmed through. Transfer to a tea towel lined plate, fold tea towel over tortilla to keep warm.
6. Serve grilled chicken with lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream and warmed tortillas.

Tip 1: To save time you can also use a 40g packet Fajita seasoning mix with 2 tablespoons oil instead of making your own marinade.
Tip 2: Tortillas can be torn and barbecued for quick crisps to serve with dip
Tip 3: Replace the chicken with two thickly sliced large eggplants for a vegetarian alternative.

 

 

 

Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe

Ingredients

  • Long grain basmati rice – 250 g
  • Desi ghee ( butter ) – 1 tbsp
  • Salt – 1 tbsp
  • Cooking oil – 3 tbsp
  • Bay leaves – 5 to 7
  • Green cardamom – 5 pcs
  • Black cardamom – 1 pc
  • Black peppercorns – 5 to 7 pcs
  • Cumin seeds – Half tsp
  • Green coriander leaves – Few for garnishing
  • Green chili – 1 pc
  • Star anise – 3 pcs
  • Cinnamon sticks – 2 pcs
  • Water – 2 and half litres
  • Chicken – 1 ( medium size, big pieces )
    Ginger garlic paste – 1 small bowl ( 3 tbsp, including 1 tbsp salt in it.)
    Chopped tomato – 1 pc
  • Fried onion – 3 ( cut into slices and fry it in oil till golden brown )
  • Kashmiri Chili powder – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – Half tsp
  • Coriander powder – 1 tsp
  • Biryani masala powder – 3 tsp
  • Curd – 3 tbsp
  • Saffron – 8 to 10 threads ( soak into small bowl of milk )
  • Dough – Wheat flour – 25 g ( Add little water and make dough )

Instruction

  1.  Boil 2 jug ( 2 litre ) water into biryani pot.
  2.  Add dry spices, salt, ghee and oil and boil it for few minutes.
  3.  Add washed rice and stir it well.
  4.  Allow the rice to cook till 60% on high flame.
  5.  Cover the pan.
  6.  open the lid and check the rice grain if it is half cooked.
  7.  The rice is half boiled now.
  8.  Now switch off the flame and drain water immediately.
  9.  Use the same pan for cooking chicken.
  10.  Heat a pan on medium flame and add oil in it.
  11.  Add dry spices and saute for few seconds.
  12.  Add ginger garlic paste ( including 1 tbsp salt ), chopped tomato, chili and fried onion.
  13.  Add dry masala powder and curd in it and mix it well.
  14.  Add half jug water ( 1/2 litre ).
  15.  Now add chicken pieces.
  16.  At last, add biryani masala and mix it well and cook it till 20 minutes on high flame.
  17.  After 20 minutes, chicken is almost cooked.
  18.  Keep chicken curry into another bowl and use the same biryani pot for making biryani layers.
  19.  For making layers, apply little oil into biryani pot.
  20.  Make rice layer and put few chicken pieces on it.
  21.  Again make a rice layer and put some fried onion, chicken pieces and spread gravy on it.
  22.  At last, pour saffron milk on it to get saffron flavor and yellow colour.
  23.  Finally, garnish with coriander leaves.
  24.  Close the pot lid and seal pot with flour dough.
  25.  Cook dum biryani for 15 minutes on low flame.
  26.  After 15 minutes, now use roti pan or dhosa pan and cook biryani on it for 5 minutes on
  27. low flame.
  28.  After 5 minutes, remove the dough layer.
  29.  Finally chicken dum biryani is perfectly cooked. Enjoy the spicy chicken dum biryani.