Home-Brew Recipes

Posts Tagged ‘culinary nuts’

Are your kids lovers of paneer and are pestering you to make variety of dishes in it? Paneer, being rich in milk and fat content is very good for the little ones to enhance the calcium level in their blood and bones. Here is a simple and tasty dish that you could do with paneer to give them a healthy drink in the morning! Take a heavy-bottomed vessel and boil one liter of milk well such that it gets condensed to three quarters of the original level.

Then add one cup of sugar, a tablespoon of saffron, two tablespoons of cardamom powder and one tablespoon each of cashew, almond, pista to it and stir it well. When the milk boils again, take it off the stove and add half a cup of grated paneer that has been refrigerated till then. Serve it either hot or cool and your kids would rush for one more cup!

This tasty vegetarian dish combines egg noodles with plenty of fresh vegetables in a rich, nutty sauce, with just a hint of chili.

Ingredients:

½ – sliced cucumber which is seeded and diced, 4 – spring onions, a bunch of radishes, 225g – peeled mooli, 115g – beansprouts rinsed then left in iced water and drained, 2 – chopped garlic cloves, roasted peanuts or cashew nuts, 225g – dried egg noodles, 60ml – groundnut oil or sunflower oil, 15ml – light soy sauce, 10ml – chili sauce to taste, 15ml – rice vinegar, 120ml – chicken stock or water, 1 tsp – sugar, salt and ground black to taste.

Preparation Method:

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the noodles and cook according to the packet instruction. Drain and rinse them under the cold water. Drain again and set aside.
2. Sprinkle the cucumber with salt, leave for 15 minutes, rinse well, then drain and pat dry on kitchen paper. Place in a large salad bowl.
3. Cut the spring onions into fine sheds. Cut the radishes in half and slice finely. Coarsely grate the mooli, using a mandolin or a food processor. Add all the vegetable to the cucumber and toss gently.
4. Heat half the oil in a wok or large frying pan and stir-fry the noodles for about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the noodles to a large serving bowl and serve warm.
5. Heat the remaining oil in the wok or frying pan and add the garlic to flavor the oil. Stir in the sesame paste, sesame oil, soy and chilli sauces, vinegar and chicken stock or water. Add a ltlle sugar and season. Warm over a gentle heat.
6. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss well. Garnish with peanuts or cashew nuts and serve with the vegetables.

With their tangy flavor, orange segments are the perfect partner for tender chicken in this tasty and wholesome rice salad.

Ingredients:

3 – large seedless oranges, 450g – cooked chicken, 75g – almonds or cashew nuts which are toasted, mixed salad leaves to serve, 175g – long grain rice, 175ml – home-made vinaigrette, 10ml – strong Dijon mustard, 2.5ml – caster sugar and salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Preparation Method:

1. Pare one of the oranges thinly, removing only the rind, not the white pith. Put the pieces of rind in a pan and add the rice.
2. Pour in 475ml water and bring to the boil. Cover and cook over a very low heat for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the water has been absorbed.
3. Meanwhile, peel the oranges, removing all the white pith. Working over a plate to catch the juices, separate them into segments. Tip the juices into a small bowl and add the vinaigrette with the mustard and sugar, whisking to continue.
4. When the rice is cooked, remove it from the heat and discard the pieces of orange rind. Spoon into a bowl, let it cool slightly then add half of the dressing. Toss well, and then set aside to cool.
5. Add the chicken, chives, toasted nuts and orange segments to the cooled rice. Pour over the remaining dressing and toss gently to combine. Serve on a bed of mixed salad leaves.

This simple yet delicious dish of couscous with dates, rasins and nuts can be served as a course on its own or as an accompaniment to a spicy tagine or roasted grilled meat or poultry.

Ingredients:

600ml – warm water, pinch of saffron threads, 75g – dried dates, 115g – dried apricots, a little butter, 75g – seedless rasins, 115g – blanched almonds, 75g – pistachio nuts, 500g – couscous, 5ml – salt, 45ml – sunflower oil, 30ml – olive oil, 10ml – ground cinnamon and 45ml – caster sugar.

Preparation Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180^o C. Put the couscous in a bowl. Mix together the water, salt and saffron and pour it over the couscous, stirring. Leaves to stand for 10 minutes. Add the sunflower oil and using your fingers, rub it thorough the grains. Set aside.
2. Chop the dates and slice the apricots into slivers. In a heavy pan, heat the olive oil and butter and stir in the dates, apricots, raisins and most of the almonds and pistachio nuts.
3. Cook until the rasins plump up, and then tip the nuts and fruit into the couscous and toss together to mix. Tip the couscous into an overproof dish and cover with foil. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes, until heated through.
4. Toast the reserved slivered almonds. Pile the hot couscous in a mound on a large serving dish and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar – these look attractive sprinkled in stripes down the mound. Scatter the toasted almonds over the top and serve hot.