Bamiah Daging

An Arabian dish which is quite similar to the Indian curry but has a totally different taste.  The original dish has okras in it but I substitute them with potatoes for my two boys' sake.  I love to eat okras and brinjals but unfortunately, these are not my boys' favourite vegetables.  Anyway, I did prepare some okras for myself.  In my recipe below, I do not add any water but only use yoghurt.  It is advisable to cook this dish one day before serving. Believe me!  It tastes much better than the day before!

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 kg beef or mutton, to be cut into bite sizes
1 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp ghee or 5 tbsp cooking oil

3 medium-size onions, to be peeled & sliced into thin rings
4 cm long cinnamon stick
3 pcs cardamon
3 stalks cloves

200 g plain yoghurt
300 g okras or ladies fingers, to be washed & halved (I used 6 medium-size potatoes instead)
150 g cherry tomatoes, to washed & dried
4 tbsp ghee or 5 tbsp cooking oil
1 small tin of peas (for garnishing)

Ingredients to be blended together:
12 stalks dried red chillies, to be cut & soaked in warm water
3 pips garlic, to be peeled & sliced
3 cm fresh ginger, to be peeled & sliced
1 tsp white peppercorns
2 cm fresh turmeric, to be peeled & sliced

Spices:
3 tbsp ketumbar biji (coriander seeds)
2 tsp jintan manis (anise seeds)
1 tsp jintan putih (cumin seeds)
Note:  The above spices should be fried in a small pan without oil until fragrant and finely grounded. Alternatively, soak spices in warm water for a while and then add to the blended ingredients.

Method:
In a large bowl, add beef together with blended ingredients, grounded spices, salt and tomato puree. Mix thoroughly and cover bowl with cling film.  Leave aside to marinate for at least 2 or 3 hours.  If you are short of time, just marinate it for at least 30 minutes.

In a large pot, heat ghee over medium/high heat.  Add onion rings, cinnamon stick, cardamon and cloves.  Stir-fry until fragrant and onions turn to light brown in colour.

Then, add marinated beef and stir-fry until beef changes colour.  Add yoghurt and mix well.  Bring to a light boil and cover pot.  Simmer over medium heat for about an hour.

This is how it looks like after one of hour of cooking.  If the gravy is too dry, add a little water.

If using potatoes, add them and cook for another 15 minutes.  Once done, remove pot from heat and leave aside for the next day.

On the next day, heat up Bamiah over medium heat.  Adjust seasoning and if necessary, add salt or sugar.  In a separate pan, heat ghee or oil and stir-fry okras and cherry tomatoes for about 8-10 minutes.  Then, add them to the pot.

Serve hot or warm garnished with green peas.  Tastes excellent when served with baguette or roti jala.

Bon Appetit!

Meerettichsauce (Horseradish Sauce)

Why not make your own horseradish sauce instead of buying a jar from the supermarket?  The following recipe is very simple and this sauce goes well with any kind of meat or fish!  The only downside is that your eyes will water and perhaps, your nose will get stuffed while grating the horseradish.  Anyway, it is worth the effort because the taste is awesome!

Ingredients:
6 cm fresh Meerettich (horseradish) root, to be peeled & grated
1 small onion, to be peeled & finely cubed
1 pip garlic, to be peeled & finely minced
20 g butter
20 g plain flour
200 ml fresh cream
about 150 ml water
salt & ground white pepper to taste

Method:
In a saucepan, gently heat butter and add cubed onions and minced garlic.  Sauté until soft and then, add flour.  Mix well before adding horseradish.  Then, add a little water followed by fresh cream. Check consistency before adding more water.  Bring to a light simmer and check seasoning.

Serve hot or warm!

Bon Appetit!

Apfel-Rotkohl (Apple & Red Cabbage)

A classic vegetable dish which is served during the cold months of the year.  This dish goes well with any kind of meat or poultry.  Easy to prepare and tastes excellent!

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):
1 small red cabbage
1 apple, to be peeled, quartered and cut into very small chunks
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
200 ml red currant juice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ghee or Butterschmalz
salt & ground black pepper to taste

Method:
Clean, wash, quarter red cabbage and cut into strips by using a vegetable slicer. Heat ghee in a medium pot and add in red cabbage strips.  Stir-fry for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Then, add red currant juice, red wine vinegar, salt and sugar.  Mix thoroughly and simmer with lid on for about 30 minutes.

Add apple chunks to pot and further simmer with lid on for another 30 minutes. Check seasoning. Warm up just before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Tafelspitz served with Bouillon-Vegetables

A classic Austrian dish where the beef or veal meat is marinated with various vegetables for at least 24 hours.  I roasted the onion halves before adding them to the marinade in order that the bouillon achieves its intense colour when cooked.  In the following recipe, I used veal meat and gently cooked it along with its marinade at a temperature of not more than 80° C over low heat.  Cooking time depends on the quantity of meat.  Generally, 1 kg meat will take about 2 hours to be cooked gently. Using some of the bouillon, I cooked the cubed vegetables which were then topped up with cold butter and chopped parsley.  The balance of bouillon can be freezed for later use.  Tafelspitz may also be served with Apfel-Rotkohl (Apple & Red Cabbage) and Meerettichsauce (Horseradish Sauce).

Ingredients (serves 4):
1.2 kg Tafelspitz (beef or veal rump in one piece)

2 medium-size onions
1 small Petersilienwurzel (parsley root), to be peeled & cut into cubes
1/2 root Knollensellerie (celeriac), to be peeled & cut into cubes
1 stalk celery, to be coarsely sliced
1 pc carrot, to be peeled & cubed
1 pip garlic, to be peeled and sliced
2 medium-size red tomatoes, to be quartered
a handful of Kerbel (chervil), to be coarsely chopped or 1 tsp dried chervil
a generous pinch of dried Majoran (marjoram)
a generous pinch of dried Liebstöckel (lovage)
2 dried bay leaves
1 tbsp white peppercorns
1 litre water

1 tsp salt
1 litre water (extra)

Method:

Cut onions into halves and roast in a small pan with the cut side down over medium heat until dark brown.

Remove fat from meat and add to a medium-size plastic bowl.  Add the rest of ingredients and cover bowl with cling film.  Store bowl in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

The next day, add meat along with its marinade in a large pot.  Add another 1 litre of water and 1 tbsp salt.  Bring to a simmer (at a temperature of 80° C) over medium heat.  Once the required temperature is achieved, adjust heat and simmer with the pot 3/4 covered with its lid for about two and a half hours. You need to skim the bouillon regularly in order that the liquid becomes clear.

Once done, transfer meat from pot to a strainer.  Then, slice meat into preferred thickness just before serving.

Bouillon-Vegetables

Ingredients:
600 g potatoes, to be peeled & coarsely cubed
1/2 root Knollensellerie (celeriac), to be peeled & coarsely cubed
180 g carrots, to be peeled & coarsely cubed
a handful of fresh parsley, to be finely chopped
20 g cold butter
salt & ground white pepper to taste

Method:
In a medium-size pot, add cubed potatoes, celeriac and carrots.  Then, pour bouillon to just cover the vegetables and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer over low/medium heat for 15 minutes.  You may notice that the bouillon has slightly evaporated.  To round the dish off, add cold butter and chopped parsley.  Check seasoning before serving!

Mix well and serve hot together with Tafelspitz, Apfel-Rotkohl and Meerettichsauce!

Bon Appetit!

Turkey Leg with Apple & Sour Cabbage (Putenkeule auf Apfel-Sauerkraut)

A low cost and healthy roast dish for your family which is perfect on a cold autumn day.  I sauteéd stewed apples (Apfelkompott) and fresh sour cabbage (Sauerkraut) in the roast juices together with tiny cubes of turkey bacon, spices, onions and apple juice.   Tastes excellent when served with boiled potatoes!

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 kg Putenkeule (turkey leg), boneless
80 g turkey bacon, to be finely diced
1 medium-size onion, to be peeled & finely diced
700 g fresh Sauerkraut (sour cabbage) - you may use the canned ones
6 pcs Wacholderbeeren (juniper berries), to be crushed just before adding to pan
2 pcs bay leaves
370 ml Apfelkompott (stewed apples) - you may use the canned ones
250 ml apple juice
salt & ground black pepper to taste
80 ml vegetable stock (instant)

Method:
Wash and dry the Putenkeule.  Please note that I normally buy 2 turkey legs of 500 g each.  Season with salt and ground black pepper on both sides.  Then, roll the meat together and bind with strings as shown below.

In a large pan, heat about 2 tbsp of cooking oil over medium/high heat.  Pan-fry the meat bundles and brown on all sides. Once done, remove to a tray.

Remove about 4 tbsp of fat from pan.  Add onion & bacon cubes and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Then, add Sauerkraut, Wacholderbeeren and bay leaves.  Stir-fry for about a minute before adding the stewed apples and apple juice.  Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Arrange meat on top of Sauerkraut and cover with lid or aluminium foil.  Bake in a preheated fan oven at a temperature o 150° C for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes are up, add apple juice all over the Sauerkraut and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

After that, remove lid or aluminium foil and bake for another 30 minutes.  Total baking time is one and a half hours.  Once done, remove from oven and check seasoning. Cut and remove the strings before serving.

Slice meat before serving with Sauerkraut and boiled potatoes.

Bon Appetit!

Cherry-Marzipan Cake

Baked this cake using fresh yeast instead of the usual baking powder for tea on a cold and windy Saturday afternoon.  A mixture of marzipan, butter and sugar is "injected" into the dough and then, topped with cherries and almond slices before baking.  Tastes good when served both warm or cold!

Ingredients:
400 g plain flour
2 sachets of Bourbon vanilla sugar
80 g sugar
a pinch of salt
42 g fresh yeast
1 tsp sugar (extra)
200 ml warm milk
75 g soft butter (at room temperature)
2 medium eggs

200 g marzipan
175 g soft butter
50 g fine sugar
400 g cherries (from a 850 g glass), to be drained
70 g almond slices
50 g sugar

a rectangular baking tin (24 x 36 cm) or your oven's deep baking tray

Method:
In a mixing bowl, mix flour, Bourbon vanilla sugar, sugar and salt together.  Make a well in the centre and crumble yeast into it.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar and a little flour from the sides.  Stir with a wooden spoon and cover with bowl with a cloth.  Leave aside for 10 minutes.

Then, add soft butter, eggs and rest of milk.  Knead by using the hook for about 5 minutes or until the dough is soft and elastic as shown below.  Cover bowl with cloth and leave aside for about 40 minutes.  One may place the covered bowl in an oven (no fan) at a temperature of 30° C.

In the meantime, add marzipan, soft butter and fine sugar into another mixing bowl. By using the whisk attachment, mix until smooth.  Then, transfer to an icing bag with a plain nozzle.

This is how the dough looks like after 40 minutes.

Transfer dough onto the baking tray which is lined with baking paper.  By using your well-floured hand, spread dough into all corners evenly.  Cover with cloth and leave aside for 10 minutes.

By using your fingers, make deep hollows all over the surface of dough as shown.

Pipe out the marzipan mixture into the hollows as shown below.

Arrange cherries on top.  Then, sprinkle almond slices and sugar as shown below.

Bake in a preheated (no fan) oven at a temperature of 200° C for about 25 minutes or until done.  

This cake tastes great both warm and cold!  If you wish, sprinkle sugar powder on top before serving!

Happy Baking!

Beef-Sauerkraut-Gulasch

Gulasch is a one-pot dish which I will normally cook during the cold months of the year.  This dish can be prepared in various ways using different kinds of meat and vegetables.  Our family's favourite is the one with Sauerkraut (sour cabbage) which is the healthiest option.  The following recipe does not involve much work and tastes great when served with a baguette!

Ingredients (serves 4):
600 g beef (lean), to be cut into 4 cm cubes
3 medium-size onions, to be peeled & coarsely diced
2 tbsp (level) plain flour
500 ml water
350 g potatoes, to be peeled & coarsely diced
250 g fresh or canned Sauerkraut (sour cabbage)
500 ml tomato juice or pureed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
4 dried juniper berries (Wacholderbeeren), to be lightly crushed just before adding to pot
3 tsp sugar or to taste
salt & ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp oil

Method:
Prepare all ingredients and put them aside.

In a pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add beef cubes in two portions and brown on all sides.  Remove to a side plate and repeat procedure.

Return all beef portions to pot and add onions.  Stir-fry for about 2 minutes and then, add salt and pepper.

Add plain flour and mix thoroughly.  Then, add water and stir well.  Bring to a light boil.  Cover pot and simmer over low/medium heat for about 50 minutes.

Then, add potato cubes and simmer covered for about 10 minutes.

Then, add Sauerkraut, bay leaves, lightly crushed juniper berries (Wacholderbeeren) and tomato juice.  Bring to a light boil.  Cover pot and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes.  Lastly, season with sugar, salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Serve hot!  This dish tastes great with any kind of bread!

Bon Appetit!