Butter Cookies from afghanistan (Kulche birinjee)

                                                                               Receta en Español

As in almost every middle east country , cookies with nuts are very typical in Afghanistan.

Ingredients:

• 175 grams butter soften at room temperature.
• 175 grams sugar.
• 2  eggs.
• 500 grams white rice flour.
• ½ teaspoon ground  cardamom.
• 30 grams sliced pistachios.
• 20 grams whole pistachios without shell.

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 350 ºC.
2. whisk butter and sugar until the mixture is creamy.
3. Add egg whites and mix well.
4. Add flour step by step. Add flour until the mixture is not sticky.
5. Add cardamon and sliced pistachios.
6. Mix well.
7. Take an oven proof tray and line it with parchment paper. Take a little dough with a spoon and put it on the tray , use your hand to mold it like a cookie. Do the same with the rest of the dough.
8. With the help of a fork make marks on the dough, draw a grid on the dough. If the fork sticks to the dough dip it in cold water from time to time. 
9. Put a pistachio in the middle of the cookie.
10. Place the cookies over parchment paper , leave a distance of 3.5 cm between them.

               11. Cook in oven for 12-14 minutes.

               12. Let cool before eating.

My comments to the Recipe:

If you add enough flour to prevent dough being sticky , cookies will not crumble. These cookies are delicious due to the taste of butter mixed with pistachios.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Afghanistan

Kabuli Pulao (Afghanistan)

                                                                               Receta en Español

Pulao is one of the most typical dishes in Afghanistan; it is rice with grapes.

Kabuli Pulao is a version of Pulao adding lamb meat. This is the recipe I will present today.

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice.
450 g lamb.
2 cups meat broth.
1/2 sliced onion.
25 g blonde raisins.
1 carrot cut in strips.
2 teaspoon cumin.
1 ½ teaspoon cardamom.
1 teaspoon cinamon.
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper.
1 teaspoon butter.
Salt.

Method:

1- Fry carrots and grapes with butter. Put aside.

 
2- Take a big pan and sautée  onion until golden.
3- Add rice and broth, bring to a boil. Then cover and let cook on low heat during 20 minutes until rice is tender.
4- Take another pan, pour a litle oil and add spices. Cook some minutes until spices give of aroma, then add the meat and fry until done.
5- Place the meat in an oven proof dish, cover with rice, carrots and grapes. Cook in oven for 20 minutes at 250 º C.

Thie is the end:

My comments:

It is an easy recipe and very tasty due to the mixture of grapes and spices.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

 By Shahid Parvez. Based on a file by User:Ssolbergj [GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

Recipes from Afghanistan that I cooked: 

  Kabuli Pulao

  Butter cookies from Afghanistan (Kulche Birinjee)

Afghanistan on Internet:

http://www.afghanonline.com/recipes/




 By Christopher Killalea (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Afghanistan

coconut and guava sponge cake (Antigua and Barbuda)

                                                                             Receta en Español
Ingredients:

• 1 coconut.
• 8 guavas.
• 3 cups of flour.
• 1 cup of sugar.
• 2  eggs.
• 1 cup of milk.
• ½ cup soft butter.
• Yeast.

Where to buy the ingredients: it was difficult for me to find fresh guavas, I could find them as preserved fruit in a shop of latin products at Ramón de la Cruz, very close to Manuel Becerra. 

Method:

1. Open coconut , put aside water and keep the meat.
2. Use a food processor to crush guavas, then pass them through a sieve to get rid of seeds.
   
3. Mix guavas and coconut with the food processor.
4. Add flour and milk step by step.
5. Add butter, eggs , coconut water  and sugar, stirr.
6. Preheat oven at 180 ºC for 15 minutes.
7. Cook in oven for 1 hour at 180 ºC. At 30 minutes and every 15 minutes poke the cake with a knife, if the knife is clean when you take it out,the cake is done.
8. You can keep the cake fresh for 10 days if you wrap it using transparent film and put it in the fridge.

       

My comments:

It has a good taste. It is very important to get rid of  all seeds. It is not  pleasent to find them when eating the cake.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Antigua and Barbuda

Veal with tamarind sauce (Antigua and Barbuda)

                                                                                                                      Receta en Español

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• 225 g chopped mushrooms.
• 1 bunch of chopped chives.
• 2  tablespoon of soy sauce.
• ½ tablespoon sweet or hot paprika.
• 2 tablespoon parsley.
• 4 veal loin steak.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin.
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional).
• 1 chopped small onion.
• 3 chopped garlic cloves.
• 1 dessert spoon cornstarch.
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate.  

Method:

1.       Pour oil in a pan and sautée onions and chives for 3 minutes.

2.       Add soy sauce and paprika , cook for 5 more minutes.

3.       Add parseley and set everything apart.

4.       Mix coriander, cumin and red pepper flakes, sprinkle over the meat.

5.       Take a tablespoon of the prepared mix of mushrooms and chives , place it in the middle of one steak, roll the steak leaving mushrooms in the inner side , use sticks to close the meat rolls.

6.       Fry for 5 minutes, set apart.

7.       In a pan  Sautée onion and garlic for 5 minutes.

8.       Add tamarind and cornstarch.

9.       Cook for 2 minutes.

10.   Serve steaks covered with the sauce cooked in numbers 7,8,9.

My comments to the recipe:

I find amazing the bittersweet taste of tamarind! , tamarind and meat are a perfect match.

Where to find the ingredients:

I bought concentrate of tamarind at desi gourmet   (Ricardo Ortiz 24, Madrid).
It is very strong , you should use just a Little of the concentrate.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Antigua and Barbuda

Black Bean Cakes (Antigua and Barbuda)

                                                                               Receta en Español

Here I present you this popular recipe of Antigua and Barbuda:

Ingredients:

For cakes:

• 2 cups black beans.
• ½ cup chopped onion.
• 1 and a half teaspoon of ground cumin.
• 1  tablespoon chopped chili pepper.
• 2 tablespoon olive oil.
• Salt.

For the Sauce:

• 1  small chili.
• 5 tomatos.
• ½  onion.
• Salt.

For coriander yogurt:

• 1/2 cup natural yogurt.
• 2 tablespoon chopped coriander.
• Half a lemon juice.

Cooking the Sauce:

1. Wash and cut tomatos and chili into small pieces.
2. Pour a Little oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and sauté until it gets golden.
3. Add tomatos, chili  and salt. Cook over medium heat  until tomatos are well done, that is when you press tomatos, they are  soft.
4. Pass the misture through a purée sieve.
5. Cook again over medium heat until sauce is reduced to de desired consistency.

How to do Coriander Yogurt:

6. In a bowl mix coriander, lemon juice and yogurt.

How to do Black Bean Cakes:

7. The night before soak beans for at least 12 hours.
8. Once beans are soaked, add water and beans in a casserole. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour.
9. Water should be evaporated almost completely , in case it is not evaporated cook a little more.
10. Add onion, cumin and chili to the cooked beans . Mix with a blender until you obtain a dough.
11. Take 2 spoons of the dough to make every cake. Fry every cake both sides in a pan for 3 minutes  or until you see them fried. 
12. keep cakes warmed until they are served.
13. Serve the cakes with a little sauce and coriander yogurt on top.

My comments to the recipe:

It is an original and tasty way to eat black beans. tomato sauce and coriander yogurt bring freshness to the dish.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools



Antigua y Barbuda

Coconut Pudding (Angola)

                                                                                                                      Receta en Español

Coconut desserts are typical in Angola. 'Cocada amarela' is the most popular, but today I present another dessert worldwide known made with coconut: Coconut Pudding.

We are going to cook it using microwave, an easy and fast recipe!.

Ingredients:

• 250g condensed milk.
• 4 eggs.
• 125 g grated coconut.
• 500 ml whole milk.
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch.
• 100 g sugar.

Method:

Put 100 grams sugar and 50 ml water in a saucepan, heat over medium heat. Stirr until sugar is well disolved. Once it happens, stop stirring to prevent it to crystallize.  
The moment the caramel begins to turn light brown, turn the heat off. 
The remaining heat in the saucepan will be enough to finish the cooking of the caramel.

Pour caramel at the bottom and sides of a microwave safe pudding baking mold.

In a blender combine eggs, milk, condensed milk , grated coconut and cornstarch, blend and pour over the caramelized sugar.

Cook in microwave at maximum power for 10 minutes.

Let cool for several hours, It is better to place it into the fridge during 12 hours and then unmold and taste it!.



Comments to the Recipe

It is delicious, condensed milk provides softness and sweetness . It is very easy and fast.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Angola