Cooking with Me (Pics Included)

I've been wanting to do this for a while now and decided why wait anymore. Here's tonight dinner recipe with pics. I'll try to post a new recipe every week.

Stew Cabbage with Chicken Served over White Rice

Ingredients
Boneless, skinless chicken breast
Half a head of cabbage
1 medium size tomato
1 tbs oil
1 cup water
Salt
Pepper
(Adobo, Sazon or other spices *optional) I use Sazon to add color.

1) Cut chicken breasts into small cubes or strips. Wash and drain
2) In a wok or pan over medium heat, add 1 tbs oil.
3) Add chicken and season to taste, stirring often until no longer pink on the outside.
4) Add water, cover and allow to simmer for about 5-8 minutes.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/70e68ddbe7c4.jpg[/atsimg]

5) While chicken is cooking, finely chop half a head of cabbage and the tomato
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b0889307e1ae.jpg[/atsimg]

6) Add cabbage and tomato to the chicken, stirring then cover.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e93503a0d6e7.jpg[/atsimg]

7) Allow to simmer for another 5-8 minutes until cabbage has wilted and is tender
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cdab637047fc.jpg[/atsimg]

8) Serve over cooked white or brown rice (your choice)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fde7838fb2a3.jpg[/atsimg]

You can vary this recipe with other vegetables. Try with zucchini or squash.

Enjoy




[edit on 3-17-2009 by worldwatcher]

lol! from the thread title I thought we were going to see you doing the cooking!
That food looks really scrummy, definatly something that I'd try.

you never know, you might... but it's kind of hard to take pictures while I'm actually cooking. gotta settle for the in the between shots... well until I convince my husband to hang around the kitchen and be my photographer.

[edit on 9-7-2006 by worldwatcher]

Can we get some of your Indian recipes? I love Indian food!

sure thing, any special requests or shall I just start with basic chicken curry??

Whatever you think is best...I do have experience cooking Indian foods and some cookbooks, so if you have some special family recipe you'd like to share that might be the best for me myself.

cool, I'll see what I can do... but you what I hate most about cooking....

deciding what to cook

I love it when my family tells me exactly what they want, leaves the whole planning, thinking aspect out of it for me.

Yummy! Any suggestions for a light Indian style snack?

ahh snack foods... Easy snacks, would be fried plantain or other type vegetable chips, samosas, pakoras, basically all fried stuff. Mithai, and assorted sweets.

I can arrange for at least one or two new recipes for over the weekend. I'll make snacks that can be stored for a while, for all week munching.

I'm done cooking for today, so you'll have to wait until at least tomorrow for new recipes.

Today we're going to Roti. Roti is an Indian staple made all around the world. It is related to pita bread and Indians worldwide have their own variation for the different types of roti. This particular roti recipe is Guyanese roti recipe, Trinidadians make a similiar one which is much larger and more broken up that they call Buss Up Shut. We'll call my roti, Oil Roti or Paratha Roti, because that is how I grew up calling it, but I've heard being called Fling and Clap roti and other names. In Guyana we have circular wooden board we use to roll out the dough called a chowki, and the rolling pin is called a bellna (forgive my spelling :lol
We cook the roti on an iron plate called a tawah, you can use a griddle pan.

You'll need:
4 cups of flour
4 tsps baking powder
1 tps salt
appromimately 2 cups of water (i really don't measure, but i know it's less than 2cups)
vegetable oil

1) Mix flour, baking powder, salt and water to form a pliable dough, I add the water in increments and knead the flour, adding more water if needed.

2) Knead dough, until it pulls away from sides of bowl and form a large ball

3) Cover dough with a damp towel, I use paper towels and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes (during this time) I start prepping for my curries....
4) After the allotted time has passed, break the dough up into fist size balls, my hands are small, so I tend to make a smaller roti


5)On a clean flat surface, sprinkle flour and begin to roll out your roti with a rolling pin.


6) After your roti is rolled out, add a teaspoon of vegetable oil to the center and use the back of the spoon to spread it over the roti's surface. Lightly sprinkle with flour.

7) There are two ways to do the next step, the simple one is folding it in square, but it makes for squarish rotis, the other way gives you a more rounder roti, but basically what you are doing is trapping the oil inside the dough.

or



[edit on 9-12-2006 by worldwatcher]

[edit on 9-13-2006 by worldwatcher]

8)After you've done this to all of your roti dough, cover again with a damp towel and allow to sit for atleast 20 minutes. *I use wax paper to prevent my dough from sticking to the counter or plate.

9) Now we're ready to cook. Set your tawah or griddle pan on medium high heat. On your lightly floured surface, roll out your roti, try not to make it too thick or too thin roughly 8 - 10 inches in diameter. Oil the tawah with vegetable oil.
*I roll out all my roti first, then cook, you have to have enough counter space to do it, but it easier for me this way, if not my tawah tends to overheat while I struggle with rolling skills

10) Put roti on to tawah, when tiny little bumps form on the surface, flip the roti with a spatula.

11) Oil the top of the roti, flip, oil the other side and let cook. A good roti will swell or rise.

Use your spatula to press the around the sides, it will cause the hot air to make bigger air pockets, this gives you a nice soft and flakey roti.


12)Now this is what I consider the hard part, but there several ways to handle it. Traditionally, once you remove the roti from the tawah, you fling it up in the air and clap it (ouch!!!) I don't do this, my husband does this part for me. However when alone, I put the roti on a plate in between 2 paper towels and beat both sides with spoon. Not as flakey hand clapped method, but it works for me.



Enjoy your roti with a wide variety of curries, we'll do curries next.

Looks wonderful WW.

Thank You and now on to something to eat with your roti or rice...
We basically call "anything" you eat with roti "curry" even if it doesn't have curry powder in it...don't ask me why.
Today I ended up having to make two dishes as curry.


This is a very simple recipe for Canned Salmon, I always keep a few cans on my shelves for quick, last minute, meals. You can eat this with roti, rice, bread, crackers or even in salad.

Here's everything you need:

Chop onion and green onions
In a wok or frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil and saute onion and green onion

Add the entire contents of the canned salmon and mix all ingredients
Season with salt and pepper
heat all the way through and serve.


[edit on 9-12-2006 by worldwatcher]

Now for Pumpkin.. I actually used Butternut Squash but this works with any variety of pumpkin.


Peel and chop a small butternut squash


Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok or pan, saute the pumpkin, adding salt, pepper and dash of adobo seasonings to suit your taste.

Add about 1/3 cup water, cover and allow to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes.
The pumpkin will become mushy and then you're done. Eat with rice or roti.


Enjoy

[edit on 9-12-2006 by worldwatcher]

Awesome WW, next time I cook Indian food, I'm definitely use your Roti recipe and technique. The pictures of the technique are awesome!

[edit on 9/13/2006 by djohnsto77]

thanks dj, I know it's hard to find a roti recipe with pictures on the net. Roti making takes practice. There's another type of roti, I make that is a little easier, I post that one the next time I make it.

Curry Chicken will be the next one

Hi WorldWatcher!

I've read your posts, and always love your avatars, but this thread is really great!!! I love Indian food. My favorite-favorite thing is vegatable samosas.

Would you be so kind as to provide a recipe?



btw, I really appreciate the pics. I'm kind of a novice to this whole 'cooking thing.'

thanks HH, vegetable samosas I'll do it this weekend, UK wizard will get a snack and you'll get your samosas.

Top job and thread WorldWatcher thanks for the recipes and photo`s.

Really looking forward to some curry recipes.

Question do you know any satay recipes or is that an Asian dish mainly?

I love curry and satay dish`s

I`m Australian and i`ll share our recipe,buy a meat pie cover it in tomato sauce and get it in ya,thats about it i think :bnghd: sorry that we`re boring.

Thats why we eat everyone elses food Asian Indian Italian Scotish(Mc D`s) etc.

I didn't cook at all this weekend, but I'll post a curry recipe later today.