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South Indian Fish Curry

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A very easy pleasy summer squeezy fish dinner, light on stomach & time 🙂

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 500 gms boneless fish chunks (I use Gummy in Australia, you can use any) + 2 tbpns lemon juice & salt
  • 1 onion (grated)
  • 1 tomato (chopped)
  • 8 – 10 curry leaves
  • 1 tspn nigella seeds + 1 tspn fennel seeds + a pinch of carom seeds + 1 tbspn coriander seeds + 1 tspn cumin seeds (crushed together)
  • 1 generous pinch of turmeric powder
  • 1 tspn Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • ¼ cup cooking oil + ¼ cup cooking mustard oil
  • 1 tbspn ginger & garlic paste
  • 4 green chillies (sliced)
  • Some warm water

Method:

  1. Marinate fish chunks in lemon juice & salt and keep refrigerated for 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil (cooking + mustard) and fry onion & ginger garlic paste until it is light golden in color but not brown or dark brown.
  3. Add curry leaves and green chillies and saute for 2 minutes until the flavour comes out.
  4. Add tomatoes and, salt, chilli powder & turmeric and cook covered on medium heat for 3 – 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are mushy.
  5. Add some hot water and cook the masala. You may need to add little water multiple times to cook the masala. Do not add all the water at the same time otherwise the masala will be very over cooked and bad in taste. This process is called “Bhoonna” in Pakistani cooking.
  6. When the oil oozes out and the masala looks cooked, add fish and the spice mix and give gentle stir. (We add these spices at this point because we don’t want them to burn or over cook and it affects the color of the curry too)
  7. Add 1 cup of warm water and cook covered on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until the fish is cooked and the curry oozes out the oil.
  8. Garnish with some coriander if you want and serve.
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Home-made American Diner Style Hash Browns

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There are more than 10 ways to make hash browns depending in which part of the world you are eating. This is the most easy & authentic recipe for American diner style hash brown which complements anything you make for breakfast.

Ayesha’s Kitchen

ALERT: It is highly addictive!

The buttery crispiness of potatoes is so irresistible!

Ingredients:

  • 2 potatoes (Russet/ Australia/ Ruby/ any potato of your choice)
  • Some butter at room temperature
  • Some cooking oil
  • A generous pinch of salt

Method:

  1. Grate the potatoes and put the gratings in a sieve. Run cold water through until all the starch is gone and water runs clear. Turn off the tap.
  2. Keep the water draining for 10 minutes and then spread it on a clean and dry kitchen towel and pat dry the potato gratings. Put the potato back in a clean dry bowl.
  3. Heat the frying pan and melt some butter and oil. Take a handful of grated potatoes and place it in the oil and spread it even. With the flipping spoon give it a shape and let it cook for at least 5 minutes on medium heat or until the side is crispy. Flip it and season with some salt and let the other side cook for 5 – 8 minutes. Splash some oil on the sides to give it the extra crispiness.
  4. Take it out on the plate and serve with some poached eggs, mushrooms & smoked salmon or anything you like.

Chicken Lasagna

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Chicken lasagna….. Honestly there is nothing as such! it is just a variation made by people who prefer chicken over beef. I can eat it, like it but I can never give it the place of traditional beef lasagna 🙂

The recipe below is a very Pakistani version of Lasagna, loaded with cheese, overused herbs & garlic & of course black olives, because that it what makes every recipe Italian or Mediterranean in Pakistan 😀  but it really handy for kids play dates, birthdays, tea parties & all kind of showers.

Ayesha’s Kitchen

 

Ingredients:

FOR RED SAUCE

  • 750 gms chicken mince
  • 2 tbspns ginger garlic paste
  • ½ cup oil
  • 1 cup fresh button mushrooms (sliced) (optional)
  • 2 cans tomato
  • ½ cup tomato paste
  • 1 tbspn dried Italian herb mix
  • ½ cup sweet chilli sauce
  • Salt & pepper to taste

FOR WHITE/ BACHAMEL SAUCE

  • 50 gms butter
  • 1 tbspn heapful plain flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup cooking cream
  • 1 cup cheese mix (cheddar, mozzarella & parmesan) (shredded)
  • A pinch of salt & pepper
  • A generous pinch of chicken salt

FOR LASAGNA

  • 1 packet/ carton instant lasagna sheets
  • 1.5 cups cheese mix (cheddar, mozzarella & parmesan) (shredded)
  • Capsicum (cut into slices)
  • Tomato (cut into slices)
  • Some sliced black olives
  • Italian herb mix mixed with red chilli flakes to garnish

Method

FOR RED SAUCE

  1. Heat oil in a wide sauce pan and fry ginger garlic paste until it gives a cooked look which is light gold and light crispy. Add chicken mince, break it into pieces while cooking until all the moisture dries and oil oozes out. Add tomato paste, canned tomatoes, sweet chilli sauce, salt, pepper & Italian herb mix and let it simmer until the tomatoes break down and the mixtures starts looking like Bolognese sauce. (on low – medium heat – the process should take around 30 minutes)
  2. Add mushrooms and let it cook on low heat for further 5 minutes. (We didn’t add mushrooms with chicken because no one likes over cooked mushrooms)
  3. Remove from heat and let it cool.

FOR BECHAMEL SAUCE

  1. Mix milk & cream.
  2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add flour. Cook until the flour is light gold in color. Gradually add half n half (milk & cream mixture) with constant whisking until all the mixture is poured. Continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken. Add cheese and continue mixing.
  3. Add salt, pepper & chicken salt, stir & remove from heat. Let it cool until needed.

FOR LASAGNA

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
  2. Now is the fun part….. “assembling lasagna”. In a rectangular Pyrex baking tray, lay a thin layer of bechamel sauce, followed by Bolognese sauce and lasagna sheets. This layer of sauce at the bottom will help in the cooking of lasagna sheet by providing a moist environment.
  3. Continue layering until the final layer is red sauce. Add shredded cheese on top with some capsicum & tomato rings, sprinkle some Italian herb mix and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 – 35 minutes, until the lasagna sheets are cooked through & the cheese is melted and bubbly.
  4. Take the dish out of the oven and let it rest for 7 – 8 minutes before cutting into portions.
  5. Serve.

Beef Chilli Dry

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Beef chilli dry is a Chinese – Pakistani dish available in Cafes, oriental restaurants and continental restaurants in Pakistan. It is my favorite because I love the flavor of green chillies, garlic & braised tender beef.

I have created this recipe after numerous failed recipes….. here it is 🙂

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

BEEF:

  • ½ kilo chuck steak/ beef schnitzel (cut against the grain into thin slices)
  • 2 tbspns olive oil
  • 2 tbspns ginger & garlic paste
  • A generous pinch of salt
  • ½ tspn black pepper
  • A pinch of white pepper
  • 2 tbspns soy sauce
  • 2 tbspns lemon juice
  • 3 tbspns corn flour

FOR STIR FRY

  • Some oil for frying
  • 2 tbspns sesame oil
  • 1 tbspn ginger garlic paste
  • 4 large green chillies (remove seeds and julienne cut)
  • Some green part of spring onions chopped
  • 2 tbspns oyster sauce
  • Some sesame seeds to garnish at the end

Method

  1. Cut steak into thin slices and marinate in all the ingredients given for beef. Mix and keep aside for 40 – 50 minutes, refrigerated.
  2. Heat oil in a pan for shallow frying and fry beef slices in batches. 5 minutes on medium heat per batch. Do not over crowd the pan while frying.
  3. Keep the fried beef aside until needed.
  4. In a wok, heat some sesame seed oil and fry ginger garlic paste until fragrant. Add green chillies, spring onion sprigs and saute’ for a minute on high flame.
  5. Add oyster sauce, mix & add beef strips. Give a final stir for 1 minute on high flame and serve hot with boiled rice with garnish if sesame seeds.

Aussie – English Breakfast (Breakkie Platter)

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So, this is my other favorite breakkie platter which is an infusion of Aussie & English favorites. I miss staying at B&Bs due to Covid 19 lockdown so why not use the quarantine time and create something you miss at your own royal deluxe home suite 🙂

Ayesha’s KItchen

Ingredients:

  • Bacon Rashers (I use turkey or beef bacon) (grilled)
  • Tomatoes (Grilled)

BAKED BEANS

  • 2 cups (453 grams) great northern beans, navy or haricot, rinsed
  •  1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  •  10 ounces (284 grams) yellow onion, finely chopped
  •  1 cup (87 grams) carrot, peeled and finely chopped
  •  1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  •  2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or grated
  •  14-ounce (400 grams) can/tin crushed or whole tomatoes
  •  2 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
  •  1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  •  1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  •  1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

SCRAMBLED EGG

  • ¼ cup cream
  • Salt & pepper to season
  • 2 tbspns soft butter
  • 2 eggs

SAUTTED MUSHROOMS

  • ½ cup button mushrooms/ portobello (sliced)
  • 1 tbspn butter
  • A pinch of dried Italian herbs
  • 1 tbspn cream

HOME MADE HASHBROWNS/ AMERICAN DINER STYLE HASH BROWNS

  • 1 large potato (grated)
  • Butter & oil

METHOD

SAUTE’ED MUSHROOMS

  • Melt some butter in a pan and sweat the mushroom slices. Add cream and season with some Italian dried herbs. Ready!

HOME MADE HASH BROWN

  • Grate the potato and put the gratings in a sieve. Run cold water through until all the starch is gone and water runs clear. Keep the water draining for 10 minutes and then spread it on a clean kitchen towel. Make sure it is dry. Put the potato back in a clean dry bowl.
  • Heat the frying pan and melt some butter and oil. Take a handful of grated potatoes and place it in the oil and spread it even. With the flipping spoon give it a shape and let it cook for at least 5 minutes on medium heat or until the side is crispy. Flip it and season with some salt and let the other side cook for 5 – 8 minutes. Splash some oil on the sides to give it the extra crispiness.
  • Take it out on the plate.

FOR BAKED BEANS

  • To a large bowl add 4 cups (2 pints) of warm water to a bowl and add beans, soak at room temperature for 8 hours. After 8 hours drain, discard the liquid and rinse the beans.
  • To a large saucepan, add 6 cups water and bring to a simmer. Add the beans, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often so they don’t stick to the bottom. Cooking time will depend on your beans so check them often for tenderness.
  • Preheat oven to 320°F/160°C.
  • While the beans cook (15 minutes before they finish boiling) add the oil to a large, oven-proof skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (if using whole, crush with hands) ketchup, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Be mindful if your ketchup is salty, you may need to adjust the salt. Stir to combine. Add 1/4 cup (50 ml) water and stir, simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 cup (236 ml) water. Use a hand blender or a blender, working in batches to blend until smooth. Return back to the same pan stir in 3/4 cup water. Taste for seasoning.
  • Drain the cooked beans and discard the water. Add the beans to the pan with the cooked vegetables and stir.
  • Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes uncovered.

SCRAMBLED EGGS

  • Whisk eggs, salt, pepper & cooking cream in a bowl. In a saucepan or a frying pan, melt some butter and add the egg mixture. Stir with the spatula until the eggs are cooked and scrambled. Please don’t overcook 😊.

FOR BACON & TOMATOES

  • Heat a grill pan to max. Place bacon rashers and tomatoes on the grill and grill for 1 minute on each side. Ready!

Now that everything is ready, arrange them onto your serving dish and serve.

The Atlantic (Breakkie Platter)

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So this is my favorite breakfast platter inspired by Jolly Miller (local Melbourne café). Melbourne is in lockdown stage 4 due to Covid 19 and all the restaurants are closed. I was missing this beauty from my local café “Jolly Miller” so I decided to give it a go….. and it turned out better than them 😀

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Pro tip: make the hash browns first as they are time consuming. Rest I have tried to explain everything here, if unsure about anything, please ask in the comments.

Ingredients:

  • 50gms smoked salmon
  • 2 light rye sourdough
  • A lot of butter at room temperature
  • Some greens to garnish
  • A pinch of smoked paprika to garnish

POACHED EGGS

  • 2 eggs
  • A saucepan full of water
  • Some salt
  • A splash of vinegar

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

  • 2 egg yolks
  • A pinch of salt
  • A splash of lemon juice
  • ¼ cup butter (melted)

SAUTTED MUSHROOMS

  • ½ cup button mushrooms/ portobello (sliced)
  • 1 tbspn butter
  • A pinch of dried Italian herbs
  • 1 tbspn cream

AVO SMASH

  • 1 avocado
  • 1 tbspn lemon juice
  • Some cracked black pepper

GRILLED HALLOUMI

  • 2 sticks of Halloumi cheese (fresh Halloumi please!)
  • HOME MADE HASHBROWNS/ AMERICAN DINER STYLE HASH BROWNS
  • 1 large potato (grated)
  • Butter & oil

METHOD

POACHED EGGS

  • For poaching the eggs, fill your 22cm saucepan half with water and bring it to a boil. Add distilled vinegar. Now crack the egg in a small bowl and very carefully take it near the boiling water. Dip half of your bowl in the water and leave the egg in the water. Do same with other egg. Let them cook for 30 seconds and then remove the saucepan from the heat and cover it for exact 3 minutes.

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

  • Whist 2 egg yolks with a pinch of salt and lemon juice in a microwave safe bowl. Whisk well and gradually add hot melted butter with constant whisking. The constant whisking will cook the eggs with the heat of melted butter. Microwave for 20 seconds and voila!…… Hollandaise sauce is ready.

SAUTE’ED MUSHROOMS

  • Melt some butter in a pan and sweat the mushroom slices. Add cream and season with some Italian dried herbs. Ready!

AVOCADO SMASH

  • Remove the pit and the skin of the avocado and combine it in a bowl with a splash of lemon juice & a sprinkle of cracked black pepper. Smash it with the fork, leave it a bit chunky and it is ready.

GRILLED HALLOUMI

  • Make sure the Halloumi cheese is at room temperature. Cut two or more sticks from the slab. Heat the grill pan to max and grill the cheese 1 minute per side.

HOME MADE HASH BROWN

  1. Grate the potato and put the gratings in a sieve. Run cold water through until all the starch is gone and water runs clear. Keep the water draining for 10 minutes and then spread it on a clean kitchen towel. Make sure it is dry. Put the potato back in a clean dry bowl.
  2. Heat the frying pan and melt some butter and oil. Take a handful of grated potatoes and place it in the oil and spread it even. With the flipping spoon give it a shape and let it cook for at least 5 minutes on medium heat or until the side is crispy. Flip it and season with some salt and let the other side cook for 5 – 8 minutes. Splash some oil on the sides to give it the extra crispiness.
  3. Take it out on the plate.

 

Apply some butter on the sourdough bread and toast until golden and crisp.

Smoked salmon should be on room temperature so it doesn’t feel cold when served.

When everything is ready arrange them onto your serving plate and serve.