Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tandoori Fried Rice

This dish has been on my mind for awhile. I remember the very first time I ever had Chinese fried rice. I was 3 or 4 I remember the vegetables, chicken and rice.
I fell in love with that dish instantly and to this day Chinese food is my favorite.

Indian food is also one I just love. So I thought "Tandoori Fried Rice".
So after cooking the Indian dinner for 14 I realized I would have some left over tandoori chicken. So I made this dish tonight and it was fantastic!


1 Teaspoon of curry powder mixed with 1 Tablespoon of water

2 Eggs

2 Cups cooked and cooled Basmati rice

2 Cups fresh or frozen vegetables ( I used some frozen mixed vegetables, green beans, yellow bell pepper and zucchini )

2 Cups leftover Tandoori chicken

1-2 Tablespoons Tandoori Paste mixed with 4 tablespoons of water.

Beat the eggs and add the curry water. Set aside.

Add 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil to a pan and heat on med. till hot
Pour in egg and scramble til done add vegetables and cook till they are almost done 3-5 minutes.
Add rice and chicken stir well and drizzle the tandoori paste and water over everything.

Cover and turn heat off let sit 3-5 minutes.
Stir and serve

Copyright ETC 2009

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Sharing

Sometimes the simple things in life are best shared...especially with someone who has not had the experience.

This was the case when I was shopping for the things I needed to cook the Indian dinner for 18 this weekend.
While I was shopping "Devon" I was approached by six young students they had driven from another state and were exploring the city.

"Excuse me" one of the girls asked. " Do you know anything about this street?" Well it was their lucky, lucky, lucky day!
I took them to my favorite Indian sweet shop where. I told the shopkeeper..."these people have spent their whole lives never having Carrot Halva, White Rossagollas and Gulab Jamun!"
The next thing they knew he had prepared a plate with a sample for them to try.

They loved all of the treats that he so generously gave them. Well I said I am going up the street as I have quite a bit of shopping to do.
They also had a list of questions as they were doing a research project. So as we walked they asked me the questions on the list as we walked up the street.

Next we went in to the grocery store...where we met my friend Hero...I explained to him about the students. I asked if I could give him some things from the store to try. "Sure, Estelle", he said so I started with a package of Butter Naan, Tamarind Juice, some Chaat, a fresh Mango and a fresh Pineapple.

Hero brought a bag over so that they could put all their items in it. They were so thrilled, surprised and grateful for this whole experience. It was a delight to be able to share this with them. Share something you love with some one who has not tried it before.
Try something new yourself. "Life is a banquet so share what is on your side of the table"

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Faux Cheese Cake

Faux Cheesecake,

I created this simple dessert for the summer...something light yet with flavor.
The man loves "Raspberry Coulis" as Summer approaches and there are fresh berries I decided to make him something that would taste decadent yet be light and worthy of raspberry coulis.

So I bought two large containers of a Gluten Free Vanilla Yogurt.
Lined the colander with 3 large coffee filters and poured in the yogurt. Set the colander on a plate put it back in the fridge and let it drain for 3 hours. Then I carefully removed the yogurt which is now quite a bit thicker. Stirred in 1 tablespoons of Neilsen-Massey Vanilla and 1 tablespoon of Neilsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste and put it back in the fridge.

For the raspberry Coulis I used a jar of Robert Rothchild's Seedless Raspberry Preserves. This brand is Gluten Free and they have won numerous awards for their outstanding products.

To serve it I put the yogurt ( Faux Cheese Cake ) in a bowl and spooned several tablespoons of the preserves over the top.
This was a huge hit...The Man was delighted with this healthy tasty dessert...."This taste like Cheesecake", he said.
I will have to wait until the fresh raspberrys are out in a few more weeks to make him a fresh batch of raspberry coulis to enjoy with his Faux Cheesecake.
copyright ETC.2009