Lamb Pilaf

I have been thinking about cooking rice pilaf after saw the recipe in Jill Norman's
Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference. After search in wikipedia about the meaning of "pilaf" and the link of Pakistani Lamb Pulao with picture illustration, I decided this is going to be our Xmas day lunch since we got the lamb and every ingredients. As always, the procedure is simplified to our families' taste and resource.

800 gr lamb
2 cups basmati rice
6 cups thinly slices onions
4 garlic cloves
1 piece ginger root
6 green cardamom pods
20 black peppercorns
1 bay leave
1 stick cinnamon
salt
2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
ground turmeric
5 cloves
a pinch of cayenne pepper powder
2 cups water

Wash the rice a couple times and soak in water for 1-2 hours. Dry the meat with a paper towel and cut the meat in cubes. Season them with salt and pepper. Wrap in plastic foil and let the meat rest. Thinly slice onion and crush garlic. Grind peppercorns, cumin, coriander.

Heat oil (ghee) and add the large fragrant spices: cardamom, cinammon, cloves and the bay leave. Fry over high heat until the turn brownish. Add crushed garlic and then the onions and cook over medium heat until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add ground spices, mix, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the lamb and cook until colored on every side, mixing all the time. Add salt and turmeric and the rice, stir for a minute or two, add 2 cups of boiling water. Mix and cover, leave in very low heat for 40-45 minutes. The link calls for dutch oven which I don't have, so I use the method we used to cook rice before the age of rice-cooker. It turned out perfect.

Tomato Rasam (Moong Dall)

Idea of this soup came from reading Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness'
Indian Home Cooking.

Spice Mixture:
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 black peppercorns
3 cloves


Broth:
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2-3 cups of water
3/4 cup Moong Dall (yellow split pea)
1 topmato
5 okra (optional)
salt to taste

Tempering Oil:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
4 fresh or frozen curry leaves (optional)

Boil lentil and water with turmeric and skim well, until the pea is soft (about 15 minutes). Meawhile grind the spice mixture and add to the soup. Add diced tomato (and okra). In a seperate pan, heat oil and mustard seeds (and curry leaves) over medium heat until the mustard seeds pop (use cover). Pour the tempering oil into the soup.

Roasted Brussel Sprout with Balsamic Vinegar

Idea came from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, the balsamic vinegar glaze was originated from 28cooks.blogspot. This is kept very simple.

16 oz brussel sprouts
4 tbsp olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425. Sprinkle some vinegar and oil over brussel sprouts, season with salt and pepper and spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Roaste 25-30 minutes until tender. Then, saute the brussel sprouts in remaining olive oil over medium-high heat, add balsamic vinegar and cook another 3 minutes.

Tofu Okra Soup

Tofu with Squid