Simple Persian Stew (Khoresh)

Mildly Spiced but Tasty

Serves 4

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

450g - 550g blade or other good stewing beef

1 flat teaspoon fenugreek powder

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

1 flat teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups water

Lots of chopped fresh parsley and snipped chives or a finely chopped spring onion

400g can red kidney beans, drained

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt

ground black pepper

toasted slivered almonds or pistachios (optional)

Rice to serve.

Tasty summer tomato and cooked green bean salad in a lemon/olive oil/ salt and black pepper dressing

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a medium saucepan or deep lidded frypan

Fry onion until light and transparent about 3 to 4 minutes

Add the cubed meat, fry 5 to 10 minutes until browned on all sides, stirring.

Add fenugreek, turmeric, cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of salt

Cook 1 minute, stirring.

Add water, bring to boil then simmer with lid on for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Add parsley/chives/spring onion and drained kidney beans and lemon juice

Simmer gently another 20 to 30 minutes until meat is tender. If too much liquid, cook this last session without the lid.

Serve with a sprinkle of chopped nuts or chopped cilantro/coriander

Rice and salad complete the meal.

Stir Fry: Easiest, Tastiest, Quickest- No Lie

Tried for years to cook likeable homemade stir-fry - Then, found the secret.

Serves 3 - 4. Can be doubled to feed more folks.

Sesame oil
200g Singapore or Udon noodle -ready to eat [ soft]
400 -500g chicken boneless thigh meat cut into chunks  - or 1 large chicken breast chunked. Thighs work better.
1 medium red onion
2 scallions [ spring onions ] sliced diagonally including most of the green parts
2 sticks celery/ or 1 small bok choy cut into quarters
1/2 head of broccoli cut into florets
2 carrots, medium sized, thinly sliced diagonally
1 clove garlic
1 little thumb of ginger [optional] but it really adds oomph
1 medium red capsicum
some green beans or a courgette/zucchini - or some diagonally cut asparagus.

Blanch the carrot, broccoli, beans, asparagus, celery if using - 2 minutes
Pour boiling water over the noodles to loosen, do this in a colander
Prepare sauce;
2 tablespoons of sweet Thai chilli sauce 1 tblsp water
125 ml Oyster sauce- Mix these three together.

Fry chicken in sesame oil on medium high, stirring 3 minutes
Add onion, ginger, garlic, spring onion and capsicum - stir fry 2 minutes.
Add blanched vegetables - stir 1 minute

Finally, add the drained noodles
Then the sauce.
Stir it all together until you see everything is boiling or really hot.
Remove from the heat

15 minutes, ready to go. As tasty as - better than bought and vegetables in abundance.
Serve with rice if you want it to go further, i. e. kids or blown budget.

Indian-Style [ PARSI ] Eggs

Unbelievably Different Version of Scrambled Eggs. Tasty as.

For 2-3 serves. Double everything for 4-6 people.

1 small sliced onion

1 Tbsp butter 

Fry gently till golden in a frying pan-not too large, unless making the double quantity

Add 

1 tsp ginger grated and 1 tsp grated garlic/ or 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste.

1 Tbsp  chopped deseeded red chilli fresh or frozen, or for less heat use 1 Tbsp red capsicum

1 Tbsp chopped coriander

Mix and cook 1 minute

then add

3/4 tsp cumin seed

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp coriander powder and  {optional} 1/2 tsp crushed coriander seed - I like the crunch

1/2 tsp salt

Cook until fragrant

Meanwhile beat 4 eggs with 1/4 cup milk

Add these to the spice mix in the pan

Gently stir occasionally until almost set- remove from the heat

Plate up and add plenty of fresh coriander if you like it- Cilantro in the US.

Goes beautifully with slow fried or roasted/grilled tomatoes

Wholegrain toast triangles or chapati / roti / naan breads

Plain yoghurt can be dolloped on top.

Simple Tasty Greek Moussaka

Moussaka
Serves 4 - 6

1 large eggplant
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp each sugar, ground paprika, ground coriander, cumin, ginger.
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
pinch of black or white pepper and salt.
Mix all spices and sugar together in a little bowl - Add oil -mix.
Cut eggplant into 1cm thick slices.
Brush the eggplant slices with the oil and grill or fry or bake until light brown on both sides
Add more oil as needed  - a couple of tablespoons or so, then set aside.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced or chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500g lamb mince
400g can peeled chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon of dried oregano and 1 teaspoon of dried basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Add onions and  garlic and fry gently for 5 minutes  - don't burn them.
Increase heat and add lamb - break up any lumps and stir until meat has lost its pinkness
Add tomatoes and all other ingredients, season to your taste.
Simmer until the mixture is a thick sauce, at least 20 -30 minutes. If it does not become thick the moussaka will be watery after cooking.
Preheat oven, if it is not already hot from baking the eggplants 180C or 350F
Arrange the eggplants in the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish - not too large or the moussaka will be very thin. 22cm by 24cm approx is great.
Top this with the mince .

Topping:
2 eggs, 2 tablespoons flour, 200g natural Greek-style yoghurt, half a cup of cottage cheese or crumbled Feta cheese. 1/3 cup grated parmesan  or hard Greek equivalent like kefalotiri.
Combine these ingredients and drizzle to cover the top of the moussaka
Sprinkle with a little nutmeg.
Bake 40 minutes or slightly less if the topping gets too brown.
Sprinkle with chopped fresh oregano { use thyme if you have no oregano }

Serve with a Greek style salad and lemon slices, black Kalamata olives and pita bread.
Leftovers can be served inside a pita with salad for a scrumptious lunch the next day

This can be made in stages as you have time and assembled just before baking.
A dry chilled white wine is a winner  to serve with moussaka.

Put on the Greek music...