Kankun Beef

Kankun or morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica) also known as water spinach and water convolvulus or swamp cabbage is a popular greens in East and Southeast Asia. This leafy green consider as poor's man dish since it's very cheap and available widely in East and Southeast Asia.

 I think kankun was introduced to Maldives may be since 10 years. Now it’s available at the market, stores and local shops. A bunch weighing around hundred grams will cost around Eight Maldivian Rufiya. The leaves and tender tops are often stir-fried with some kind of sauce and meat or dried tuna. Kankun dishes are so easy and fast to prepare, as well it’s very healthy. Today I made kakun beef, just love the taste. I love this dish with rice and dall curry.  

Ingredients:

200 grams kankun leaves (Pick cleaned and washed)

250 grams tenderloin beef, thinly sliced

1 big onion sliced

2 cloves garlic sliced

4 dry chilies (each cut in to 3 )

2 tbs dark soy sauce

1 tbs Oyster sauce

½ tsp pepper powder

4 tbs vegetable oil

¾ tsp salt

Method:

1_ In a bowl add beef 1 table spoon soy sauce, oyster sauce and pepper powder, leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

2_ In a very hot wok or a pan add oil, onion, dry chilly and garlic, sauté until onion gets soft. In to this add marinated beef and sauté for 5 minutes, you can see beef getting cooked. Lower heat of stove to very low and cover beef mixture with lid. Cook covered until beef is tender, this will take 20 to 30 minutes.

3_ when beef is tender tip all kankun leaves, remaining soy sauce and salt stir fry for few minutes and remove from heat……………………. Enjoy! 

Baked Curried Chicken with Fried Tomato Couscous

Introducing Couscous to Maldivian cuisine, I have never seen or heard anyone cooking Couscous here, but I have seen in a TV channel call TLC some of the world famous chefs cooking Couscous in different ways. Four months before I went to do some shopping at a shopping Center called Agora & to my surprise I saw a small box of Couscous  but that day I did not buy it. Few days back I went again for shopping & bought 1 small box. This is one of the important foods which must stay in my pantry without running out of it.

Fried tomato Couscous

So the big question will be what is COUSCOUS? Couscous is actually a grain food that is comparable to pasta or rice. It is actually made of semolina wheat that's moistened and then formed into tiny grain shapes. Couscous grains are smaller than rice grains and are dusted with flour so that they can retain structure. It can be interesting to know that couscous is staple food of some regions of the world and is considered like the pasta or rice in some countries. Just like pasta and rice, the couscous can be very versatile in terms of preparation and can be used in various dishes and salads, and they can also be used to prepare side dishes. Couscous is also a very good source of protein, Carbohydrates. The best thing about couscous is that it contains no cholesterol.

Baked Curried Chicken

I cooked fried tomato Couscous for Friday’s special lunch and to go with this Baked curried chicken & Copy Fai (kind of Kale leaf) salad.

Ingredients for Baked Curried Chicken

1 kg whole Chicken (skin removed)

2 medium onions (sliced)

7 garlic cloves (chopped)

11/2 inch ginger (chopped)

2 springs curry leaves

12 pcs 2” + 1 whole pandan leaves

2 tsp Cumin powder

21/2 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp fennel seed powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

31/2 tbs lonumirus chicken curry paste

1 tsp whole pepper

11/2 tbs tomato paste

2 inch cinnamon

3 tbs chilly sauce

1cup thick coconut milk

2 good pinch of dried rosemary (optional)

1/2 of a lime

Salt

1/3 cup + 2 tsp vegetable oil

Ingredients for fried tomato CousCous

2tbs chopped onion

1garlic clove (chopped)

6curry leaves

1tsp nigella seeds (Kalhu dhiri) optional

1big Tomato (sliced)

1cup water

1/2cup Couscous

2tbs oil

Salt

Method:

Roasted Chicken Curry:_

Make small incisions on the fleshy areas of the chicken (leg, breast). Leave aside.

In a sauce pan heat 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Add onion, chopped ginger, garlic, curry leaves and pandan leaves. 

Saute until slightly golden. Take half of the onion mixture into another bowl & leave aside. Add Cumin powder, Coriander powder, fennel seed powder and turmeric powder fry for 2to 3minutes, switch off flame, but don't take the pan out of stove the slight heat is needed yet. Add Lonumirus curry paste whole pepper & fenugreek seeds crushed with your fingers or a grinder, tomato paste and 1tsp salt. Mix everything together. Add 2 tsp oil and again mix. 

Now line a baking tray big enough to hold the chicken with aluminum foil. Rub this curry paste on and inside the chicken pushing some paste into the incisions and into the cavity.

When you are finished cut 3 strips of pandan leaf from the whole leaf big enough to tie the chicken. If you don't have a big whole leaf you can do as I did. I knotted three small strips to make a big strip enough to tie the chicken. I made three strips like this. Now tie the chicken with the pandan strips squeezing the legs, the wings inside, so that the flavors will remain inside the chicken. 

Cover the tray with plastic wrap or with aluminum foil & leave the chicken in the fridge to marinate for 4 hour's or overnight. Pre Heat the oven to 220C, 15 minutes before baking take the chicken, take out the plastic wrap and sprinkle half of the fried onions which was taken before on to the marinated chicken,  put the tray into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, again take the tray out now some oil will be formed in the bottom of the tray. 

Pour the coconut milk, sprinkle 1/2tsp salt, dried rosemary & put the cinnamon stick broken in to 2into the curry. Being very careful not to tear the aluminum foil mix everything using a spoon or an egg beater, again put the tray into the oven & leave for 15 minutes again take the tray out mix the tomato sauce and using a spoon scoop spoonful of gravy or curry on the chicken. Like this gos on & in each 15minutes take the tray out from oven pour the curry on the chicken. You can taste the curry at this point & add salt if you need more otherwise keep on baking like this for 11/2hour or until chicken is cooked. when cooked take the tray out squeeze 1/2 of the lime on to the roasted chicken.

Method:

Fried tomato CousCous

In sauce pan heat oil, add onion, curry leaves & nigella seeds. Fry for 3minutes until fragrant.

Add the Tomatoes fry for another 2minutes.

Pour water and season with salt, let the water come to boil as soon it starts boiling switch off the flame.

Pour the CousCous & cover the pan with lid. Leave for 5minutes, after 5minutes fluff the couscous with a folk and mix well with the tomatoes......................enjoy a yummy & a healthy meal.

Soya Meat Curry

I think soya meat will be a new kind of food to Maldivians, but just it's so healthy that I want introduce soya meat in my blog.  Maldivians love to eat meat that it is difficult for us to have our meals without some kind of meat, so this is one of the vegetarian food that has the meat texture and similar kind of taste and healthy in lot of ways.

  

This is also one of the kind of food I eat when I really really want to loose weight so welcome to the world of vegetarian meat! Yes, it’s true! Soya Meat or Textured Vegetable Protein ? it is produced with the help of soya beans and has a very fibrous texture similar to that of meat. The protein content in soya meat is above 50%.  Here are some few health benefits of soya meat.

1.It is low on cholesterol.

2.There are fewer chances of you getting a disease due to ingestion of meat.

3.Recent studies conducted have found out that vegetarians live longer!

4.A low fat diet which can be achieved thanks to vegetarianism can help fight impotence.

5.Thanks to a high fibre intake, your digestion system remains fit!

  Soya Meat

Ingredients

1pkt (70g) soya meat

1big onion sliced

1/2tbs ginger garlic paste

10curry leaves

1big tomato (chopped)

2tsp chicken curry powder or roasted curry powder

1/2tsp chili powder or lonumirus curry powder

1tbs tomato paste

1cup coconut milk or low fat milk

3tbs olive oil or vegetable oil

Method:

First remove soya meat from packet and add a little salt and boil them for about 5minutes or some packets you may have to boil more than five minutes just see the instructions. 

Strain and squeeze out water. Soya meat which is available at the stores has a flavor sachet inside. If you have this flavor packet than mix with soya meat set aside. Heat oil in a sauce pan fry onion, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste until onion turns to light brown. 

Mix all the curry powder, tomato paste and tomato give a stir, mix the soya meat and add coconut milk. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with rice or roshi…………………………………….enjoy!

Cooked Beet & Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

400g Beetroot

250g Tomato

1big Onion (sliced)

5tbs Olive Oil

Pinch of salt

1/2tsp Pepper Powder 

Method:

Cut beetroot and tomato in to bite size pieces.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan, add onion saute until transparent. Take onion into a plate or a bowl set aside, in the same sauce pan add beetroot stir with the olive oil to coat well. Cover and cook until medium soft, now mix the tomatoes and soften onion with beetroot. Cover again cook until soft, add pepper powder season with salt. Mix well and serve with rice or bread........................................enjoy!

Big Bun Sandwich with Peanut butter and Banana

This Sandwich is a quick and easy delicious sandwich your family members specially kids will love for breakfast or you can give as a quick snack while they are studying or watching TV, even great for Picnik's.

Ingredients:

1 big Bun (bodu banas)
1 ripe Banana

2tbs Peanut butter

1tbs honey

1tbs butter

Method:

Cut big bun in half, spread peanut butter on one side, mash the banana with honey and spread on top of Peanut butter.

Green peas soup with baby carrots

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1cube chicken stock

11/2cup frozen or canned green peas

1cup baby carrots

1 medium onion

1 garlic bulb

11/2tsp corn flour

Salt

Pepper 

 

Method:

In a sauce pan add 21/2cups of water, chicken stock cube, green peas, onion and garlic cook until green peas get medium tender about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Puree soup mixture with a stick blender or a food processor. Add baby carrots and cook for another 15 minutes on low heat. Mix corn flour in the rest of water remaining and pour into the soup stirring constantly. Cook until soup gets thick season with salt and pepper serve hot with bread .........................................enjoy.

Cream of Tomato soup

Ingredients:

4big tomatoes

1cube chicken stock

1garlic bulb (chopped)

31/2cups water

1cup low fat milk

2tbs corn flour

2tbs nestle cream

1medium onion (chopped)
2tbs olive oil or vegetable oil

Method:

Put the tomatoes in some boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, peel the skins off. Cut in half and scrap the seeds as much you can, then cut into small cubes. In a sauce pan sauté onion, garlic in oil until transparent. Add water, chicken stock cube and chopped tomatoes cook for 20minutes or until tomatoes get tender.

Take out from stove leave to cool little bit, puree in a blender or a stick blender, again pour tomato soup mixture into the sauce pan and start cooking on lowest heat. In a small bowl add the milk, nestle cream and corn flour, mix well until no lumps. Pour this milk mixture slowly into the soup pan stirring constantly. Cook until soup gets thick, season with salt and pepper. Serve with Faaroshi (Crunchy biscuit) or Garlic bread......................................................enjoy.

Healthy Breakfast seven

My target was to complete seven healthy breakfast recipes before I move to any other recipe, but that does not mean I am not going to post breakfast recipes, so cheer up. Those who are bored with having the same breakfast each day can have seven different healthy breakfasts each day of the week and even when your kids go to school in morning pack these breakfast in their lunch boxes. These breakfasts will keep them full and energetic until lunchtime.

Clinical evidence shows kid's and adolescents who consume a healthy breakfast have better academic performance and attentiveness, improved cognition skills, a reduced risk of becoming overweight or obese, and have more healthful diet habits and better diet quality. 

A good shake is a perfect way to start you and your kid's morning. When I write a shake some parents may think only a shake will not be enough for their kids. Well those who think like this, I want to say it is not the quantity of breakfast which provides fuel for the body, it is the proper nutritious breakfast which provides fuel for children's bodies. 

Here is a delicious, healthy and easy recipe to try tomorrow morning: 

Ingredients:

1cup low fat milk (For kid's normal milk)

1(120g) low fat yogurt of your choice (I used apple yogurt and for kids use normal yogurt) 

2tsp honey

1 apple (washed cored and cut in to cubes)

5 almonds (ground) 

Method:

In a juice blender blend everything ............................................TADAA morning shake is ready .....................................................enjoy!

Healthy breakfast six

In this recipe the pan cakes will be VERY VERY SOFT & FLUFFY. It will just MELT in your mouth. For kids and pregnant women's use whole milk, instead of oil melted one tablespoon of butter can be used. This pan cake batter will make average size of seven pancakes. 

 

Ingredients

1 egg

1/2c all purpose flour

1/2c whole wheat flour

1/2tsp sugar

1/2tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/4tsp baking soda

1tbs olive oil or any oil you can use

1 cup low fat milk

For serving:

Honey

1 orange (sliced) 

Method

Separate egg, whip egg whites until stiff peaks. In another bowl add all other ingredient's even egg york mix well. Fold (fold and mix is different, if you mix roughly the egg whites into the batter all the air in egg whites will go so the pan cakes won't be fluffy and soft it is very important to fold) egg white in three batches into the batter with a spatula. Spoon batter using a bowl spoon on to a pre heated flat nonstick pan and bake both sides until slightly brown. Pan cakes will rise little. Serve drizzled with golden honey on top of pan cakes with sliced orange and a cup of green tea................................enjoy.