Harissa- Recipe Swap February

I am a member of the facebook Recipe swap group where food bloggers are paired with another blogger in the group and they get the opportunity to discover their partners blog and select a recipe to recreate. This is a great way to make new friends, discover new blogs to follow and learn new styles of global cuisines. 

The month of February I was allocated Mirelle's blog theschizochef . I am very familier with Mirelles blog as I have been visiting it for anumber of years. Mirelle used to actively participate in my flavours of series and create and carve series. What can I say about this Amazing blog? There is a recipe from every nation you can think of and the choice is so big that it was super hard to choose what to make. Ater spending hours looking through the recipes, Iwas  particularly  drawn to Mirelles African inspired recipes as I was born in East Africa and some of her recipes evoked lots of childhood memories.

After short listing something like 10 recipes, I finally settled on her home made Harissa recipe as I love spicy marinades and this Harissa paste has so many uses. I followed the recipe exact to her instructions, only exception was I reduced the quantity  to make one jar full only.

Yield: 1 jarAuthor: Nayna Kanabar

Harissa Paste

A spicy North Afican Red Chilli and garlic paste that is perfect for marinades and using as a dip when added to yoghurt and mayonaisse .

prep time: 30 minscook time: total time: 30 mins

ingredients:

• 4 oz. dried chilles
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

instructions

1. Place the chillies in a bowl with enough boiling water to cover. Let sit for 30 minutes, until chilies are softened
2. In a dry skillet, roast the coriander, cumin and caraway until fragrant. Let cool. Using a spice grinder, grind to a powder.
3. Drain chilies, reserving a little of the liquid.
4. Add all the ingredients to a blender jug like the Optimum 9400 and blend to a smooth paste. If the consistency is a little stiff add a little more of the liquid that the chillies were soaked in.
5. Transfer the Harissa to a sterilised bottle and keep refrigerated.

Created using The Recipes Generator

I made my Harissa sauce in my Optimum 9400 Blender and it blended it to a lovely smooth paste in seconds. The blender is so versatile and powerful that it grinds, pulses, makes ice cream, soups and amazing smoothies and nut butters too. It is easy to clean and maintain too.

If you would like a high speed blender do check out the froothie website as they currently have a sale. You can also get:

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Please check out the other delicious Recipe Swap Recipes

Harissa

Chana Daal Chutney

Fresh Green Chana Chaat

Koeksisters - South African Doughnuts

Til Ke Laddu - Sweet Sesame Seed Balls

Pineapple Ginger Bubble Tea

Masala Chai

Ragi, Banana & Dates Smoothie

Roasted Beetroot Hummus

Mamra Upma

Spiced Plantain Chips

Fiery Habanero Pepper Hot Sauce

Sweet Potato Soup

Romesco Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Orange capsicum
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
120 g almonds

Method:

1. In a dry pan roast the almonds  for 5 minutes stirring intermittently so that they dont't burn.
2. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

3. Wash the orange capsicum and thread it on a skewer.
4. Roast the capsicum in the flame of your cooker, keep turning it so that the pepper chars evenly.
5. Once pepper is roasted put it in a zip loc bag for 10 minutes.

6. After 10 minutes wash off the charred skin from the pepper and cut it in half, remove the seeds and the membrane and chop finely.
7. In a grinder grind the toasted almonds and keep aside.
8. In a blender jug add the roasted capsicum, chilli flakes, vinegar, salt and lemon juice and blend to a fine puree.

9. In a pan add the olive oil and when it is hot add the garlic and sauté it.Add the garlic and oil to the blender together with the ground almonds and blend again for a few seconds to combine ingredients.
10. Adjust seasoning if required. Transfer to serving bowl and serve as a dip with tortilla chips.

NB- The Romesco sauce can be used added to any vegetable or pasta .

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Flavours of Spain event by simply.food guest hosted by Priya.

Lets cook with Nuts -event by simply.food

Red Chilli and garlic marinade and a Pyrex product review.

Red chilli and garlic Marinade – A spicy marinade that will spice up any vegetables for the perfect barbecue.

Ingredients:

8 red dried chillies

1 green chilli finely chopped

6 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped

1 small red onion peeled and diced

100 ml olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method:

1.Soak the chillies in water for 30 minutes

2.In a blender add the garlic, onion, green chillies.

3.Drain the red chillies, cut them open and remove the seeds and discard. Add them to the blender

4.Puree the ingredients to form a fine paste.

5.Heat the oil in a pan and add the puree and the salt cook it on medium heat for 5-6 minutes until the rawness of onion and garlic is cooked out.

6.Remove from heat and add the lemon juice ,cool the marinade. It will keep for up to 1 week in refrigerator and can be used as required to marinade vegetables, paneer, tofu or quorn.

Pyrex has been a trusted cookware and kitchen brand since 1915 and is best known for its heat resistant glass range of bake ware, ovenware, prep ware and storage solutions.

Pyrex glassware have introduced their new 4-in-1 Plus range which allows you to  cook, store, freeze and reheat food with just one product.

The glass dish is made from borosilicate glass, which offers superior thermal shock resistance and it comes with a an innovative smart lid, each smart lid features a steam valve, making the product perfect for microwave cooking and reheating. 

 The 4 in 1 range is Ideal for picnics or packed lunches, the smart lid also enables the dish to be made completely air and liquid tight, keeping food fresh for longer and enabling easy transportation. The glass dishes also incorporate large handles to give you a safe grip when handling the product.

The glass dish and smart lid are both dishwasher safe and stain resistant. The borosilicate glass is also highly hygienic, as it does not retain tastes or flavours. Items within the Pyrex 4-in-1 Plus range are priced from £5.99 and are available from stockists nationwide. To find out more about the entire Pyrex cook and kitchenware collection and locate your nearest stockist, visit www.pyrexuk.com.

Cooking is a science in its self, ingredients change form and give new flavour when experimented with and combined together. So it seems apt to have the correct equipment in the kitchen to ensure accurate measurements of the ingredients. The new Kitchen Lab collection from Pyrex includes two stunning products the Measure and Mix beaker and Measure and Shake jug, both of which are made from blown glass. The Shake jug comes in two sizes and comes with a rubber stopper.It is perfect for shaking marinades, salad dressing and can be used to store the dressings and  marinades  too.

The Measure and Mix beaker is ideal for measuring flour, sugar, rice and liquids making it perfect for creating anything from delicious cakes to a warming risotto.

 The beaker is also suitable for heating milk, chocolate and butter in the microwave, particularly useful for those budding bakers. The beaker is available in three different sizes, 250ml, 500ml and 750ml, and with clear markings and a precise pouring lip making it easy to transfer the liquids without spilling.

 I have been lucky to try out the Measure and Mix beaker and Measure and Shake jug in my kitchen. I have found both items extremely useful  as both come with clear to read measurements on the side, they are both easy to clean and the measure and shake jug is perfect for storae with the secure rubber lid.

Thankyou to Pyrex for sending me the 4 in 1 dishes, the beaker and shake jug to review. All the views in this post are my own

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Chilli sauce marinade

Chilli sauce/chilli marinade a la shawarma~ Secret recipe club challenge 17th September 2012

This is my assignment with the Secret Recipe Club.The aim of the club is that you are allocated a blog from which you have to select a recipe and try  it and blog about it.
My assigned blog was Heidi's World . This blog is written in Danish but the recipes could be translated using the google translate button.I chose the easy chilli sauce/chilli marinade a la shawarma recipe to recreate as I was planning to have a barbecue and it would be perfect for marinading the vegetables.The only changes I made were that 1 added a medium ripe tomato to the sauce to add more substance to the marinade and to reduce the heat..The original recipe can be found here.

Fiery Chilli sauce marinade that will jazz up any vegetable for grilling or barbecuing,

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons ketchup
1 medium ripe tomato blended to a  smooth  puree
4 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
4 teaspoon of red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1.In a bowl add the  ketchup, blended tomato puree, oil, garlic and chili flakes and mix  well.
2.Season with cumin, lemon juice and salt.
3. Leave the sauce to rest for a few hours until ready to use.Use as a marinade for vegetables.

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Fiery chilli sauce  for spicing up Malaysian dishes.


Ingredients:

10 dried chillies , seeds removed and soaked
10 fresh red chillies ,seeds removed and chopped in to small pieces
1 sweet red chilli pepper, seeds removed and chopped in to small pieces
4 shallots peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cooking oil

Method:

1.Add both types of chillies,sweet chilli pepper, shallots and garlic to a blender and coarsely grind the mixture.Add the salt.
2.In a large pan heat the oil, when it is hot add the chilli paste and cook it  until the paste starts to separate oil.
3. Cool and transfer to a sterilised jar and use as required. ( Store in the fridge)

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Submitting to:
Flavours of Malaysia event by simply.food

Szechaun chilli sauce

A spicy chilli sauce that is versatile in all oriental  stirfry dishes.

Ingredients:

10 Red dried chillies
1/2 red sweet pepper(long one)
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon sesame paste
2 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
10 szechaun peppercorns finely ground.
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sweet chilli garlic sauce

Method:

1. Soak the red chillies in hot water overnight.
2. In the morning drain the red chillies remove stalks, seeds and membrane and chop roughly.
3.Finely chop the red sweet pepper.
4. In a blender jug add the sweet red pepper and the chillies and blend to a coarse puree .
5. Heat oil in a pan when it is hot add garlic and ginger and saute for  30 seconds.(take care not to burn the garlic)
6. Add the blended chilli paste, salt and chilli powder , chilli garlic sauce , sesame paste and saute till sauce thickens .
7. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar.

Add to stir fried rice or vegetables as required.

NB- I added the sweet pepper to keep the heat less, however if you dare replace it with an extra 10 red chillies instead.Also for cooking with the sauce works well with coarse texture , however if you want to serve as dipping sauce blend it smoother.

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Submitting to:
Flavours Of Singapore event by simply.food

Sweet red pepper chilli sauce.

Sweet pepper chilli sauce-A spicy piquant chilli sauce made from sweet red peppers and hot green chillies. Hot and tangy it makes a lovely accompaniment to all snacks.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet long red pepper
10 green chillies
3 tablespoons lemon juice (approx ½ lemon)
1/2 teaspoon lemon rind
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. Wash the red pepper and remove the seeds and membrane.

2. Chop it into small pieces
3. Wash the green chillies, deseed and chop up into small pieces
4. Remove the rind from the lemon and squeeze the juice
5. In the blender add the chopped red pepper, green chillies, lemon rind, lemon juice, salt,sugar and olive oil.
6. Blend to make a coarse paste.
7. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve with Chunky French fries or tortilla chips..
Keep refrigerated consume with in two days.

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