Sushi

This is a recipe that I got form my friend, I do not know what exacltly the name of the roll. I have used both shrimp and smoked salmon. You can try any other type of fish that you have.

This is for 6-7 rolls

Ingredients

For the cover

• 2 cups of sushi rice
• 5 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2  tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3-4 nori seaweed sheets
• Sesame seeds
• Black seeds

For the Filling

• 1 avocado
• 1 cucumber
• 1 carrot
• Smoked salmon

For the Shrimp Tempura

• Shrimp
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Cold water
• Oil for frying

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 dessertspoon sesame oil

For the topping

• 1 potato
• Oil for frying

Preparation

You need to prepare the rice first. The rice should be free from starch, to do this put rice in a bowl and add some water, wait 20 minutes and get rid of water. Wash several times until the water becomes clear. Strain the rice and wait about 5 minutes.Put the rice in rice cooker, or a pot add same amount of water. Cook it on high heat about 3 minutes until it boils, then turn down the stove to medium and cook another 7 minutes, after seven minutes turn down the heat to very low and cook another 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn off the stove and wait 5 more minutes.

In the meantime add rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and mix well until the sugar dissolves. Take rice in a larger pan and spread vinegar mixture evenly on it. Your rice will be ready when it absorbs all the vinegar.

Cut salmon, avocado and carrot into thin slices. Take out cucumber's inside part and cut it into thin slices as well. 

To prepare the sauce mix mayo, sesame oil, sriracha and crushed garlic.

To prepare shrimp tempura, toss shrimp in corn starch and salt. Beat egg with water and add flour and mix. Dip shrimps in this batter and fry.

For the topping grate potatoes and fry, you can add some salt if you want.

Take a place mat that can be bend and cover it with plastic film.

Cut nori sheets into two pieces. Take one and put in on the place mat. Take one handful of rice and spread on the sheet, sprinkle sesame and black seeds on top of it. Turn the other side and put smoked salmon or shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber and carrot slices and hot sauce. Put them on one side only.

Roll the place mat and squeze it with both hands. Open the mat and fix the roll and squeeze again.Slice the sushi with a sharp knife. Put potatoes on top. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger. Enjoy!

Orange Chicken

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 chicken breast
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsps rice flour
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/3 cup water
• Oil for frying

For the sauce

• 2 tbsps brown sugar
• 2 tbsps soy sauce
• 3 tbsps vinegar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 dessertspoon honey
• Chili pepper powder
• Ginger powder
• 1 tbsp starch
• 1.5 tbsp water

Preparation

Cut chickens into small pieces, put them into a bowl and add minced garlic, orange juice, salt and pepper and keep it in the fridge about 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile mix flours, corn starch and water in a bowl and add chickens into the bowl.

Mix all the sauce ingredients except starch and water in a bowl. 

Mix starch and water in a seperate bowl.

Fry chickens two times to make them more crispy.The second time should be shorter.

Cook sauce in a pan. When it starts to boil add starch slowly and continue cooking until it thickens. Lastly add fried chickens into it and serve with sesame seeds and rice. Enjoy!

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1 tablespoon wine
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon corn starch

For the Sauce

• 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon constarch

For cooking

• Oil
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 5-6 green onions
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 2-3 celery sticks
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews
• 1 tsp ginger (fresh or dried)
• salt

Preparation

Cut chicken breast into cubes and marinate in wine, soy sauce, baking soda and corn starch. Cover and keep in the refregirator about 15 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the sauce with all the ingredients

Chop celery, peppers and onions. In a wok or frying pan stirfry all the vegetables about 5 minutes and take them into a bowl.

    Add some more oil to the wok and stirfry chickens in parts couple of minutes. Take all the chicken from the wok, add more oil and stirfty crushed garlic, ginger and add all the chicken and cook another 30 seconds. Add vegetables and sauce to the wok and cook until the sauce is thickened. Enjoy!

Koshari

Koshari is Egypt's national dish. It is an interesting recipe as it includes both pasta and rice. But I enjoyed it very much.

I want to thank my Egyptian friend Hadeer for cooking Koshari for me and sharing her recipe. 

Note: This recipe is for 4 people

 Ingredients

For the rice pilaf

• 3 cups of rice
• 2 cups of green lentil
• 1 tablespoon noodle
• Salt

For the hot Sauce

• 4 tomatoes (preferably soft)
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper paste
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• Coriander
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Red pepper
• Cumin

For the Oil

• 1 cup of sunflower oil
• 1 big onion
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon starch

Extras

• 1 cup of boiled chickpeas
• 1 pack of Macaroni or any kind of pasta
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp water
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• Coriander
• Salt
• Cumin

Preparation

Slice onions very thinly then suck the extra water with a paper towel, add flour and starch and mix them well.

In the mean time put lentils in water for 10 minutes and wash the rice.

Fry onions until they become golden and take out the onions, as you will use this oil for the whole meal.

Put aside the fried oil. Take a big pan to make the rice pilaf. Add some oil from the pan and fry noodles, after they turn into golden add washed rice and lentils. After coking them couple of minutes, add warm water and salt, close the lid and cook in low heat, until it sucks all the water.

In the meantime, boil macaroni and leave it to drain. Also boil chickpeas couple of minutes, so that they get warm.

To prepare the sauce take a small pan and add oil and some crushed garlic and all the spices except salt.

Add tomato and pepper paste and cook couple of more minutes. Peel tomatoes and put them in the food processer. It should be in the liquid form. Add liquid tomatoes to the sauce.

Lastly add some salt and cook the sauce on low heat until it gets thick.

To prepare some extra sauce; mix crushed garlic, salt, coriander, cumin, water and vinegar.

To serve the dish, first put the rice pilaf, then macaroni, hot sauce, chickpeas and fried onions. Serve the extra sauce on the side. Enjoy!

Mutancana

Ingredients

• 200 gr lamb or beef
• 50 gr shallots
• 20 gr almonds
• 20 gr raisins
• 20 gr dried figs
• 20 gr dried apricots
• 20 gr prunes
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 dessert spoon honey
• 2 tbs vinegar
• Water
• Salt
• Oregano
• Sumac to decorate

Preparation

Take a large pan or pot, put the butter into it and heat, then add chopped lamb or beef (the original recipe requires lamb, but I prefer beef), stir fry until the meat changes colour. Then add shallots and cook couple of minutes more. Add lukewarm water and vinegar, cook on low heat about 45 minutes if you use lamb and 1.5 to 2 hours if you use beef.

In the mean time  chop dried fruits and boil almonds. 

Add raisins, prunes, honey and salt to the meat and cook 5 more minutes. 

In a seperate pan stir-fry peeled almonds, dried figs and apricots with some butter couple of minutes. 

Lastly add the almond mix to the meat and sprinkle some oragano and cook 5 more minutes. 

You can serve with rice pilaf. Enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

For the eggplant

• 4/5 small or 2 big eggplants
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup kadaif or Panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 150 gram grated mozzerella
• 1 ball of fresh mozzerella
• Olive oil

For the sauce

• 3 tomatoes or 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• Fresh basil
• Olive oil
• salt/pepper/cumin/oregano

Preparation

Mix bread crumbs, kadaif and parmesan cheese. Beat eggs and dip sliced eggplants into egg first and then bread crumb mix and layer them on a baking pan and drizzle some olive oil on top. If you do not like the bitter taste of eggplant, you can sprinkle some salt on them and wait couple of hours beforehand.

Bake eggplants around 20 minutes in 400F (200C) preheated oven. I have fried eggplants beforehand, so I only baked them around 10 minutes. 

In the mean time to prepare the sauce; chop onions, tomatoes and fresh basil. In a frying pan stir-fry onions and garlic with olive oil, then add tomatoes and tomato paste with some water and simmer around 15 minutes. Lastly add basil and spices, and cook couple of more minutes. 

Take a glass baking pan and spread some sauce on the bottom, put eggplants on the sauce and put mozzerella slices and sprinkle grated mozzerella. You can use either fresh mozzerella or grated one. I have used both. 

Then put two more layers of eggplant, sauce and cheese depending on the size of your baking pan. Mine was a little bigger, so I did not fill it all to obtain more layers.

Bake in 350 F (175C) preheated oven around 30 minutes. Serve hot. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients 

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 egg
• 2 gloves of garlic (minced)
• ½ cup Panko bread crumbs (I used kadaif)
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder
• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• Parsley
• 2 tbs mozzarella

For the sauce

• 1 small onion
• 1 clove of garlic (minced)
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 tbs ketchup
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper, cumin, oragano

Preparation

Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally, so that you have 4 pieces.

Mix egg, chopped parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. 

Marinate chicken breasts in the mix at least 20 minutes.

In the mean time to prepare the sauce, put some olive oil in the pan and add chopped onions and garlic. Cook until brown. Add 1 cup of warm water to the tomato paste and add it to the pan. If you use tomato puree, you do not need to add water. Add all the spices and ketchup and simmer until it gets thick.

Combine bread crumbs and parmesan in a plate. I could not find panko bread crumbs so I have used kadaif instead. It gave a different flavor.

Coat chicken with bread crumb mix and shallow fry in a pan until brown.

Put chicken breasts on a baking tray, spread tomato sauce over them and sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake around 20 minutes in 400F preheated oven. You can garnish with parsley or fresh mint. You can also serve it with spaghetti or tagliatelle. Enjoy!