Stories from My Kitchen

Fish & Brown Rice – Machli Pulao

Ingredients

Tilapia filet, 6 pieces
Onions, raw, 1 medium
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Diced Green Chilie, 3-4 small
Brown Rice, long grain, 4 cups
Ginger 3tsp
Garlic 3 tsp
Rye 1tsp
Curry patta 10 small leaves or 7 medium
Water 5 cups

Makes 8-10 servings

Directions

Rinse rice and leave to soak in bowl for a few hours.
Mince onion, cilantro, ginger, garlic and green chilies in food process. Heat oil as needed in pot. Add everything that you processed and rye, curry patta. Add green chillie powder and salt/pepper. Fry fish filets in this. Once almost done, but not dry, take out and put aside. 
Drain water from rice and put rice in pot. You may need to add a little oil and salt. Fry for a couple of minutes then add water. Bring to boil, put heat down to medium. After 35 minutes, put the fish gently back in the rice. Cover and wait another five minutes. Put heat on low and wait 5 minutes. Dish is now ready to serve. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 8
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 198.2

• Total Fat: 2.3 g
• Cholesterol: 41.2 mg
• Sodium: 71.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 24.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
• Protein: 19.7 g

Hershey’s low fat chocolate cake

This is the Hershey’s “perfectly chocolate” cake recipe that is on the box but without frosting and made with skim milk.

It is fewer calories so you can add it to your healthy diet with less guilt.

Ingredients

• Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, .75 cup
• Flour, all purpose, 1 cup
• Granulated Sugar, 1 cup
• Egg, fresh, 2 medium
• Baking Powder, 1.5 tsp
• Baking soda, 1.5 tsp
• Salt, 1 tsp
• Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp
• Milk, nonfat, 1 cup
• Canola Oil, .5 cup
• Boiling water 1 cup

Mix dry ingredients and put aside.. Mix wet ingredients in mixer. Add boiling water 1 cup. Mix. Add dry ingredients. Pour into pan. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes.

Serving Size: 28 servings

• Servings Per Recipe: 28
• Calories: 91.5
• Total Fat: 4.6 g
• Cholesterol: 11.8 mg
• Sodium: 186.0 mg
• Total Carbs: 12.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.9 g
• Protein: 1.6 g

Crafts

If you’re ever dabbled in art, then you know that once you get into a certain medium, you get interested in other mediums too.  Since I started cake decorating, I can now see how other craft ideas can be used to enhance food.  For example, you can make creative packaging for your cookies for Eid or cupcake picks for your cupcakes, bows to package your cake box and so on. Crafts are also a good way to get kids to practice motor skills.  With my elder one, that is my main motive.  She loves to read, learn math and science but when it comes to writing, she would rather type or let someone else do the work.  I look for ideas to get her excited about writing, coloring, painting, cutting, sticking so that she can practice those motor skills.  If you have kids, then you know what I’m talking about. Here are a few craft ideas, gathered from friends’ posting links.  Some are my own and others you will find the link below the picture on how to do the project.Cupcake picks made with Fiskars scalloped round punch and 3D or Avery round printable labels.This link that a friend posted has some excellent craft ideas.  Try them out.  http://barakahlife.typepad.com/ramadan_joy/

We got some more ideas from this website that has similar decorations for sale.  Modern Eid is an online store where you can buy directly from them or make some yourself with the family.

Crayola has some excellent coloring pages and activities that you can print at home and get the kids involved in.  Below is one example.

Of course, there’s always the option of getting things from your local hobby store and painting, decorating to your heart’s liking.

This is what my daughter came up with for putting family Eid pictures.  Nifty and fun!

We added some diamantes for bling.

Bhori cutlets (beef patties)

Lean Beef Cutlets

Ingredients

• Lean Beef 1.5 – 2 pounds
• Ginger 1 Tbsp
• Chilli powder or Paprika 2 Tsp
• Cumin powder 1 Tsp
• Allspice 1 Tsp
• Salt 1 Tsp
• Green chillies (optional) chopped fine
• Coriander leave (cilantro) chopped (1 bunch)
• Onion (half) chopped, diced
• Bread 2 Slices Soaked In Water
• Eggs 3 -4 beaten
• Breadcrumbs 1 cup

Directions

Mix all the ingredients except bread crumbs and egg in mince well and leave to marinate for 2-3 hours. Sprinkle crumbs on a flat surface and make small balls of mince and press it and shape into cutlets. Beat eggs well and dip cutlets in egg and pan fry with spray oil.

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 20
Amount Per Serving: 1 cutlet
Calories: 138.6
Total Fat: 8.8 g
Cholesterol: 52.6 mg
Sodium: 110.7 mg
Total Carbs: 4.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 10.4 g

Brown Rice Flour Cookies

1 cup Brown Rice Flour
2 Tbs butter or vegetable oil
¼ cup honey or maple syrup
½ teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg (beaten)
1 cup nuts (ground)

Directions: Blend all ingredients thoroughly. If you’d like, chill for several hours or overnight. Roll into 1-inch balls and arrange on oiled baking sheet. Press flat with bottom of glass. Without chilling, just spoon onto baking sheet.  The balls will spread out, but the cookies will still be tasty. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.

Cookies came out well and my daughter enjoyed having them.  Yield was about 8 cookies.

Ranch dressing

Molasses taffy (hfcs-free)

Fish sticks (wheat free) & Tartar sauce (hfcs-free)

Chicken nuggets (wheat free)

Brown Rice Flour Cake

Here is a tried and tested brown rice flour recipe I found on net.  It works well and tastes good even for those who can have wheat.

Brown Rice Flour Cake (Wheat free)

4oz (1/2 cup) butter or vegetable oil or shortening (not Crisco; instead try Earth Bound)
4oz (1/2 cup) sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (alcohol-free)
5oz (1 1/4 cup) brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).  Grease and flour an 8″ cake pan.  Cream butter and sugar until light, then beat in eggs and vanilla.  Beat in flour adn baking powder until thoroughly combined.  Note:  Alternate wet and dry ingredients for better combination.  Pour into cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center.

Happy Baking!