Jamie Oliver's Aussie Humble Pie

Yes, yes yet another one of Jamie's specials and a long standing share from my side. 





I had used the filling two ways, one in a recipe I have already shared with you - A Tribute to my Inspiration, my Mummy - Pie Meat & Mushroom buns with Sesame and the other as the pie filling to Jamie's Aussie Humble Pie.

This make was a delightful  and savoury one both to my little one and my hubby. 

I simply love the golden crunchy crust. Thanks Jamie for yet another delicious dish.

I halved the recipe as the original was for 8 servings. This recipe calls for two of  some of my favourite treats Beef and Pie. 

Although Jamie had used pale ale in his recipe, I did my own subsitutions as ale was not available.

You can substitute it with chicken broth, ginger ale or white grape juice. 

I did a combination of chicken broth and ginger ale. 

Pale ale is a beer which is made by warm fermentation using pale malt mainly. The lighter colour of the ale is owing to the higher propotion of pale malt.

Recipe source : Jamie Oliver


You need:

For the filling:

• 1/2 kg beef cum into 1 cm chunks (ideally beef skirt - cut of beef from the 'Plate'. See image)
• Black Pepper
• Olive oil
• 1/2 whole nutmeg, grated
• Salt
• 1 large carrot, peeled
• 1 red onion, peeled
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• 125ml pale ale (learn more here)
• 1/2 tbsp full of plain flour
• 1/2 tbsp tomato pureé
• 125 gms button mushrooms
• 1 medium egg yolk, beaten
• Drinking water
• Cold water

 For the pastry:

• 300 gms plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 75 g cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing
• 75 g Cheddar cheese

The Make:

Serves : 4 adults | Preparation Time: | Resting Time: 3 hrs - overnight | Cooking Time: up to 1 hr, 43 minutes

1. Place the beef chunks in a large bowl. Add a heaped tsp of pepper, salt to taste or a good pinch of it and 2 tbsp of Olive oil.

2. Grate in quarter of a nutmeg, toss well and coat all chunks. Set aside. Roughly chop the carrots, onions and rosemary leaves.

3. In a wide, medium sized pan/wok, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the beef chunks and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meat is browned all over and any liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently.

4. Meanwhile, heat another medium pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped vegetables and a drizzle of olive oil and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until softened and caramelised, stirring frequently. Set aside.

5. Add the ale or the ale substitute to the beef, turn the heat up to high and allow the liquid to boil and bubble away, stirring and scraping all those lovely sticky bits from the bottom of the pan.

6. Next stir in the flour and tomato pureé and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it forms a thick paste. Add the softened vegetables into the pan and pour in 1 litre of cold water. Roughly slice and add the mushrooms, then bring to the boil. 

7. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 11/2 hrs then take off the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced and the beef is nice and tender, stirring occasionally. Season to taste, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool completely for a few hours or preferably overnight in the fridge. 

8. Meanwhile, make the pastry. Combine the flour and a good pinch of salt in a bowl, then grate in the Cheddar and rub into the flour along with the butter, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

9. Gradually add 125 ml of cold water, stirring continuously to combine, then use your hands to bring it together into a rough dough – be careful not to work it too much. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge until needed.

10. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. You can either serve this individually as Jamie did or as I did as one baked pie dish. For a single dish do the process of the pastry just once. For the individual pie dishes: Grease 4 individual pie dishes (roughly 15cm x 10cm) with a little butter and dust with flour. Divide the pastry into 4 equal-sized pieces, then roll out a portion on a flour-dusted surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Place 2 of the pie dishes side-by-side, roll the pastry around the rolling pin, hold it over the dishes and carefully unroll the pastry to cover. Gently press the pastry into the sides of the dishes, then rough ly cut away the excess so you end up with 2 lined pie dishes. Repeat with the remaining pastry, reserving the excess for later.

11. Equally divide the steak and ale filling between the dishes and brush the edges with the beaten egg. Divide the excess pastry into 4 equal-sized pieces, roll out to the thickness of a pound coin and place over the filling. Trim away any excess, crimp the edges with a fork and with the tip of a sharp knife or kitchen blade cut a little cross into the top. Brush over a little more beaten egg, then place in the hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and piping hot through. Serve warm with a dollop of ketchup or favourite sauce, your favourite seasonal greens and your favourite chilled drink.

Bon Appetit!

*Veg option:
You can make this same recipe using a vegetarian option of cottage cheese / paneer. 
1. Cut the cottage into cubes. You can easily reduce the cook time by half as paneer does not take that long to cook.  However I would suggest you play this by trial. Reduce the initial saute time to 10 minutes. 
2. Make sure to first saute the chopped vegetables and then the cottage cheese. 
3. Also the bake time can be reduced to 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden. 
4. Also instead of the egg wash over the pastry, brush the pastry with a tad bit of milk.

A Tribute to my Inspiration, my Mummy - Pie Meat & Mushroom buns with Sesame

Two weeks ago I was happy and excited to let my inspiration, my Mum know of some new developments with regards to G'Gina's Kitchenette and even before I let my readers know, I wanted her to know as she is the very being of my culinary adventures. Unfortunately I did not get that chance and my Dad confirms that she did not know of the new development either. Little did I know that soon after my angel, my inspiration was preparing for the most important journey of her life...her journey to Heavenly Abode!

My mum for all of you who do not know her was way beyond just my mum...She was an angel, a guide, a friend to the needy and all who walked into her life. Never have I heard of such words of praise, respect and gratitude of any other human being. Her leaving us is a big loss to each and every one of us. She has saved lives with just her intuition and experienced advice each time. I feel privileged to be born the child of such a mother. 

Once someone with great vision of things beyond the physical world, told me of how blessed I was as I was born with two guardian angels unlike others who had only one. My mum she said was my guardian angel on earth! I cannot tell you the loss I feel with Mummy going to Heavenly Abode. She is my everything. I only pray that she will be with me every breath and step of the way guiding me as I go through this challenging life ahead!

I have always wanted to bake bread and have to tell you that I was skeptical regarding any success I may have in doing so. I had already started my bread baking adventure with a little success in the past and more successful recently since Christmas 2014 actually. I have in the past mentioned how my culinary adventure began with baking and how I literally burned the house down with my cake bakes when I was all of 12 yrs.

My mother has always been an inspiration to my cooking/baking feats. She has always cooked and baked creations from around the globe and I was always inspired and in awe of her cooking. Although I was never a foodie growing up, I knew somewhere back then that I would want to do something related to cooking (mostly baking). Also a lot of friends and family growing up would ask me to pursue the food line or to even start my own entrepreneurship or write my recipe creations through books (there were no blogs back then!)

Recently a couple of friends of mine have been inspiring me with their recipe creations around #bread. Among them Dr. Reny Thomas, my school friend has been an immense inspiration with her creations with breads, buns, etc. Also my college buddy and fellow food blogger Shireen had recently posted regarding this fabulous and inspiring group called #BreadBakers, a wonderful group of bread lovers who inspire each other every month to bake theme based bread or with a common ingredient. I am proud to be associated with this group and this will give me a chance to whip out some bread baking skills. This was the much needed leap I required to get me out of my shell.

What inspired me to make this bread was the renowned chef Jamie Olivier's pie creation. I always wanted to try a serious savoury pie and though I have made mince pies and the like during school/college days, I still wanted to perfect my pie making skills. The filling for this bread has very much been inspired by Jamie's pie creation whose recipe I will share very shortly with you.

You need:

For the stuffing/filling:

• 500 gms beef skirt/ tender beef, cut into 1/2 cm chunks
• Ground pepper
• Olive oil
• Rock/sea salt
• 1/2 of a  nutmeg, grated
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 red onion, peeled and diced finely into cubes
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, separated from the stem
• 125 ml pale ale / non-alcoholic beer / ginger-ale / chicken broth
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp Homemade Tomato Puree
• 125 g button mushrooms, diced small
• 1/2 litre cold water

For the bread:

• 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 300 gms plain flour
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 tbsp lukewarm water
• 1/3 cup Oil
• 2 tbsps Sesame Seeds
• 1 egg, beaten (to brush on the buns)
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 drizzles of oil

The Make:

Preparation time (including proofing/proving time and resting time for the meat): 1 hr, 50 mins  + 3-4 hrs or 8 hrs for resting the meat| Baking Time: 20 minutes | Cooking Time: 1 hr, 53 minutes | Yields 7-8 medium sized buns

For the buns' pie meat filling:

Source for the pie meat filling: Jamie's Olivier

1. In a large bowl, add the beef chunks, 1 tsp of ground black pepper, a good pinch of rock salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil and massage well.
2. Next add the grated nutmeg, toss and coat well. Set it aside.
3. In a wide pan or wide-deep bottomed pot, add a drizzle of olive oil followed by the prepared beef chunks and brown on all sides, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Then uncover and allow and liquid to evaporate over the next 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Simultaneously in another flat pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and cook the veggies including the rosemary over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until caramelised and softened. Stir frequently to ensure even cooking. Remove from the heat.
5. Next add the ale to the beef, turn up the heat to high and allow all the liquid to bubble ensuring you are scraping all the delicious sticky bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Add in the flour and tomato puree and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until a thick paste is formed.
7.  Stir in the softened veggies into the larger pan with the beef and then pour in 1/2 litre of cold water. Add the mushrooms and bring to a boil.
8. Lower the heat to medium, cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Then take off the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes or the liquid has thickened and the beef is tender.
9. Season to taste and set aside for a few hours or preferably overnight in the fridge. The longer you rest the beef the better it gets. 


For the Dough :

1. Remember to use the yeast which has not expired. In a small bowl, mix the yeast and  2 tbsp sugar and dissolve it with 3 tbsp lukewarm water. Mix well and set aside for about 5 mins until it froths. In case it does not froth, throw away and use new yeast.

2. In a large bowl, add the flour,1 tbsp sugar, salt, oil and mix well.
Gradually add the milk and make a loosely formed dough.

3. Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface, take the dough and knead it with your hands until the dough becomes soft and supple. Knead up to 5 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky but still soft.

4. Take a large bowl, add a light drizzle of oil and put the dough and make sure it is coated with oil so that it does not dry out. Cover it with a cling wrap and let it sit at room
temperature for about 90 mins or until the dough doubles in size.

5. Line a flat baking tray with parchment or butter paper. Or you could directly grease the baking tray with a drizzle of oil and use directly (like I did!)

6. This part is going to be fun. Take the doubled dough onto a flat surface and punch down the dough with your hands and knead it well so that all the air held in escapes
from the dough. 

7. Next divide the dough into 8 equal parts.

8. Take one of the 8 parts of the dough, roll it into ball and then flatten it out into a disc about 3-4″ in diameter.

9. Add a tbsp of pie meat stuffing in the center of the disc and fold the corners the disc towards the centre to cover the stuffing well. Keep a kitchen towel at your side to wipe your hands in case your fingers get messy with the filling in the process. Fight the instinct to wash your hands each time as you would get the dough sticky with damp hands.

8. Repeat steps 8 and 9 until the remaining 7 bun dough is formed. Line them on the baking tray, folded side facing down and equi-distant giving enough space for the buns to rise and form. 

9. Set aside the buns at room temperature for about half hour or until they begin to swell.

11.  Preheat the oven to 180°C.

12. Right before popping the bun dough into the oven, whisk 1 tbsp of water with the egg and brush all over each bun. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of each bun.

13. Carefully set the buns in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Trust me the smell emitting from your kitchen will woo you to come in time to open the oven and take these beauties out.

14. Remove the baking tray from the oven and let the buns cool and rest on a rack before serving.

Now for my vegetarian friends, remember you can use other fillings such as Aloo Jeera (Potato with cumin seeds) or Kadai Paneer or mushrooms or the like.

Bon Appetit!

Kids' Special # 1 - Mixed Veggies Vermicelli with meat kebabs or mince in chicken broth

This was the surprise I had for you mommies and Stay at Home Dads or Home cook dads. I have been asked time and again by friends, fellow bloggers and even an organisation at one point if I can have a special blog or page dedicated to kids' meals. I was even asked to write nutritious recipe creations catering to kids for the organisation that contacted me.

Considering my already busy schedule, I finally decided that it is best for me to dedicate a recipe creation each week or every other week to satiate those precious little ones' tummies. I have been having a page of kid-friendly recipes already going on my blog but the other day when I heard my little one grumble about her food getting not too exciting, I decided to finally give in and make time to do these sets of dishes especially for her. It really does not take out much time from your already busy schedule of preparing adult dishes. Just a tad bit of tweaking here and there will get you going well on your way. Portions would depend on your little one's appetite and which meal of the day to which you are catering.

It is a huge hurdle to get toddlers to eat, so I was thinking of dedicating my 'T'hursdays to the 'T'errific 'T'oddlers or kids in general out there.Based on your feedback and how useful you think my recipe creations are I can add to various age groups.

Right now these recipes have been tried and tested with ages 3-6 years. Albeit a small age bracket, it is quite a challenging age criteria for food needs. Age 4 yrs and above usually demand a lot of variety and can complain if you give them the same food type. So it is important to get the variety out there but more important to get the nutrition in there. Touch wood my little one has had no issues with greens and other healthy, nutritious elements of her meal.

This recipe is very simple indeed and can take portions from your adult meal for which you have planned  minus certain elements like spice, etc. I have mentioned meat kebabs or mince. Ideally freshly cooked mince is preferred however if you have made kebabs at a previous meal and have reserve, then you can shred the same and use. Remember the idea is also to make it easier on you mommies and daddies there to cook your precious one his/her special meal. You can also substitute chicken or for vegetarian meals you can add proteins such as mushrooms or diced boiled eggs or even a fried egg on top. You can use Veg stock or Veg broth instead of Chicken broth

You need:

• 2 cups of mince meat
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 cup of diced vegetables (I used carrots, peas and beans)
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 cups of roasted vermicelli
• 4 cups of freshly made chicken stock (I usually have a reserve in the fridge) or you can use stock cubes
• Salt to taste
• Oil

The Make:
Serves 2 toddlers | Cooking Time : 30-35 minutes | Preparation Time: 10 minutes

1. Cover and cook the mince meat in 1 cup of chicken stock with half of the diced onions and 2 cloves of garlic.
2. Meanwhile in a wok, add a drizzle of oil and saute the remaining onions and garlic until translucent.
3. Toss in the veggies and cover and cook for about 5-10 minutes
3. Add in the remaining stock and vermicelli and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Next add in the cooked mince with its juices and allow to boil on medium-high heat for a few minutes.
5. Lower the heat and cook until the stock reduces.

Serve hot with a side of your little one's favourite salad.

Comfy Beef Stew Soup

Still post the celebratory weeks of Christmas, New Year, weddings and more,coupled with a cool weather calls for more simple, warm, homemade comfort food. This one stems from such a moment in the recent past. Hope you can enjoy this bowl of comfy goodness with your family. Add some crusty bread loaf and you have a perfect meal! You can try this one with the Crunchy homemade soda bread recipe I posted yesterday.

For my vegetarian friends, please note you can substitute the beef with 200 gms of mushrooms and need only 20-30 minutes to cook this dish when cooked in the pressure cooker. You can also add beans of your choice about 100 gms.

You need:

• 1/2 kg of fresh beef meat, cut into 1" cubes
• 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 medium sized carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
• 1 cup of tomato puree
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp of pepper powder
• 1/4 cup of plain flour
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 1/2 tbsp parsley leaves, finely diced 
• Lime leaves or cilantro for garnish (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Drinking water as required
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 1 cup of red wine (optional)
• 1 cup of Guinness (optional)

The Make

Serves 4 adults | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 45-60 minutes

Note: This recipe is best made in a slow cooker however if you do not have the time or a slow cooker, you could opt for the faster option as below. In a slow cooker, this recipe would require a minimum of 6 hours.

1. In a large pressure cooker, combine the beef, garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes. Saute on medium-low heat. 

2. Pour in the puree and season with Worcestershire (optional),bay leaf, parsley and pepper. 

3. Stir the flour and beef stock together in a separate bowl and add into the beef mix. Stir well. Add the optional Guinness and wine.

4. Cover and cook for 45 minutes or for 4 whistles on medium-high and 4 whistles on low heat.

5. Once the pressure has settled, uncover and do a salt check and add salt as required. Check also if you have sufficient liquid for your soup, else add more as required. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Garnish if required with cilantro or lime leaves.

Serve hot with a side of Crunchy Rosemary and honey soda bread ! Bon appetit!

Sunday Lamb Biriyani - Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani

There used to be a time when I lived in the UAE that I would love to have Biriyani on a Friday afternoon followed by an afternoon snooze. But after my health went downhill, I gave up on that routine. My mom makes the best biriyani ever. Something funny though, she would make biriyani to feast on by a large gathering and would even pack what was left for our thoroughly satisfied guests but would not even eat a bite. For some reason, she dislikes biriyani. She would eat plain rice or pulav/fried rice but never biriyani :) Our guests though never had a problem with that, which just meant more for them :D Seriously it is that good. 

One Saturday my dearest hubby asked me for Biriyani on Sunday. So made my version of Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani. The response: nothing short of praise, claps and hoots! My toddler said 'Wow Mama...yummy!' So that was enough for me to know that this recipe needs to go into the blog! For my Vegetarian readers, do not fret, you can make this recipe with your choice vegetables instead of lamb. Instead of the egg you can add potato.

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani as you may know (esp. from its name) is a signature dish from Hyderabad, the City of Pearls. In fact it was the first dish I tried from various restaurants in Hyderabad. There are several versions I like. It is a blend of Mughal and Persian cuisine. Basmati rice is slow-cooked with layers of marinated meat or chicken in a deep bottomed vessel and sealed with a dough paste. This process of cooking is also known as 'Dum' . The key is to ensure that your rice turns out to be fluffy and perky. Initially I must admit my rice used to turn out to be quite sticky. This is one of the reasons why I never cooked biriyani when mom was around. I didn't want to disappoint her. She gave me a few pointers to cook basmati rice and I have included them in the recipe. However I also took tips from Jamie Oliver ;)

For the Lamb, you need:

• 1 kg boneless Lamb, cleaned and cut into bite sized cubes, drained (use a sieve and set aside to dry)
• 3 tbsp, crushed Ginger & Garlic or paste
• 2 cups yoghurt
• 3 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• 3 tbsp Homemade Garam Masala (Indian all spice powder)
• 2 sprigs mint leaves,  finely diced
• 4 sprigs of Cilantro/Coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 2 small lemons, juiced
• ½ tbsp Salt

For the rice, you need:

• 1 kg of Basmati rice
• Drinking water - double the quantity of rice
• 1 tsp black cumin seeds
• 6 whole green cardamoms
• 4 cloves
• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2-3 star anise
• 1 tbsp of cooking oil or clarified butter(ghee) (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp of salt

For the Biriyani:

• 4 onions, diced finely
• 4 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 pinches of saffron,  soaked in lukewarm water or 2 pinches of red-orange food colour
• Sticky dough made of wheatflour and water (enough to cover the mouth of the biriyani vessel)
• 2-3 boiled eggs, cut in halves
• Pinch of cilantro/coriander leaves

The Make:

Cooking Time: 45 minutes Preparation Time: overnight or min of 2 hours (includes marination time) Serves 6-8

Marinating the lamb:

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl till well combined. 

2. Add the lamb and mix well. 

3. Cover and let it rest for at least 6-8 hours or overnight if possible. 

This would enhance the flavours in your biriyani as it cooks through.

Cooking the rice:

* Ensure you use a deep-bottomed and wide vessel to cook the rice. 

1. Then follow the steps in  http://gginaflavorspalatte.blogspot.in/p/how-tos-or-tips-kitchen.html for a nice and fluffy rice cook.

2. When the water comes to a running boil, toss in the dry spices, salt and oil/clarified butter and boil for a minute.  Next follow the steps in http://gginaflavorspalatte.blogspot.in/p/how-tos-or-tips-kitchen.html 

3. Immediately drain the rice along with the spices in a strainer. Let all the residual water drain off. Set aside.

Assembling the Biriyani:

1. In a skillet, add the oil and toss in the onions. Saute until crisp and golden brown and set aside on a kitchen towel. Toss away the residual oil.

Biriyani vessel is usually layered in a large vessel as shown in this image. However for 6-8 adults and the quantity of rice and meat, you could use 1/4 this size of the vessel shown in the image. Thanks to mom, I inherited her biriyani vessel :).

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the Biriyani vessel on a stove top with medium-low heat. You may need to turn on two burners depending on the size of your vessel. Let the vessel get slightly hot and turn off the heat. Alternatively, you could place the vessel in your oven and allow it to heat for a minute.

3. Now add  first half of  the marinated meat at the bottom of the vessel, followed by half of the crispy onions. This becomes your first layer.

4. Next add a layer of the half cooked basmati rice. You can chose to add a tbsp of clarified butter/ghee or oil at this stage. I had not as I did not want my rice to be too greasy seeing as I chose lamb for meat.

5. Repeat step 3 and 4 and then artistically pour the saffron mix or food colour mix on top of the rice (try a circular spiral fashion starting from center and going to the corner of the vessel. This would give an amazing colour combination of slightly white to coloured rice.

6. Next, add some sticky dough paste to the mouth of the vessel and cover with its own lid or aluminium foil. You can also place the aluminium foil and then add the sticky dough to the corners and then cover with the vessel's lid.

7. Carefully place the sealed vessel in the oven and lower the heat to 180°C. Cook for 30-40 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest in the oven for at least 10 minutes.

8. Uncover and serve from one side of the vessel making sure to dig deep to the bottom of the vessel and place in a biriyani pot (handi). This method of serving ensure you get all the layers of the meat, rice and spices and  the saffron/food colour.

9. Top with boiled eggs (cut in halves) and a pinch of cilantro leaves. Serve hot with papad, lime/mango pickle, green salad or just some raw onions with lemon juice and salt and vegetable raitha or plain yoghurt. 

Traditionally in Hyderabad, Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani is served with Mirchi Ka Salan (Chili and Peanut curry). Since Anup dislikes it, I didn't bother to make it. I too am not a great fan of Mirchi Ka Salan.

Tips:

1. Tips for a nice fluffy basmati rice: http://gginaflavorspalatte.blogspot.in/p/how-tos-or-tips-kitchen.html
2. Adjust the spices to your taste.
3. Remember the key factors for a well-cooked Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani is:

• Well-marinated meat. You can even marinate it the night before and refrigerate. Remember to stand the meat in its own juices and spices before refrigerating.
• A nice and fluffy basmati rice.
• Good quantity of spices mix and rice layered well in the assembling process.
• Whilst serving, ensure you get all the layers by digging deep into the biriyani vessel. Pretty much like you would do for an English trifle to ensure you get all the layers. You'd need a good long handle and wide mouthed ladle to do so. 

Bon Appetit! Hope you enjoy this recipe. If you do try it, please do not forget to leave me a comment here or mail me a picture of your make with your comments / feedback on gginazkitchenette@gmail.com. Alternatively you can also visit our facebook page and 'Like' our page and add in your comments there! We are also on Twitter now! Follow us here.

Happy Sunday!

Tea Smoked Chicken Breast with Spinach and Herbs

This was for dinner a few weeks ago. Chicken breast can get relatively dry on cooking, although if done right can be cooked/baked or grilled in a succulent manner. Served with salad on the side this makes for a complete meal itself. I used lean chicken breasts without the skin/fat since I am opting for more healthy options. You can choose to make it with the skin on.

I had just thought of trying the chicken with some tea that we got from Munnar hills. The rest of the recipe evolved around those main two ingredients followed by some lovely spinach leaves, lemon zest and herbs.

I have also included a vegetarian option with this recipe. If you are a facebook member of G'Gina's Kitchenette's facebook page, you would have read my status update on the review of this meal. If you haven't let me tell you, I could actually hear a lot of pleasant oohs and aaaahs on the dining table that night and no it was not because the diners were being tortured. On the contrary, they enjoy this meal very much as did I!

To make this simple dish,

You need:

• 4 chicken breasts
• Olive oil  - 2 tbsp or less
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Sprinkle of sage and fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bundles of spinach - diced
• 2-4 tbsp of Tea leaves of your choice - Munnar black tea leaves
• 4 strands of thyme leaves - additional
• 1/2 large lemon or 1 small lemon
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• Pinch of cinnamon powder
• Celery sticks
• Sour cream/Mayonnaise (optional)

The Make:

Serves 4 | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes

1. Pan sear the chicken 2 mins on each side on a non-stick lightly greased (brushwith olive oil). Let it rest for a minute.

2. Meanwhile saute spinach in a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Top with flax seeds. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the spinach is drained off the water.

3. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, sage, lemon zest, fresh thyme leaves and pepper. Stuff each chicken breast with the spinach. Hold in place with a skewer or toothpick.

4. Layer a foil on a baking tray and top with parchment paper. Top the parchment paper with the stuffed chicken breasts and sprinkle the remaining thyme strands around the chicken breasts and Munnar black tea leaves or any other fragrant tea leaves of your choice. Cover with the remaining parchment paper and sides of the foil.

5. Heat the oven to 180°C and place the baking tray. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Let it rest in the oven for 5 mins.

6. Dressing: Meanwhile squeeze half a large lemon or a small lemon with a drizzle of apple cider, 1/2 tbsp EVOO, pinch of salt and a pinch of cinnamon in a bowl.

7. Brush the chicken breasts with dressing. Serve each chicken breast with celery on the side and a scoop of sour cream/mayo.

Veg option:For vegetarians, stuff zucchini or bell peppers (with soya granules and spinach). Cooking time will reduce to 10 mins.

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Bon Appetit!

Milk Hoppers or PaalAppam

I have an earlier post on KallAppam (Toddy Pancakes). This recipe is not too far from it other than the fermenting agent. PaalAppam batter can also be used to make a sweet dish called 'Vattayappam' (Steamed Rice and Coconut Cake), a Keralite popular make with left over batter from the Milk Hoppers. I will try and post this recipe soon. You can make Vattayappam later in the day  as a Tea Time snack or the next day after making the Milk Hoppers.

To make these Milk Hoppers,

You need:

• 4 cups of raw rice or Basmati rice (long-grained rice)
• 1/2 cup of fresh grated coconut
• 5-6 cups of filtered water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp yeast
• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil

The Make
Makes 15-20 hoppers | Preparation Time: 8-10 hrs (soaking and fermenting time) | Cooking Time: 20 minutes

1.  Soak the rice for 4-6 hours in the water.

2. After the waiting period, in batches, grind the soaked rice with some of the water in which the rice was soaked and the portions of the cooked rice and grated coconut.

3. Next add the yeast to some lukewarm water and sugar and dissolve. Allow to stand for 2 minutes and add it to the batter. Give the batter a good mix and cover and allow to rest. Grease the pan you plan to use the next morning and cover.

I did the grinding of my batter this evening and will allow it to ferment overnight. You can chose to make it in a few hours (3 hrs) of grinding.

4. After the resting period, add the salt to the batter and mix well and get ready to make those hoppers.

5. Wipe the pan with a paper kitchen towel. Heat the non-stick pan or an Appam Chatti (Hopper Pan with lid) on high and once it reaches the desired heat, lower the heat and lightly grease the pan with a kitchen paper towel dipped in oil (hold the oil in a small bowl for easy use and keep the towel dipped in). Use the same paper towel to wipe the pan between making hoppers.

6. Take a rounded ladle with about 1/2 cup quantity of batter and pour in the center of the pan and in a clockwise direction spread the batter to form a nice round circle or flower ring circle.

7. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes on medium-low heat. Uncover and place the hopper on a serving plate or in a casserole dish. You can also choose to serve as you make if your guests/family enjoy the crispy wings of the hoppers. You can also break an egg in the center of the poured out appam batter which can be had as is without any gravy/accompaniment.

8. Repeat till the batter is used up or as required. For the leftover batter, you could refrigerate and reuse even the next day to make more Milk Hoppers or make a sweet dish 'Vattayappam' (Steamed Rice and Coconut Cake).

Serve hot with Eggs in Coconut Milk or Chicken Stew or Vegetable Stew! Enjoy!