Mar 22, 2012

Spring Rice Salad

By · 6 Comments

Today my son has a long day at University, which means I will have lunch by myself. Cooking for myself alone is not very tempting. This is why I decided to make a salad as a one dish meal. Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I believe salad is a very free plate, something you should have fun with. So, I decided to prepare a salad with rice to be consistent and light meal.

Simple and easy.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 tomato, cut in medium sized pieces
  • 1 carrot grated
  • 1 green pepper cut into thin strips
  • 1/4 cup mix of olive oil and apple vinegar, a dash of hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper for the dressing salad
  • 1 small onion sliced and separated into rings
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried mint

Preparation:

  • In a small saucepan, place the rice with water, salt, curry and vegetable oil and bring to boil
  • Reduce the heat, stirring from time to time, cover and let it simmer until the rice is cooked
  • Place rice in a plate and let it cool to room temperature
  • Add tomato, carrot, green pepper
  • Season with the dressing and garnish with onion and dried mint

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT:)

Filed Under: Lent, Main dish, Salad, Side dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Mar 16, 2012

Shrimp With Curry

By · 2 Comments

I lived in Abu Dhabi for twenty years. The United Arab Emirates is a very diverse country, with many peoples from all around the world living and working there. One of larger communities there was the Indian community. Having come from a strictly Lebanese upbringing, I wasn’t accustomed to the large variety of tastes and smells in their cuisine. When walking along by the markets and restaurants, the strong smell of curry was prevalent and a bit pungent to my young, inexperienced nose. I had thought then that I would never eat anything made with curry, let alone any Indian dishes.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago: my son invited me to a nice Indian restaurant here in Lebanon. My children had grown up in Abu Dhabi and were familiar with international cuisine at a much younger age than I had. My son, for instance, loves spicy foods and he made me taste a plate of shrimp cooked in curry for my very first time. I was afraid it would taste spicy for me, but they had mixed it with fresh cream to cool it. I was so impressed with the dish that I hurried home to try and recreate it. After a few experiments, I found the perfect recipe that suits my slightly more delicate palette. Those of you who aren’t a fan of foods made with curry will find this dish to be delightfully smooth and mild.

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams of precooked and peeled shrimp (you can use frozen ones)
  • 2 medium carrots, diced
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 1 red apple, peeled and grated
  • 250 ml of fresh cream, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon of curry
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Salt

Preparation:

  • Heat the oil in a pot and fry the onion and garlic until light golden color
  • Add the carrot to the onion and garlic, leave for 3 minutes
  • Add the grated apple to the mixture and leave it to cook for 2 minutes
  • Place the shrimps in the pot and add salt for flavor
  • Mix the curry with 1/2 cup of water and pour it over the shrimp
  • Cover and let it cook until the carrots are tender
  • Add the fresh cream cover, lower the heat and stir gently for 3 minutes

Serve it with cooked rice.

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT 🙂

Filed Under: Main dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,