Author: cookingwithshy

Tried & Tested Hazelnut Torte

Published by

Looking for a simple and delectable dessert to serve at your next dinner? Look no more as I have the perfect one for you. How would you define simple? Well let’s put it this way…Easy and Uncomplicated…And I’d like to add, delightful to the last crumb. There’s no other way to describe this little piece of heaven. Yes I must admit hazelnuts have been doing the rounds in my kitchen quite often lately. They are right here in this wonderful hazelnut torte, made some lovely Hazelnut-almond cookies too last week and they even went into a grilled chicken last night. And yes those recipes are coming up soon too. I’m a huge fan of hazelnuts…especially when they are toasted…MMMM Sweet, crunchy & nutty. Now I call this a tried and tested recipe as I’ve made this very often .It has been adapted from http://www.Jamie Oliver.com Hazelnut Torte with some variations .I’ve omitted the poppy seeds and have just added a bit more of the powdered hazelnuts .This torte is a treat at all times and …

Mango Mania-Let’s Salsa

Published by

The past few weeks has seen a lot of Thai cooking in my kitchen.Pad Thai.Green and Red curries,Jasmine Rice,Tom Yum soup and the list just goes on.Last night I made  some Thai fish cakes(with s fresh white fish and shrimp).I was looking for something fruity and refreshing to accompany the fish cakes.That’s when the mangoes decided to do the Salsa. A riot of flavours,delicious,colourful and healthy.I could even eat this as a salad anytime. Here a mango…There a mango…Everywhere a Tangy mango…We sure are lucky to find this wonderful fruit in all the local supermarkets here in Dubai.Such a variety that too…Kenyan Mangoes,Indian Alphonso,Pakistani,Mangoes from Thailand and Phillipines…True Mango Mania at the moment. So while Mangoes are in season why not enjoy them in every possible way? Some variations for  this Salsa: For the ingredients: Corn and Red bell peppers Avocados and chopped tomatoes Chopped green olives and jalapeno peppers For the Dressing: Lime juice,Olive Oil,salt and pepper Lime juice,fish sauce,chopped thai red chillies Lime juice,sesame oil and seeds I do hope you will enjoy cooking with mangoes …

Olive Foccacia-Hot off the oven

Published by

Dear son’s request for dinner tonite was some cheese Ravioli(store-bought).I haven’t yet tried my hand at making fresh pasta from scratch.One day,some day is what I keep saying.Certainly on my “to try out”list though.I thought a nice garden salad with some black olives would go well with the pasta.Actually I saw a fair amount of the olives and wondered if it was that time of the year again to get down some bread baking. I love baking this Olive foccacia and its been awhile since I made it.One of the best breads you could possibly eat.This one’s a family favorite.You could always play around with the ingredients and use some variations: Sun dried tomatoes and herbs Garlic and Rosemary Green olives and garlic I personally love black olives…so Olive foccacia it is.If you do use garlic please be careful with the amount you use and it can make the bread pretty pungent.Olive paste is a good alternative,however fresh olives just gives it a wonderful fresh flavour. This post is actually dedicated to a very dear friend Rohini.Thanks Ro …

Meat Rendang: To Indonesia and back

Published by

I love entertaining.The idea of a perfect weekend for me is inviting a bunch of friends and cooking for them.Last night we did just that.A lovely evening spent catching up with wonderful friends. I wanted to complement my thai chicken curry with a nice spicy red one.Have been wanting to try out the Indonesian Rendang for quite some time now.So decided to go ahead with it.Most recipes on the net called for the use of a ready rendang paste,which despite having looked around was not available here.I often don’t like to replicate a recipie.It’s great fun to actually play around with the ingredients and com up with a concoction of your own.That’s exactly what I did while making this wonderful Meat Rendang. Now my husband is from Goa and I’ve mastered the use of cooking with coconut in curries be it fish,meat or chicken..So I went along with a coconut curry paste that I would usually make for my Goan curries with of course the addition of the galangal,lemon grass and thai red chillies. My Own version …

Stir- Fried Bean Sprouts with Edamame: Goodness in a bowl

Published by

Summer is here and with the mercury soaring high the last thing cooking in my kitchen is a heavy meal.My mantra for summer is “Light and Easy”.This recipe for stir fried bean sprouts is the perfect solution to a healthy and delicious meal. I was looking at adding something exciting to  Bean sprouts.Bingo…thats when I spotted this lovely tray of bright green and fresh Edamame. Mmmm…Stir fried Bean sprouts and some eye-catching Edamame was my lunch today.Edamame commonly know as soybean are great just steamed and salted.A great  snack while watching those calories. Well today they are going in with some bean sprouts,green onions,ginger and garlic to give me a perfectly delicious meal and all in less than a couple of minutes. I hope you enjoy cooking this stir fry.I had these beans with some Chicken in black bean sauce and along with some jasmine rice. Bon Appetite!   INGREDIENTS: 200 grams Chinese bean sprouts(blanched) 50 grams  Edamame beans 1 tablespoon Sesame oil 1 tablespoon chopped ginger 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 thai red chilli(finely chopped) 1 teaspoon light soya sauce …