Anda Curry (Egg Curry)

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Egg curry was one dish that I was able to experience when I had dinner at an Indian friend's apartment three years ago. They cooked it the traditional way by preparing their own curry spice which to me was a surprise. I always thought you just bought a bag of curry spice and that was it. Never in my right mind did I think that there are actually variations to the "curry" powder being sold in stores. 

The dish they served was a bit thick on the sauce and was perfect when paired with naan or roti. I tried making my own version of this dish using a Madras curry powder mix and it was quite tasty. However, I found another version where pureed tomatoes are added to thicken the sauce and I thought I'd give it a go. Not having a functional blender at the moment, tomato paste will have to do however. I also decided to use quail eggs instead of chicken eggs. Aside from being aesthetically appealing, I just thought that quail eggs were not as imposing as chicken eggs in terms of eating them whole.

I made use of Asian chili powder when I made this dish and it came out really spicy. If you cannot take the heat, use the regular chili powder from McCormicks. It will give you a hint of heat but never too much that it will leave you gasping for water. I actually had to make some cucumber raita to help cool off the heat. Other than that, this is one tasty dish.

Anda Curry (Egg Curry), Adapted*

3 trays quail eggs, (24 pcs per tray)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups water
2 large onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 green chilis, deveined, deseeded and diced finely
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric acid
1/2 tsp red chili powder
salt and pepper

1. Boil the eggs in a pot with enough water. Cook until hard-boiled. Allow to 
    cool for 5 minutes and peel off the shell. Set aside. 

2. In a large pan, roast the coriander, cumin, and red chili powders with the 
    garam masala and turmeric acid over medium heat. Once they start to 
    release their aroma, add the oil and mix well. 

3. Add the ginger, onions, green chili and garlic. Saute until softened. Season 
    with salt and pepper. Add the water and bring to a boil. 

4. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium low and add the tomato paste. 
    Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the cooked eggs and simmer for another 5 minutes. Check for flavor 
    and adjust accordingly. 

6. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and serve with steamed rice. 

* Indian Curry: About.com

Meatballs and Sausages Spaghetti

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

This is my signature spaghetti sauce for adults whenever I am tasked to make spaghetti for a party. This sauce is a combination of three recipes that I compiled together. First off is the traditional marinara sauce from Sophia Loren's book. The addition of meatballs and sausages were inspired by a friend of mine who served her spaghetti this way during dinner at her place. My meatball recipe is a takeoff from Michael Chiarello's meatball recipe that I made more simple. And lastly, the third inspiration is from Lou Malnati's basic tomato sauce recipe which I found online.

Now, let's start with the sauce. As noted above, this basic sauce is inspired by Sophia Loren recipe and further improved upon by a recipe of Lou Malnati's signature tomato sauce which uses minimal ingredients and opts for better quality ingredients instead. This is really the key to this basic sauce that can be used for both spaghetti or even as a pizza base. The other secret is to let it simmer for at least 30 minutes until the sauce is all bubbly and thick. You can adjust the sauce to taste but I prefer mine on the sour side. 

The meatballs are also easy to make based on a recipe from Michael Chiarello. It gets fried until just browned and then they are fully cooked in the sauce. Simmering them in the sauce adds a new depth to their flavor. As for the sausage, my sausage of choice are mild Italian sausages but you can substitute them with any sausage you like. To finish, cook the dried spaghetti al dente and mix with the sauce and share this wonderful dish with the family. 

Meatballs and Sausages Spaghetti

Meatballs and Sausages:
2 lbs fresh Italian sausages
2 lbs ground pork
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 large egg
salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil + more if needed

1. Combine the ground meats, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, thyme and 
    egg in a large bowl and season the meatball mixture with salt and pepper. 
    Roll into 1-inch balls and set aside. 

2. In a frying pan over medium heat, cook the sausages by boiling them in 
    1/2 cup water. Once the water has boiled off, prick the sausages to 
    release its juices. Continue to cook until the sausages are browned. 
    Remove from the pan and set aside. 

3. Add the olive oil to the same pan and fry the meatballs until just browned. 
    Set aside.  

4. Save the oil used for frying the meatballs. 

Spaghetti Sauce:
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 lbs tomatoes, diced (or 2 -30oz canned diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper

1. To make the sauce, saute the garlic in the frying pan used to brown the 
    meatballs and sausages. Cook until slightly golden.

2. Add the tomatoes and saute until softened. Add two cups of water and 
    bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the tomato paste, oregano and season 
    with salt and pepper. 

3. Cover the pan and lower the heat to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes. 
    Continue to check every 10 minutes and add some water when the sauce 
    gets too thick. 

4. Check for flavor and adjust accordingly. To finish off the sauce, slice the 
    cooked sausages into thirds and add into the sauce. Add the meatballs as 
    well and continue to simmer until ready to mix with the cooked spaghetti. 

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

To use as a spaghetti sauce, cook the spaghetti as per packet instructions while the sauce is simmering with the meatballs and sausages. Once al dente, drain the liquid and mix the cooked pasta with just enough sauce to cover the noodles. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a topping of grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Stewed Duck (Patotin)

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Patotin is a dish I never understood growing up. It is quite popular especially during fiestas just as much as goat meat seems to be the star of the show on such occasion. Both are cooked as a stew or as a casserole and people go crazy over them. For me, give me your regular chicken and beef any day. However, there seems to be a mystique surrounding both dishes as the way they are cooked are very time and labor intensive and there is always the right way too cook them because otherwise, the taste will be a bit off. This must be part of their attraction since you don't usually serve them on a regular basis especially when you have to cook them for the whole day. 

I've cooked goat stew when I lived in Tennessee a few years back. It was a way for me to prove to my Indian friends that they don't have the monopoly on the most scrumptious goat stew in Asia. They loved what I cooked then but there will always be some cultural preferences but I was okay with that. Now, for the stewed duck, I really have no idea where to start with this. I remember my cousins growing ducks in our backyard for food but I never saw how it was prepared. I never tasted it nor did I show any interest in learning how to actually cook one. It was only last year when my friends and I had dinner together and we had this stewed duck that my friend made. Everyone loved it and I gave it a taste and it was delicious. Sadly, it wasn't enough to get me hooked. It was only after I made my cassoulet that duck became something I wanted to explore in the culinary sense. Thus, here is my take on my friends stewed duck recipe. She not only taught me her recipe, she also delivered the dressed ducks for free. Thanks Anna Mae. Love you always!

Stewed Duck (recipe of Anna Mae)

4-5 lbs whole duck, dressed
juice of 2 30-oz fruit cocktail
juice of 30-oz pineapple tidbits, reserve the pineapple for later
1.5 liter Sprite
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt and pepper
3 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 dried bay leaves
juice of 15 calamondin (or 2 lemons)
4 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Marinade the duck in a large glass bowl with the vinegar, garlic, juice of 
    the fruit cocktail, soy sauce, lemon juice, a tablespoon of salt and black 
    pepper. Store in the fridge overnight.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the marinated duck over 
    medium heat.

3. Transfer the duck into a deep pot and pour the marinade over it. Add the 
    juice of the canned pineapple, the bay leaves and the whole bottle of 
    Sprite and bring to a boil over medium high heat. 

4. Cover the pot and lower the heat to low and simmer the duck for about 
    3-4 hours or until the meat is tender. 

5. Add the sliced pineapples and check for seasoning. Adjust with salt and 
    pepper if necessary. Continue to simmer for another 2 hours. 

6. Uncover the pot and continue to simmer until the sauce has thickened and
    reduced to about 3 cups. Check for flavor one more time and adjust as 
    needed. 

The duck will be cooked thoroughly and will be falling off the bones. If you prefer your duck a bit less mangled and still intact, you can pull out the duck when it is tender and continue to cook the sauce until thickened. At this point, you can return the duck to finish cooking in the sauce. Let it rest for about 30 minutes before serving.   

Caramel Custard Cake

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

When I went to college in Manila ages ago, I would walk by a bakery shop which sells these treats. I never had enough money to buy them so I will look on in envy and wonder how they tasted. My other thought was how they managed to make the treat which is half caramel custard and half chiffon cake? Do you bake the cake first and top with the custard or make the custard and top with the cake batter and bake to finish the cake? I may have saved enough to try one of two every now and then and I think they were always a joy to eat. My memory of having eaten this treat is a bit vague.

Here at work, they also sell these treats at the cafeteria. I had one last Friday actually and it was kind of fortuitous that the same exact recipe is featured in one of the blogs I do read every now and then, Kusina ni Manang. Her blog is a lot more popular than mine so I look on in every now and then, mostly in admiration because of the volume of traffic of her blog, and also for the wonderful recipes she posts. She posted this recipe just last week and it was from her that I learned that the cake batter floats on top of the custard due to its airiness so both the custard and cake are baked together. That, at least answers one question. Anyway, here is my take on the same recipe with a few changes of my own. For one, I used my old recipe for the flan  but in terms of the chiffon cake, I stuck by the recipe except that I did away with the lemon extract and used vanilla extract in combination with lemon zest instead. I hope you do try this out. It is delicious.

Caramel Custard Cake - Adapted*

Custard and Caramel:

8 egg yolks
1 15oz Alpine evaporated milk
1 14oz Milkmaid condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups white sugar

Chiffon Cake:

5 egg separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp vegetable oil
6 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp lemon rind

1. Prepare the caramel by melting the sugar over low heat in a non-stick pan.
    Once golden amber, pour into the prepared pans. For this recipe, I used 3 
    ramekins and one 9-inch round pan.  Set aside to cool. Preheat the oven 
    to 325°F.

2. In a large bowl, prepare the custard by combining the egg yolks, vanilla 
    extract, evaporated and condensed milk, and the lemon zest. Whisk until 
    mixed and smooth. Set aside. 

3. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar at high 
    speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside. 

4. In a 4th bowl, sift the dry ingredients for the cake batter. Hollow out the 
    center to make a well. In a small measuring cup, combine all the wet 
    ingredients and whisk until mixed. Pour into the dry ingredients. 

5. Using the same beaters, beat the batter at low speed until the wet 
    ingredients are incorporated into the dry ingredients. Do not overbeat. 
    Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter and mix until just combined. 

6. To assemble the cake, pour the custard mix over a sieve into the 
    ramekins and pans. Fill the ramekins just below the halfway mark. Pour 
    the rest into the 9-inch pan. 

7. Ladle the cake batter over the custard mixture and smoothen the tops. 
    Fill the ramekins until just about 1/4 of an inch from the top. 

8. Bake pans in the preheated oven in a water bath about an inch high the
    sides of the baking pans. Bake the ramekins for 25-30 minutes and the 
    large pan for about 45-50 minutes. 

9. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick and it should come out clean. 
    Cool to room temperature and chill in the fridge if desired.

* Kusina ni Manang: Filipino Custard Cake.
     

Star Fruit of All Seasons

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Summer is definitely making its presence felt as fruits that usually come in season during the warmer months have started showing up on the market. Case in point, the star apple. Growing up, we had two star apple trees in our yard and we had no need to buy the fruits since we only had to rig a fruit picker long enough to reach the taller branches of our fruit-bearing tree. However, I remember them bearing fruits by March and they start to ripen some time by June. We had both the green variety out back and the greenish purply one in our front yard but both are equally delicious. 

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

In our dialect, we used to refer to them as tar apple due to the latex-like residue that oozes out from the rind when you cut into the fruit. To enjoy the fruit, you basically have to spoon out the sweet flesh of the ripe fruit making sure you spit out the seeds. We used to eat them straight from the tree without any utensils by prying them in half using our thumbs and diving straight in. Ah, the joys of childhood. If you do cut the fruit crosswise, you can see the star shape which is why the fruit is named, thusly.

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

I have seen the fruits being sold as early as January which was quite a surprise to me. Still, I was not craving for them yet so I kept my eyes on another tropical fruit, the Chico which is hands down, my all time favorite fruit. However, these were being sold in the fruit stands today and they were cheap so I decided to go for them instead. I usually eat them at room temperature without any special preparation whatsoever but I've seen these being served in milk and crushed ice during the summer months. Ice cold is the only way to go when serving them this way and I have to say, they are delicious. No recipe required. Just combine the flesh of 2 lbs of ripe fruit, 1 can of evaporated milk and 1 cup of crushed ice. Cool in the freezer until ready to serve them.
   

Kheema Aloo (Mince and Potato Curry)

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

This dish is originally cooked with lamb. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find ground lamb in my local grocery store so I used ground beef instead. The author actually suggests ground chicken or pork but I think a less leaner cut of ground beef will do just fine. The dish is simple enough but the spices used give it an unusual twist to the normal flavors associated with a ground meat dish. The blending of flavors is surprisingly delicate I was tempted to amp up the amount of spices used but I figured, it must have been intended to be a delicate dish. Lamb meat has a gaminess to it and aromatic spices are traditionally used to either mask this flavor or to enhance its innate delicacy. In this case, I think the original dish went for the latter. I believe this dish is Pakistani in origin although I found the recipe in my Indian cookbook. 

Kheema Aloo - Adapted*

2 lbs ground beef
1 lb potatoes, diced
1 lb tomaotes, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp garlic, grated
2 tsp ginger, grated
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
4 tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the 
    cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon sticks and fry for one minute. 

2. Add the ground beef with the garam masala, cinnamon powder, chili, and 
    the grated garlic and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and fry 
    for about 5 minutes or until the meat has browned. 

3. Add the potatoes and the water and cook covered for about 5 minutes. 
    Add the tomatoes with the tomato paste and mix well. Cook uncovered 
    until the potatoes are tender. Check for flavor and adjust accordingly.

*Vijayakar, Sunil: 30 Minute Indian, Laurel Geln Publishing, California: 2000.    

Milkmaid Leche flan

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

I'm trying a new recipe of leche flan and it is one that I call a work in progress although this one resulted to something quite spectacular. It was on my fifth or sixth try before I was able to make a passable leche flan since I arrived in April last year. I was not expecting it to be that good after so many failed attempts so as a result, no pictures to prove my success. It was devoured in a flash. I knew that all of my friends are crazy over this dessert and maybe that is the reason why we are still friends 25 years or so after. However, the more they ask me to make this dessert, the more resentment I feel over this unachievable feat of coming up with a recipe that I can prepare with my eyes closed knowing it will turn out perfectly every single time. This has been my gripe in that I cannot seem to make a consistent version of this dessert which I used to prepare without any fuss at all while still living in the US. I had "the recipe" that was fool-proof and now all of a sudden, it just wouldn't work. 

I have had a lot of issues when making flan here back home. First, I noticed that the milk is a bit diluted and I was told that even our condensed milk contains coconut milk so it does not cook to the right consistency. Second, there is something off in terms of the sugar content of the condensed milk here as well. For some reason, it is very liquidy even when you buy the most expensive brand. I tried making a baked custard dessert one time and ended up with condensed milk syrup. I had to dump the whole thing as it was just unappetizing to look at much less, eat. A friend gave me a helpful tip to use the correct brand of milk and so far, my success rate has gone up a little bit. You do end up with an expensive version of the dessert but at least, you end up with something edible. 

Milkmaid Leche Flan

12 egg yolks
1 can Milkmaid condensed Milk
1 large Alpine evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar + extra for the caramel
1 tsp vanilla

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix with a wire whisk. Set
    aside. 

2. In a small non-stick pan over medium low heat, caramelize about 1-1 1/2 
    cup of sugar until golden brown and syrupy. Pour into an 8-inch round 
    baking pan. Coat the pan evenly with the caramel syrup. 

3. Pour the custard mix into the prepared pan over a fine sieve. Cover with 
    aluminum foil. 

4. Steam the flan in a large pot over barely simmering water for about an 
    hour or until set. Remove from the steam and allow to cool. 

5. Once cooled, store in the fridge for at least four hours prior to serving. 

To make the caramel, make sure that you move the pan around to caramelize the sugar evenly. If you have a silicon spatula, you can use it to break the lumps but never use any metallic utensils. 

To serve the flan, run a knife around it before inverting onto a large serving platter.