Easy Masbaiy ( quick and easy rice pilaf)

I have posted a few masbaiy versions, this one is my go-to recipe when in a hurry.  This used to be the method when cooking this during university days in Karachi Pakistan and once I made this and my flatmate discovered I forgot to add the tuna! LOL.

Apple pancakes

Happy New Year! During the lockdowns in 2020 and earlier months of 2021,  when we ran out of bread, I prefered making pancakes to making bread. Even though I enjoy making bread, pancakes are easier to whip up and the family enjoy them. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a few days and reheated in the toaster. 

Tiramisu on a budget

I made tiramisu a long time back and never made it again. One reason for it was the raw eggs. We don't get fresh free-range eggs. I don't trust the ones we get here because when I check for freshness by placing the egg in a glass of water, it tends to float up on one end rather than sink completely at the bottom. Sometimes the white is bright yellow, which I usually throw away not sure why the white has to have the yellow colour.

Eggplant and tomato pilaf

I always try to look up recipes that use ingredients that are readily available here in the Maldives. Eggplants are grown locally and some are able to grow tomatoes as well. I came across this recipe about a greek eggplant pilaf but mine is more towards Morrocan and middles eastern flavours I think. 

Chicken Souvlaki

Souvlaki is a greek grilled meat dish. Pieces of meat are marinated in a simple marinade and then threaded on to skewers and then grilled on the barbeque.  You can either pop these on top of the barbeque, or cook over a grill pan as I have done or if you don't have a grill pan just pop into the oven. 

Aluvi riha (2) Potato curry

I have tried to make potato curry a few times, but somehow my potato curry and egg curry end up tasting too similar. It was until I tasted my mother-in-law's potato curry, I  knew I had to work a lot more to get the taste.  I looked up the two local cookbooks I always refer to, which is Dhivehi Kaana and Karunayaa nulaa kehkun,  but I prefered the one in Zareena's. 

Sick day Food

 

Every parent's nightmare is when their kids fall sick. I have toyed with the idea of sharing what I give my two kids when they fall sick but have stopped short from writing it each time because I don't want to come off as a know it all.  But each time I hear my husband tell a patient, just give fluids and keep the child rehydrated, instinct tells me to help them out. 

Cheesy chicken with spicy ramen

Ramen noodles started appearing in the Maldives sometime in 2019, and my first experience with these instant noodles didn't go so well as I choose to make one with the spiciest of chilli and ended up throwing the whole thing into the bin ( I know!) because it was so spicy no one could handle it. 

Green bean and carrot stir fry

This is a simple curry. My mother in law makes one with just green beans and when I asked her what are the spices she adds, she said she doesn't use so many spices. The secret, which I later discovered was the way you handle the onions and how you stir fry them.

Beignets

 

Beignets pronounced benyeys, are little pillows of dough that is fried and then drenched in icing sugar. I say drenched because it is literally coated in icing sugar, so much icing sugar that when you bite into it you get a sugary mustache.  This delicious treat is a specialty of New Orleans and I found the recipe in a book my sister gave  me before she left for New Zealand.

Butter Chicken Lasagne

I often watch this Pakistani cooking channel called Masala tv. One of them is Lazat with chef  Samina Jalil. Having grown up watching Hindhi movies and having lived in Karachi, Pakistan for a few years,  I can understand most of what's being said.