Preparing Jollof rice, the Ghanaian method

Published on May 7, 2013 by AdomHomeCooking

Click here to see video.

Ingredients in this recipe for 4 Adults:

• 4 cups of rice
• 8 pieces of Chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 3 large onions
• Pepper, garlic, ginger (amount optional)
• Chicken seasoning/ seasoning of choice
• 2 cups mixed veggies
• 1 can Tomato Plumps &Tomato puree
• Salt to taste
• Maggie cube( optional)

Procedure

1.

• Prepare chicken, wash and pat dry.
• Sprinkle chicken with salt to season
• Blend onion, ginger, garlic and pepper.
• Add to the chicken, add chicken season if you want.
• Steam the chicken for about 8-10 min.

2.

• Blend plump tomatoes, with some onion and pepper depending on how spicy you want your Jollof.
• Slice the remaining onions into medium sizes.

3.

• Start making the stew or gravy by frying the sliced onions in about 3 table spoons of veggie oil and allow to cook for about 2 mins
• Add 4 tablespoons of tomato puree and keep stirring for about 8 min till it is reduced.
• Add the blended tomato mixture and allow to cook and reduce for about 10 more minutes, stirring intermittently.

4.

• When the steamed chicken is ready, strain and reserve the stock, allow stock to cool.
• Deep fry chicken for the golden brown crusty finish.
• Put the fried chicken aside.

5.

• Add the stock to the stew and allow to cook for about 5 minutes
• Add your chicken to the stew( optional as chicken can be served separately when the entire meal is done).
• Add the mixed veggies and cook for a couple of mins.( scoop some stew out if preferred to be served with Jollof later).
• Add the rice and reduce the heat to very low. Cover the rice with kitchen foil and allow the food the steam through.
• Check and keep stirring intermittently till rice is cooked through, about 20 min.

6.

• Scoop some of the rice in a small bowl and press to form a nice mound, turn into your serving plate. Add your chicken.
• Can be served with salad ,gravy, coleslaw etc.

Enjoy your meal.

Chicken Soup with Egg and Lemon (Chikhirtma)

Source: http://georgiantable.com/2014/06/21/chicken-soup-with-egg-and-lemon-chikhirtma/

The Georgian palate gravitates toward tart flavors in all sorts of dishes, and soups are no exception. This elegant chicken soup takes its tang from lemon juice (or, alternatively, vinegar). It appears creamy due to the addition of eggs, but it contains no dairy. The hint of cinnamon adds a touch of sweet perfume, but the flavor remains delicately savory.

I like to serve this soup as a first course before a vegetarian entrée, or as a meal in itself with a thick slice of grainy bread and a mixed green salad.

Chikhirtma
Serves 4-6

1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts at room temperature
7-8 cups water or chicken stock
2 Tbsp. butter or oil
1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
1 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Juice of one lemon*
2 eggs, beaten
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Chopped fresh herbs to garnish (any mix of cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, basil, dill, mint)

*Tip: Roll the lemon around on the counter, pressing down on it hard with the palm of your hand, before slicing it in half and juicing it. This softens the membranes inside the lemon and will allow you to squeeze more juice out of it.

1. Place the chicken breasts in a pot and pour the water or stock over them. Bring the liquid to a simmer (not a boil) and maintain it there until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken and strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Reserve the strained broth. Use your fingers to shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.
2. In the large pot, cook the onion in butter or oil until soft, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the flour, salt, coriander, and cinnamon over the onions, stirring well to combine. Add the strained broth to the onions and bring to a simmer.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the beaten eggs and lemon juice with 1 cup of the warmed broth, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from clumping. Add the egg mixture to the soup, stirring as you pour. Add the chicken pieces back to the soup and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
4. To serve, ladle the soup into shallow bowls, grind a bit of black pepper over each and top with chopped herbs.

Serving suggestion: if you like a garlicky soup or are trying to ward off a cold, add 3-5 cloves of minced garlic to the soup when you add the chicken pieces back in towards the end.

Celebrating Bulgaria Adoptive Families Reunion 2014

Source: http://bulgarianadopteesreunion.blogspot.com/2014/06/bulgarian-recipes-from-2014-potuck.html

Bulgarian Recipes from the 2014 Potluck

Our reunion potluck is always made extra special by the dishes contributed by our native Bulgarian friends.  One of my favorite parts of the reunion each year is hearing some of our older Bulgarian kiddos get really excited about eating food they used to enjoy in their birth country.  If you want to make these treats for your family throughout the year, here are the recipes shared by Dani G. and Anna G.

Cucumber soup ("Tarator") - serves 8-12 (unless born in Bulgaria, then fewer :)

1 big container of yoghurt (organic varieties & Greek Gods taste more like yoghurt in Bulgaria)

1 long/European cucumber (diced or grated)

1-2 tbs olive or sunflower oil

1-2 cloves garlic, minced (may substitute with garlic powder)

12 oz water (add more if you prefer rarer soup)

1-2 tbs dill (fresh is better)

1 tbs grated walnuts or pecans

salt to taste

Serve chilled.
There is a salad version of the soup with the same ingredients as above minus water, however, the yoghurt is strained in a cheesecloth for a few hours and the cucumber may be substituted for diced pickle ("Snejanka").
Pastry ("Banitsa") - recipe from Anna

1 pack FILO dough 

4 eggs  + 1 1/2 cups of milk mixed

Feta cheese

Layer 2-3 sheets of FILO, sprinkle w crumbled cheese, fold into a roll and place in a pan, then repeat with more FILO, more cheese until FILO is over. Cut in small squares, spill over the milk and eggs mix, bake at 425 for 45min. Alternative fillings are a mix of cheese and spinach/diced leeks or grated pumpkin mixed with sugar. Old Bulgarian women do not use Filo dough but spread the dough, which is made of water, salt and flour with a rolling pin until almost transparent (idea for next year's activities!)

Peppers Burek ("Chushki Byurek")

4 big red peppers grilled well from all sides and peeled

2 cups Bulgarian feta cheese

2 tbs unsalted butter (optional)

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tbs dill

1/4 ts or less black pepper

other spices if desired

3 eggs & 

5 tbs flour 

Mix the cheese, butter, garlic, dill and black pepper. Fill the red peppers with the mix. Cover with the eggs & flour and fry. 

Lazy casserole version (adjust quantities to fit pan) - instead of baking fresh peppers, buy fire Roasted Yellow & Red Baked from Trader Joe's (or another brand that does nor contain vinegar). Layer of eggs/flour, layer of peppers, layer of cheese mix, another layer of peppers and top with eggs/flour. Bake until there is a nice golden crust on top.

Baklava

1 pack FILLO dough

1 cup melted unsalted butter (or coconut/olive/etc oil)

9 oz walnuts

1 tbs cinnamon

1 1/2 lbs sugar/brown sugar

1 lemon

20 fl oz water

Coat a pan with the butter. Two layout options: 1) layer 2/3 of the FILLO dough in the pan, cover with the walnuts and cinnamon and put the rest of the FILLO dough on top, then cut into 2x2" squares; 2) take several sheets of fillo dough, spread some of the walnuts and cinnamon on top and fold the FILLO dough into a roll, then repeat with the remaining ingredients until the pan is full. Bake on medium heat until golden. Boil the sugar and water for 2 minutes, then add the juice of the lemon. Cover the baked fillo with the sugar syrup. Leave in the fridge for a night.

Vegetarian Moroccan Harira

Photo credit: Marocmama

Vegetarian Moroccan Harira

Worthy and Reposted From: http://marocmama.com

Ingredients

1 medium to large onion
3-4 cloves garlic
3-4 tomatoes as fresh as possible
1 handful chopped Italian parsley
1/2 handful chopped cilantro
1 small can tomato paste
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1½ tsp Black Pepper
1Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Turmeric
1 small pinch Saffron crushed (if desired)
½ c canned organic garbanzo beans
¼ c lentils (rinsed)
1/4 c rice (I use long grain or basmati)
3 cups water
1 carton Saffron Road Vegetable Broth
Food Processor

Instructions

Heat olive oil in large stockpot on the stovetop.

Finely chop onion and garlic, and saute in the stockpot.

Wash and core tomatoes and then puree in a food processor along with parsley and cilantro.

Add tomato and herb puree along with salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric (and saffron if desired) to the pot.

Next, add water, tomato paste and 1 carton of Vegetable Broth to the mix.

Bring the soup to a boil and add lentils, rice, and garbanzo beans and reduce heat to medium. Cover.

Once the lentils and rice are tender (will vary but about 20 minutes) turn down the heat.

You can thicken the soup by adding a flour roux or leave as is.

The harira should be thick but still have a soup consistency.

http://marocmama.com/2013/08/vegetarian-moroccan-harira.html

This soup took about 1 hour start to finish to make.  Traditional harira takes several more. You might not be making this every night, but by making one big pot you’ll be guaranteed leftovers.

To preserve, transfer soup to smaller sized, freezer safe containers and allow to cool completely. Cover the containers, and pop into the freezer.  When you want to use it again, transfer to your refrigerator until the soup can be removed from the container.  You could also submerge it part way in warm water.  Heat through in a pan on the stove top.

Disclaimer: The author of this blog post is a brand ambassador for Saffron Road Food. However, she did not receive compensation for recipe creation , nor product to use. Her opinions and creations are her own.

See more at: http://marocmama.com/#sthash.CaWGH76s.dpuf