Smoked Turkey Soup with Barley and Vegetables

 Overview

A delicious soup to make with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. We got smoked turkey this year for thanksgiving so shredded the left over turkey meat for this soup. Celery, carrots and barley adds a delicious aroma and flavor which compliments the smoked turkey. Moringa Leaf Powder which I got from GNC is a good addition to all soups. It adds its own aroma and flavor to the soup. If you like moringa leaf flavor you can use this. Hot turkey soup is good to have during this cold weather.

Smoked Turkey Soup with Barley and Vegetables

Turkey Soup Ingredients

Ingredients

Shredded smoked turkey meat  3 cups

Barley - 1/4 cup

Celery diced - 1 cups

Red onion - 1 large chopped

Carrots diced - 3/4 cup

Garlic finely chopped - 2 tablespoons

Crushed red pepper flakes - 1 - 2 tablespoons

Black pepper powder - 1  - 2 tablespoons

Chicken broth - 32 oz - 2 boxes

Moringa powder (optional)- 2 tablespoons

Olive oil - 2 tablespoons

Steps

1. Cook barley is 2 cups of water till cooked well and keep aside.

2. In a pan heat olive oil and add the finely chopped garlic to it and saute well. Add the red pepper flakes to this and saute few more minutes . Add the chopped red onions, celery and carrots to this. Add salt and black pepper powder, mix well and lower the heat, cover the pan and cook till the vegetables are just soft.

3. Add the shredded turkey, chicken broth and cooked barley along with the water to this and mix well. Add moringa powder if using and mix well and bring the soup to boil. Simmer and let it cook for 10 more minutes and turn then turn off heat.

Serve hot garnished with chopped celery or cilantro

Home made Baklava

 Overview

I love Baklava the layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.  I found this recipe in one of my cook books and wanted to make it for a long time. This is the first time I made it and recipe was real good followed and it came out as good as you buy from the store. My whole family loved it.

Home Made Baklava

Baklava Square

Ingredients

For Filling

2 cups walnut halves

1 1/4 cup shelled pistachios

3/4 cups almonds

Finely grated rind of a large Orange

6 tbs sesame seeds

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs cinnamon powder

23 sheets filo dough thawed if frozen

1 cup melted butter

Syrup

3 cups superfine sugar

2 cups water

5 tbs honey

3 cloves

2 large strips lemin zest

Steps

1. To make the filling put all the nuts in a food processor , process gently until chopped but ground coarsely. Transfer the chopped nuts to a bowl and stir in the orange rind sesame seeds sugar and cinnamon.

2. Preheat over to 325 F. Grease a baking dish rectangular in shape almost same size filo sheets. Keep the.  filo sheet covered with a damp towel.Place a sheet of filo on the bottom of the dish and brush with melted butter. Top with seven more sheets brushing with butter between each layer.

3. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the filling. Top with three sheets of filo, brushing each time with butter. Continue layering until you have used up all the filo and fillings, ending with a top layer of three sheets of the filo, brush with butter.

4. Using a sharp knife , cut the baklava into squares. Brush again with butter. Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes till top layer is golden brown.

5. Meanwhile put all the ingredients for syrup in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar and bring to boil. then simmer heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes. let cools.

6. Remove baklava from the oven and strain the syrup over the top. Let the syrup soak in overnight.

Cut and remove squares and serve

Eenthappazham Payasam (Dates Payasam)

 Overview

This is the payasam I made for this Onam. A very unique and delicious payasam different from the usual payasams we make for Onam. Payasam is a sweet dessert severed after meals. This recipe has few simple ingredients but the payasam is really delicious . If you want to try a new payasam different from the usual traditional ones this is a must try.

Dates Payasam

Dates Payasam Ingredients

                          

                            

Ingredients

Dates chopped one cup

Jaggery or Brown sugar - 1 cup

Fresh grated coconut for coconut milk 2 cups

Cardamon 4 - 5 pods

Cashews - 10 - 12

Ghee or butter - 3 table spoons

Salt a pinch

Steps

1. Add 1/2 cup water to the dates and cook on low flame till is it very soft. Mash it well and keep aside.

2. Add 1/4 cup water to the brown sugar and melt and keep aside.

3. Take first and second milk from coconut adding little water at a time and keep those two milks separate.

4. Grind the cardamom seeds to fine powder and keep aside.

5. Melt butter or add ghee in a heavy bottom pan and fry the cashews and keep aside.

6. In the same oil add the well cooked dates along with the melted brown sugar and mix well. Keep stirring till all the liquid has evaporated and the oil starts to separate.

7. Add the second coconut milk to this and mix well and bring it to a boil. add the cardamom seed powder and salt to this and mix well.

8. Add the first coconut milk and mix well. as soon as it starts to boil turn off flame. Add fried cashew  to this and it is ready to serve.

Serve warm or cold. Enjoy.

Sweet and Spicy Mango Chutney

 Overview

A delicious sweet and spicy mango chutney that goes very well with grilled fish or meats. Ripe mangoes gives the sweetness to this chutney and fresh green chilies adds the spiciness to this chutney. You may increase or decrease the amount of green chilies based on the spice level you can handle.

Mango Chutney Ingredients

Mango Chutney

Ingredients

Ripe mango pieces- 1 cup

Fresh mint leaves  - 1 cup

Green chilly- 4-6

Fresh Ginger - 1 teaspoon

Olive oil - 2 tablespoons 

Salt to taste

Steps

Grind all ingredients to a smooth paste and serve at room temperature or refrigerated with any meat or seafood dishes.

Enjoy

Chinese Chicken Dumplings

Overview

Healthy steamed dumplings made from ground chicken makes very good appetizer. You can pan fry these dumplings too to change the texture of these dumplings. I created two batches one steamed and one pan fried. Served with this spicy soya sauce this makes a very delicious appetizer.

Chicken Dumplings - Steamed and Pan fried

Ingredients

All purpose four - 1 cup

Vegetable oil - 2 teaspoon

Ground Chicken - 1 pound

Green onions - 4 stems finely chopped

Cilantro - 2 tablespoons

Garlic - 1 clove finely chopped

Ginger 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped

Red onion - 1 medium sized finely chopped

Sesame oil - 1 tablespoon

Fresh ground pepper  - 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Ingredients for sauce

1/4 cup soya sauce

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 garlic cloves finely chopped

Jalepeno or thai chilly finely chopped 1 - 2

Steps

1. For the dough mix flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon vegetable oil and enough water to make a smooth dough. Knead well and keep to rest for one hour. 

2. Mix all the ingredients with the ground chicken and keep aside. 

3. Knead dough some more to make a smooth elastic dough and make small balls. Roll to small rounds. Place a tablespoon of meat mixture at centre. wet half circle of the tip of the circle with water and  and fold down the stuck it. wet the round again and and keep folding to make dumpling shape

4. Steam in  steamer and  use with sauce

5. Steamed dumpling can be added to a pan with one teaspoon oil and browned too.

Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Green Chilly Pickle

Overview

This green pickle is different than the normal Indian pickles and has a very unique taste. This is a North Indian Pickle which I tried once and liked it. The preparation of this pickle is also very different. This Green chilly pickle can be used immediately but keeping it in jar for few days enhances the flavor of the pickle.

Green Chilly Pickle

Green Chilly Pickle Ingredients

Ingredients

Green chillies - 1 cup split length wise

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon

Fennel seeds - 1 tablespoon

Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon

Mango powder(amchor) - 1 tablespoon

Vinegar - 2 tablespoon

Asafoetida powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - 2 tablespoon

Sesame Oil - 4 tablespoon

Steps

1. Coarsely grind all the spices in a coffee grinder and keep aside. Mix well with salt.

2. Clean and dry the green chillies and then split length wise. Do not separate it just from the tip to almost top.

3. Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan and saute the green chillies for few minutes till soft.

4. In another pan heat the remaining 3 tablespoon oil. When oil is hot turn heat off. Add all the coarsely ground powders to it . Mix well and add the Vinegar to it mix well .

5. Add this mixture to the sauteed green chillies and mix well. Add more salt if needed. Mix well and store in a clean jar.

Serve with any Indian bread or rice.