Xinjiang (Chinese) Meal

As there are no country names with the letter X this meal comes from a province with that letter. Xinjiang is a western province of China adjoining the middle east. The food here is influenced largely by the middle east. The ethnic people of this region are the Uyghur or Hui.

For my the meal I was looking for noodles as the main dish. I found a very detailed laghman noodles recipe with embedded videos to help make them. Then I found a really nice pulao (pilaf) recipe. The Uyghur polo is not vegetarian but could be easily converted using paneer. I will make the noodles some day but for this meal my main dish is Uyghur (ee-gur) polo. I read here that samsa, a street food similar to the Indian samosa, is served with polo. So samsa served as the side dish. For dessert I made a sweet rice called mifirfan. 'Fan' is rice in the local language. In this dish the rice is sweetened with apricots and raisins along with a little sugar.

I did not use any new ingredients in this meal. This meal was not spicy at all. If you like spicy food you could add a whole range of spices to the polo as well as the filling for the samsa. We do not eat spicy food in our house so we enjoyed the original recipes.


Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Uyghur Polo 
• Samsa 

And for dessert

• Mifirfan

Samsa

Samosas are popular all over the world. The flavorful filling and the crispy crust is what makes the samosa so popular. The big drawback of a samosa is that it is deep fried. Samsa is a variation of the popular samosa and is widely popular in the middle east.

In the Xinjiang province of China, where the food is heavily influenced by Arabic cuisine, samsa is a popular street food. It is cooked in a tandoor like oven and can be baked in a home oven. The filling is usually not vegetarian. I converted the original recipe by using potatoes and cheese.

Like its cousin the samosa, the dough used for the samsa is not leavened. A strong flour is used and rolled out thinly to ensure it is cooked through. I used whole wheat flour that we use for chapatis. 

You will need for 8-10 samsa

For the filling

1 large potato

2 tbsp. onion, diced

1/4 cup feta cheese

2 tbsp. romano, cotija or any cooking cheese

1 tbsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. paprika

salt to taste

For the dough

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (chapati flour or bread flour)

water as needed

1 egg as egg wash

Boil the potato in the pressure cooker or in the microwave. I cooked it in the microwave. Prick the potato at 1 inch intervals with a fork. Leave the skin on and place it in the microwave along with a cup of water. In 5-6 minutes the potato should be cooked. Let it cool for 15 minutes before peeling the skin off to avoid the hardening of the outer layer.  Dice the potato and combine with the other ingredients. Keep aside.

In a separate bowl sift the flour and using water form a soft dough. Knead it for a couple minutes. Cover in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 F. To prepare the samsa divide the dough into 8-10 portions. Roll out one portion on a work surface using a little flour to prevent sticking. The rolled disc should be 1/8th of an inch or thinner. 

Place filling in the center and fold in the dough from one side.

Now fold in the opposite side. Next fold in from the third side.

Complete the package by folding in the remaining side.

Place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining portions of dough. Break the egg in a bowl and add 1 tbsp. water. Whisk together. Apply egg wash over the prepared samsa. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are brown. Let it cool on a cooling rack for a couple minutes. 

Samsa is best eaten hot.

Mifirfan (Chinese Sticky Rice Dessert)

Mifirfan is a dessert from the Xinjiang province of China. It is a mildly sweet dessert that reminded me of narali bhaat. It is made of rice that is sweetened with apricots and raisins.

Mifirfan is a simple and quick dessert. It is made with Chinese sticky white rice. I got a handful of this rice from the bulk section at Whole Foods. The process is very simple, cook the rice with apricots, raisins and a little sugar.

You will need
a handful white sticky rice
10-12 dried apricots
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp. sugar
1 cup water

Wash the rice and soak it for half an hour. Chop the apricots and keep aside. These are the apricots I used.

Drain the water from the soaking rice and add the rice to a pan. Add a cup of fresh water to the pan and bring it to a boil. Add the apricots, raisins and sugar.

Let the rice cook in the boiling water.

When the water level drops below the rice, lower heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes.

Mifirfan is ready. It is best eaten the day it is cooked. As it is made with rice day old mifirfan tastes a lot like stale rice.

Uyghur Polo (Paneer Carrot Pilaf)

Uyghur polo is pulao or pilaf from the Xinjiang province of China home to the Uyghur or Hiu. This dish is not originally vegetarian. I converted it by using paneer. The paneer is cooked with carrots and onion. Spices are then added to the mixture along with water. The rice is added to the top and cooked in the flavored water.

The process of cooking this dish is very similar to other pilaf. The different is the sparingly used spices.

You will need
7 oz. paneer, cut into cubes
2 tbsp. oil (I used olive oil)
1 onion, diced
3 slender carrots, cut into 1 inch strips
1 tbsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. paprika or cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1 cup rice (I used brown basmati rice)
1/4 cup raisins
salt to taste

Wash and soak the rice. Keep aside until needed. Heat oil in a pan and add the paneer cubes. Brown the cubes on all sides then add the onions. Saute until the onions are tender. Add the carrots and saute until the carrots are cooked but not mushy.

Add salt, cumin seeds and 2 cups of water to the pan. Turn up the heat to high, bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes. This allows all the flavors to blend. Uncover the pan and add the rice. Spread the rice over the top but do not mix with the other ingredients. Turn up the heat until the water is boiling again. Let it boil until the water level drops below the rice. Lower the heat and add the raisins. Cover and let the rice cook for about 20-25 minutes. Do not open the lid during this time.

After 25 minutes open the lid. Mix the rice with the other ingredients.

The polo is ready.

It tastes best hot. Leftovers can be reheated.

Welsh Meal

A very rustic meal today from Wales, the country that is part of the United Kingdom or Great Britain. I was careful to pick dishes that are Welsh in origin and not from the other regions of the UK. Welsh rarebit or rabbit is a simple melted cheese on bread recipe that I picked to build this meal.

Cheddar cheese is melted with very few ingredients and poured over toasted slices of bread. The bread is then toasted again before it is served. Some regions serve a fried egg on the top. I baked a loaf of whole wheat English muffin bread to make the rabbit. I paired this with an onion cake that I baked and served in my cast iron pan. The onion cake is made of potatoes and onions baked in layers with butter. Needless to day, my daughter loved it. The teisen lap or Welsh moist cake was delicious. This was the first time I baked a cake on a dinner plate. You cannot get more rustic than that! The cake is filled with raisins and stayed moist for 3 days. My father enjoyed it a lot.

No new ingredients for this meal but like I mentioned above I had never baked anything on a dinner plate. The meal was very filling.

As they say in Welsh, Mwynhewch Eich Bwyd!

Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Whole Wheat English Muffin Bread
• Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit)
• Potato and leek soup
• Onion Cake 

And for dessert

• Teisen Lap (Welsh moist cake)

Welsh Moist Cake

This Welsh cake is a true delight. It is very flavorful but very rustic at the same time. The batter is assembled and piled on a dinner plate and baked. Now I had never baked anything on my dinner plate before so I was understandably a little skeptical. During the first few minutes the cake looked like it was going to go over the edges of the dish instead of growing upwards. But then after another few minutes it sprung in the right direction. It was moist and stayed that way for a couple of days in our hot summer. This is definitely something I will try again.

I halved the original recipe and wished I had not. My father enjoyed a small slice of the cake with his afternoon tea until it was all gone.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
4 tbsp. butter
110 gm flour
55 gm sugar
30 gm raisins
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, powdered
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Sift the flour in a bowl. Bring the butter to room temperature and rub it in to the flour. Combine with sugar, raisins, baking powder and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add it to the flour mixture. Pour in the milk. Bring the batter together with a fork until there is no dry flour left. Do not over do it. Grease a side plate and transfer the batter to the plate.

Resist the urge to smooth out the top. Bake the cake for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cawl Cennin (Welsh Potato Leak Soup)

I make potato and leek soup often during winter and on cold rainy days. It is rich and creamy. This version is from Wales and is called cawl cennin.

I used white potatoes for this soup but you could use red or russet too. I use almond milk to make soups creamy. I used soy milk in this soup.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
1 medium potato
1 slender stalk of leek
2 cups vegetable stock
salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup soymilk

Wash, peel and dice the potato. Clean the leek and dice the white and tender green stalk. Put the potato and leek in a pan with the stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the leek is cooked and the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn off heat and let the soup cool a little. Run the hand blender through the soup or transfer it to a blender and puree. Transfer the pureed soup back to the pan and reheat. Do not let it boil. Add the milk. Heat through for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat.

The soup is ready. Enjoy!

Welsh Potato and Onion Cake

This was the first dish I baked in my cast iron pan. I made it as part of a very rustic meal. I baked and served it in the pan. My daughter loved it.

Recipe adapted from here.

You will need
1 large Russet potato
1 medium onion
2 tbsp. butter, melted
salt and black pepper to taste

Some butter for brushing

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash, peel and slice the potato. Soak it in water for a few minutes. Drain and discard the water. Wipe off water from potatoes using a tea towel. Combine with the butter, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Keep aside.

Dice the onions. Season them with salt and pepper.

Apply some butter to the cast iron or any oven proof pan. Layer the potatoes and onions, starting and ending with a layer of potatoes. Bake covered with aluminium foil for 30 minutes. Uncover and brush the top with a little butter. Bake uncovered for another 7-10 minutes to allow the top to brown.

Enjoy!

Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit)

Welsh rabbit is really an open face cheese toast. Toasted bread slices are slathered with cheese sauce and toasted again. I baked a loaf of fresh bread for this recipe. You will find the recipe for the bread loaf here.

I used whole wheat bread but you could use white bread. For the cheese I used American sharp cheddar. English or Welsh cheddar would have been better suited but I stuck to the American cheese. I bought a block of good quality white cheddar but it got used up. So I used yellow cheddar instead. I looked at a lot of sources for the recipe.

You will need
For the sauce
2 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. mustard
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

6 slices fresh bread

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Melt the butter in a pan. Gradually stir in the milk and mustard. Add the cheese and mix well until it has melted completely. Turn off heat.

Toast one side of the slices of bread in a pan. Lay the toasted side on a baking sheet. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and toasted again.

Serve hot.

Whole Wheat English Muffin Loaf / Basic Homemade Bread Recipe

I needed a loaf of bread to make Welsh rabbit or a cheese topped toast. I found this recipe here and and adapted it. The original recipe called for all purpose flour. I replaced it with King Arthur whole white wheat flour.

The liquid in this recipe is heated to 120 degrees allowing the dough to rise quickly. There is just one rise in the loaf pan. The bread turned a lovely golden brown on the top. It is a little dense as most whole wheat breads are but has an even crumb. It is perfect for toasting.

You will need

2 1/2 cups whole white wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup + 2 tbsp. milk

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. instant yeast

1.5 tsp. salt

Grease a loaf pan and keep aside. Sift the flours in a bowl. In a separate bowl heat the milk, water and oil to 120 degrees. 

Add the sifted flours, baking soda, yeast and salt to the milk mixture. Knead until the dough comes together and is smooth. The dough will remain sticky and will be warm. 

Transfer the dough to the loaf pan. Cover and let it rise for an hour. During the last 15 minutes preheat the oven to 400 F. 

When the rim of the dough is just above the loaf pan place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for a couple minutes.

Transfer it to a cooking rack. Slice when it is completely cool.

Enjoy!

Venezuelan Meal

I cannot believe I was stumped on what I should cook from Venezuela. This was one of the most delicious meals I have cooked. All three dishes were tasty, unique and very good.

For the main dish I decided to make Pasticho Venezolano or Venezuelan lasagna. This lasagna is not vegetarian. I made it vegetarian with the use of crumbled paneer. I retained the rest of the recipe which calls for béchamel sauce layered along with the lasagna noodles, fresh mozzarella cheese and the prepared paneer mixture. Simply delicious!

I paired this with salsa carioca, a simple salad made with tomatoes , onions, avocado and hard boiled eggs. The salad is dressed with a simple oil and vinegar dressing that has hot pepper sauce added to give it a nice kick. For dessert I made Besitos de coco, coconut cookies, that browned beautifully. They were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The entire meal was very satisfying both to cook and to eat.

I did not use any new ingredients in this meal. The addition of the béchamel sauce to the lasagna was very interesting as was the addition of hot pepper sauce to the salad dressing. My father who is visiting is not particularly fond of tomatoes. Both the main and side dish have tomatoes in them. But the tomatoes do not overpower the dish, merely flavor it and so he was able to enjoy the meal too.

As they say in Venezuela, Buen Provecho!

Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Pasticho Venezolano 
• Salsa Carioca 

And for dessert

• Besitos de Coco

Besitos de Coco (Venezuelan Coconut Cookies)

I love coconut in desserts. These baked coconut cookies are almost all coconut and brown sugar with a little egg yolk and flour for binding. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

I made these cookies as part of a Venezuelan meal. They are bite sized cookies and it is hard to stop with just one.

I cut this recipe to a quarter and made just eight.

You will need for 8 cookies
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tbsp. butter at room temperature
1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients and form a dough.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form bite size balls of the coconut dough and place them on the baking sheet.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until they are brown.

Cool on a baking rack.

Enjoy!

Salsa Carioca (Venezuelan Salad)

Salsa Carioca is a simple Venezuelan salad. It is made with simple ingredients, tomatoes, onion, hard boiled egg and avocado. It is really the salad dressing that makes the salad. It has a good amount of hot pepper sauce giving it a real kick.

We like salad in my family and we like all the ingredients that went into this one. I used tomatoes and the Serrano pepper from my garden. The hot pepper dressing took the salad to a whole new level.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
1/2 onion
1 tomato or 10-12 cherry tomatoes
1 medium avocado
1 Serrano pepper
1 hard boiled egg

For the dressing
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper

Slice the onion. Remove the seeds and dice the tomato. Remove the seeds and vein from the Serrano pepper and mince it. Peel and dice the hard boiled egg. Combine these ingredients in a mixing bowl and keep aside so the flavors blend together.

When you are ready to mix the salad remove the seed and peel from the avocado and dice it. In a separate bowl combine the ingredients for the dressing and whisk together. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. Salsa carioca is ready.