Hellobee Boards

@beaker: thanks so much, now I know what to look for when I go to the Indian market!

@blackbird: I am thinking of using your bulgolgi recipe for the meat in some Korean inspired tacos, like we had at the food truck on vacation

You guys, this is perhaps my favourite thread ever! Mouth watering!

My family is English and we're big on desserts so, here is a very easy treacle sponge:

110g flour
110g butter
110g sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. baking powder
Golden syrup

Spread a good amount of Golden Syrup on the bottom of an oven safe dish.
Whisk remaining ingredients together until light and fluffy then pour over syrup and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Serve with custard. Yum. The syrup might get a bit crusty on the bottom still still nice and sticky and delicious.

I forget the temperature of the oven, but whatever you usually use for a sponge cake would work.

Cashew Curry: hands down, my favorite "side" in sri lankan cooking. Cashews are pricey, even if you buy in bulk so this tends to be for parties or events rather than a week night meal, but it is so, so good.

Recipe here: http://curryandcomfort.yummly.com/2012/09/sri-lankan-cashew-curry.html

My husband's favorite Sri Lankan dessert: Chocolate Biscuit Pudding. He and my BIL can eat two pans of this in 24 hours. I make it every time his family visits. The exact recipe I use is this one, which calls for making a real chocolate mousse with uncooked eggs. It is DELICIOUS. http://www.infolanka.com/recipes/mess4/152.html

However, if uncooked eggs make you nervous there are other variations out there that are more simple and my MIL makes it this way: http://akkiskitchen.com/2013/09/13/chocolate-biscuit-pudding/

Personally, I like the first version more but they are all good. The key is not to skimp on the "Marie biscuits". For Americans--these are in almost every grocery store, but you may not have noticed them before because they are usually in the hispanic aisle

You should have many layers of biscuits with the "pudding" spread very thin between each layer.

@Mrs. High Heels: If you ever get a chance to eat it, you should! It is so, so good. There are a few restaurants in the LA area. And some good restaurants here in the NYC area. And TONS outside of Toronto.

I wanted to revive this thread because I made a good one last night! It's a great 30-minute weeknight meal.

Aji de Gallina
Serves 5-6

2 slices of bread (or equivalent--I just use whatever I have on hand, last night it was semi-stale potato rolls)
1.5 c milk
1.5 c chicken stock
~2 c shredded chicken (Whenever we get a rotisserie chicken, I shred whatever we don't eat and freeze it. Once I have enough I make this dish)
2 tbs evoo
1 yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs Aji Amarillo--I get this at my local hispanic market--see photo below
1/2 tsp chili pepper (I use cayenne but use what you want, and adjust based on your spicy preference)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
1/4 c grated parmesean cheese
1/4 c chopped walnuts
chopped kalmata olives

Soak the bread in 1/2 c milk, and then puree in a blender or food processor. Set aside.

In a large dutch oven, heat the oil on med/high heat. Add the garlic & cook until golden, ~40 seconds. Add onion and cook until translucent, ~3-4 minutes. Add the aji amarillo, salt, pepper, cayenne & oregano & cook for another couple minutes. Add the bread puree and stir constantly for ~1 minute, then pour in the remaining milk and broth while stirring constantly. Cook this for about ~10 minutes to let it thicken nicely. Add the cheeses and walnuts and let cook for another two minutes. At this point, I like to use a stick blender to make the sauce smooth, but it is not necessary. Add the chicken until it is warmed through, about 2-3 minutes (more if frozen).

Serve over rice, and sprinkle with chopped olives. You could skip them, but it gives the dish a really nice salty bite!!

@blackbird: OMG - that Bulgolgi looks so good (and the recipe seems pretty straight-forward too)! I'm going to have to try that!

@Mrs. Polish: Haha! Sounds about like my ethnicity (born and raised in IN here - but now I live in GA).

@Boheme: Yum - That sounds so good! DH and I love Cajun food and have a great Gumbo recipe!