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Taystit by Hasna

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Tamale Pie



As weird as Tamale may sound, I weirdly loved the name given to this dish. Tamale Pie is a comfort food that originates from US in the early 1900. Though it has its origin from US, the flavors are totally Mexican inspired. 

It is said that the original recipe of Tamale takes hours of labor and due to the time consuming process, the authentic recipe isn't followed as much. After hours of researching I understood that Tamale isn't actually a pie, it is more like a casserole; never mind the name. This corn bread casserole is super easy to prepare, more like a shepherd's pie, corn version.

Interesting yea?!

Well, I wasn't quite aware of this dish, until lately when I happened to read about Tamale Pie… I wanted to try it right away! Usually, the dish is prepared using any red meat or minced chicken, or  can be done using only veggies. This dish makes a great veg/keto dish too if made slight variations in the ingredients.

Generally, the pie has its corn crust as the top layer, but I wanted to try it with a twist and made the corn layer as the base. Even though I love Mexican flavors, I don't usually stock up on Mexican ingredients so for the base, I used Masa Harina/cornmeal crust; flour made using dried corn kernels, and I had some cauliflower in the fridge waiting to be used. So I immediately blitzed the cauliflower and used it along with the base. Though I was quite unsure if the base would become soggy, I took the wrong road without the seatbelt. And oh boy was it a success! Alhamdulilah!

Also I made my own red enchilada sauce too from scratch! I am so happy that this dish turned out exactly like the comfort food I had in mind. I had to share the recipe today itself, before I forget how I prepared it!

The best part is that, if you prepare this dish, you will always have an additional casserole to save, which calls for a meal that is ready to it! For the cheesy layer I only used mozzarella cheese. You may use a combination of Monterey jack. cheddar cheese, mozzarella etc.

This recipe is definitely a keeper! Without further a-do lets gets started!

Ingredients:


Corn Base:

  • 1 cup Cornmeal/ Masa Harina
  • 1/2 cup Blitzed Cauliflower (optional)
  • 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
  • A pinch of sugar
  • 1/2 cup canned creamed corn or corn niblets
  • 1 tbsp butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 large egg
  • Salt as required.

Red Enchilada Sauce:

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil 
  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp red chilly powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
  • 1 Large Tomato, blended**/ 1 store bought canned tomato sauce
  • 1 clove garlic, minced/ 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt, as required

Meat Filling:

  • 250 gms ground beef
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • Freshly Ground Pepper
  • Salt, as required
  • 1 cup Mozarella*
  • Sliced Pickled Jalapenos, for garnish
  • Finely chopped Tomatoes, for garnish (without the inner core)

Instructions:

  1. Prepare your enchilada sauce, by stiring your oil, flour, chilli powder, cumin powder and oregano in a sauce pan on sim and allow to bubble.


  2. Add in your beef broth, tomato sauce, garlic and salt as required.
  3. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes, stir occasionally. Set aside, allow to cool.
  4. Preheat oven to 210 deg C. Grease a large casserole dish with butter or cooking spray.
  5. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients under corn base. Now, into the prepared casserole dish, transfer the corn base and bake for around 15-20 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool.

  6. In a skillet, over pour olive oil and sauté your chopped onions and minced garlic , once fragrant add in your seasonings like chilly powder, cumin powder, salt and pepper. Now add in your ground beef, break the meat using your wooden spoon, for around 6-7 minutes, until no pink color in visible. Drain the residual fat, that oozes out.






  7. Once your corn base has cooled, poke in using a fork and pour in your prepared enchilada sauce.


  8. Add your prepared beef and top with cheese.

  9. Cover with foil and bake for around 15-20 minutes. Allow to broil after removing the foil, so that cheese turns golden, for around 5 minutes.
  10. Your delicious Tamale Pie is ready to serve. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and sliced pickled jalapenos and a dollop of sour cream if you have or a sprinkle of chopped parsley will do. 


Note:

Other recipes calls for baking powder, I did not use here.
*You may use a combination of Monterey jack. cheddar cheese, mozzarella etc.
**If using fresh tomatoes, use a dash of Tomato ketchup to balance the tanginess.
The above recipe I divided into two medium casserole dishes so that I could use the other one later.



Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡

Baklava Mini Bundt Cake with Honey Glaze




Howdy Folks? Finally my LO gets her mid term break and this calls for celebration. Haha! Little pleasures of life.. I tell you! So I decided to celebrate doing what I love doing the most.. Experimenting! 

Last week I happened to have Baklava and currently the only thing that I crave for is baklava. Baklava is a sticky sweet made of filo pastry brushed with pure ghee or butter, filled with chopped nuts and drenched in sugar syrup w/wo honey. The crunchy texture of nuts and crispy from the buttery filo pastry and the citrus flavor from lemon which is added to the sugar syrup binds all the different flavors together into a delicious sweet which originates from the Ottomon Empire.

This Baklava mini Bundt cake is inspired from the Traditional Baklava. Though this recipe doesn't use Filo Pastry, we take the good stuff i.e., the nuts and the base that of ghee cake with a hint of cinnamon and drizzled with honey icing and topped with caramelized nuts and pistachios.

Baklava is a time consuming process, which is why I rarely prepare them at home. Now this innovation of mine is just so easy. Basically no efforts at all. I bet even little kids can make this yummy cake.
Though I have prepared the cake in mini bundts, you may use a loaf cake pan or a normal bundt cake pan. The mini one's are cute and bakes in no time. I am sure if you try this for a tea party, it is definitely going to be a show stopper. 





If you think you ain't great at baking, this recipe is for you. It is a no-fail recipe. If you plan to bake ghee cake, just double the quantity of ghee. And aah, your house will smell so good while the oven gets its job done. Once the mini cakes are done, allow it to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes and flip it. The 10 minute timing is perfect for the bundt cakes to fall off, to be on the safer side, don't forget to grease the inner nooks and corners well.



The flavors are sooo good. They honey icing is killer. I added a dash of cream, but if you prefer the lemony zest, add in a squeeze of lemon instead of the cream.* If you love ghee cakes and caramelized nuts, you are definitely in for a treat! 

Ingredients:

Cake Batter:

  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour/ Patent Flour
  • 1/4 Cup Ghee
  • 1/2 Cup Full Fat Fresh Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
  • A pinch of Cinnamon Powder
  • A pinch of Salt


Honey Glaze:

  • 2 tbsp Room Temperature Butter
  • 1/4 cup Honey
  • 3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon/ cream*

Topping:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • A pinch of light brown sugar


Instructions:

Baklava Bundt Cake:

  1. To prepare the mini bundt cakes, preheat the oven to 180 Deg C. Prepare your pan by greasing all the corners of the bundt pan using any flavorless vegetable oil and/ ghee.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients like flour, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.
  3. Next in a deep bowl, cream your ghee and sugar.
  4. Add in your milk and vanilla essence; whisk until creamy.
  5. Crack in your egg and mix well to combine.
  6. Now add in your flour mixture and fold everything well to a cake batter.
  7. Now slowly using an ice cream scooper, a piping bag or a normal tablespoon, spoon in your batter into the cake pan.
  8. Place the pan in the preheated oven for around 15 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
  9. Allow the pan to cool exactly for 10 minutes on a cooling rack.
  10. Invert the mini cakes from the pan and to cool completely while we prepare the topping and the icing.



Topping:

Into a small non stick pan, add in your butter, brown sugar, chopped nuts (almond, pistachios, walnuts) and honey and allow to thicken and switch off and drop onto a baking paper whilst still hot and allow to cool. While the nuts topping cools, lets prepare the honey glaze.

Honey Glaze:

  1. Combine honey, powdered sugar, butter and lemon juice/ cream and make sure it is not too thick nor too watery. Reduce your lemon juice/ cream accordingly.
  2. Drizzle over the top of the cooled mini bundt cakes and garnish with your prepared nuts topping or slivered pistachios. Serve Immediately or you may keep the cake for up to 3 days in room temperature.



Note:
Please do not use cream if you happen to use lemon, as this might cause the icing to curdle.
 


Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡

Nasi Goreng






May peace and blessings be upon you all.

One of the first recipes that I tried in my initial stages of experimenting was Indonesian cuisine and always the best. It is the super easy, delicious and tummy filling... *drum roll* - Nasi Goreng. 

As gorgeous as the sunny side up on the rice looked I was curious to try this at home years ago. And one fine afternoon when my mom asked what to cook for lunch, I asked her to go take some rest while I tried nasi Goreng. After like going through a couple of recipes, I tried my hands on Nasi Goreng on my own idea, as I did not have all the ingredients on hand that was required in the authentic recipe. And bam! It was soooooper hit.! 

All I would say is that the fish sauce is a bit unpleasant but when everything comes together, the umami flavor is just next level! 😋 You may use a dash of oyster sauce too 👌

And it is generally served with a fried egg/Sunnyside up, a few slices of Cucumber and tomato. Imagine the half done egg yolk oozing onto the flavorful rice. Oooooh soooo good!

One of my absolute favorite lunch/ dinner. The Kecap Manis is what takes this fried rice to a next level. Just make double the quantity of the mentioned kecap Manis and store in the refrigerator to use the next time you prepare nasi Goreng. Super easy and convenient yet such a wholesome meal. This one is such a keeper! 



Ingredients :

  • 3 cups day old Basmati rice (or cooked and cooled completely) 
  • 1 onion chopped, and fried (for topping) 

For rice:

  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil 
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli, low heat
  • 1/4 tsp Red Chilli Flakes 
  • 250 gms chicken breast, sliced (or any protein like shrimps), marinated in 1 tbsp kecap manis
  • 4 eggs (2 for scrambling and 2 for bullseye topping) 
  • 2 tsps fish sauce
  • Cucumber and tomato slices, to garnish
  • Lime wedges, to garnish

Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce) :

  • 6 tbsp Soy sauce 
  • 1-2 red bird's eye chilli or 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Flakes 
  • 1-1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions :

Kecap manis:
In a pan, add the ingredients under kecap manis and bring to a simmer. Reduce until slightly thickened (for about 2 minutes). The more it sits, the more it thickens. 

Rice:
  1. To a large skillet/wok , pour some oil. 
  2. Once heated, add in your chopped onion, garlic and green chilly. 
  3. Saute until raw smell disappears or until the onion has become translucent. 
  4. Next add in the marinated chicken strips and sautee well until cooked for around 5 minutes. 
  5. Shift the chicken to a side and pour a tsp of oil and drop in your eggs to scramble them. 
  6. Next add rice, little by little, adding in 2 tbsp or more of the prepared or store bought kecap Manis. Add in your fish sauce now, if you are using. 
  7. Now stir constantly on high flame, mostly by tossing the wok, so that the rice doesn't break down further. 
  8. Season with salt if required. 
  9. Garnish by placing a fried egg on the top, Sprinkle the fried onions and place sliced tomatoes and cucumbers on the side of the plate (traditional way of plating). Also place a lemon wedge* and enjoy! 
  10. Bon appétit. 



Note: 

  • You may use Jasmine rice too
  • If you do not like fish sauce you may omit it, but the fish sauce is what brings in its different, umami flavor.
  • You may use store bought shrimp paste as a substitute for fish sauce.
  • After a minute on high heat, add in your marinated protein
  • Topping suggestions : chopped spring onions and chopped red bird eye's chilli.
  • *The lemon wedge plays a great role in enhancing the flavor of the rice (my favorite part). 

Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡

Unniyappam - A Traditional Kerala Snack



Good evening folks!

Unniyappam is one Kerala snack that I have faint memories of. The chewy outer layer and soft spongy like insides which gave in small pieces of ghee roasted coconut to munch on is something incredibly good. Though I used to dislike it as a child, I remember having my classmates and seniors bringing them to school when I did my schooling in Kerala; in these little steel dabbas that they would open and close with the utmost care and give you one if you are good friends with them. Aaaah memories! I used to always pass it on to the next person sitting near me as I hated wasting food and I didn't want to hurt by saying a no.

So one fine day, I finally happened to try it from one of my seniors and my bus mate. This particular unniyappam looked extremely appealing that I had to try it! Maaan, it would owe it her and her mom or whoever made that unniyappam.. big time! The unniyappam that she shared was undeniably so good, the color, the texture, yet the crunch from the ghee roasted coconut pieces made me fall for it. Neethu.. I hope you read this. :) 

Alas.. if you happen to have had an aversion to a particular food once and you somehow think of them all to be the same. Been there. Lesson learned. Never said a no after that lol, unless the food is stale or disgusting. Well, at our place, we don't make unniyappam much. Most often it has been a delicacy only relished from bakeries etc. Always disliked theirs too as theirs seemed to be hard and not spongy. If you nail the technique and get it right.. I am sure it will stay soft in an airtight container well for at least 2-3 days. My hubster, who happens to dislike unniyappam too, he never bothered to try it. My daughter who usually has food aversion, kept grabbing one from the kitchen counter top. The Mister who got curious, tried himself and stuffed his face without a word. Haha. Not boasting but it really was yumm coz I like mine chewy, spongy and crunchy at the same time.

Recently I have been on an experimenting and inventing mode off, as I love to explore traditional food too.These are made using pachari (white rice), jaggery, small Kerala bananas*(4-5), ghee roasted coconut pieces, black sesame seeds and a pinch of cardamom. The ingredients sounds simple yea? Well, it gets done in no time too. One of the easiest evening snack you can make. Jutst prepare the batter in the morning and allow to ferment for a good 8 hours, or you may also grind and allow it to ferment right before you go to sleep (if waiting is not in your dictionary). For me, since it is winter here it took around 8 + hours, but if you are in a hot and humid country, your batter may get fermented even earlier. So, let's hop on to the ingredients. Shall we?



Ingredients: 

  • Coconut oil*
  • 1 cup Pachari/ White Rice (soaked for 4-5 hours)
  • 2 Robust Ripe Bananas
  • 2 tsp Ghee
  • 1/2 cup melted jaggery 
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup small coconut pieces 
  • 3 large cardamom pods
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 tsp black sesame seeds
  • Baking powder, a pinch
  • Salt, as required

Instructions:

  1. Roast your coconut pieces in ghee and set them aside.
  2. Wash and grind your rice with water (be careful not to make too loose nor too tight)
  3. Next add in your bananas, cardamom pods and grind well and transfer to a large bowl.
  4. Now add in your melted Jaggery and your roasted coconut pieces, and salt and mix well.
  5. Allow to ferment for 8-9 hours.
  6. Now add in your baking powder, and black sesame seeds and mix well.
  7. Into an Appa Chatti with cavities, pour in your coconut oil.
  8. Once the oil is hot, pour in tablespoonfuls of the batter and allow to fry on medium flame and turn 
  9. the unniyappams using a stick.
  10. Allow to cook well on both sides and transfer to a steel oil strainer.
  11. Allow to drain. Your favorite evening snack is now ready to devour.



Notes:

  • Using Coconut oil gives you the best results and taste, nevertheless you may use any flavorless vegetable oil too.
  • Usually, the small bananas are used for this recipe, if using the small Kerala bananas, you may use 5 of them. I had only robust bananas with me.


Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡
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My name is Hasna Haneef, a mommy to a toddler, hailing from Thalassery, Kerala. Welcome to my humble abode on the Internet; wherein I share all my recipes and experiments. I am glad to have you on board!

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About Me

May peace be with you!

Welcome to my blog.

I am delighted to have you on board. My name is Hasna Haneef, a mommy to a toddler, hailing from Thalassery, Kerala. My homeplace being Dubai, as I am born and brought up here and I am very influenced by the lifestyle and the variety of authentic cuisines I get to try from here, which has made me try anything that comes across me
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