Tear-inducing meatballs.

A few years ago, the spousal unit informed me she wanted meatballs for dinner and supplied me with this recipe from For the Love of Cooking blog.

I don't exactly remember why, but I glanced at it and somehow randomly decided that I would add panko and Italian sausage to the recipe and substituted Parmesan cheese with the more economical Pecorino.

The spousal unit declared that the meatballs were tear-inducing good, and then proceeded to ration them. So I think they must be pretty good. Over the years I sort of simplified the recipe, and the recipe can be thrown together in about 30 minutes + about 60 minutes of unsupervised cooking time.

Meatball Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 pounds of ground beef.

1 & 1/2 pounds of Spicy Italian Sausage.

1 large sweet onion (finely diced).

1/2 cup of panko.

1/4 cup of grated Pecorino.

2 cloves of garlic.

2 eggs.

1 tablespoons of dried basil.

2 tsp of fennel seeds.

salt and pepper to your personal preference.

Sauce Ingredients:

1 large sweet onion (chopped).

2 jars of your generic budget Mariana sauce (if you don't do budget Mariana sauce - why are you even reading this? Sod off. I only cook food for the proletariat).

salt and pepper to your personal preference.

Meatball Making Protocol:
1. Remove the Spicy Italian Sausage from their casings, and mix the sausage meat with the ground beef. Throw in all the ingredients and literally hand mix the mixture until all the ingredients are well integrated. If you have sensitive hands or suffer from mysophobia, I suppose you could put on a pair of gloves (although if you suffer from mysophobia, you probably shouldn't eat or breathe, so I recommend sticking your head in a plastic bag).

Punch it as if it were your worst enemy! 

2. Shape the balls. I don't put too much effort into this, because no one should care about the shape of your balls (with the exception of maybe your PCP).

3. Place meatballs in baking tray. I use a roasting pan with a rack so that the underside of the balls get an opportunity to experience convection and the meatballs don't sit in a puddle of fat. I sort of help them brown a little by spraying the meatballs with a butter based baking spray. Put them in an oven preheated to 350°F for 30 minutes.

This time I rough chopped my onions because I was lazy.
No adverse impact  to the texture or flavor of the meatballs.

4. While the meatballs are in the oven, chop the other onion, toss it in a large pot and saute in olive oil with some salt & pepper. When the onions begin to soften and yellow, pour in your two jars of Mariana sauce.

5. After the meatballs have been in the oven for 30 minutes, dump them into the sauce for another 30 minutes. Thereafter, serve on your carbohydrate of choice. I ate them on linguini. Leftovers were consumed on yummy sour-dough rolls.

Misshapen but yummy. 

The Pursuit of Pizza Perfection.

For half a decade, I have been in the pursuit of and been eluded by the perfect pizza crust.

After five long years, I'm happy to report my rather long and at times despairing journey has ended. This recipe is adapted from the fine people at Cook's Illustrated.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of warm activated-charcoal filtered dihydrogen monoxide heated to 43 ° C (110° F).
•  1 and 1/4 cups of activated-charcoal filtered dihydrogen monoxide at room temperature. 
• 2 and 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast.
•  2 tsp of olive oil.
• 4 cups of bread flour.
• 1 and 1/2 tsp of 97% ~ 99% pure sodium chloride.

Dough Making Protocol:

1. In a large bowl, add the yeast in the the warm dihydrogen monoxide and stare at mixture for 5 minutes with intense energy.
2. After you have directed intense energy at the mixture for 5 minutes, add the  room temperature dihydrogen monoxide and olive oil.
3. Mix the bread flour and relatively pure sodium chloride and combine gently in the mixer (preferably below 120rpm with a dough hook).
4. With the mixer slowly rotating, gently add the liquids.
5. Mix dough for until 5 of the first sexagesimal fraction time units have elapsed (or until the dough is smooth and elastic).
6. Roll the dough into a ball, and place it in an oiled bowl, seal the bowl and let the dough rise for 1/12 of a median Earth day.
7. After the rising, the dough is more or less ready, form your pizza, use a fork and gently puncture the interior area of the pizza so the crust rises around the center of your pizza.
8. Let the dough's protein composites relax for a period of approximately 10 of the first sexagesimal fraction time units.
9. Top the pizza, bake at 260 ° C (500° F).

YAY!!! I swear this is the best home-made pizza dough!

September Chili!

September has arrived, which means the beginning of the football season, and that the weather in Pittsburgh is starting to get chilly.

Chilly weather + football = chili. There is some serious synergy going on when you combine spices with protein and fat from beef, the depth and body of sauteed onions, starch from beans, and acidity of tomatoes.

Tigger approves of this monster can of chickpeas - $2.89 at your local Costco!

My basic chili recipe came from a photocopy the Spousal Unit made about a decade ago from Evelyn Raab's Clueless In the Kitchen. The recipe sat dormant in a binder unused until about four years ago - when I started experimenting with chili.

This is probably my best variation of that original recipe.

Ingredients:
        • 1.5 lb of beef (minced)
        • 2 large onions (diced)
        • 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
        • 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
        • 2 medium red tomatoes (diced)
        • 1 green pepper (diced)- optional
        • 3 cups of canned chickpeas
        • 1 cup of frozen corn
 

Spices in a bowl.

        • 3 tsp chili powder
        • 1/2 tsp of curry powder
        • 2 tsp ground cumin
        • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
        • 2 tsp salt

Instructions:
1. Saute the onions and garlic in a skillet (medium heat) until the onions are soft and translucent, then add the green bell peppers. Saute until the peppers are fragrant.

2. Add the ground beef and spices.

3. In a large pot, pour your crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chickpeas,  and corn. Apply low heat.

I used 3 cups and froze the rest in bags.

4. When the ground beef is more or less browned, and the spices are fragrant - empty the skillet into the large pot.

5. Add about a cup of water, cover, and let the mixture simmer on low for 90 minutes.

Yum!

Going Greek: Pastitsio.

I've been cooking a lot of Greek, and Pastitsio is yummy.

Ingredients:

Meat Sauce:
        • 1.5 pounds of ground beef
        • 2 onion (diced)
        • 1 clove of garlic (minced)
        • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
        • 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
        • salt
        • pepper
        • 28 oz. of diced tomatoes
        • 6 oz. of tomato paste
        • 1/8 cup of dried oregano

Bechamel Sauce:
        • 1 stick of butter
        • 1 cup of all purpose flour
        • 3 cups of milk (warmed)
        • 3 eggs
        • 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
        • 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated)

        • 1 pound of tubed pasta

Instructions:
1. Saute the ground beef, medium heat until brown. Remove beef from pan.

2. Add the garlic and onions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the empty pan, saute until the onions are translucent.

3. Return the beef to the pan, add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and cook one pound of your favorite tubed pasta.

5. Now we begin making the Bechamel. Melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour until the roux is smooth.

6. Add warm milk to the mixture in a steady stream, whisking. Simmer until the mixture thickens (but do not let it boil).

7. Beat the eggs and add it to the Bechamel mixture. Add the 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.

8. Now we begin assembly. Apply olive oil to a 9 by 5 pan. Pour half of the cooked pasta into the pan, spread it evenly.

9. Pour all the meat sauce on top of the pasta, then add the remaining half of the cooked pasta on top of the meat sauce layer.

10. Pour the Bechamel mixture to cover the pasta. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese on top of the Bechamel mixture. Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Making Eggplants Tolerable: Moussaka.

I don't like eggplants. They're mushy and have negligible amounts of beneficial nutrients. Unfortunately, they're silly easy to grow, and therefore common enough to end up in our farm-share basket.

The SU and I scratched our heads and wondered...

What will we do with you?

Then the SU thought of Greek Moussaka, where the Greeks demonstrate their culinary sense by cooking the !@#& out of eggplants so you can't taste it and it is covered by the awesomeness of onions, ground beef, and the tomato.

So we flipped open our copy of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, and this is our adaption of the federal convict's recipe.

Ingredients:
        • eggplant
        • 1.5 pounds of ground beef
        • 1 onion (diced)
        • 1 clove of garlic (minced)
        • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
        • 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
        • salt
        • pepper
        • 28 oz. of diced tomatoes
        • 6 oz. of tomato paste
        • 1/8 cup of dried oregano
        • 2 eggs
        • 2 cups of Greek yogurt
        • 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated)



Instructions:

1. Slice the eggplant, salt liberally to dehydrate Satan's vegetable and set it on paper towels.

2. Saute the ground beef, medium heat until brown. Remove beef from pan.

3. Add the garlic and onions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the empty pan, saute until the onions are translucent.

4. Return the beef to the pan, add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour.

5. Preheat your oven to 400°F, then return your attention to the eggplant slices. Rinse the salt off, dry the vegetable, and in another frying/saute pan with olive oil, fry the slices at medium heat until they're brown.

6. Now we begin layering. Grab a 9 by 13 baking pan, begin by placing a single layer of eggplant, then empty half of the meat/tomato/onion mixture on top of it. Then add another layer of eggplant, and unload the other half of the meat/tomato/onion mixture.

7. Mix the yogurt, eggs, and cheese together. Pour it on top of the material already in the pan.

8. Introduce the pan into the oven, and bake until the yogurt is bubbling and beginning to brown. Estimated cooking time is around 30~40 minutes.

9. Remove from oven, let the Moussaka rest for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Japanese Style Curry over Fried Mahi-Mahi.

Cooking can sometimes be a haphazard experiment. The other day I decided that I had to use up some potatoes, celery, carrots before they began to go bad... so I opened the freezer to look for protein.

I found a few frozen Mahi-Mahi filets, and about a pound of ground beef. I also found 3/4 of a pack of Japanese curry blocks, and a three cups of chicken stock.

Hm.... so I diced up two yellow onions, sauteed the onions with salt & pepper until they're yellow, then added the ground beef and sauteed until they're brown.

Then I added the chicken stock, dissolved the curry blocks, and added my potatoes, carrots, and celery. Brought the pot to a simmer. Cooked for one hour.

I decided I wanted to pan fry the Mahi-Mahi with a nice panko crust... so I tossed the filet in cornstarch, dipped it in eggwash, then liberally coated it with salt & pepper seasoned panko. Fry until brown.

It was delicious. The End.

I thank Julius Caesar for Belgium. Carbonade Flamande!

Every July 13 should be celebrated as Julius Caesar appreciation day. Born in 100BC, Julius Caesar, in his quest to elevate himself as dictator of Rome, marched his Legions through what is modern France, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium before his failed attempt to conquer the Britons. Because Roman Legions marched wherever they went, Julius Caesar's engineers built roads and bridges. Because marching armies needed to be fed and a place to rest, Julius Caesar's armies built a chain of forts, many of which became settlements, that litter the modern borders between France, Germany, and divides Belgium into Flanders and Wallonia.

While Belgium has had to deal with ethnic instability and a complicated government, its unique geography as the ethnic boundary between the French and Germanic peoples has provided its people and the world with Belgian beer and culinary wonders like French frites!

Anyway, all this anthropological crap is just a strange interlude to what I was really interested in sharing, the carbonade flamande!

Ingredients:
        • 2 bottles (~12oz.) of a drinkable wheat beer (I used Hoegaarden)
        • 3 pounds of beef (chuck)
        • 2 medium yellow onions
        • 2 tsp of minced garlic
        • 4 tablespoons of flour
        • 2 cups of beef broth
        • 1 tsp of dried thyme
        • 2 bay leaves
        • 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
        • 1/2 pound of mushrooms
        • 1/2 pound of carrots
        • 1 medium stalk of celery
        • 6 small/medium potatoes

Instructions:
1. Chop the onions into 1/4 inch strings. Cut the carrots, celery and mushrooms into bite size. Wash/peel the potatoes and cut them into over-sized bites.

2. Clean and trim the beef. Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes. Liberally apply/rub salt and pepper all over the cubes.

3. Open a bottle of beer. To verify its freshness and suitability for cooking, take a swig. Taste good? Great! Unfortunately, now you don't have enough beer for the stew, so go ahead and finish that bottle and open another one (for cooking). Let it sit on the counter while you begin cooking.

4. Apply high heat to a large oven safe cooking vessel with significant thermal mass. I used my stainless steel pot (~6 quart). Add some oil, then sear the cubes of beef until they've developed a nice flavorful brown crust. We do this for flavor. Contrary to conventional wisdom, searing does not seal in juices.

5. Take your time while searing, good things come to those who wait. Once you're done, set the beef aside in another bowl, and pour the juices on top of the beef. Don't wash the pot. You'll see why later.

6. Preheat your oven to 300°F.

7. Apply medium heat to your beefy pot. Apply some oil. Then throw in your onions with a pinch of salt. Saute until they're brown and the bottom of the pot is de-glazed.

8. Toss in your minced garlic and stir. Then toss in the flour and stir.

9. Keep cooking and stirring until the mixture is sticky, and somewhat brown. Then pour in your beef broth and that bottle of beer sitting on the countertop.

10. Toss in your thyme, bay leaves, and vinegar. Bring the mixture up to a slow simmer.

11. Toss in all the beef with all the juices. Toss in all the carrots, celery, mushrooms and potatoes.

12. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer again.

13. Loosely cover the pot, and stick it in the oven. Set a timer for 2 hours.

14. Drink some more beer and wait. Thank Julius Caesar for landscaping the cultural national borders of Western Europe.

15. Many beers later (2 hours), serve the carbonade flamande with something like bread, rice, egg noodles, boiled potatoes, or frites!

Yum!

Black Pepper Sauce goes well with anything.

Very few things make me nostalgic about anything concerning my childhood. But I have to say that black pepper sauce is of those things that elicit childhood memories.

One of the only childhood memories I have with my dad involves black pepper sauce. We didn't eat well growing up, neither parent had the inclination to bother, and we didn't have the $ to eat out with any regularity.

But, sometime between the age of 4-6, for whatever reason, my mother had one of her extended absences abroad. I don't precisely remember why my brother wasn't around, but somehow my dad and I ended up at a "steakhouse."

Keep in mind, this was in the mid-late 1980s, and Taiwan had barely just emerged from under martial law, we didn't really have THAT much culinary contact with the outside world, so "steaks" were really more like sad little cuts of beef from an old water buffalo or maybe an old cow. It definitely wasn't one of them fancy American or Australian imported steaks.

But it was cheap. For something like $2.50 USD, the "steak" came to your table sizzling on a hotplate, with black pepper sauce, with an egg (sunny side up), vegetables, and pasta. And not just any regular pasta (which we had plenty of in Taiwan), but WESTERN extruded pasta (i.e. macaroni). WOW!

I was a child, and didn't really know how to use this strange WESTERN knife and fork business (where's my chopstick?), so I spent about 90 minutes gnawing on this rather dry little "steak" that sat in a puddle of black pepper sauce. I distinctly remember how proud my dad was that I had finished this thing, even if it took 90 minutes (or maybe it was relief? I was a kid, who knows!).

Objectively speaking the steak was dry and old beef, but for me that was one of the more memorable meals.

With that old country tale being told, let me get to the actual cooking.

You can make your own black pepper sauce, but I didn't bother. I endorse Lee Kum Kee's black pepper sauce. It works, and you can find it at any respectable East Asian food mart.

I sliced an onion. Sauteed it in an oiled skillet at medium-high heat until they're brown, then added a pound of bite-sized chicken.

You can use lamb, beef, or whatever protein that builds your muscles. Saute until the surface of the protein is cooked, and add your vegetables. We opted for peas.

Add some chicken stock, some pepper sauce, and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.

You can eat it over rice, or chose to do the "Western" thing and eat it over some rotini.

Yum!

"AUTHENTIC" Iron Chef Panko.

I'm a big fan of frying things coated with panko. Panko (パン粉) is basically a type of Japanese unseasoned bread crumb. I prefer it over regular North American bread crumbs because it provides a more crispy texture, and doesn't coat as thick as the silica-texture bread crumbs.

Being a fan of buying non-perishable food items in bulk, I couldn't resist giving Costco's "IRON CHEF AUTHENTIC PANKO" a shot. Admittedly I was a little suspicious at the "authentic" panko, but after trying it on pork katsu, I'm happy to report it works.

I award this product five out of five truffles.


I've talked about the recipe before, but this time I've got pictures. I've also substituted flour with cornstarch. The cornstarch undercoat is more delicate than flour, and does a better job gluing the panko to the pork.

Recipe
1. Flatten a piece of pork. You can use a heavy skillet, or if you have bear-paws in place of hands or pent up frustration, use your hands. I prefer to work with tools, so I used a hammer. For hygienic reasons, I placed the pork in a freezer bag.

The hammer is my friend. I use it to flatten cutlets of meat,
and strike down upon my enemies with great vengeance and uh... nvamind!

2. Dust the pork (now flattened) with corn starch.

3. Crack an egg. Mix it up. Dunk the flattened pork in the egg.

4. Dunk the pork in a plate full of panko. Coat it evenly but not excessively, shake off the loose panko. Loose panko in hot oil = nasty burnt bits in the panb.

5. Fry in a pan. 

Frying.

Yum!

"Moroccan" Stew with couscous.

When you mix French colonial influence with the culinary and mercantile traditions of North African Arabic culture, you get great food. I've made this particular stew combination with both beef and chicken, either way it tastes great.

Stew
        • 1 lb of protein (ground beef, ground lamb, bite sized chicken, mystery meat)
        • 2 onions (chopped)
        • 4 crushed cloves of garlic
        • 2 cups of frozen vegetables
        • 2 cans of chickpeas (drained)
        • 1/2 tsp of salt
        • 1/2 tsp of ground pepper
        • 2 tsp of ground cumin
        • 2 tsp of ground turmeric
        • 2 tsp of paprika
        • 4 cups of broth/stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
        • 1/4 cup of raisins


Heat a large pot. Saute the garlic with the onions until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the frozen vegetables, and saute them until the mixture is warm. Add the chickpeas, salt and all the spices. Stir.

At this point in the cooking process, you'll want to add the protein if it is something like ground beef or dark chicken meat. If you're cooking with white chicken meat (i.e. chicken tender/breast), you'll want to hold off until about 25 minutes before serving.

Add the raisins and broth/stock, and bring the pot up to a boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

In the meantime, you can get started on the couscous.

Couscous
        • 2/3 tsp of salt
        • 1/3 tsp of ground turmeric
        • 1 cup of broth/stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
        • 3 tsp of olive oil
        • 1 cup of couscous

In a separate pot, bring the broth/stock up to a gentle boil, add the oil, salt and ground turmeric, and turn off the heat. Then add the couscous and stir. If the couscous is a little wet after a few minutes of stirring, add some more couscous. Since the stew will be served over a bed of couscous, it is better to err on the side of having couscous that is a tad bit dry.

Yum!

Cornish Pasties.

The English are notorious for their bad food. This reputation is not entirely untrue, but the English do make good savory pies and pasties.

Cornwall is in South West England, and interestingly actually has a strong culinary tradition, particularly involving seafood. But since I'm in Pittsburgh, I will not be making any seafood.

Instead I'll make some pasties. I found a template for a generic Cornish Pasty, then modified it and resized it for my purposes.

Here is what I came up with.

Filling Ingredients:
        • 1.5 lb of ground beef
        • 3 small/medium potatoes (chopped into small cubes)
        • 2 cups (3 medium sized carrots) of carrots (chopped into small cubes)
        • 1 medium onions (chopped into small cubes)
        • 1/4 cup of melted butter
        • 2 tsp of salt
        • 1 tsp of pepper

Pastry Ingredients:
        • 6 cups of flour
        • 2 cups of shortening
        • 1/3 cup of cold water
        • 2 tsp of salt
        • Eggwash

Steps:
1. This is a very English recipe. So mix all the filling ingredients together. Congratulations you're done with the filling!

2. Add the salt to the flour. Cut the shortening into manageable spoonful lumps and mix it with the flour. After the flour and shortening has fully combined, it should appear lumpy. At this point, just slowly add the cold water while you continue to mix. The pastry dough should stick together, but break apart quite easily.

3. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll the dough out into thin sheets.

4. Put the filling onto the sheet of dough, close, and make three incisions on the pastie. And brush the pastie with eggwash.

5. Preheat the oven to 375°, and bake the pasties for 60 minutes.

Hot out of the oven.

Yum!

Additional Variation:
If you're lazy like me, and like pies, you can also put some filling in an oven-safe pot, then throw the pastie dough on top. Then bake it in the same manner described above.

Pie!

Japanese style milk bread.

I like Japanese/East Asian adaptions of "western" bread.

I found this recipe written by this Germanic-Chinese lady called Angie. Angie, being non-American, wrote her recipe in the awesome & rational & superior in every way (unless you're American) metric system.

Because all the ingredients are measured by weight, the recipe is idiot proof and simple even for a non-baker like me.

Here are the results.

Kneaded.

Divided, Risen, and Arranged.

Baked! Yum.

Tea Egg.

Tea egg is one of those Chinese things that vary from region to region. It is really easy, and the taste is very subtle.

Basically boil some eggs. How do I boil eggs? Put them in a pot, fill it with water to cover, then heat over fire until water boils. Once the water boils, turn the heat off, and let it sit for 15 minutes.

To make tea egg, you'll want to cool the eggs down completely. I usually do it with running water. Then what you'll want to do is gently crack the entirety of the egg shell, without actually removing the egg shell. Why do this? You'll see later.

Then take a pot, fill it with enough water to cover the eggs. Add just enough soy sauce to make the water opaque. Then add maybe two teaspoons of five-spice powder. At this point, you can add a teabag or two (dark tea not green) in the pot. Alternatively, you can skip it, but the egg will just be soy sauced, and wouldn't be an "tea egg".

You can put the eggs w/ the cracked shells back in the pot, and turn the heat on. Let it boil for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat, and let it sit for several hours.

Let it cool, and serve!

The finished egg.

Peeled and ready to eat! It may not look very seasoned, but trust me, the taste is there. Check out the lines! The more cracks, the more lines!

Salad Redux.

Same basic salad that I previously made, only this time with hard boiled egg.

And a gin & tonic.

Meat.

I started the day with a cup of coffee.

Then I saved my calories for meat.

I seasoned the meat with salt and freshly ground pepper, and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Then I took heated my heaviest pan, and seared each side for approximately six to seven minutes. Then it is in the oven at 350° F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes before eating.

Cherry Coke Zero, salad, waffle fries, and steak! Yum!

Eating Regularly.

I have a "problem" with eating regularly. No I'm not anorexic! I just don't eat on a regular schedule. This "problem" is worse when I am living alone, because when I have no one to cook for, I don't particularly bother to cook or feel the need to eat at regular time points.

Because the "ball and chain" will be overseas visiting relatives for a couple weeks, I plan to mitigate my "problem" by making a conscious effort to document my food intake.

Today's dinner was salad. I made it with salad greens, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, and blue cheese. The dressing was a simple balsamic vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

The Joy of Cooking... Squirrel?

Squirrel!

The Joy of Cooking also recommends catching the possum alive, and feeding it milk and cereals for ten days before dispatching it and serving.

Awesome! Can't wait to try it someday!

Nom Nom Nom - Lamb Stew.

We recently purchased a leg of lamb from Costco - it weighed about 4.5 pounds, but after I trimmed it, it really provided about 4 pounds of good meat, the trimmings were either small pieces of meat, tough sinew, or undesirable hunks of fat. I used our food processor and turned the small pieces of meat into ground lamb.

Anyway - so I wanted to cook something with lamb, and so here we go!

Ingredients:
You'll need the following basic ingredients (not including the spices):
• 3~4 lbs of lamb (bite sized)
• 1 large onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3 inch of ginger
• 28 oz of crushed tomatoes
• 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1 cup of water


Take out your food processor, puree the onion, garlic, and ginger; we shall refer to this as puree mixture (please ignore the presence of the ground lamb, I added it to the stew to get rid of the trimmings).


Grab three bowls. In each bowl, put the following spices.

Bowl 1:
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick

Bowl 2:
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp fennel seeds

Bowl 3:
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt




Cooking:
1. Apply medium heat to a large pot, add oil, and everything in Bowl 1 to the oil until the cinnamon stick uncurls.









2. Then add the puree mixture, and cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic no longer smells raw










3. Meanwhile, apply medium heat to a frying pan, add some oil, and then lightly fry the contents of Bowl 2, keep stirring until the cumin turns brown, then turn the heat off. Pour the oil into the puree mixture, and scrape the seeds into the pot.






4. Add the protein to the pot, pour the contents of Bowl 3 into the pot, and cook the meat until it turns darker.

5. Add the tomato puree and tomato paste. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Let the pot cook for another 35 minutes or so. After I tasted the sauce, I decided to add frozen corn and peas.




6. Serve on rice, or eat it with roti.

Nom Nom Nom!